We have now been back in the harbor for about a month. Linda has been doing a lot of sewing. She makes neckerchiefs for all of the cruising dogs in the harbor. So far, since we returned to Marathon, she has given away about 40!! And the winter cruising boats have just started to trickle into the harbor! There will be many more dogs arriving and each will get a free neckerchief for their collar. It is fun to see all of the dogs walking around with the neckerchiefs she has made. She has also been doing other sewing projects including Christmas presents. I believe she may be addicted to sewing! We did make one trip to Key West already where they have the only fabric store in the Keys.
There has been one potluck dinner at the tiki hut at the marina. It was to celebrate the 6th anniversary of the "Cruiser's Net" which is a daily get-together on the VHF radio of the boats in the harbor. At 9 AM everyone tunes into Channel 68 on their marine radios. New arrivals to the harbor give the name of their vessel, the names of the people aboard, where they are from, where they are bound and how long they are staying. We say goodbye to parting vessels. Cruisers are then asked if they have any questions or any problems to be solved and everyone helps everyone with any equipment breakdowns or other boat problems they need to solve. There is a "buy/sell" section where people advertise items or equipment they want to sell or buy. There is usually one or more trivia questions for people to try to answer. We look forward to listening and joining into the "net" and miss it when we are off cruising. The cruising community is a close-knit small community and everyone is friendly and helpful.
A friend of ours, Deborah on "Free N Clear", gave Linda a sailing lesson in her sailing dinghy. Linda loved it and learned a lot.
We were planning to be in a sailing race last weekend but the day before the race when I tried to start the motor to check it, it would not start. Seems to have seized up!! So yesterday we removed the "beast" with the help of another cruiser who has a larger dinghy and took it ashore and to a Honda outboard dealer. If they can't fix it, we will have to replace it. It is five years old and we have gone over 4000 miles with it, much of that motoring, so it has done a good job for us up until now. That is really a lot to ask of an outboard motor so, even though as you know I hate all "infernal combustion engines", I can't really complain.
We will be having Thanksgiving dinner with our friends and other cruisers at a local waterfront restaurant here in the harbor. The restaurant will provide free turkey and dressing and each cruiser brings a covered dish to share. We always have a good time each year.
Amy, Mark, Olivia and Laura will be coming down here to the Keys for Christmas this year. They will arrive two days after Christmas and stay for a week in a rented condo. We are very excited and really looking forward to seeing them again and having them here with us. AND, of course, that means we will be spending Christmas WARM this year!! :-)
Take care and have a great Thanksgiving.
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