Well, we got to St Augustine by 6 pm last night ( after a long detour in Tennessee due to a rock slide taking out I-40, between Knoxville and Asheville, NC ) and stayed in the International Golf Village. Today, we got an early start and arrived at the marina just after 8 am. Once we said our hellos and arranged for a ladder, we climbed aboard.

What a mess!! All of the teak belowdecks was covered with mildew, the cans that had been stored carefully in a plastic tub had rusted due to dripping water from a leaking hatch above it and there were thousands of dead ants covering everything! While Murray readied the boat for the move to the workyard, I started wiping down all surfaces with a diluted vinegar mixture. After the last two years of little to no mildew, I was not prepared to see such a mess especially as we wipe everything down before we leave in the spring.

Once they moved the boat, Mur and I washed the majority of the summer’s grit off of the decks and then tackled the dead ants. All the cushions had been stored in the vee berth where the ants seemed to be the most numerous. The cushions had to be vacuumed and then the bedding carefully removed, shaken and the bed re-made. Murray got the inverter re-connected and the power on to the boat. The frig didn’t start cooling but we will tackle that problem tomorrow. The rusty cans have been sorted and the worst ones tossed in the trash.

We sure have a long work list for the next few days! Besides the planned installation of depth and speed transducers, removal and replacement of the cutlass bearing, usual washing and waxing of the hull and bottom painting, I also have to modify a pair of sheets and mattress cover, finish washing all surfaces belowdecks for mould/mildew, un-pack car/ suitcases etc etc. It makes me tired just thinking about it. But the sun shone today and we wore shorts. Also, the wireless works here on the boat and we have a cell phone as well to order parts etc.

Hugs from
Heather & Murray