Wednesday, March 1, 1995 - Riviera Beach, FL

Wrote a couple of letters and then sanded and varnished the starboard rub-rail while Roy continued doing whatever he's doing. Thunderstorms were predicted, but they didn't materialize.
We want to have the cockpit screen changed to make it easier to install, so I carried it and the two side-curtains to a canvas shop. The pickle-faced woman had an unpleasant attitude. After keeping me standing around for ten minutes or so, she finally looked at what I wanted done, but then she refused to give me an estimate! I could scarcely believe my ears. Did she expect me to hand her a blank check? I told her I wouldn't leave the stuff without an estimate, so I gathered everything up and walked back to the boat. Then Roy told me about a canvas shop at the boatyard on the other side of the park. I wish he'd told me about that in the first place; it's much, much closer. Since it was late in the day by then, I rode my bike over without taking the curtains. The man was very pleasant. He said to bring the curtains in in the morning and he'll give me an estimate.
Next I took the Loran across the street to a marine electronics store. The man couldn't have been nicer. He immediately plugged in the Loran and checked it out. It worked perfectly there in the shop, so apparently the problem is with the antenna, as I suspected. The man said it was probably the connector at the base of the antenna. Unfortunately, to replace it would cost about $150, but he said we might be able to open it up and clean the circuit board ourselves. That might do the trick. I was surprised he told me that, as it took potential business away from his shop. He was certainly obliging.

Tuesday, February 28, 1995 - Riviera Beach, FL

Rode the Tri-Rail to Fort Lauderdale. This is the last day of my Broward County bus pass, so I squeezed it to the last drop. Went to the Post Office to pick up my mail. Then I went to a Winn-Dixie to get our favorite cereal, but they didn't have any. I'm afraid it's been discontinued; I haven't been able to find it in any store lately.
Had no problem finding the chart store, but as I feared, there aren't any harbor charts for the Bahamas other than the ones we already have in the chart kit. Bought charts of a couple of harbors in the Dominican Republic, the western end of Puerto Rico, the Turks and Caicos, and a really good chart of Aruba. Cost $70 just for those four charts!

Monday, February 27, 1995 - Riviera Beach, FL

This is the hardest place to buy groceries we've ever been. All the super markets are a zillion miles from here, which wouldn't be so bad if we had good bus service, but with buses running once an hour, a simple trip to the store takes forever. I spent most of the morning just buying a few groceries.
Roy took the old varnish off the top of the starboard rub-rail, and I sanded and varnished it. The rub-rails had been in the worst state they've been in since I first met Jofian. They looked awful. Just one coat has made a tremendous difference. By the time I get six coats on there, she'll look like the Jofian again.
Roy continued sanding. Also read a batch of mail that arrived from Steve. In the evening, we began trying to figure a course. We need a lot more charts. Have hardly any decent harbor charts for the Bahamas. Also need charts of the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Aruba, etc. The best place to get charts is in Fort Lauderdale, so I'll go down there tomorrow and see what I can find.
Roy phoned Manola Garcia. He invited us to his place for supper Thursday evening. We invited him and his wife to sail to Fort Lauderdale with us when we leave here. He was thrilled.

Sunday, February 26, 1995 - Riviera Beach, FL

This is my daughter Carol's birthday. How time does fly! She was a baby just yesterday.
Windy, cloudy, and cool today, but warm enough to varnish. Roy removed the rest of the old varnish from the top of the port rub-rail, and I sanded it again and varnished it, while Roy continued sanding the bottom and the rudder. By the end of the day, he looked as if he'd fallen into a pile of coal dust, but a shower took most of it off. However, his hands might never be clean again.

Saturday, February 25, 1995 - Riviera Beach, FL

Oh joy! This morning I found the second photograph stuck to the first. I had checked several times last night, but they didn't separate. Probably the morning dampness enabled them to come apart. So now I don't have to go scrounging through trash bins after all.
After breakfast, I rode my bike to Walgreen's and got my prescription filled. It doesn't taste bad, thank goodness, but I hope I don't have to take all of it; it's a three-week supply.
What a beautiful sunny day! Perfect temperature. Roy sanded the bottom and scraped barnacles off the rudder, while I sanded the rub-rails. Didn't have time to varnish. Took a shower and rode my bike to the nearest grocery for some essential groceries. Got back moments before dark.

