We got out of Florida and back to Annapolis over Memorial Day weekend, arriving on Saturday. The "snowbird" return was sequester delayed. The boat in Florida is put away for the season and the house in Annapolis is opened and ready for the summer by Sunday evening. So now it is time to get the Annapolis boats in service.
Today we pulled the shrink wrap off our 17' Key West, cleaned the boat up and went for a cocktail cruise to celebrate.
With COVID-19 pandemic restrictions moderating a bit we are planning our departure from FL and return to MD. Finally! Much like our prep for winter in Annapolis, the boat here in FL needs to be prepared for summer (and hurricane season). Today I added fuel stabilizer, ran the engine, opened the drain plug, removed the sparkplugs and fogged the cylinders, added the heavy cover, strapped the boat down to the lift and raised the lift to 6' above MHHW. Sound familiar?
Back in Annapolis over Memorial Day weekend. Next report will be on the big boat, I hope.
Keeping a small boat in Florida requires some extra effort. The hot sun, hurricanes and saltier water than the Bay, require some different approaches. Our little Key West dual console has an extended bimini to provide extra shade. I routinely flush the outboard after a cruise.
Attention to the gelcoat is critical as well. The prescription for a good shine is routine cleaning and was a couple times a year, at least. Today, a pro spent seven hours on our 20' runabout and made her look like new! It was worth every penny.
To celebrate (and to break the sequester routine) we went on a cocktail cruise. In our little waterfront community and on the ICW, such a cruise may never get much above idle speed. Except for the minor four stroke engine noise it reminds me of small boat sailing, sans the tack and gybe action.
Soon it will be time to depart Florida and get back to the Bay. With recreational boating restrictions on the Bay lifted, it is time to get our Annapolis based boats ready for the season. There is plenty of work to o ther and a plethora of future Century Club reports.
Before we leave Florida we need to "summerize" the Key West. This is not unlike winterizing on the Bay. Except for worries about freezing the tasks are the same (clean, empty, cover, fog the engine). An additional task is hurricane prep which includes raising the lift to the stops and strapping the boat to the lift.
Ok, it has been a while... since we have done "normal" things. This sequester has us fairly locked up. Thankfully, we are in our little Flordia condo for the winter. Thankfully, we have a little boat down here with us.
Today was the first day in Florida that marina's and botels were allowed to repoen since early April when they were closed by the Governor's executive order. It was, naturally, a zoo on the ICW near Jupiter. Byt we wre desperate for a diversion, a picnic lunch.
While it was like heavy weather sailing to get to the picnic site on the ICW, the crew (my wife, Sue) was brave and we made it! We had a nice quiet lunch. It was kind of like being in the eye of a hurricane because, of course, we had to brave the boat wake and traffic to get home.
As we work our way through COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, life begins to imitate the experiences of Bill Murry's charactor in the movie, Groundhog Day. Each day can seem the same, even the news.
For us, we try to make sure someting different is in each day. Some days it is a ride in the golf cart (we are sequestered in our little condo in Florida, #extended showbirds). Some days is is a convertable ride to pick up a meal to go. On the best days, boating offers a way to distinguish the current 24 hours from the last.
So it was that today we took a ride with a cocktail, around the community and briefly out on the ICW to explore a neighboring marina at a safe distance.
We have friends very nearby, wintering in Florida on their 58' Hatteras LRC, Mary Catherine. We reached out suggesting a virtual, Zoom aided, cocktail hour and they suggested we motor over on our little boat and sit on their aft deck, at a healthy social distance.
That sounded like a plan so we headed over at the appointed hour and tied up on the floating dock nearest their transom. We boarded carefully and sat in opposing chairs they had already cleaned for us. Naturally we brough our own beverages.
All in, it was really god to see friends in person rather than on the small screen. The beam of Mary Catherine kepts us at least ten feet away. Sure they had to break our the handwipes to clean the chairs before and after, but it seemed worth it for some face to face contact.
Saturday is usually a busy day, in season, on the ICW near Jupiter Florida. Today it was... quiet. There were a few boats out, ours included.
While dealing with the Coronavirus, the waterways are open but the marinas and boat ramps are shut down in Palm Beach County and much of Florida. We motored along in our little outboard, never exceding five knots. It was a nice diversion from Coronavirus induced sequester.
We have been doing some virtual happy hours, via Zoom, of late. On this night off it, was nice to enjoy the warm south Florida weather and be glad we were hunkered down somwhere warm.
On Sunday the Palm Beach County Government closed all boat ramps and marinas. They were working to keep the 20 somethings from mass congregation on the local sandbars. They had already closed the beaches so, if you had a boat, the sandbar was the bomb.
Some of the media reports suggested the waterway was closed to navigation. However, the order was only closing the county (public) boat ramps and commercial marinas, especially dry storage marinas. Freedom of navigation was NOT impinged.
So, another cocktail cruise with my bride.
As Coronavirus sequester settles in we are looking for safe things to do. At low tide today I went out in the kayak and collected golf balls that failed to make it over the water from tee to green on the par 3 16th at Jonathan's Landing. In an hour, working the mud flats and mangroves but never geting our of the kayak (a boathood was very helpful), I collected 141!
Coronavirus slowdown beginning. Bars and restaruants doing take out only. Boating a good way to social distance. Cocktail cruise today. Love this Florida weather.