Life Aboard

Sometimes it seems like we spend hours a day doing one or two things.  Actually it is because it takes hours to do one or two things.  Life in the boat is very different.  There are tradeoffs for the freedom to move around.  One is that there is no cable or electric line running out to our anchor.  We have to generate our power with either solar, wind or running the engine.  If we are power hogs with the computer or there is little wind or sun, sometimes it takes all three.  If we are at a dock that is not so much a problem but being high season, there was not a slip to be had when we arrived so we manage.  We have a TV antenna that pulls in on-air stations but in the keys, the stations are on the mainland and the antenna is not that strong.  From what I've seen lately, no big loss.  We do have a Roku stick if we want to stream a show from Netflix but that is not a nightly event.  A few nights ago, a house on shore was having a party and they had hired an awesome band that we enjoyed too.  Of course, on clear nights there is stargazing and enjoying the evening.  All that is energy free!  Also, just getting to the dingy dock is a 15 minute trip each way and just about everything is a few miles away.  Our bikes have made it so much easier to run errands and see the sights.  Washing dishes is also a time consuming task as I have to heat water since the water heater uses a LOT of power.  Then, of course, we have to take the propane tanks to be refilled and get jugs of water but it's all part of the journey, just not the most fun.  It takes a mental adjustment to get used to the lack of immediate anything but then that's a good thing, right?  One thing we both really enjoy is compliments on the boat.  We both worked long and hard to make her look good and more than once we've had folks dingy up and tell us how great she looks.  Now all we have to do is keep her looking good!

One thing we like to do is look at other boats.  This schooner showed up and anchored near us for a few days.  She is beautifully maintained and appeared to have a good sized crew.  We guessed  her to be something over 70 feet.

One thing essential to our lives is coffee.  I like my coffee to be not as strong as
David's so the solution was 2 pots.  These French presses are designed for boat use
and keep the coffee hot for a long time.

To have some air moving at night when it's still, David rigged this low amp fan for us.  The one in the
background moves a lot of air but uses a lot of power so its good if the engine is running or we're on a dock.

A bit of our day is figuring out the weather and what it is going to do to us.  We have Single Side Band Radio (SSB)
and we can pull in weather faxes showing wind, waves, fronts and more.Part of my preparation was getting the
computer and printer set up on the boat.  Silly me, though, I had everything networked and forgot to bring  a cable to
use when we're not pulling in a wifi signal.  Thank goodness there is an Office Depot just a few miles away.