Friday, February 24, 1995 - Riviera Beach, FL

Roy and I got up early and took the 6:30 bus down to the hospital. It's a very nice place. After filling out a bunch of forms, we went upstairs and were provided with a private "hotel" room, complete with television and comfortable chair for Roy. At eight o'clock, I was wheeled to another room and connected to a bunch of monitors. I could see the green line of my pulse blipping across the screen. I figured as long as it kept blipping, I was still alive. They stuck an IV in my arm and a couple of tubes in my nostrils. The doctor arrived about 8:20 after being delayed by heavy traffic. The next thing I knew, it was past ten and I was back in the little room with Roy. The nurse brought me some water and orange juice, for which I was grateful, as I hadn't been allowed even a sip of water prior to the procedure. The doctor had left a sheet of instructions with Roy and had also given him a couple of photographs of my innards. They were fascinating! In fact, they looked pretty good. (Roy said it was a perfect likeness.) Everything is normal; no cancer or polyps or anything. So what's causing my problem? I have to see the doctor again next week.
We took the bus home and ate a noon breakfast. Boy, did it taste good! Then I went to bed and slept for two hours. Woke up feeling good, which is fortunate, since our haulout was scheduled for three o'clock. The wind was blowing from the northeast, so we had a difficult time getting out of the slip. Had to grab a line that was attached to a piling and pull ourselves along. Finally got into the channel. From there it was relatively easy, although we had to attach lines to other pilings to swing the boat around and into the slot for the travel lift. When the boat was lifted up, there was the remnant of the old line still wrapped around the propeller shaft. Some of it pulled off, but the final bit had to be cut off.
So now we're back on land. Roy rode his bike to Publix and bought some chicken and stuff. I forgot to ask him to get my prescription filled. Will have to do that first thing tomorrow.
When I dug my stuff out of my bag, I was dismayed to discover that one of the photographs was missing! How could that be? The only thing I could think of was that it had gotten mixed up with some papers I had thrown out. So now I have to go down to the hospital first thing in the morning and see if it's still in the trash. I certainly don't want to lose it. This is a once-in-a-lifetime (I hope) opportunity to see what my insides look like.

(I guess I did not tell my mom that I had the procedure when I was 24, 34, 44, etc, because I had polyps in my colon when I was 24, 34, etc., but I guess I got my innards from my mom otherwise, because they do look good, the polyps are small.)

Thursday, February 23, 1995 - Riviera Beach, FL

Frustrating morning. Got up at 4:45. As soon as I was dressed, I phoned the cab company and asked for a cab at 5:45. That was plenty early, as I figured the cab would be fifteen or twenty minutes late. I couldn't eat breakfast, as I'm on a liquid diet today in preparation for the procedure tomorrow, so I drank some apple juice and a cup of bouillon. Then I looked on the hook where the key is supposed to be hanging. It wasn't there. Scrounged through the pockets of Roy's jacket and pants. Finally found it. Went up to the gate, unlocked it, stuck a piece of paper in the lock to keep it open, and took the key back to the boat. Then I was off. Got to the place the cab was supposed to pick me up in plenty of time. Waited. And waited. And waited. No cab. By then it was too late to catch the 6:45 train even if the cab had come, so I got on the 6:30 bus. Could have slept another hour. No problem catching the 7:45 train. Got off in Pompano Beach. Luckily there was one taxi at the station. Made a beeline for it. He took me to the Ted Turner Center in fifteen minutes, so I was in plenty of time for the class. The cab fare was $11.20.
The class went well, and I got my certificate. Found out that when the instructor had said he had an M.D. license, he hadn't meant he was a physician -- he was a Milk Distributor!
During break, I phoned the Post Office and found out there were a couple of pieces of mail for me, so I took the bus over there after class. What a joke! I had written to the AARP headquarters when we first got to Fort Lauderdale to find out where and when the 55 Alive classes would be held in the Fort Lauderdale area. They sent me a card for classes in St. Petersburg, about as far from Fort Lauderdale as you can get and still be in Florida! It's a good thing I was able to find out about the classes on my own. The other piece of mail was valuable, though.
Stopped at a convenience store to make copies of some of my medical bills. Bought a small bottle of apple juice and drank it for lunch. Then I went down to Cooley's Landing and got my deposit back on the key. At two o'clock, I had to take some medication that I knew would make me miserable, so I caught the 2:53 back to West Palm Beach.

