Nagging DOES work.... somewhat!

After multiple reminders that nothing has been added to this journal for a LONG time, I am finally taking the time to sit and bring things up to date. See... nagging can be effective.

The last couple of weeks have not been terribly productive but they have been busy! Bill has spent a lot of time measuring sails, making wiring/lighting plans, checking bulbs and making lists. All in preparation for the Miami Boat Show, which is taking place this weekend. We are hoping to find good deals on all the items on our lists. My sister and brother-in-law live in Ft Lauderdale and have graciously invited us to stay with them for the duration... there should be plenty of time for a good visit and I'm looking forward to it.

My first class in the Scuba diving course is Tuesday evening and I have been busy trying to get the 125 pages of the textbook read... this middle aged mind isn't used to school work... my sympathies to all students everywhere! I'm hoping that the insight into the underwater world will be worth it. (I've been assured by numerous folks that it IS.)

I've also been going into Planet Fitness every morning, yikes... Curves is so much easier on the body... I never had muscle soreness like this while going in to lady-friendly Curves!! I sincerely hope that this is a short term pain... it couldn't be that all this sitting around on my rear and eating out all the time had anything to do with it, could it?

Today we took all Iron Jack's sails into a sail maker to be inventoried and checked. Mac, the sail maker will let us know whether they are worth keeping and repairing or if we should be on the lookout for new ones. He seemed to feel that repair would probably be feasible... yippee, that would save a chunk of change! Keep your fingers crossed!

Talk to you again after the boat show.

A Seagull bites the Dust, errrr Water

We, the crew of the S/V Iron Jack, stayed fairly busy this week. Bill repaired and replaced the box around the house batteries and he also replaced the oxygen sensors on his truck... his gas mileage improved right away. We designed and built a shade canopy out of pvc pipe and a sumbrella panel that was onboard... had we walked over to the other side of the marina beforehand we would have used the same design as is on a boat over there.... it uses a tarp, a few pieces of hardware, less pvc and produces a more flexible end product, we'll be changing ours a.s.a.p.!

Mother nature let us see her realism this week.... I was on deck making a rug non-skid with some silicone caulk when a dead seagull floated by the bow of Iron Jack. There was no obvious injury, but the poor thing would definitely never fly again.

On a lighter note, I signed up for scuba diving lessons, they begin Feb. 21 and continue for 4 weeks, ending with 2 dives on a wreck out in the Gulf Stream. I'm looking forward to both the classes and the dives, plus.... I'll be able to do our bottom cleaning and zinc changing... oh goody, goody!!

I also signed up at Planet Fitness and start on Monday, getting my own workout set-up by their fitness instructor. It's time to get the muscle tone back and the body fat percentage lowered! I would have gone back to Curves, since it's such a good workout, but the nearest one is quite a distance away from the marina.

The engine is reassembled and was on the dinghy for a day. I took it out for a spin... another skill set that needs a GREAT DEAL of work!! Then Bill took me out and showed me how it should be done. We ended up the lesson by taking the engine back OFF the dinghy so that the leak in the inflatable floor could be patched. The first try with adhesive designed specifically for hypalon was a failure but a second attempt is in the works now.... hope for the best.

We spent a wonderful evening last night with a fellow short term marina tenant. Sean is a young man from New Zealand who has spent the last few years travelling around the world, this leg of his journey includes buying and repairing a sailboat to sail around the Caribbean. He bought his boat about 3 weeks ago and plans on heading south in the next few days... obviously he's a LOT faster at this than we are! Oh well, we aren't in a race and we ARE having a great time enjoying the nice climate we're in.