The Doerfel Family Performs

Weather: Temp range high 50s to low 70s; mostly sunny; wind N <15 - 20 gusts to 30 knots moderate chop in the harbor

Comment: Triple step, triple step, rock step; triple step, triple step. rock step, underarm turn Repeat the triple step, add the belly rub, the the lover’s knot and spin out and keep it up until the song ends! And so it goes on the dance floor.

The instructors (Don and Sandy) told us they compressed six weeks of lessons into the hour long lesson we had before the dance began. I can believe it! It was quit a workout. The dance was a great event and we hope the relay for life team made a lot of money for the American Cancer Society! We had a great time. Now, back to practice... triple step, triple step, rock step...

Tonight, we attended the Bluegrass Chicken Barbecue and Concert at St. Columba Episcopal Church. As was true last year, the barbecue left something to be desired, but the concert was excellent. We enjoy watching the Doerfel Family perform. Unfortunately, we had to leave before the concert was over as we needed to get back to SUNSHINE so we could run the generator for an hour before quiet time was over.

Dance Lesson!

Dance instructors Don and Sandy demonstrate a step.

Sunday, February 28, 2010 Day 149

Lay Day: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida Keyes MM 1195.0

Weather: Temp range high 50s to low 70s; mostly sunny; wind N <15>

Comment: Triple step, triple step, rock step; triple step, triple step. rock step, underarm turn Repeat the triple step, add the belly rub, the the lover’s knot and spin out and keep it up until the song ends! And so it goes on the dance floor.

The instructors (Don and Sandy) told us they compressed six weeks of lessons into the hour long lesson we had before the dance began. I can believe it! It was quit a workout. The dance was a great event and we hope the relay for life team made a lot of money for the American Cancer Society! We had a great time. Now, back to practice... triple step, rock step...

Madam Mayor and Chris (Tavake) the DJ

Tonight, it’s the chicken barbecue and Doerful Concert at the Episcopal Church.

February 2010 - Week 4

Sunday, February 21, 2010 Day 142

Lay Day: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida Keyes MM 1195.0

Terry and Emma return to SUNSHINE

Weather: Temp range mid 60s to high 70s; sunny then overcast; windS E @ 10-15 knots;l minimal chop in the harbor

Comment: Good Bye Terry, Emma and Lucky! After our guest’s departure, we took a walk, ended up at the Hurricane for the $5.00 lunch. After lunch, we walked across the street to Home Depot for a part for our wash down hose. On the way back to the boat, we stopped to watch the boaters baseball game for a few minutes.

Monday, February 22, 2010 Day 143

Lay Day: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida Keyes MM 1195.0

Weather: Temp range mid 60s to mid 70s; rain all day; wind E @ 10-15 knots;l minimal chop in the harbor

Comment: Film Festival aboard! Watched four movies and listened to the rain pitter-pattering on the coach roof.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 Day 144

Lay Day: Boot Key Harb

or, Marathon, Florida Keyes MM 1195.0

Weather: Temp range h

igh 60s to low 80s; sunny then; windS E <>

Comment: Bicycle ride to the Seven Mile Bridge and lunch at the new Sunset Grill (the Cheeseburger in Paradise was very good!). In the evening we walked to the movie theater to see “Up in the Air,” starring George Clooney.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010 Day 145

Lay Day: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida Keyes MM 1195.0

Weather: Temp range mid 60s to mid 70s; rain showers and thunder storms; wind south <10>

Comment: It’s laundry day! Our plan to fill the water tanks didn’t happen because by mid afternoon, the wind built a healthy chop in the harbor and multiple dinghy trips to the water faucet would have been wet and uncomfortable.

While in the marina, some long tome friends from home stopped by to look for us. We enjoyed a nice chat and hope to get together next week.

After laundry, we watched a couple of Hallmark movies before hitting the sack. The solar panels didn’t add much to the battery bank so it was on with the generator for a couple of hours.

Most importantly, Cynthia (SALT) convinced Dometic to replace our refrigeration/freezer since the company was unable to supply the correct circuit board to effect the repair. As soon as we got back to the boat, we washed to inside, plugged it in, and set the thermostat. We are happy to report that it seems to be working properly.