Wednesday, February 22, 1995 - Riviera Beach, FL

Rode the number 10 bus to Royal Palm Beach, miles and miles. It turned out I had caught the bus by dumb luck, as it doesn't run very often. Got off at the corner of Okeechobee Boulevard and Royal Palm Beach Boulevard. Looked around for the senior center. I was pretty certain the person I had talked with on the phone had told me it was on the southwest corner, but there was nothing on the southwest corner except trees, so I crossed to the southeast corner where there were some small government buildings, including the "Village Hall". Found a tiny post office, so I bought some stamps, but the clerk didn't know where the senior center was. I asked at a desk labeled "Information", but they didn't know either. In fact, she said they didn't have a senior center. When I told her I'd talked with someone on the phone who had told me it was at the corner of Okeechobee and Royal Palm, she said to try the cultural center across the street, so I crossed again. It wasn't exactly on the corner or even near the corner, but that was the place, and they had openings, but before signing up, I figured I'd better make sure I could get there by nine in the morning. They had a free courtesy phone, so I called the bus company and for once got right through. Found out they only run two buses a day to Royal Palm Beach, and the first one gets there around eleven! That was the bus I had taken, so I didn't sign up for the class.
The return bus was scheduled for 12:30, so I had plenty of time. The other two corners of this intersection had super markets -- a Winn-Dixie on one and a Publix on the other. Went to the Publix and bought a few things. It was noon when I got to the bus stop. The bus didn't show up at 12:30 or 12:35. I began worrying that my watch was an hour slow and I'd missed the bus. Luckily, two people came by with wrist watches, so I asked them the time. They said it was twenty-five minutes to one, which agreed with my watch, so I felt better. All three watches couldn't be off by an hour. The bus finally arrived at 12:45. What a relief! This was the day Roy and I planned on going to a presentation at West Marine on cruising the Bahamas, and I was beginning to worry that I wouldn't get back to the boat in time. As it was, it was after two when I got there.
I had come to the conclusion that my best bet was to complete the 55 Alive course in Fort Lauderdale. Phoned Greyhound, but they didn't have a bus at a suitable time. Then I phoned a taxi company and found out the fare from here to the Tri-Rail station was only $8, which is what I would have paid to take the course over, so I'll go down by cab in the morning. The train will get me to Cypress Creek in time to catch a couple of buses that will get me to class in time, if I'm lucky.
We were able to take the bus to within a mile of West Marine and walk the rest of the way, but the buses stop running at seven, so we weren't sure how we'd get home. Maybe have to take a taxi. We ate supper at Burger King and got to West Marine in plenty of time. There weren't as many people as we had expected. The talk was fairly interesting, but mainly about the Abacos, which we're not planning on visiting.
When the talk was over, I asked if anyone was going in the direction of Riviera Beach and could give us a ride. A young man volunteered to take us part of the way. He was very nice. His name is Manola Garcia. He was born in New York City of Ecuadorean parents, so he's fluent in both Spanish and English. He's been in the Air Force for fifteen years and is planning on retiring early. He loves boats and longs to sail. He brought us all the way back to the marina instead of half way, so we invited him to visit the boat. He was thrilled. He wants us to phone him Monday evening so he can invite us to supper.

Tuesday, February 21, 1995 - Riviera Beach, FL

Made a bunch of frustrating phone calls trying to get info about the 55 Alive classes in this area. Tried to phone the Senior Resource Network, but the number had been changed, and when I dialed the new number, it had been disconnected. Then I phoned Friends of Seniors, but they'd never even heard of the 55 Alive classes! She gave me a phone number that was supposed to be the Public Library. When I called it, the person who answered didn't know from beans, so she transferred me to someone else, who turned out to be the Librarian for the Blind! Fortunately, the Librarian for the Blind had brains enough to give me the correct number for the Public Library and told me to ask for the reference desk, which I did. That person was puzzled at first, but after some conversation he located a phone number for the AARP coordinator in this area. I called him, and he said all the 55 Alive classes were booked solid until May! But he also told me to try the Howard Park Senior Center. I phoned there and was told they still had two openings for March 7th and 8th, but it was first come, first served, so I should get down there right away with my check. I looked the place up on the map and saw it was only a few blocks from the doctor's office, so I decided to go there as soon as I was through with my doctor's appointment.
I lucked out on the doctor I picked out of the yellow pages. He's topnotch. His office is in the Good Samaritan Medical Center. I'm going to have to have the procedure I was hoping to avoid. It's scheduled for 8 o'clock this Friday morning. I'll be a zombie when it's over, so Roy will have to come down with a wheelbarrow and trundle me back to the boat.
When I left the doctor's office, I strolled along the beautiful waterfront for several blocks. It was an absolutely perfect day. The temperature was just right, the air was fresh and clean, the sun sparkling, the blue sky decorated with fleecy white clouds. It felt great just to be alive.
Rode the free trolley to the Howard Park Senior Center, only to find out those last two slots had been filled by noon. The woman was very nice. She phoned around and found openings in Royal Palm Beach. I didn't know where that was or how to get there. Tried to phone the bus company to find out if a bus went there, but I got put on interminable hold, so I gave up for the day. Later, I asked a bus driver, and he said the number 10 bus went there. It was too late in the day to go there then, so I headed for a grocery store and home. Rode the bus almost to the end of the line looking for a super market. Finally found a Winn-Dixie. By the time I bought what I needed and got out to the bus stop, it was dark, the wind was blowing hard and cold, and I hadn't brought a jacket with me, because it had been such a warm, beautiful day. I stood there freezing for about twenty minutes. When the bus finally came, his lights were so dim, I could scarcely tell it was a bus, but I waved anyway, and he stopped. What a relief to be on the warm bus out of the wind!

