Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Ft Lauderdale - Laundry, groceries, French Bakery

Palm trees, warm weather and a sandy beach, what's not to like?
Hi it’s Finn. Today we almost SANK THE DINK!!! We where going along when I felt water I looked down and saw a lot of water. I also docked the dink. At first it was hard but it got easier. Today we went to CVS. There we got groceries. In the morning we went on a walk. I played my horn very well. We read chapter 7 of Treasure Island. It is now getting interesting. That’s all BYE!!!  

Humm, he "almost sank the dink" and then didn't say anything more. Let me flesh the story out a little more. There's a stopper at the aft part of the dinghy that can be pulled out to let water drain out of the dinghy when it's on land. Well, that stopper got knocked loose somehow and water came flooding in. The dinghy wouldn't sink of course since it has three air filled chambers which were still okay but you could get your feet wet. I put the stopped back in and Finn dewatered the dinghy once again. 

Like Matthew and Sarah before him, Finn is learning to run the dinghy. Docking to the boat is the biggest challenge but practice makes perfect. 
CVS stores in general have expanded to include items you would normally find at a 7/11 store. In fact, the selection is generally better. So we went to the nearest one and found everything we needed minus any fresh vegetables. It's good enough to get us to Marathon. It looks like we have a two day window to go down the coast and we plan on taking advantage of it. If there's anything we've learned the last seven years is that weather is king. If the window opens, you take it, never mind wanting to rest an extra day or see the sights, take the weather window! For once we are determined to take our own advice and hopefully will reach Marathon by Friday evening. That will put us in good stead for Key West on the 28th of January. We will probably move over to Newfound Harbor before making the final jump to our winter dock. 

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bob'n Ann,

Glad to see you're doing well and back on the road with Finn and Hooley. We've been following your track for the last few days and it appears you're moving right along. (I can't believe you let that boy go in the water however! He must have anti-freeze in his veins!)

On another subject, I just read your comments on the Airpad 2 and I'm contemplating buying one for HyLyte as our old instruments have given up the ghost and we're replacing them with B&G instruments that include a wireless capability that could, at least in theory, allow the B&G "stuff" to speak to the Airpad. I'm wondering what size AirPad you're using. From the snaps on your site, it would appear to be a 12" version but perhaps I'm wrong? Also, have you had any issues with the device exposed to the weather?

Your comments will be appreciated!

Scott'n Kitt
s/v HyLyte

Bob423 said...

Scott'n Kitt, as for the water, Matthew used to swim in Maine with the water temperature at 59!! He would stay in the water for over an hour. The water here is much warmer. As for the iPad, I'm using the 9.7 inch version which in my case is the iPad Air 2 although there's a newer model out now called the iPad Pro with one version still being 9.7 inches. I have no protection for the iPad. My cockpit is covered with a bimini and so I've never needed waterproofing although there are cases for that feature.

The advantage of the iPad is that it's the first tablet that programs are written for. If a device or instrument supports anything external, the iPad will be first on the list. If they get around to it, an Android version will follow eventually - often with less functionality. Be sure to get one that supports one of the wireless carriers even if you don't want to connect to their cell network. The reason is that's the only way to get the GPS chip which is essential for navigation. I got the 128 GB memory capacity which is enough for several stored movies too.

Anonymous said...

Bob--WOW!!! They "make" tough kids in Maine!! If the water isn't 80º or better around here no one's in the water, least of all us!

Thanks for the observations on the iPad. Given them, I have an unused Christmas gift card that I shall put to use on a 9.7" version of the Pro. Truth be told, I'm not all that enthralled with all these electronic gizmo's but we'll give it a try. I'd like to have a good way of integrating weather data that I don't have now save for weather fax via SSB and my forecasting skills based on that seem to leave something to be desired (as my "much" better half will confirm!).

I hope your anchorage at Rodriguez proves good for the night. Sometimes that can be a bit rollie. Good luck at Marathon! The weekend looks like it will be a bit tough weather wise.

/s/ Scott

Mike Sherer said...

That stretch of Ft. Lauderdale beach Finn is standing on with a suitcase looks familiar. I & Connie were there in 93. We stayed at the Wish You Were Here on the sound side.

Bob423 said...

Mike, the suit case is a cooler for our ice cream. Finn is standing at the main entrance to the Ft Lauderdale beach. Our mooring field is two blocks west by the bridge.