Thursday, February 25, 2010 Day 146

Lay Day: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida Keyes MM 1195.0

Weather: Temp range low 60s to low 70s;; wind south <10>

Comment: Stayed on the boat today... it’s too windy to go to shore!

It's time for the Pig Races!

Friday, February 26, 2010 Day 147

Lay Day: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida Keyes MM 1195.0

Weather: Temp range low 50s to low 70s; m

ostly sunny; wind south <>

Comment: Bike ride today. We rode all over town, to the UPS Store, Marathon Marina to visit John and Honey, then to the bike shop for some bells and a pair of risers, and back to the marina.

In the evening, we met the Funston’s and their friends from Marathon Marina at the Pig Races. Sunday is National Pig Day and the festivities go on all weekend at the Stuffed Pig Restaurant!

The pigs are getting ready to enter the starting gate!

After the races, we had dinner at the Stuffed Pig, normally only open for breakfast and lunch, they go all out for Pig Weekend!

Saturday, February 27, 2010 Day 148

Lay Day: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida Keyes MM 1195.0

Weather: Temp range low 60s to low 70s; sunny in the morning then partly cloudy to cloudy with rain showers in the evening; wind SW <10>

Comment: It’s early to shore today for the annual City Marina Nautical Flea Market. We always manage to find something we “need,” and this year was no exception. Our find this year was a teak cup/binocular rack.. We had been considering purchasing one, but the $80 price tag for a new one was out of our budget. When we get back home, I planned to make one out of Starboard.

The flea market unit had some water stains, but after a little sanding and a coat of oil, it looked great! The unit replaces the plastic one that was virtually useless for holding drinks on near the copilot’s chair.

We also began replacing the florescent fixtures with the LED units we purchased from mastlight.com.

Tonight we’re going dancing! The Marathon/Boot Key Harbor “Relay for Life” team is sponsoring a night of “Eastern Swing” dancing and ole’ twinkletoes will be there with his partner!

February 2010 - Week 3

Sunday, February 14, 2010 Day 135

Lay Day: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida Keyes MM 1195.0

Weather: Temp range Mid 50s to low 60s; partly sunny; wind N @ 10 knots

Comment:

Happy Valentine’s Day! We stayed aboard today because it was a bit chilly to venture out. Although not as cold as yesterday, mainly due to the fact that the wind finally let up a bit, we opted to stay aboard and keep warm.

At around 1800 hours, I prepared a special meal - Key Lime Scallops over Pasta. We enjoyed it while watching old photos of our family, It was a lovely evening.

Our Valentine's Day Table

Valentine's Day Sunset

Monday, February 15, 2010 Day 136

Lay Day: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida Keyes MM 1195.0

Weather: Temp range low 50s to low 70s; mostly sunny; wind N <>

Comment: Went to the Miami Boat Show with John and Honey. After visiting vendors, we boarded M/V Salty Paws, from Golden Colorado, and spoke to the owner and the company reps about Endeavor Catamarans. Salty Paws, a 48’ built in 2008, is for sale. She’s a beauty and a lot of boat for the money.

On the way home, we dined at Alabama Jack’s. It was good, as usual. We made it back to SUNSHINE by 1830 hours and enjoyed a restful evening. Thanks John and Honey for a great day!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010 Day 137

Lay Day: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida Keyes MM 1195.0

Weather: Temp range low 50s to mid 60s; partly sunny; wind N @ 15 knots; light chop in the harbor

Comment: Stopped at Home Depot to get the final(?) parts and tools necessary for the fresh water hook-up for the engines. We’ll do the installation tomorrow.

The rest of the day was spent aboard. It’s still a bit windy and cool to do much.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 Day 138

Lay Day: Boot Key Harbor,

Marathon, Florida Keyes MM 1195.0

Weather: Temp range low 50s to mid 60s; partly sunny; wind N @ 10 knots; no chop in the harbor

Comment: Short bike ride today - (to K-Mart then to Shoreline to say hello to Eric and back to the boat) - about five miles total.

Cynthia (from SALT) called to say she convinced Dometic to replace our refrigerator/freezer. That’s really good news as we have been trying to have the thing fixed for over a year!

Speaking of SALT, we attended their seminar, at West Marine, on solar and wind power.