Monday, February 20, 1995 - Riviera Beach, FL

Paid a week's rent ($115), got the key to the laundry room, and found out that the gate key is the same as the restroom key. Made a doctor's appointment for tomorrow (my old problem has returned). Took the bus downtown to see "The Madness of King George." Excellent! Even better than "Immortal Beloved". The acting was flawless, the scenery authentic, there was just the perfect combination of humor and tragedy. I came away wanting to see it again, which is the highest accolade for a movie. Learned a lot of history as well as greatly enjoying the film. Here in the United States, we're taught that George III was a villainous tyrant whom our forefathers fought to gain our freedom, but this movie was made in England, and it shows King George in an entirely different light. He is portrayed as an intelligent, energetic, kind monarch and devoted family man. True, he experienced periods of dementia, probably caused by porphyria, but when he was sane, he took a sincere interest in the welfare of his subjects, at least of those in England.
The rain poured down this afternoon, and the temperature cooled off. Got all the way down to 70!
I had planned on taking Tri-Rail to Fort Lauderdale Thursday for the second half of the 55 Alive class, but when I checked the bus schedule this evening, I saw there was no way I could get to the Tri-Rail station in time to reach the class by nine o'clock. Now I'll have to find a class around here and start over. Nuts.

Sunday, February 19, 1995 - Riviera Beach, FL

The buses here don't run on Sunday, so Roy got my bicycle out and I assembled it. Wanted to get a street map and also wanted to locate West Marine, which another boater had told us was within walking distance of here. Ha! Rode my bike for miles and didn't see it, but I did buy a street map and sun block at a couple of drugstores along the way. Clouds were moving in and starting to sprinkle, so I returned to the boat. Roy had just gotten back from Boat Owners Warehouse, which is just a couple of blocks up Broadway (U.S. 1).
While we were eating lunch, the rain began in earnest. Roy filled the tank and a five-gallon jug. It was a good afternoon to do indoor things, so I worked up my Federal income tax, and Roy began putting grommets in the new awning. After a couple of hours, the rain quit, so Roy hopped on his bike and headed for West Marine, and I went Royaking to clear the cobwebs out of my head. Taxes are so booooring! It sure felt good to get some fresh air and exercise, but it was too late in the day to go very far, so I turned back after 45 minutes. Roy had also turned back; he had suddenly realized that it was almost five o'clock, and he wouldn't be able to get back in, because they lock the gate at five and we don't have a key yet. Neither of us had thought of the gate when he left, so it's lucky he remembered and got back in time.

Saturday, February 18, 1995 - Riviera Beach, FL

Today is my youngest daughter's birthday. I can't believe she's thirty years old! She always seemed like the perpetual teenager.
We spent most of the day getting acquainted with the area. Roy rode his bike around for a couple of hours, and I rode a bus to a nice new shopping center where there was a Publix market. Bought a few groceries and was lucky enough to just catch a return bus.
Riviera Beach is between West Palm Beach and North Palm Beach, but despite its ritzy name, it is not a high-class area. In fact, it's rather depressed, but the view of Lake Worth is beautiful.
The temperature went to 84 today, so after lunch we put on our swimsuits and paddled over to Peanut Island. Pulled up on the sand near the Coast Guard station and walked around a little. The water is 75 degrees! Sure felt good. The entire island is a park, so I was a little disappointed that there weren't any hiking trails, but we had fun anyway. Paddled completely around the island.
When we returned to the boat, we took showers. The showers here are excellent! Didn't even have to wait for the water to get hot.
A big old hotel was blown up at eleven this morning in downtown West Palm Beach. We had heard about it a couple of days ago and intended to go down to see it, but we totally forgot about it today, so we had to be satisfied with watching it on the news. That would have been quite a sight to see.

Friday, February 17, 1995 - Riviera Beach, FL

Calm and warm. We went outside instead of taking the ICW. We could make better time that way, because we didn't have a bunch of bridges to wait for. The wind was supposed to be 10 to 15 knots out of the southeast, which would have been perfect, but it was more like 3 or 4 knots out of the east, so we had to motorsail. Then the wind quit completely, so we took in the sails and motored. The Gulf Stream gave us an extra push, so we zoomed along at more than eight knots! Reached the Lake Worth Inlet by 4:30 and would have been at the yard within half an hour if Roy hadn't managed to find the only shallow spot in the entire harbor. Luckily, the tide was coming in, so after gunning the engine for twenty minutes or so, he finally got free. Then we had a hard time finding the channel to the boatyard, but after a couple of wrong turns, we finally got in it.
This was the most difficult slip we have ever docked in. It's narrow, and the dock is less than half the length of our boat and has no cleats. It's stationary. There are a couple of big fat pilings I was supposed to loop a line around, but my skills as a cowboy are even less than my skills as a sailor. Fortunately, there was a very nice young woman on the next boat who helped us get tied up.
We were sure glad we got here and got tied to the dock before dark. It was hard enough to do in daylight; in the dark it would have been almost impossible.

