04032016.245 Marsh Harbour

Monday April 4th, 2016

The hard  part about blogging these days is just doing it. I have so many other duties in the morning. ML uses this time to sleep. I have to do all the things that a good captain does to make sure the day works well.

As you lay there contemplating getting up you run through the check list. First step is, well the first step, to the cabin sole. If your foot touches water to any significant depth your normal routine must be interrupted. No water today just my clothes that I failed to hang up…yet again. Then the first step is without worry, step two requires a lowering of the head by about 1 to 2 inches to get by the top of the door frame. I’m not tall but the door frame is bruised and punky from being continually struck by my melon…Today that was averted, a good omen?

As you move forward it is important to look out the ports and see if you recognize any of the lights or boats, if you can see any. Today everything is familiar, the Catalina that anchored too close is still there. They are kind of cute however, obviously three generations of men 20/50/75ish… There seems to be one female on board and we are unable to pair her off with one of the three so perhaps she is hired crew?

Next, open the hatch screen and stick your head above deck level to affirm that you are indeed somewhere near where you were last night. Check! Back below to fill the kettle and hope the pump doesn’t start. Depending on where the pressure is I can often fill the kettle without the pump starting…not today. ‘Quiet operation’ was on the box when I purchased the pump…not so. I light the stove and start the kettle boiling. ML says she can hear the propane solenoid and subliminally she begins to prepare to wake up based on coffee will soon be available.

Now I have to check the batteries and how many amps we used during the night. The refrigerator started to act up yesterday so I added Freon, then fixed the actual problem and then bled off the Freon that I added to get it working properly again. This system uses 134a and so far they don’t think it has any environmental issues… Last night with the freezer and fridge going I used about 50 amp/hrs. There was little to no wind so those amps weren’t there and the sun was gone. Hopefully today we can replenish those amps with a little boost from the engine. My Generac 2000 generator failed in a snafu, catastrophic or  cluster f**k fashion. It wouldn’t start…not getting fuel. Spark plug dry. So I fixed things, removed things, put things back on, repeated things and then the recoil spring let go and my futility was reflected in the coiled, tangled and flaccid starting rope splayed on the deck. This Chinese sneak attack unit was reassembled and moved to the category of one time lunch hook.

I suspect the generator was messed up by all the alcohol in the fuel here. Like the sailors here the fuel is not alcohol free. Most of the guys change out their dinghy fuel hoses one a year to avoid the trials and tribulations of failed dinghy engines.

Those of you who have read these pages know I am a coffee snob. I have veered away from being strict about weighing my beans. The scale we use is so sensitive the boat must be still for it to work. It never fails that the Albury ferry Donnie XX will pass and wake us just as I’m measuring. So I am simply using estimates. I can’t believe I just admitted that. Anyhow, I prepare the coffee in the French press to handle the soon to be boiling water.

There are many Albury ferries and they are all named Donny. There is the Donny I, Donny II… up to Donny XV. Confusing? No… Seldom do you see Roman Numberals going to XV on a boat.

Normally, this is when I would blog. It has been three weeks since I blogged last…sister Mary Francis I have been holding all that crap inside and that’s not healthy. I feel like I have all those flies or bugs like John Coffey, ‘like the drink only not spelled the same’ from the Green Mile. So today I am blogging and I have filled about 30 minutes. No pictures today, just words. I was hoping to get to 1000 words but that’s looking unlikely.

Then the kettle boils, you add just enough boiling water to the freshly ground beans to wet them and wake them up…45 seconds of that you can add the remainder of the water. You stir the slurry gently to allow the CO2 to do its thing. Then according to the beans and trial and error let it sit for up to 3 minutes…presto change you have coffee.

Next set up the SSB receiver to get Chris Parker and his weather story…

more later G.

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