We also received confirmation that SCYC friends Terry and Emma will visit for a couple of days. They expect to be here on Friday afternoon. We’re looking forward to their visit.

Thursday, February 18, 2010 Day 139

Lay Day: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida Keyes MM 1195.0

Weather: Temp range low 50s to mid 60s; partly sunny; wind N @ 10-15 knots;l light chop in the harbor

Comment: Cleaning, shopping and boat chores today! Preped the engine wash down fixture and hooked up hoses, but can’t finish until we get a better fitting, perhaps from Speciality Hardware.

Also made the switch for the refrigeration cooling pump accessible from outside the refrigeration locker.

Anna Marie cleaned most of the boat in preparation for company tomorrow. She also did some shopping. While she did that, I cleaned some rust stains from the boarding ladders and scrapped some of the growth off the bottom near the transoms.

Friday, February 19, 2010 Day 140

Lay Day: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida Keyes MM 1195.0

Weather: Temp range low60s to mid 70s; overcast; wind N @ 10-15 knots;l light chop in the harbor

Comment: Biked to Speciality Hardware for faucet for the engine wash down system I’m installing. After picking up more parts, we made our way back to SUNSHINE and installed a fresh water wash down faucet for the motors. As usual, it took longer than anticipated and was much more involved than it needed to be, bet after a couple of hours, the system was working properly. We’ll be able to easily run fresh water through the engines after a day of motoring. Prior to this installation, we poured fresh water into a funnel/hose arrangement to wash the salt out of the motors.

Terry and Emma arrived at about 1700 hours. After warm greetings, we walked to the Methodist Church for the Dolphin Fish Fry. Good food as usual!

Saturday, February 20, 2010 Day 141

Lay Day: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida Keyes MM 1195.0

Weather: Temp range mid 60s to high 70s; mostly sunny; wind E @ 12-15 knots;l minimal chop in the harbor

Terry at the helm!

Comment: After breakfast, we slipped our lines on the mooring ball for a day sail. the East winds made the ocean a bit lumpy. We sailed across the reef and made it to the 200’ depth contour before turning around for the sail back to Sister Creek. Terry split time between the bow and the helm. Emma enjoyed the sun and warmth from the bow for almost the entire sail.

Once secured to the mooring ball, it was time for snacks and Margaritas. After a couple of hours, we broke up the enjoyable conversation for a dinghy ride to shore. We walked to the Sunset Saloon at the Keys Fishery for Stone Crab Claws. Hey what’s this, they raised the rate to $1.25 per claw (last week it was $1.00/claw). The increase is due to the lower number of crabs being caught. Apparently the catch is down because of the cold snap in January.

We enjoyed move conversation and dessert aboard before hitting the sack.

Sunday, February 21, 2010 Day 142

Lay Day: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida Keyes MM 1195.0

Terry and Emma enjoying the ride back to the harbor from SUNSHINE's port bow.

Weather: Temp range mid 60s to high 70s; sunny then overcast; windS E @ 10-15 knots;l minimal chop in the harbor

Comment: Good Bye Terry, Emma and Lucky! After our guest’s departure, we took a walk, ended up at the Hurricane for the $5.00 lunch. After lunch, we walked across the street to Home Depot for a part for our wash down hose. On the way back to the boat, we stopped to watch the boaters baseball game for a few minutes.

February 2010 - Week 2

Tuesday, February 9, 2010 Day 130

Lay Day: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida Keyes MM 1195.0

Weather: Brief shower overnight then cold and windy, Sunny in the afternoon; high in the low 70s and low in the low 60s; wind calm in the morning then North @ 20 knots

Comment: It's time for a boat chore! At 199.0 hours, the starboard hour meter stopped working. Since it has a lifetime warranty, I received a new one in the mail a couple of days ago. Replacing the hour meter should have been easy, but as you might imagine, problems ensued. After checking the new meter, we find that it doesn't work either! Uh ho, it's probably not the meter after all. How can this be? We have 12.5 volts in the leads? After a series of checks and temporary connections, we find that the supposedly faulty meter actually works. Using the multimeter, I rechecked the original leads and find that we start out with 12 volts but start to lose voltage after a few seconds. After a few more tests, we determine that the positive lead is the culprit. Fortunately, we have enough were to replace the positive lead. After running the new lead, the hour meter is functioning again. We’re back in business. Now we have to catch the meter up to the actual hours that the engine has run. That’ll take about 50 hours!