Thursday, February 16, 1995 - Fort Lauderdale, FL

Had no problem finding the place for the 55 Alive class. Got there 40 minutes early, so I strolled around awhile before going in. Nice area. The class, of course, was pretty much a waste of time, as they always are, but if I sit through it, I'll save 5% on my car insurance. The guy teaching it, Maya Janowski, is a retired physician from New York. He looks about 85 years old.
The class was supposed to last from nine to one, but we got out at eleven-thirty. I had noticed a shopping center a block away, so I went over there and found a Publix market. Bought chicken and milk and stuff. Then I caught the bus back to downtown and the boat.
In the afternoon, I walked over to Boat U.S. to buy some charts, but they had a very limited selection. I got the chart book for the Virgin Islands and one chart for Puerto Rico. That was all they had that we needed. Also bought a new U.S. flag.
In the evening, Roy and I took down the new awning in preparation for our trip to Riviera Beach tomorrow.

Wednesday, February 15, 1995 - Fort Lauderdale, FL

Tomorrow, I start the AARP 55 Alive course in Coconut Creek. The following week, I'll be going down there from Riviera Beach. From that direction, it would be closer (but not necessarily faster) to get off the train at the Cypress Creek station. The trains are free again today, so I went up to Cypress Creek to check it out, and it's a good thing I did. Found out the shuttle bus runs only during rush hour, and the county bus 62 doesn't stop at the station or on the street as one would expect but across the street in the parking lot of a bowling alley. Now all I have to do is check the times for the various connections and decide which would be the best way to get to class.
Roy finally quit working on the boat for a couple of hours, and we went for our long-postponed trolley ride. It was rather a short ride, but it was fun and we saw a few places we hadn't seen before. Then we went to the fabulous public library, and Roy got to see what I've been raving about. He read an article in Cruising World and then looked at a bunch of books on boat-building. I had a hard time dragging him away. It was dark when we got back to the boat.
The two boats next to us left today, and the people who were trying to locate their friends on the Bonny Dundee moved their boat, the Wyndisphree, over next to ours. Their friends came down today from Lake Worth and are tied to the docks at the Las Olas Bridge.

Tuesday, February 14, 1995 - Fort Lauderdale, FL

Was glad I tuned in the Waterway Net, because they have an excellent weather forecast for the Bahamas and the rest of the Caribbean. Now we know what to listen to before we take off for the Bahamas. I had a hard time getting on the net, but finally succeeded and found out the Bonny Dundee is still in North Lake Worth.
Batted zilch on phoning boatyards in the Stuart area. Most of them didn't have channels deep enough for the Jofian to get into, one was out of business, and another didn't accept do-it-yourselfers. So back to square one.
I reviewed my notes on other yards I'd phoned. The most promising seemed to be Old Slip Marine in Riviera Beach, which is maybe twenty miles south of Stuart and forty miles north of here. They require buying in their store, but their rates are very low. Roy and I decided to go up there and check it out. By dumb luck, Tri-Rail is free today and tomorrow. The shuttle buses are always free, so we rode the free shuttle bus to the Tri-Rail station and the free train to West Palm Beach and the free shuttle bus there to downtown. The only fare we had to pay was on the local bus to and from Riviera Beach, and that was only fifty cents apiece, so we travelled nearly a hundred miles for a total expenditure of two dollars.
The yard was definitely the best we've seen since we've been here, as well as being the lowest priced. The people are all very friendly and pleasant. It's a lot like Cobb's, but with private showers. It's next to a park, just off the ICW, and only a couple of blocks from the local bus. Couldn't be much better than that. We made a reservation for Friday at their marina for a week, and then we'll haul out. They didn't even ask for a deposit on the reservation! It's a load off both our minds to finally have a boatyard to go to.

Monday, February 13, 1995 - Fort Lauderdale, FL

The wind died to nothing, so it was hot and muggy this morning, but in the afternoon, clouds moved in and it sprinkled a little, cooling things off.
I put the final coat of varnish on the aft toe-rails in the morning. Walked over to the Federal Building to try to get some information from Customs, but there didn't seem to be anyone there, so I'll have to phone them.
Roy has located a lumber yard in Stuart that has teak. Since he might have to replace some boards when we haul out, we're now thinking of going to a yard up there. I went to the library and got the names, addresses, and phone numbers of all the boatyards in the Stuart area. I'll phone them in the morning. Also went to Publix for some more groceries.
A guy from a nearby boat is trying to locate a friend of his on the Bonny Dundee. He asked me to see if I could reach him on the Waterway Net in the morning. I told him I'd try.

Sunday, February 12, 1995 - Fort Lauderdale, FL

Copied the navigation program and files to my hard disk and printed out the documentation. Also reprinted the pages of the log that had typos. Applied another coat of varnish to the aft toe-rails.
Temperature in the 80's today. Feels more like August than February. Fortunately, there's a nice breeze blowing to cool things off a little, and our new awning helps a lot, too.
In the late afternoon, we went to Stacey's for our weekly pigout. The line wasn't too bad when we went in, but when we came out, it was a mile long. Picked up some groceries at Winn-Dixie.

