Splash

Tuesday, November’s 28th, twenty seventeen

Splish, splash, Fracas  takin’ a bath
Long about a Tuesday night, yeah
A rub dub, just relaxin’ in the ICW
Thinkin’ everythin’ was alright

Yesterday began like any other day when you are a liveaboard sailor living on a boat in a yard. I made the coffee, I went walk about, I listened to the news and I listened to the Chris Parker weather. It was time to start paying attention to the weather as it was possible that we would be splashed today. Only possible you ask? Well, we are in the Family Feud marina. Two brothers suing their two sisters. Each faction operates a business on the property.

Some days they seem to get along and the two operations can do their thing without messing up too badly. Then there are the days when they fight. Our launch day had all the ear marks of a dilly of a battle. At some point on Monday the sisters crew put a sea ray just behind us blocking our way to the sea. There was no reason why they put the boat there other than to aggravate the brothers and us. Yesterday morning the requests began for the sisters to move the boat, so we could be launched on the high tide. At high tide we can make it out to the ICW without leaving a trench.

Mary Lynn negotiated the fees for our departure, we were paid up, ‘in full’. The car was wedged in the parking area, hopefully we can get to it when we come back after we get settled someplace with FRACAS. We were ready, the sun was shining everything was good. Then the feud started to intervene. The sisters (who are not actually nuns) dragged their feet on moving the sea ray. High tide was at 16:00 so it was time to move.

At about 15:45 the sisters started to move the sea ray. The older brother on the brother’s team showed up to get involved and he drove the travel lift. They had to relocate the tip over boat and that went ok. On the way in to pick us up the lift got stuck in soft ground, foreshadowing what was to come. Picking up Fracas went very well and then they started to move out. Fracas is nearly 20 tons of fun and the added weight assisted the combo’s (the lift and the boat’s) descent into well, Florida.

Everyone on the brother’s team was mobilized, staff, visitors and others. There is a saying amongst boaters, ‘sometimes you watch the show, sometimes you are the show’. Today Fracas was the show. The team’s task was to gather lumber, plywood, small vermin, rope and anything they could stuff in the path of the wheels to gain traction. It would have helped if the new tires were mounted on the lift rather than in a neat pile over at the boys’ team headquarters. Tim arrived and resumed driving the travel lift. Once the lift was able to climb the path of refuse Fracas was on her way to the haul out slip.

Everything went reasonably well on the way to the water. Once she was floating I quickly went below to check for leaks… none found. Wow, a lot of work had been done and no leaks… Normally I would have liked to spend some time at the dock checking systems and making sure everything was good. I just wanted to go so go we did. Our first hurdle as a yacht, was to get around the steel boat sunk across the channel. It was sunk in the deep side of the channel. It was not a marina boat but a boat that arrived with Irma. The powers that be are too busy in the keys to start moving derelicts up here in Fort Pierce.

We were quickly ushered through the North Causeway bridge and dropped our hook just as the sun left the sky. Luckily the anchor set and everything was still good.

It is unfortunate that this marina is operated under this cloud of venom, vexation and inflexibility. Customers become collateral damage. It could be a great place. They all seem like nice folks who do try to help and notwithstanding the war zone mentality eventually get stuff done. I think things are coming to a head and hopefully some resolution to the legal dispute is coming.

The right-hand man of the brother’s team, our team, Mike works hard and takes a lot of abuse and hostility. He makes stuff happen and when things go badly he takes the brunt of things. Thanks Mike.

 

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