The Tropic Movie Theater in Key West

Wednesday, February 10, 2010 Day 131

Lay Day: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida Keyes MM 1195.0

Weather: Sunny, cool, temp range low 60s to mid 60s; North wind @ 20+knots

Comment: It’s a Key West Day! We caught the 9:33 AM bus and arrived in Key West at around 1100 hours. After making our way downtown, we lunched at Bo’s Fish Wagon, one of our favorite Key West stops. Today it was Fish (mutton snapper) and Chips. It was excellent. I asked for the local’s discount but Bo’s doesn’t have one per se. But, if you order the fish sandwich special (it’s not on the menu and only locals

know about it) you’ll get the fries for free!

Key West Lighthouse

We walked a bit of the waterfront near the Westin Hotel and also the Truman Annex area (about two miles) before ducking into the Tropic Theater to see “Crazy Heart,” starring Jeff Bridges. Apparently he’s up for an Oscar for his performance. Wethought it was a good movie and the soundtrack was excellent.

Following the movie, we did some more walking. Back to the Truman Annex, we found the new Eco-Discovery Center. We had to take a quick look around as it was near closing time.We’ll go back for a better look the next time we’re in town.

Continuing our stroll, we left the Truman Annex and headed down Whitehead street past the Hemingway House to the Key West Lighthouse. After pausing for a few pictures, we walked back down Whitehead and went into Kelly’s Caribbean Grill and Micro Brew where we enjoyed Macadamia encrusted Mahi Mahi with Banana Buttered Rum sauce and coffee/tea under the propane heater.

Following dinner, we took a cab to the bus stop for the ride back to Marathon. What a nice day!

Thursday, February 11, 2010 Day 132

Lay Day: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida Keyes MM 1195.0

Weather: Sunny, cool, temp range mid 50s to mid 60s; North wind @ 15 knots to calm by early evening

Comment: Today was a work day with three runs for water, laundry and a run to fill the gas jugs.

Friday, February 12, 2010 Day 133

Lay Day: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida Keyes MM 1195.0

Weather: Temp range low 60s to Mid 70s; day starts sunny becomes overcast and then severe thunderstorms and very windy (35+ for 1/2 hour) in the evening.

Comment: After listening to the Cruisers’ Net, we headed out for a walk, then to Herbie’s for lunch and re provisioning at Publix.

We had a severe storm warning in the evening. It lasted for perhaps 1/2 hour and consisted of heavy rain and high winds (35+ gusts although 50+ were predicted). We weathered the storm well. Earlier in the day, we checked our mooring lines for chafe, stowed every little thing, and secured the dinghy to the davits. There was heavy chop in the harbor and SUNSHINE was bouncing vigorously in the 2’ waves.

Howard Livingston

Saturday, February 13, 2010 Day 134

Lay Day: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida Keyes MM 1195.0

Weather: Temp range high 40s to low 60s; mostly cloudy; breezy (20+25 knots

Comment: Today, we attended the Concert in the Park at the Lazy Lakes RV Resort on Sugarloaf Key. It was a full day of music and the talent included: C. W. Colt backed by the Doerful Family, Chris Cook, the country rocking Horse Pistols, hick hop sensation Cowboy Troy, Keys performer of the year Howard Livingston and Mile Marker 24, Mac McAnally and Jerry Jeff Walker. It was a great lineup! Because the weather was chilly, we were dressed in our winter's finest as the concert temperature during the day was 62 degrees, Considering the 25 knots of wind, the

wind chill factor had to be in the 40s (tonight’s low is supposed to be 49)! We had to bug out on the last two performers as it got colder when the sun went down. None-the-less, it was great day. Too bad it wasn’t warmer.

Cowboy Troy

Besides the concert, the ticket price included all-you-can-eat hot

dogs and free beer... all day long! Besides the free suds, folks brought all kinds of beverages to keep a person warm. They even passed out Jello shots to the crowd.

We made it back to the boat by 2000 hours, fired up the generator and turned on the heat!