Saturday, February 11, 1995 - Fort Lauderdale, FL

What glorious weather! Couldn't be nicer. Warm, clear, sunny, with a pleasant breeze to keep it from getting too hot. If it weren't for the hurricanes and high prices, this would be an ideal place to live.
Phoned the post office and found out there was mail for me, so I went over there. To my joy, there was a whole bunch of important mail, including our Delaware registration, which we need before entering another country. There was also a quote from an insurance agent I've been in contact with and a big packet of mail from Kathy. I was surprised to receive a diskette from Hans Pieper, who wrote the Tides23 program that is so useful. This diskette contains a navigation program. Unfortunately, when I tried to read the READ.ME file, my computer hung up and wiped out the contents of the file. I haven't figured out how that happened. Of course, it was my fault for not copying the file first. The rest of the files are intact, so I'll be sure and copy them before I do anything else with them.
Roy has been having fun using some gloppy red stuff to bind the ends of lines and keep them from fraying. Of course, he ended up with red all over his arms and clothes and the deck.
I applied another coat of varnish to the aft toe-rails, and then Roy messed up part of it. Grrrrr.....

Friday, February 10, 1995 - Fort Lauderdale, FL

What a shockeroo! Just when we had made up our minds to go to Playboy, we find out they don't accept wooden boats! So now we're back at square one.
The awning has been completed and looks really nice. It keeps the sun out but lets the breeze through, and we can even see through it. It's made of Texolene instead of canvas.
Went back to the flag shop and bought the courtesy flags for the Dominican Republic and Curacao, but Trinidad wasn't ready yet. Went to a very nice Publix Market and bought a bunch of groceries.
This evening, West Marine gave a talk on Medical Emergencies at Sea by a physician from Stanford. He had done a lot of sailing himself, so he knew what he was talking about. Very interesting and informative. He mentioned a number of useful books, including one that's the official medical text for the U.S. Merchant Marine. It would be especially valuable, because it's what they ask you to refer to if you contact another ship for assistance during a medical emergency. Roy thought to himself that if he won the door prize and were given a choice that's what he'd choose.
After the talk, one of the store employees gathered up all the tickets, and another employee drew one. I was standing close enough to catch a glimpse of it and thought it looked like my writing. When she asked someone, "Does that say 'Ray' or 'Roy'?", I suppressed an urge to say, "Roy!" When I saw her puzzling over the last name, I knew it had to be "Grabenauer". Sure enough, she called, "Roy Grabenauer!" Roy was at the other end of the room. He heard his name, but thought I was teasing him. I beckoned to him to come forward. The employee asked, "Is Roy here?" I said, "That's him coming now." And guess what the prize was -- the very book that Roy wanted! Boy, how lucky can you get! It's a $63 book!

Thursday, February 9, 1995 - Fort Lauderdale, FL

Roy woke up realizing he'd forgotten about the solar panels when he designed the awning, so he asked the man to make a couple of cuts, so the part of the awning over the solar panels can be folded back.
I walked over to the SSCA and bought a new burgee. Also found out they've got a new insurance plan in the works. They're also getting a worldwide health plan, so I'll look into that too.
Went to the shop that makes courtesy flags and bought the ones for Aruba, Bonaire, and British protectorates. The other ones we need will be ready tomorrow.
Roy spent most of the day straightening out the parachute and attaching a chain to it. It will be used as a sea anchor in heavy weather.
I did the laundry and phoned more boatyards. Most of them don't accept live-aboards. Came to the conclusion that Playboy is our best bet. They're reasonable and have everything we need. Best of all, they're right here in Fort Lauderdale. (Actually, they're in Dania, but that's like Campbell and San Jose.) We know where all the stores are around here, we can get anything we need, and the bus system is excellent. If we went to a yard in the boonies, we could have problems getting stuff.
I phoned about the new SSCA insurance. They're going to work up a quote for us.
The last two batches of the log were the first I ever sent out without first proofreading them. Now I'm finding zillions of typos that I'm having to correct for the master copy. My kids must think I've forgotten how to spell and punctuate! (If anyone wants a corrected copy, just let me know.)

Wednesday, February 8, 1995 - Fort Lauderdale, FL

What changeable weather! Today was as cold as yesterday was hot. Very windy, too. Right out of the north. Of course, what's considered cold in southern Florida would be considered a lovely, warm day in New England.
I saw a really excellent movie, "Immortal Beloved", about the life of Beethoven. It might not have been 100% accurate but it was certainly outstanding, and the music was tremendous. I'd like to see it again.
The awning man didn't return until late in the afternoon. He did a great job. The awning looks beautiful. It isn't quite finished, however, so Roy didn't pay him the entire balance. He'll be back tomorrow to finish it.

