One aspect of my philosophy of life I find challenging to following is to live in the present moment. I remind myself that it is truly all I have, but it remains a challenge. Right now we are enjoying a moment of peace in Boot Key Harbor, in Marathon. We arrived here last Tuesday. Upon our return, we found the surroundings here to be comfortable – almost like home. Almost immediately we bumped into two couples we consider friends whom we had spent time with here last winter. What a bonus!
When I manage to take the time to focus on our present situation, I smile a bit as I soak in the pleasant temperature, the mild breeze and the pelicans or herons flying by. I am reminded of how blessed we are to be able to enjoy all this. But then my focus changes to the list of boat tasks to be accomplished before we fly north for the Christmas holiday. Sandra is busy working out other duties so that we will have our act together when we head north. We leave tomorrow, and we've spent a good deal of the past week dealing with items on our lists.
We've actually spent most of our time since we left here last April focusing on travel, preparation for travel or addressing matters of one sort or another that crop up (like needing a new engine) while enjoying visits with family in different places along the East Coast. And we're still at it. In the next two weeks, we'll be sleeping in seven different places. We'll leave our summer clothes here and pack for some much cooler temps as we head north as far as New Hampshire with a number of stops along the way.
The challenge for me will be to fully appreciate each of those stops and focus on those opportunities for spending time with family and friends. Of course, we'll also be mindful of the timing for travel to the next stop. And it's not merely routine travel either. We'll be bringing along Maddie, our newest crew member, so everything is new and different for us. This includes the plane ride, the travel to homes and motels that must be pet friendly.
I suppose our circumstances are somewhat different from many, since we are traveling slowly by boat much of the time and staying in one place a few days but no longer than a few weeks before moving on once again. However, the challenge of focusing on the present moment is not a unique challenge for us. As I talk with others, I see their focus often on future plans, challenges at work or worry over the future consequences of events which already occurred in the past. I hear talk of a boss who doesn't understand, complaints about various government officials from the President down to a local city councilman, or perhaps the driver of the car ahead who is driving poorly as he tries to talk on the phone. Then there are the concerns over past events and worry about how the future will play out. All this concern comes from the expectation that somehow all this will impact our lives in the future in some negative way. There may also be some envy that crops up. We certainly hear it occasionally from those who wish they could enjoy our “relaxing” cruising lifestyle. Of course, they probably don't read this blog and don't have a clue about the work involved in maintaining all this. But there are others who envy someone's home, their income or some other aspect of life. All these concerns distract us from appreciating the present moment we live in – our only true reality. Everything else is history or expectation but not real at the moment.
As we head north to spend time with family and friends during this special season, I will try extra diligently to focus on our present moments and to appreciate them fully without distractions of future plans or concerns over past events.
May each of you who read this also have a holiday season full of precious present moments.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Monday, December 19, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
South Florida - Up Close and Personal
We've done a bit of traveling since the last entry. Our original plan included a stop at Vero Beach. For those non-cruisers who have never taken a boat to Vero Beach, you should know that most tie up to a mooring but share that mooring with one or two other boats. Some people don't like being tied to another boat with people on it they've never met, but others see it as a way to get to know other boaters. Our problem right now was that our newest crew member doesn't like spending the night alone and was crying off and on during the night. The last thing we wanted to do was keep other boaters awake with our dog. So we skipped this stop. We stopped in Melbourne for the first time and then moved on down to another anchorage we never tried at Ft. Pierce. This provided us with the chance to check out another couple of towns we'd not visited before, because we always stopped at Vero.
Then it was on down the ICW to Lake Worth by Palm Beach. We'd been here before but never visited Peanut Island. There is a park on the island operated by the city of Palm Beach that is really nice. We walked around and checked out the beach and a snorkeling area, but didn't actually go in the water. Perhaps on our spring trip north. There is also a bunker on the island built for Kennedy while he was President. Tours are available, but we didn't take advantage. Again, perhaps on the spring trip north. We also met briefly with my sister and husband who live in West Palm Beach. We'd seen them at the reunion, but they really wanted to meet Maddie.
In the past, we'd always gone out into the ocean at Lake Worth and made a long day trip down to Key Biscayne or Miami. This time, the weather was not ideal for the trip – too much wind and wave action for our newest crew member. So once again, Maddie was influencing our travel. We stayed on the ICW to deal with more than 20 bridges in fewer than 50 miles to Ft. Lauderdale and then another 10 before we would arrive at Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove where we would pick up a mooring. No sharing here, but Maddie has adjusted to sleeping alone, so it would no longer be an issue.
