Hello Burnst Store - We're Back!!

December 15, 2021

Good morning! We are back in the water.

Shaina and Karen with sleep shirts their Aunt Lynne got them. See the Cat and Honey Bear on the shirts? So Cute!

After celebrating Thanksgiving and Hanukah with family, we took the usual two days to drive from Cleveland with a quick stop in Savanah to rest our bodies and souls. We arrived in Florida early afternoon on a Sunday and went directly to Safe Cove to see for ourselves how Her Diamond had weathered the hot rainy summer months.

She looked beautiful to us despite the greenish cast that sun and water had left on the deck. We took the sun cover off and started the process of cleaning her up for living aboard. No baby frogs this year. We have many people to thank as we went through this process - they make this arduous task much more bearable. First David and Rhonda: we live in their home for the three or four days while we make the boat livable. They are always so generous and we appreciate it.

Now that is shiny!!

This year Danny and Jeannette from Mindful Mariners, Bob’s business associates, came all the way to Florida to see Danny’s father and detail the boat for us. That means they washed, polished and sealed the topsides and the deck and stainless for us. Two days of work that we didn’t have to do. And it looks fabulous. Bob had agonized over the water spots that had marred the beautiful dark blue hull for several years – and Danny and Jeannette got them out!! Stainless that had started to rust due to the harsh salt air is now shinny like new. Thank you for the many hours of loving care you put into Her Diamond.

At the end of last year we got a new dinghy, since our neighbor had damaged ours while trying to dock and generously replaced the damaged one. The new cover kept it sparkling clean so that it only needed a rinse. This is much different than the full day of scrubbing I had to do in past years. So all in all I think we got in the water in record time. Wednesday around noon, we were slowly dropped into the water. Bob checked the through hulls – no leaks – and we tied up along the wall at Safe Cove. We had contracted to have some engine work done at the end of last season. Although the work was to be done mid-summer it wasn’t finished until right before we were ready to leave – causing a bit of anxiety on my part. But the engine purrs like a cat – Thank you Joe!

Nature at our back door - the solar panel that is off the stern.

We are now two weeks in the water. The first week I found it difficult to relax and find a rhythm. I think this happens every year, but knowing that doesn’t make it easier. I have to slow down and arrive at a speed that is closer to Bob’s, since we do so much together. Being greeted by and catching up with old friends does help with that process.

Initially, we were docked on F dock which is the transient dock right outside the restaurant at BSM. We were on the transient dock because despite letting the dock master know we would be back in November, the marina was full and we had no permanent dock assignment. We had pieced together other temporary mooring ball and anchoring options, but then Saturday morning the dock master let us know that he had found a slip for us for the season. We have to sign a full year lease in order to keep a dock here which is different than the six month seasonal lease we had in prior years. It was a great relief to know that we have a home base we can count on since I will be going home a few times during the winter to see my mom (now 96 years old) and our daughters. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving Bob on anchor somewhere.

Being on F dock for a short while was both good and bad. The good is that we had free access to the cover band that performed on Tuesday. It was a Crosby Stills Nash and Young cover band that was so good with such great harmonies, I had to walk up to the patio and convince myself that it wasn’t the actual CSNY band. The bad is that every once in a while the other bands are so loud/bad, we want to go down into the boat and shut out the noise. Thankfully for us we weren’t there too long.

BSM really celebrates the holiday season.

There was a decorated golf cart parade, which we watched with friends from E dock. There was also a boat decorating contest. Being on F dock with all the other decorated boats we decided to participate. No one can call us party poopers!

We didn’t have any Hannuka decorations, and the people at the local Walmart, Home depot and a few others stores thought I was speaking Chinese when I asked if they had any Hannuka decorations. So, I decided to make our own. I bought a sheet at Goodwill and painted a Happy Hannuka sign for us. We also made multi-colored dreidels to hang around the boat. That with the lights we already had on the boat from our old sukkah – we decorated. We didn’t really compete as our neighbors were so over the top with blow-up Santas, trees and even a snow making machine not to mention the wide variety of colored lights.

Then there were the cookies, pudding shots and other drinks that were being passed out from the other boats. But we had hundreds of people walk up and down the dock and we got very positive feedback. We had a ball.

The results from the competition still have not yet been announced. See the snow that has accummulated on the swim platform?

The boat weathered the summer months very well. The inside cleaned up easily – no mold. We took her out for a shakedown sail yesterday and much to our surprise everything was rigged properly, no twisted lines. The instruments, other than the tachometer which stopped working at the end of last season, are all working. Bob had the local yard people show him how to change the impeller and some other routine maintenance items on the outboard. Now the dinghy is all ready to use. Bob is investigating how to fix/replace the tack.

The first of January we will be joining the health club here so that we can use the pickle ball courts and participate in the yoga classes. They have a four month deal that will work well for us. In the meantime we played pickleball once using onetime passes and got some tips from one of the locals.

We are settling into a routine. More to come…………………