Tuesday, February 7, 1995 - Fort Lauderdale, FL

The guy who had put a deposit on the chart books came by and paid the balance. A little later, the awning man came by to check a measurement, so we were glad we were on the boat.
It got really hot today! Roy worked on the lines, and I sanded and varnished the aft portion of the toe-rails.
Several people had recommended Playboy Boatyard in Dania. We weren't sure which bus to take to get down there, so after lunch I went to where I thought it might be, and there it was! Had no problem finding it, but I kept missing buses, so it took a little longer than I had hoped. The yard was the smallest I've ever seen. Only holds about twenty boats, but it looked clean and well-organized. There were a lot of people there working on their boats. The restroom was a thousand times better than the one in Miami. Sort of like the one at Sanford-Wood, but smaller. There's also a Travel-lift like the one at Sanford-Wood. The place is certainly a possibility, but we're also going to check yards in Boca Raton and West Palm Beach.

Monday, February 6, 1995 - Miami, FL

We should have taken the shuttle bus, which goes right to the Tri-Rail station, but I didn't know where to catch it, so we took a regular bus. When we got off, the driver told us to go back and across the street, so that's what we did. Walked a couple of blocks down a side street before we found a couple of people who could tell us how to get to the Tri-Rail station. We had to walk all the way back to the main street (Broward), turn right, and go around past the bowling alley. We finally found the station. Just had time to buy our tickets and get to the platform before the train arrived.
We had left rather late, so even though the train only took half an hour, it was nearly noon by the time we got to Miami. They've changed the transit system since the last time we were here. Instead of going to downtown Miami, we ended up somewhere in the boonies and had to transfer to another train to get close to where we wanted to go. We didn't know how far it was to Dinner Key, so we took a bus. That turned out to be a mistake. The station was only four or five blocks from the boatyard. We had to walk as far from where we got off the bus as we would have walked from the station, but even though we had a street map of Miami, that wasn't at all clear. There was a Burger King across from the station that we didn't see until we were on the bus. By the time we got to the waterfront, we were famished, and there weren't any inexpensive places to eat down there, so we walked back to Burger King.
Felt better after eating, but I discovered I no longer had the street map. I figured I must have left it in the women's restroom at City Hall, where I'd laid it down to wash my hands.
We went to the Dinner Key Boatyard and walked around. Instead of a Travel-lift, they have a crane. We've never been hauled out by a crane before, so we were a little dubious, but there were a lot of other cruising sailboats on the hard. Roy talked with a couple of people, and they seemed satisfied with the yard, but they weren't liveaboards. We went in to the big, old building that used to be a hangar for Pan-Am clippers and looked at the restrooms and showers. They were absolutely the worst we've seen anywhere. Old and dirty and rusty and decrepit. Much worse than any in Mexico. We talked with the two guys who run the place. They're Cubans, who scarcely speak English. In the course of the conversation, I realized I had phoned this place last week under a different name. If I had known it was the same place I had phoned, we wouldn't have wasted our time coming down here, because I'd already rejected it on the basis of the conversation. Even though the City of Miami owns and operates the yard, they do little more than provide space. All the work is farmed out to contractors, even the hauling. We'd have had to pay one contractor to haul us and another to do the pressure wash. The haulout would have cost $200 each way, and the wash $90. That's nearly $500 just to get in and out of the water! Outrageous!
We were going to check another yard while we were down there, but we waited so long for a bus that it was getting too late in the day, so we headed back to Fort Lauderdale. It was dark by the time we got there, so we were glad we hadn't spent any more time in Miami.

Sunday, February 5, 1995 - Fort Lauderdale, FL

We're "enduring" what the locals call a "cold spell". A cold spell in Southern Florida means it's advisable to put on a light jacket or sweater in the evening. During the day, of course, shorts and a T-shirt are fine. Brrr. How do we stand it?
A guy came by and bought the other two chart books that we had for sale. That is, he put a $10 deposit on them. He'll return tomorrow with the balance.
In the morning, I paddled up the South Fork of New River, while Roy rigged up the line for a sea anchor or drogue. It was a perfect day for Royaking, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Went past several of the boatyards I'd contacted.
We had planned on taking the two o'clock bus to Stacey's. I was a few minutes late getting back to the boat, and to my amazement there were motorboats on both sides of the ramp. Probably the only time all day that there were two boats in there. I lost several minutes waiting for one to leave. By the time I got my Royak on the boat and changed my clothes, it was quarter to two. We still might have made it, but some sort of festival was going on along the Riverwalk and it was well-nigh impossible to plow through the crowds. We saw the bus go over the bridge when we were half a block from Andrews. The next bus was due in 45 minutes, so we sat by the river for a while, enjoying the fresh air and scenery. Then we strolled to the terminal and got there in plenty of time for the next bus.
Stacey's was packed. The line went out the door, but eventually we got in and pigged out. The food was delicious as always, and so much to choose from! We don't know how they do it. When we left, the line was even longer than when we arrived.
When we got back to downtown Fort Lauderdale, Roy returned to the boat, and I went to the library to look up boatyards in the Miami phone book. Wrote down the names, addresses, and phone numbers of all of them except the ones I'd already called. When I got back to the boat, a nice young couple, Jan and Jim, were talking with Roy. They had lived in Miami for years and had had a small sailboat. They told us there was only one good boatyard in Miami where you can do your own work, live on your boat, not have to buy at their store, and the rates are reasonable. The yard is at Dinner Key and is run by the city. We'll go down there tomorrow to check it out.

