The Cruising Adventures of Wally and Darcy: February 2019

We are on anchor just south of Jacksonville, Florida on the Atlantic Coast. We departed Fort Myers, Florida on the Gulf Coast on February 20. In seven days we have traveled 358 miles… an average of 51 miles a day.

It has been nearly a year since we last posted on our blog. From mid-May to mid-October, our life on land became very busy. A look at our Christmas Letter 2018 tells the story:

Wally and I are docked in SW Florida and the chilly weather here has us bundling in layers. It’s 8 days before the official “1st Day 0f Winter”, but the entire U.S. has been feeling wintery for more than a month already. The city marinas in St. Petersburg and Ft. Myers have special appeal for us. They both offer opportunities for walking, biking, enjoying museums, art galleries and being part of a boating community. Our trawler “Summertime” is a great home whether we are on the move, on anchor or nestled in a slip. We plan to be in Florida from now through the end of February.

Our 2018 summer in Maine was an active one. We traded our Harley touring bike in for a Can-Am three-wheeled Roadster... two wheels in the front, one wheel in the back. Off we went to visit Canadian friends and explore the Eastern coastline of Nova Scotia for 7 days. Our new ride is stable, speedy and comfortable.

Our granddaughters Emily and Bailey, now 11 and 9, returned from a month-long family trip to China and spent a week with us. The girls were enthusiastic raspberry pickers. “Nan” loved seeing them follow in her footsteps as they went kayaking and swimming in the lake. The new bunk bed that “Pop” had built for them was a big hit.

Wally and I used our homeowner skills to help my brother Kevin and Cheryl re-hab their newly purchased home just down the road from us. They were settled in by the end of September and cozy before the frosty weather arrived.

With encouraging on-line prompts gifted to me by Erin on Mother’s Day 2017, I spent 12 months writing my life story. My family now has two copies of the 408-page bound book of my recollections and special photos from the past 72 years.

Wally’s concerted efforts to stay on his successful eating plan have reached the 600 day mark. After losing 50 lbs., he continues to remain below 200 lbs. Together we love making our “10,000 Steps” goal... every day, if possible.

Our intentions for 2019 are to celebrate 50 years together by cruising once again in the canals and lake regions of New York State and the Ontario and Quebec Provinces of Canada. This time we’ll be including Lake Champlain in our travels.

We send you our best wishes for a bountiful 2019. May our paths cross soon...whether by land or by sea.

NOVEMBER 5, 2018.

MARINA LIFE: ST. PETERSBURG MUNICIPAL MARINA …FLORIDA’S WEST COAST

After SUMMERTIME was deposited back into the water at Safe Cove Boat Yard in Charlotte Harbor, we made our way up the ICW, eventually arriving at St. Pete. What a sweet home for us for a month! Driving a rental car, we returned to the boat yard and retrieved our Mazda. It was great to have our red mini-mini van at the marina with us. Upon seeing the wide bike paths next to the city streets, we assembled our folding bikes that we carry on the trawler with us and proceeded to pedal around town. (Despite our high tech choices, good old-fashioned “shoe leather express” still remains a favorite means for us to get around most anywhere.)

Museums, performance venues, galleries and studios abounded within a 5-block radius of our boat slip. The St. Pete Boat Show was in the basin next to our marina. The City Pier is being re-created next to the marina, but we made peace with the hub-bub of construction activity. Since Wally has had such success with our “at-home eating plan”, we didn’t choose restaurant eating often. Once in a while, if a local eatery had a speciality that appealed to us, we would eat out.

We were delighted to find that “working on your boat in an exotic place” was allowed at the St. Pete Municipal Marina. SUMMERTIME’S teak rails and trim work were beginning to look weathered. After spending much time removing the original Cetol varnish followed by careful prepping of the bare teak surface, Wally applied a new system called Total Boat Lust. He was able to complete four layers in a day. We were very pleased with the results. Due to her position at the dock, only the starboard side of our boat could be reached. The port side remained on our list to be completed after we moved to Ft. Myers Yacht Basin in December.

The Engine Room is always calling our name. This time it was to get an accurate report of the engine heat up in the pilot house. Once the two thermostats, the high temperature alarm sensor and the temperature gauge sender were replaced, our temperature gauge in the pilot house settled down!