Dec. 22, 2005 Marathon

Dear Gang,

We haven't fallen off the edge! Its that my laptop bit the dust, and half an hour in the library just isn't enough time to accomplish anything.

I spent a lovely summer in RI, except for 2 weeks in Aug. when I flew to Ft. Lauderdale for a visit. After deciding last May it wouldn't be smart to sail north with his bad hand, Ken took a slip in Marina Bay, about 4 miles up The New River. He had spent the summer there 2 years ago and thought it should be a fairly decent hurricane spot (Ho, Ho, Ho)! Plus, it had the mandatory pool for cooling off after a hot day working on the boat.

Ken spent most of this summer replacing a sagging ceiling throughout the boat. He had spent the winter before we left in 1999 putting in a ceiling of foam-backed vinyl. However, having Conquest hauled out all last summer, the heat caused the glue to let go and panels to keep falling. (See why I wont spend summers in FL; imagine what could happen to me if I started sagging!) Our new ceiling is a professional thing of beauty, with hard panels held up by teak battens. It is a true work of art!

By the time I flew back in late Sept., Ken had already been through 3 hurricanes, including Katrina. With 90 mph winds, Katrina actually did quite a bit of damage in South Florida, but nothing compared to the Gulf Coast. Ken stayed on the boat and said it was most exciting. His only damage was a tree falling on the car, no serious damage.

We usually leave the marina by Oct. 1 when the rates go way up, but decided to stay and wait for hurricane season to pass. By mid Oct., all seemed calm and we planned to leave to get hauled out for a yearly bottom painting. (During Wilma, Marina Bay had 3 docks wiped out as well as other damage!) Our next destination was to be River Bend Boatyard where Conquest spent last summer hauled out for serious hull work. At the last minute, Ken decided to skip River Bend since they were backed up with repairs on boats after Katrina, and head right to the slip at my cousins in Hollywood. (River Bend was hit hard in Wilma and 12 boats fell off their stands!)

After a couple of days in Hollywood, they started talking about Wilma heading for Mexico, then turning toward FL. We decided we were too much in the open and better find a secure marina before everyone else started looking, and moved that afternoon to a little marina up The Dania Cutoff Canal. It looked like a pretty good hurricane hole. $500 for 2 weeks was less expensive than a daily rate for 1 week. As it turned out, Wilma never arrived for another week, but what an arrival! We spent the week preparing the boat, getting all the canvas down and buying bigger fenders. Ken insisted he was staying on the boat during the hurricane, and I insisted I was getting off. At the last minute, he saw the error of his ways and joined me at the home of friends in nearby Davie.

One of our biggest concerns was the boat next to us, a big heavy double-ender (a Hans Christian) sailboat with 2 men living aboard. One was an older ,obviously ailing gentleman and his mentally challenged middle-aged son who would not speak to us or look us in the eye. The deck of the boat was completely covered with all sorts of gear as well as 2 exercycles. The boat itself was not even tied up securely, and only a tiny, rocky finger pier separated us. Our worst fears were confirmed when we realized as we started to leave that they had already left and neither their junk nor their boat had been tied down. Ken dropped me off at the house and he and Dave went back to secure their vessel. Thank goodness they did, or we would have sustained serious damage. As it turned out, the Hans Christian sustained rail damage on the side next to conquest, wiped out a piling between us, and seriously damaged our shared finger pier. Our only damage, which we didn't even notice for a couple of weeks, was the missing navigation lights at the top of the mask. Something big must have come flying by during the storm.

The next day we were back on the boat producing our own electricity, with plenty of food and water. Landlubbers were not so lucky and it was 3 weeks before our friends in Davie got their electricity back. The worst part war trying to drive around. Traffic lights were not only out, but missing. Just picture all those huge intersections in Ft Lauderdale and surrounding areas as four-way stops!! Then when they finally started putting up lights, they'd only put one in the center lane, with no left turn arrow. You had to plan your trips to never make a left turn across traffic.

In late Nov, we waited for a good weather window and had three great sailing days to Marathon. Its great to be back , my mother and Ralph came for 2 weeks before Christmas, a lot of the old gang is here.

Keep in touch

- Jane and Ken