Marineland, FL, Nov 30, 2021

So, we had a great Thanksgiving and for the holiday we took off and spent time with family.  Before we left, Ron flipped off the DC power.  The Rookie Mistake was…we accidently left our refrigerator with no power.  Uh Whoops!  Well good news is we had unseasonable chilly weather, did not start provisioning, and only loss what was in the freezer.  Not too bad for what could have been a very bad moment. 

Ron has still been knocking projects off his list and now that we have been provisioning, I had a few full days of organizing the groceries, ensuring all fits in the fridge/freezer/pantry and trying to get rid of as much packaging as possible.  I now have a complete list of everything we bought, how much we spent, and where the heck I put it so we can determine what worked and didn’t for next time.  All in all, we ended making 6 trips so far hitting ALDI, Walmart twice, and Publix.  This led us to spend a total of ~$2000, including an unnamed number of cases of beer, and I doubt that will be enough.  I guess people eat and drink in Bahamas too and we will fix any mistakes when we get there.

First privisoning trip, only to be told it was not enough and repeat six more times.

I am going to do our laundry today for the last time til we get to another marina as we are all set to head out of here in the morning.  Ron had a first as well he got to empty the compost toilet and said it really wasn’t too bad.  Well that’s good since we are a bit committed to it now.

We are officially carless since Carvana showed up and agreed to purchase our car.  Whew!  At least it didn’t break down before we got that done.

Ron has our voyage all planned.  How far we are going, where we will anchor/marina stop along the way, and we hope to head to the Bahamas before the end of the month if we are lucky and get the weather window and internet opportunity.  He found a marina in Green Turtle Cay for $400 a month!  Why are we not there?  In the news it has been released there is now a new COVID variant “Omnicron.”  Many of the countries are starting to ban travel from Southern Africa and Southeast Asia, where it has been found.  I do hope we can get to the Bahamas before we run into any trouble like this.  We have been triple vaccinated and have our Flu shot so I really need our COVID tests to come back negative so we can get over to the islands.  A little more Intercoastal channel fun for the next few days first.  It will be a chilly few days at that.  We will be unplugging from the heat and it is going to be lows of 40 degrees!  We will be sleeping with very bundled up til get to West Palm Beach!

More solar, cause you can never have enough.

New induction stove and oven

Composting toilet allows for more closet space

Something broke again

It is not all work.

 November 15, 2021, St. Augustine, Florida

Our shakedown cruise ended in May and the good news is, we don’t hate this lifestyle or living on the boat.  We have internet (so far) and only have a few loose ends to tie up before taking off.  

First off, we rented an apartment for the next 6 months til hurricane season is over in November.  During that time we had attended three graduations, moved or helped move 4 more times, put everything we own either in storage, packed to bring to the boat, or sold it and in our spare time we hosted Thanksgiving, tried to solidify our end of work plan (quitting our jobs), and enjoyed the pool.    

At that point, we could take off for round two — cruising the Bahamas for the winter.  Once we splashed the boat, sold the car, visited family, and navigated the intercoastal again, we could jump.  As of today, we are not only back on the boat but splashed the boat and took our first trip down the intercoastal.  Make no mistake, I toughed it out two hard nights (45 degrees) and let me tell you heat is not overrated!  My only saving grace was we had hot water and hot coffee.  Whew! 

Ron was a champ, and not only did we take off in strong cross current from the launching pit by ourselves, but he docked at the new marina without hittting anything or creating new curse words.   We are here for the next two weeks finishing up the remaining boat projects and provisoning.  It’s funny.  My docking duties are when he pulls up to the dock ensure he doesn’t hit the dock or another expensive boat.  This means I’m kinda like Flo.  I just run up and down the side of the boat with a bumper in my hand mumbling something about insurance.  Definitely a treat.  Anyway, we plan to stay here, then head straight south and wait for our perfect time to cross to the Bahamas.  The farther south the better after the two chilly nights I just had.  At least we’re at the marina now, I get heat!    Please let it warm up!!  Regardless, damn it’s SO nice to be back!!

Most of our summer was spent as a pool day. Our annual adult pumkin carving drink night.

Looks like we are the first to launch.

 St. Augustine to Marineland – November 15, 2021

What a difference 6 months make.    When we first launched Mariposa, my days, hours, and minutes were filled with a level of anxiety that I have never really felt before and I have had a rather lively, adventurous life these past 52 years.   I spent my younger years learning to drive at age 5, my teenage years driving bulldozers, and bashing through the woods at speeds that make everything look blurry. 

Then you have triathlons, which allowed me to explore the depths of human discomfort.  I was never fast, but if my younger years taught me anything it was how to out suffer the typical person.  Marathons, Ironmans, then multi day stage races all pushed me to the limit of what I could endure, yet the simple task of launching and traveling the ICW had me almost paralyzed with fear.   I was not sure what I was afraid of.  I guess it was the “What Ifs.”    Perhaps it was different since Sally was right here along for the adventure.  I felt a huge amount of responsibility to keep her safe and not to sink the boat.   I have blogged about this trip before, but thought it was important to explain the difference between the first trip and how this time around I had no anxiety whatsoever.  I had some level of confidence, and not ignorant bliss, which got me through the first trip.  

We spent two very cold nights on the hard which was made possible with our new composting toilet and the ability to produce hot water for at least a hot shower.  This was the line of discomfort we could tolerate.  What we did not have is heat.  We need to be floating for the heater to work and well, let’s just say there were two very cold days!  

We spent those days loading what would fit from the car to the boat, moved a pile of shit from one place to another and we quickly realized we still have too much stuff and I was growing tired of constantly moving things.  

Launch day came and as the boat splashed.  We felt a huge sigh of relief knowing

we will at least have heat.   We just needed to travel down the ICW to Marineland Marina where we had a dock space for the next two weeks.  This was critical since it gave us power and a place to park our car while we provisioned for the next 6 months.   I had a few last-minute boat projects that I wanted to finish as well, since I had a car.

Ever wonder what a composting toilet is? It basically removes all the unplesant issues with marine toilets.   No smell, no holding tank pump out and no maintenance.  Oh and bonus added closet space

One last dance with the launch pit from Hell