Rats!

I am sitting here quietly, have just finished watching Casablanca. (Lew's first viewing, imagine that!)

Bought a rat trap today at Home Depot.

Because this morning we woke up to a banana that had some very big tooth marks in it -- not ours.

And my Hawaiian King Bread was partially eaten!

So the movie is over. Lew has gone to bed and I am loading music into my computer when...

This huge hairy beast runs right by my foot, up the settee, across the galley and lands unceremoniously behind the stove!

I screech! (Definitely a girl thing, I'm entitled.)

I had the front hatch open for some air, and both ear plugs in listening to what I am loading, and never heard him come in! (It has GOT to be a him.)

The rat trap is now primed with peanut butter, and I am still loading music, but only one ear plug is in...

Dock living is TOTALLY over-rated!

I am wondering if Janus (my friends retired police dog) would like to do a sleep-over.

So.

I went to bed.

Trap primed with peanut butter (a suggestion from the dude at Home Depot), made sure all other food was stored, as well as can be. And about 1/2 hour into it we heard the distinctive SNAP (remember this is a rat - BIG SNAP) of the trap.

Lew says "Are you going to get up and look?"

I say "No, I'll wait 'til morning."

But who can sleep, knowing that there may be an angry rat running around.

So I get up to "pee" and grab the flashlight and tiptoe into the main salon.

Behold the rat trap!

No rat.

(I'm thinking this needs to go on the blog.)

But there, in the middle of the galley SITS the rat. Looking at me. I'm looking at him. The flashlight stays focused on him anticipating a quick movement in my direction.

I call (screech) for Lew.

Now we are both looking at the rat bathed in the light.

He keeps looking at us.

We decide we need the bat (baseball, that is, hard wood, our weapon of choice).

Lew said it is mine. "Just hit him."

I say "I can't hit him."

Lew says "Hit him."

I say "I can't."

He says "You have to."

I hit him.

He scurries.

I hit him again.

He scurries.

I climb the companionway ladder.

Lew says "Hit him in the head."

I say "I can't."

I try.

I miss.

He scurries.

Lew grabs the bat.

I grab the light.

Lew hits him.

He goes into convulsions.

Lew hits him again.

He is dead!

(I didn't mention the black scorpion that I killed in the apartment, did I? We really need to move back to our mooring ball!)

One Dozen Roses

I don't know much about him.

I know his name is James.

I know that he wasn't feeling very well and needed some Air Conditioning, some Gator-Aid, a place to put his feet up for a bit.

And then he disappeared for a couple of weeks.

Nothing.

But Tuesday morning there was a knock on the boat, and there he was, a dozen roses in his hand.

Sailing Dinghy Races

There we all are at the start!

Juliana, the 11 y/o who has been sailing for about a month in her Walker Bay 8, was the first across the start line, a line between the orange buoy on the right and Diver Dave on the dock at Dockside. Next is me in Whopee my Walker Bay 10, then Larry with his brand new sail rig in his Walker Bay 8, Duane with his Dyer, and Fiberglass Dave in his Whitehall rowing scow. And Chris! Where is he? Still working his way to the start line???

Thanks Dave for organizing the race!

The course was from the East end of the Harbor at Dockside, around Dog Island (keeping it to starboard), around mooring field marker "A" near the bridge (keeping it to starboard), back around Dog Island (this time keeping it to port) and back to Dockside and across the line to the cheers, hoots and hollers from the rocking chair fleet on the Dock!

It didn't take long before Fiberglass Dave worked his way up through the fleet (with his red sails, yup, sails - as in 2) and secured the lead which he held for the entire course. Whopee inched her way forward into second, having a hard time keeping Juliana off her stern!

And then it happened! Larry popped his red "Mary Poppins" sail, the umbrella, on the downward leg. Then Duane popped his "Mary Poppins" sail, and what was I to do??? I "popped" mine! (I'm thinking next race there could be some NEW rules about our spinnakers.)

