Chores Again!

Weather: Mostly sunny but a few clouds were present, especially late in the afternoon and evening; Wind ESE @ 15 – 20 knots; light chop in the harbor; Temp range 74 – 84 degrees

Comment: Surprise, surprise, our day began as usual!

The solar panel has been converting a lot of sunlight to electrical energy so, since our we mounted the refrigeration water pump permanently; we activate it during the hours we are getting solar gain. It helps the refrigeration unit more efficiently and the solar panel provides enough “juice” so the pump doesn’t drain the house batteries.

After lunch, we went ashore. Anna Marie took care of the laundry while I filled the water tanks, the solar shower, and two gas containers. the chores sound simple enough and, in fact, they are, but not as simple as it sounds. Here's a rough account of the procedure:

• Anna Marie gathers the laundry, sorts and bags it for the dinghy ride. While I gather two 6 gallon water jugs stored in the starboard bow locker, three gas containers stored in the port bow locker and the solar shower which is stored in the head. Once our equipment is ready to go, we ----


• Lower the dinghy, climb aboard, transfer all of the laundry, jugs and containers from the mothership to the dinghy and then fire up the dinghy. Anna Marie then climbs aboard and we're off ----


• It's a 10 to 15 minute ride to the dinghy dock, depending on wind conditions. If we're lucky, we can find a space to tie up quickly. If not, it'll take a few minutes to find a place, kick some other boats out of the way and secure the dinghy.


• Anna Marie tracks down a cart so she doesn't have to carry the heavy laundry bags to the facility which is about 100 yards from the dinghy dock.


• After she leaves, I dinghy over to the potable water hose and fill both water jugs.


• Then it's back to the dinghy dock to tie up.


• I gather up the gas containers and walk one block to the gas station where I fill them and walk back. By the time I'm half way back, the jugs get very heavy and my arms are three inches linger than when I started.


• After loading the gas into the dink, I motor back to SUNSHINE and off load all the jugs. When filled, they're heavy. It's easiest to put them on the bow.


• After tying up the dinghy, I get on board, walk to the bow to get the jugs. I store the gas containers and empty the contents of the water jugs into the fresh water tanks. This process is good for about 30 minutes.


• Now it's back to the dinghy dock to pick up Anna Marie, who, if lucky, has finally secured a machine and might be three-quarters of the way finished with her detail.


• She folds and bags the laundry and then we climb aboard the dinghy and make our way back to SUNSHINE.


• All told, the entire operation can take between four and six hours.

During the course of the week, we are going to top off the tanks (water and gas) so they are full when we are ready to leave. Departure is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, March 9, weather permitting.

After chores, we went back to town and rode the rust buckets to K Mart and Home Depot. Our only purchase was a can of air. We use it to clean the computer keyboard and other electrical gear on the boat.

Being tired from the chores, Anna Marie suggested that we have a pizza. We’ve been doing really well budget wise, so pizza it is! We elected to have the deluxe pizza at the Upper Crust. It was great and we brought 1/2 back to the boat for lunch tomorrow.

We enjoyed great connectivity this evening. I was able to update the journal and add a bunch of photos.

We joined about a dozen other boats in the traditional Conch Horn Salute to the Sunset before retiring.