Although we'd seen lots of expensive homes on our trips south, this portion of the travel still gave us pause. The ICW was narrow along this route, so we were closer to the homes. In fact, there is one stretch between West Palm and Ft. Lauderdale that's called the canyon. The shoreline on both sides is concrete, so any boat waves bounce back and forth across the narrow space. In spite of this and other challenges, we actually found it to be an interesting trip...bizarre in some ways, since we'd never been through an area of the country quite like this before. And traveling south by car just doesn't provide the same view of this stretch. Based on the multi-million dollar homes and so many highrise condos – some 30-40 stories high – we were also struck by the sense of a very high population, most with plenty of money. Boats considered big were once 50-75 feet long. Now to be considered big by us, one must be over 100 feet. We saw many in the 150 – 200 foot range parked in front of homes or at marinas specifically designed for these big boats. (I wonder how big a boat must be to become a ship.)
For those travelers who wonder about the bridges, we can say that the timing worked for us. Most were on a schedule, and we could travel fast enough to get from one bridge to the next and meet that schedule. Our new engine worked well and moved us a bit faster than the old one would have. So slower boats would have more of an issue here. We also left early in the day and stayed ahead of a lot of other cruiser traffic. That also made the bridges easier to deal with, since we were often the only boat going through.
We got to Coconut Grove early in the day and were able to go ashore to explore a bit. We found it similar to South Beach, also a part of the Miami area that we'd visited last fall. The marina is supposed to have more slips for boats than any other on the East Coast – pretty impressive. We'll spend a day here getting chores completed before moving on down to Marathon. This last leg of the trip south should take us two days. We're looking forward to arriving in Marathon and relaxing for a few days before getting on a plane to head back north for the holiday visits with family.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Then it was on down the ICW to Lake Worth by Palm Beach. We'd been here before but never visited Peanut Island. There is a park on the island operated by the city of Palm Beach that is really nice. We walked around and checked out the beach and a snorkeling area, but didn't actually go in the water. Perhaps on our spring trip north. There is also a bunker on the island built for Kennedy while he was President. Tours are available, but we didn't take advantage. Again, perhaps on the spring trip north. We also met briefly with my sister and husband who live in West Palm Beach. We'd seen them at the reunion, but they really wanted to meet Maddie.
In the past, we'd always gone out into the ocean at Lake Worth and made a long day trip down to Key Biscayne or Miami. This time, the weather was not ideal for the trip – too much wind and wave action for our newest crew member. So once again, Maddie was influencing our travel. We stayed on the ICW to deal with more than 20 bridges in fewer than 50 miles to Ft. Lauderdale and then another 10 before we would arrive at Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove where we would pick up a mooring. No sharing here, but Maddie has adjusted to sleeping alone, so it would no longer be an issue.
Although we'd seen lots of expensive homes on our trips south, this portion of the travel still gave us pause. The ICW was narrow along this route, so we were closer to the homes. In fact, there is one stretch between West Palm and Ft. Lauderdale that's called the canyon. The shoreline on both sides is concrete, so any boat waves bounce back and forth across the narrow space. In spite of this and other challenges, we actually found it to be an interesting trip...bizarre in some ways, since we'd never been through an area of the country quite like this before. And traveling south by car just doesn't provide the same view of this stretch. Based on the multi-million dollar homes and so many highrise condos – some 30-40 stories high – we were also struck by the sense of a very high population, most with plenty of money. Boats considered big were once 50-75 feet long. Now to be considered big by us, one must be over 100 feet. We saw many in the 150 – 200 foot range parked in front of homes or at marinas specifically designed for these big boats. (I wonder how big a boat must be to become a ship.)
For those travelers who wonder about the bridges, we can say that the timing worked for us. Most were on a schedule, and we could travel fast enough to get from one bridge to the next and meet that schedule. Our new engine worked well and moved us a bit faster than the old one would have. So slower boats would have more of an issue here. We also left early in the day and stayed ahead of a lot of other cruiser traffic. That also made the bridges easier to deal with, since we were often the only boat going through.
