Friday, December 12, 2014 Vero Beach, FL Shivering is not something I’d have associated with spending winter in the Sunshine State, yet last night walking back to the boat, I was in fact, shivering. This in spite of the fact that I was wearing shoes, socks, long pants, t-shirt, sweat shirt, and a fleece jacket. Apparently these old bones can no longer tolerate temperatures below seventy degrees. I’ll be glad when next week the days will be back into the mid to upper seventies. Wednesday I decided to launch the dinghy. I haven’t used it since moving to Vero early in the summer, so the buckles on the straps holding the dink on the foredeck were a tad recalcitrant, as evidenced by the fact that it took me the better part of half an hour to work them loose. Tipping the boat over I attached the spinnaker pole topping lift (the line used to support the outer end of the spinnaker pole) to the bridle in the dinghy. Wrapping the end of the line around the self-tailing winch on the main mast I slowly cranked the boat up until it cleared the lifelines. Taking the topping lift line in hand, leaving a couple of turns around the winch to give me a modicum of control, I pushed the dinghy outboard and easing the topping lift and lowered the boat into the water. Tossing the dinghy’s bow line onto the dock I stepped ashore and secured the boat to the dock in front of kittiwake’s bow. Returning aboard I retrieved the oars out of the aft cabin, (yes, I sleep with oars) and put them in the boat. Removing the outboard motor from where it is stowed on Kittiwake’s stern rail, I wrestled it off the boat and into the dinghy. With the motor attached to the dink’s transom I collected up the odds and ends that I’d need to take with me: gas can, tool kit, whistle, life jacket, funnel, and bailer. Securing all that with a length of cord tied to the seat I felt ready to go on a tour of the area. A multitude of pulls on the starting cord failed start the motor so I retrieved a can of starting fluid and gave the motor a squirt. Finally I got it running, if somewhat raggedly. Heading north along the channel I explored a few inlets and then motored into the mangrove islands hoping to find the spot where we plan to have our camping cookout this coming Saturday. I was puttering along nicely when the motor quit. Several pulls on the starting cord failed to achieve the desired resuscitation so I tilted the outboard up and set about rowing back to my vessel. Fortunately the wind was blowing in the right direction so I didn’t have to fight against that. Likewise the current seemed to be helping a little as well. Never the less, I was tiring faster than I was making progress so I tried to start the outboard again. Oh happy day, it worked. Not wanting to tempt fate any more than needed, I motored straight home. When I was in Marathon I’d left the dinghy in the water most of the time and as a result its bottom became encrusted with barnacles and other growth. Thinking I’d be better served if I hoisted the dink out of the water a few feet, I maneuvered the boat so that I could attach the lifting bridle to the topping lift. Clambering up the side of the boat, in the most ungainly fashion, I proceeded to crank the dinghy back up. Slipping a rubber fender in-between the hull and dink I was dismayed at the un-seaman like manner it hung from the bridle; a bit askew. Unwilling to expend any more energy and figuring that I could address the problem tomorrow, I headed below to take a nap. The following day I lowered the dink back down and made some adjustments to the bridle, which, while not perfect, at least improved the situation. In as much as I just had the outboard serviced a couple of weeks ago, I figured that the problem was most likely to be in the fuel. Because both the little bit in the engine and in the gas can were at least a summer old I decided to buy a bottle of fuel stabilizer to see if that might improve the situation. I’ll put some that in when it warms up a bit next week. In the mean time I’ll try to stay warm as possible. Just after noon I walked up to a package mailing store about a half mile away and sent a gift to a friend of mine. We had met online here in Face Book as a result of my blog and earlier this year we had gotten together for lunch while I was driving back to the boat. During our conversation that day, my friend said something about putting a tattoo on their bucket list. I asked my daughter if she would design a tattoo, which she did. I think it turnout well, so I had it framed as a gift. It was a pleasant walk to the store and back. Feeling good after my walk I stopped by the Captain’s Lounge and sat visiting with Pete until the rest of Clan Curmudgeon arrived. We discussed the day’s accomplishments and challenges as well as planning for our island camping trip on Saturday. I expect that I’ll dig out my long johns and perhaps even get my insulated overalls out along with heavy wool socks. I’m all about staying warm. This is Captain John aboard sailing vessel Kittiwake thanking you for joining me today. Fair winds.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 04:07:49 +0000
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