Not all Fun and Games

 Ah, the sailing life!  And you are all thinking Rob and Laurie are out in the sunshine with the gentle breezes blowing.  We've gotten "away from it all" and are in some kind of blissful euphoria . . . all I've got to say is . . . HA!  Rob has exclaimed repeatedly in the past couple days "Cruising is HARD work!".

Yesterday was a good example.  The winds shifted overnight welcoming a new cold front with strong winds clocking from South to Southwest and around to the North.  The gusts were giving us a run for our money; our anchor had dragged and we woke up almost kissing a boat lift of a nearby property.  No problem, time to reset the anchor, right?

Well, that would have been much easier if we hadn't spent the last three days figuring out why our starter was blowing 200amp circuits (and, yes, I'm learning about electricity and just about every other boat function).  With the concrete pilings only feet away from our stern, Rob decided it was time to pull out the spare starter.

Earlier this week, the existing starter (55 pounds of it) had been hauled out of the engine compartment and WALKED the 1.5 miles to the repair shop.  We were told it was working fine without any load and we should look at the remaining elements of the system.  After more testing and failing, we realized that it WASN'T working under load!

So in the midst of a continually approaching dock and gusting winds, Rob lugged our 55 pound spare starter in and out of the engine compartment and bypassed the fuse just in case.  Of course another project Rob had done amending a fuel filter meant that the pump wasn't primed and we had quite the time of getting a start from our old girl - but after repeated priming tries, start she did!

Then came the saga.  The winds were at about 25knots in the anchorage and boats were shifting around like they were sailing.  We headed for our anticipated next anchor spot, dropped the anchor and swiftly floated backward without getting any hold . . . REDO!    We tried again.  No luck.  We tried another spot - between the shifty winds and the precarious bottom, we just couldn't get a hold!  We made several passes and 8 attempts at anchoring when we finally sat exhausted in our new spot.

Add to all of the simple physical element the emotional trauma and embarrassment of circling the anchorage and you have the REAL romance of the cruising life!  Of course, if this is what the entire experience was like, noone would stay at it very long but we count on the days of blue water and warm breezes to wash away these "not so romantic" days!

Despite the challenges, the week has brought visitors from home (SO fun to have you aboard, Hood Family!)  Today we went around town from post office (Tameka is THE BEST!) to UPS pick up center (more great staff here!) gathering the much anticipated Christmas gifts arriving and enjoyed the spirit of the REAL people of Fort Lauderdale.  We enjoyed a lively 45 minute bus ride and a Christmas carol singing customer at the post office.  Plans for Christmas day are being put in place and we toured Christmas lights along the river with several other cruising couples this evening.

Yesterday is almost already forgotten - and THAT'S cruising!