We got to Coconut Grove early in the day and were able to go ashore to explore a bit. We found it similar to South Beach, also a part of the Miami area that we'd visited last fall. The marina is supposed to have more slips for boats than any other on the East Coast – pretty impressive. We'll spend a day here getting chores completed before moving on down to Marathon. This last leg of the trip south should take us two days. We're looking forward to arriving in Marathon and relaxing for a few days before getting on a plane to head back north for the holiday visits with family.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Back Aboard After Thanksgiving
Most of this blog entry will not be about boating but reflections on our last couple of weeks. We left the boat and drove to Sandbridge, VA to celebrate Thanksgiving at our first family reunion with my two sisters and their families. All together there were 35 attendees. We spent a week at a large house right on the beach, complete with an indoor pool. It was a great experience for one and all. Attendees came from Florida and New Hampshire, the Carolinas, Virginia, Pennsylvania and California. A number had never met before. We walked the beach, watched dolphins just beyond the surf, walked trails at a local park, visited a zoo and a marine museum and flew kites...just a great time. With so many attending, mealtime could have been a real challenge, but everyone pitched in and it all worked out well. Sandra and I did most of the orchestrating ahead of time, so we feel good about the result. We look forward to the next time we can get together like this. We'll let someone else do the planning, though.
After leaving the reunion, we drove back south to St. Augustine, but not before picking up an additional crew member. We'd discussed this addition for some time, but never acted on it till now. The crew member is an eleven week old puppy, a Coton de Tulear. Most reading this haven't heard of this breed. It's not a common one in this country and is from Madagascar. We learned about it from Jennifer, who said it would be the perfect dog for our boat. It's small (3 lbs. right now), it likes to travel, likes to swim, doesn't shed and is hypoallergenic. So far she doesn't bark at all either. We've had her only a few days, but she's one our hearts already. Now added to my chores before we leave St. Augustine is putting up lifeline netting so we don't lose the dog overboard.
Can't end this without reporting on our engine. It has been replaced. We did a sea trial yesterday and after a bit of minor alignment adjustment, it ran real well. It's quieter than our last and has a bit more power. I'm hopeful that we'll be as happy with this as we were unhappy to have to make the change. After much discussion, we've come to the conclusion about at least part of the reason for the engine wear. It seems that the prop wasn't pitched properly for this engine, and I could never get it up to max rpms. Of course I was new to diesels and didn't realize that this might cause additional wear. As it turns out, this new engine has a bit more power and seems to be matched well to the prop. So we won't have to make a change there.
Getting back to the boat and to our cruising lifestyle is a real adjustment – so different from living on land as most people do. But we've already had a pleasant afternoon lunch and visit with friends we met on the St. John's River. We've been in touch with other friends we may be meeting with again soon. So in many ways we feel like we're home again...and that feels good.
More to come.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
After leaving the reunion, we drove back south to St. Augustine, but not before picking up an additional crew member. We'd discussed this addition for some time, but never acted on it till now. The crew member is an eleven week old puppy, a Coton de Tulear. Most reading this haven't heard of this breed. It's not a common one in this country and is from Madagascar. We learned about it from Jennifer, who said it would be the perfect dog for our boat. It's small (3 lbs. right now), it likes to travel, likes to swim, doesn't shed and is hypoallergenic. So far she doesn't bark at all either. We've had her only a few days, but she's one our hearts already. Now added to my chores before we leave St. Augustine is putting up lifeline netting so we don't lose the dog overboard.
Can't end this without reporting on our engine. It has been replaced. We did a sea trial yesterday and after a bit of minor alignment adjustment, it ran real well. It's quieter than our last and has a bit more power. I'm hopeful that we'll be as happy with this as we were unhappy to have to make the change. After much discussion, we've come to the conclusion about at least part of the reason for the engine wear. It seems that the prop wasn't pitched properly for this engine, and I could never get it up to max rpms. Of course I was new to diesels and didn't realize that this might cause additional wear. As it turns out, this new engine has a bit more power and seems to be matched well to the prop. So we won't have to make a change there.
Getting back to the boat and to our cruising lifestyle is a real adjustment – so different from living on land as most people do. But we've already had a pleasant afternoon lunch and visit with friends we met on the St. John's River. We've been in touch with other friends we may be meeting with again soon. So in many ways we feel like we're home again...and that feels good.
More to come.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
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