Waterboarding at Watappo Creek

We settled in last night after aggravating motor day. Dinner was Roast Beef with mashed potatoes and corn and BUGS. The most annoying little gnats. I had forgotten posting about more bugs here than anywhere in the Keys! As we hid below to eat there must have been 1.7 million gnats on every surface of the boat.

Legend of Boggy Creek fog seeping through the companionway boards

We have most of the boats electrical toys back on just the solar and inverters allowing us to finish the last couple episodes of House Season One. After an eventful day we crashed early hoping to get up and catch some red fish here in the tidal creeks and flats. WTF! 2:30am! WTF! My pillow is wet? Turn on light. It is raining inside the cabin! The condensation is SO bad that there must be 10 drops a second falling. I checked outside and the boat was surrounded by movie perfect fog and a thick layer or water drops. Not just damp but beading, standing water pellets. My head touched the sail cover and it felt like a shower, a 42 degree shower! I returned to the cabin leaving more ventilation open and wiped down the walls and roof. WTF! 3:15am it is raining again! Wiped it all down and turned on the fans in 40 degree weather. WTF! 4:00 wiped it down and re arranged fan. Okay 4:30 then fan just makes the drops let go sooner and are thus smaller. To hell with this, flip pillow and pull up covers. Alarm goes off at 6:00 am. Cancel that baby! Second alarm goes off at 6:30 am. That one too. Tin wakes up at 8 and wants to fish, not long after he comes back in cold and wet from the mist covered boat. I drag my tired but up and debate the engine idle issue.

A pair of Bald Eagles watched the whole thing this morning

Second anchor now exposed with the low tide, with the BUG factory right behind it!

I tossed the rode from the second anchor in the water. Then I tighten the the chain on the primary to vertical. I had to take the dinghy to the shore and retrieve the second anchor. After wading to pull the embedded fortress out of the mud and retrieving the rode I row back to the boat. I pull the cord and Vrro.. almost! Pull way too many more times and sometime around 50 it goes Vroooommm! And idles after about 10 minutes I think good. I double check the anchor chain is tight, leaving anchor embedded (quick pull up when motor goes into gear). Go put motor into gear, dummmpa. Pull on too many more times. Get mad and pull the cockpit sole, wire up electric start, it has only been on board for a year. Play around with it a little and finally Vrooom! Go pull anchor, run and shift into gear and dummmpa, again! Go drop anchor before the tide pushes us on the shallows. Restart motor and put in gear THEN try to pull anchor. Boat turns to bar, leave anchor down and try to put engine in neutral again. Dummpa. Get it restarted, pull anchor and run to the motor again and voila finally in gear making head way. Pull on the intercoastal and have one of those moments when you rethink the validity of what you are doing. Make a 180 degree turn and head back to PC to have the motor worked on again!

The fish were not biting so the Fisher King takes a break

 The bay was starting to glass over on the way back and Tin was bored to sleep

The hammock is way more comfortable

It was a calm day. No fish! Against the tide all the way back to the marina. Afraid to turn it off.  We managed to get tied off at sunset. Anyone want to donate a Beta conversion?

Day seven down and we are in PC again!

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