We weren't the only boats out racing. Bobby brought out his Viking Boat (a re-birth of a RIB into something that brings a look and a smile and a camera out of your bag, no matter your age) and there were a couple of Sunfish's that got a late start due to launching issues.

See that sweet young thing in the middle of the picture, the one with the sunglasses on???

SHE is the one to keep an eye on!

She washed and waxed (yes, WAXED) her boat, rudder AND center board before the race, and even though she has been sailing for ONLY a month (or less) in her dink, she is definitely a force to be reckoned with!

Mark my words. There is something to be said about young women in sailboats... Click on this link!

Home!

Home at last, Home at last, thank God Almighty we are Home at last!

Lew is feeling a bit stronger every day, and has been climbing up on the boat for a while now, and back off without any problems. So yesterday we chose as "The Day" to move all of our 'stuff' back to the 'mother ship'!

Incredible how much 'stuff' we had accumulated at the apartment! It took quite a few trips back and forth. Probably all do-able in one big trip, but I combined moving/cleaning/and putting away into several small trips.

Lew was in charge of 'putting away'. The boat was looking so clean that I was hoping that it would remain that way after we came back aboard... but of course the reason that it looked SO clean was that our 'stuff' wasn't there!!!

Go figure.

I would like to thank Margey and Frank for opening their hearts and their home to us while Lew was recuperating! What a simply marvelous peaceful place to be while on the mend.

The View from Here

It looks pretty amazing, doesn't it?

Just waiting on the last section to connect it to land, a base for the ramp, the ramp, some cleats...

Very impressive though.

It's REALLY Happening!

The barge people have been installing the temporary pilings, apparently for reference, and then the permanent pilings. (Pictured here is lunch time 'on', or rather 'off' the barge.)

The marina staff have been hard at work assembling and launching the floating docks section by section. (And yes people, that is Richard at the helm, er, wheel of the tractor.)

The sections of dock, once a few of them have been attached to one another, are then floated out to the appropriate area and attached to the now permanent pilings, and one after another they are attached to each other.

A special Thank You to Andy, who came back to work/help out on the project. Good to see his smiling face again!

Sally & Cameron

It was that first full week of being 'Post-Op' that Sally and Cameron came to visit, allowing me to get back to my job. It was so wonderful to have Sally there to "Walk the Dad", so to speak.

But it wasn't all work and no play. Oh no sir-ee Bob!

It was a week in Paradise for these two from Michigan (where I don't need to remind them that the temps were dipping into the 30's the week that they were here). By the end of the week I was hearing comments like "The time is going too fast!" and "We don't want to leave!" and "Maybe we'll just stay!"

Cameron, an avid driver in Michigan who sports a "dry suit" and searches out wrecks in the Great Lakes, came ill prepared, touting his 7 mil wetsuit on the plane down. We offered a 1 mil "skin", which he used once and advanced to "t-shirt and swimsuit" as he grew accustomed to the 88 degree water. I'm betting that the next time he comes (and I KNOW there will be a next time...) his luggage will weigh a lot less!!!

Sally and Cameron booked trips with Captain Hook's for combination dive and snorkel time, it being the first time that Sally had snorkeled and the first diving that Cam had done in salt water. They both enjoyed the reefs and the critters they encountered. A VERY special time was had with Diana and George on Two If By Sea, who took them out to Sombrero Reef for the Day. (Thanks Diana and George!)

Not getting the big boat Free N Clear out for a sail didn't stop Sally from her "first solo" or Cam from his "first sail". After rigging Whopee, and an escort from the channel, they covered the harbor from H1 to A1, from N13 to C17 and Sally was bubbling over when she NAILED the landing!

But then it wasn't all play and no work either! They brought in meals, got Lew 'out and about', folded my laundry, left me without any sheets or towels to wash, the boat spotless. And this morning when I climbed onboard there was a "Magic Bullet" sitting in the Galley!

Thank you so much! For all the things you have done for us, for the light that you brought to your dad's eyes!

Not only does that man know his ice cream, but he LOVES his smoothies!