Saturday, February 4, 1995 - Fort Lauderdale, FL

Had a rather strange storm this morning. NOAA kept issuing both sea and land advisories. Between ten and eleven a.m. there were going to be severe thunder storms with strong winds and gusts to 50 MPH. Everyone was advised to seek shelter. We ended up with a couple of drops of rain, no thunder or lightning, and gusts of about 30. By noon, the sun was shining, but the wind continued to blow. It was a really beautiful, clear day.
Roy needed new shoes, too, so we rode the bus to Broward Mall. He bought an excellent pair at Sears for an unbelievably low price. Then he returned to the boat, and I took another bus to K-Mart, where I bought a few things. Then I went to a Publix and filled our two big shopping bags with groceries. Could scarcely carry them, but I finally made it back to the boat.

Friday, February 3, 1995 - Fort Lauderdale, FL

Roy returned the new alternator and got his money back. They didn't have the right manual for it, and he'd have had to do a lot of rewiring. The old one has served us well for years. He installed a blower to keep it cool. Now it works fine, even under load.
This was another delightful, warm, sunny day. No wonder so many people come to Florida. If it weren't for the high prices and the hurricanes, this would be paradise.
I rode a different bus to a Winn-Dixie and bought two big shopping bags of groceries. Fortunately, I didn't have far to carry them. When the bus got back to the terminal, I took another bus that brought me within a block of the marina.
We paid to the 8th. The awning should be ready by then, so maybe we'll be able to get out of here. Of course, we still have to haul out. Monday, we're going to Miami to look at boatyards down there.
After lunch, I walked over to Boat U.S. and bought courtesy flags for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Roy had already bought one for the Bahamas. That's all they had. I'll have to go to a flag shop for the others that we'll need.
Washed the rest of the clothes. It's so easy here, with the laundry room so close. I just put the stuff in and come back to the boat. It's almost like having a house with a washer and dryer. In fact, it's better, because I can do as many as four loads at a time.

Thursday, February 2, 1995 - Fort Lauderdale, FL

An absolutely beautiful day. Warm and sunny but not hot. There is a lovely mile-long walk along the river here, so I strolled down it to SE 3rd Avenue. I wanted to go to Glendale Federal and arrange for a withdrawal. To my amazement, I discovered that all the Glendale Federal Banks in Florida have been taken over by Barnett Bank. There are still Glendale Federals in California, however. A very nice Customer Service Representative at Barnett tried to find my account on the computer but couldn't, so I'll have to write to California.
Took a bus back to the big shopping area. Bought a new pair of shoes at Sears and saw a good movie. It was called "Nell" and starred Jodie Foster.
Roy bought a new, more powerful alternator. He's going to keep the old one as a backup, however. Now he has a lot more work to do to install the new alternator.
He's completed the job of rigging up the new starting system. We can now start the engine even if we lose the key. But no one else can. We also don't need to worry about the batteries being dead.

Wednesday, February 1, 1995 - Fort Lauderdale, FL

Bought a senior bus pass for February. For $15, I can ride as many buses as I like. Didn't get one for Roy, because he prefers to ride his bicycle.
Took a bus to Circuit City to see about repairing the TV. It works fine in every way but one -- the display of volume, channel number, etc., no longer lights up. No big deal, but it would be nice to have it. We can't find the receipt, so we don't know if it's still under warranty or not. A very nice clerk spent quite a bit of time trying to find the record on the computer. She found Roy's name, address, and phone number, but no record of the television purchase. She asked one of the salesmen about the problem we're having. He said it was just a burned-out bulb, but we couldn't replace it ourselves; we'd have to take it to a shop. The customer service clerk gave me the card of a TV repairman who charges a lot less than Circuit City does.
I've really found the shopping centers now. All up and down University Boulevard are block after block of stores. Sears, Penney's, Mervyn's, Radio Shack, Albertson's, you name it. Circuit City's in the midst of them. I bought a few groceries at Albertson's, but their prices are too high for regular shopping. Guess I'll stick to Publix and Winn-Dixie.
Phoned a canvas and upholstery place. An estimator came out and gave Roy an estimate of $850 to make the awning. Roy talked him into $600, so he's going to make it for that.