Prodigal prepares for the trip North Mid June

My to-do list is shrinking.  

BUT, it's a boat... '-it happens!'

First on the list: Helm Switches

During my inspection I noticed a couple of lights didn't come on.  

Plus my roller furling jib needed a new furling line.  

Better call my buddy Curt, with Keys Rigging.

Kato and Curt

Lights back ON

Kato goes up to fix lights

Rigging invoice:  $290.  (2men @ 1.5hr)  Priceless

___________________

Next on the list: Hydraulic Steering crapped out

I have to steer Prodigal.  BUT the Hynautic system is leaking fluid.  At first it was a very slow leak taking weeks to lose pressure.  For about two years I lived with it.  Checked it, refilled the fluid and pumped up the pressure. Repeatedly. (about once a month) Last week when preparing for my sail North back to Fort Pierce for hurricane season I filled the fluid and pumped it up.  Two days later the entire tank was empty, not just pressure lost.  Oops.  THAT'S a problem.  I have to steer.  So this has to be fixed. It's beyond my expertise and needs a professional.  After several inquiries Marathon Boat Yard is the choice for the repair. But, how to get there without steerage?  Call Sea Tow, my boat towing service.  (like triple A for boats) I pay Sea Tow about $200 per year for insurance against any towing needs.  Dustin from SeaTow arrived at 4pm and tied up to Prodigal. We motored over to the Marina and tied up there about 4:45pm Wednesday. Thursday the marina tech, Rodney came aboard and inspected the steering quadrant for about 15 minutes at 1pm, and agreed, "it needs to be fixed."  They scheduled me for 9am Friday to rip out the steering RAM.  The manufacturer was sold years ago and the new company does not make this model any longer.  But they will still repair it.  So it's sent off airfreight to their hands for Monday.  I'm on hold awaiting news...

Moving from the mooring ball to Marathon Boat Yard ~ 1,200 ft.

SEA TOW fees $966. for Dustin to drag me.  ~45 minutes. looking down at the steering autopilot The RAM (far right, long thing) Marathon Boat Yard.  $100 per day to dock. Labor $150 per hr. Parts tbd. I'll post the bill - when - IF - we get it fixed...

Back to normal... NOT

PK visit and the aftermath. 

Tue 9pm    I just realized my book had dropped from my hand and i'm sitting back against a pillow down in the salon.  asleep.  9pm and trying to read...  I guess i'll shut the hatches and turn out the lights and dream about frying chiles. (the new norm?)

My return flights went "as planned."  (really, as 're-planned.' after the Cxld flights were replaced with worse flights)  I caught my 3p Dallas flight and arrived 5:30pm ATL to sit and read a new book.  I dropped into the first 'very well lit lobby spot' that I could find.  Then about 10 pm I found another spot, near my gate, with electric plugs to start Netflix.  From about 11pm till 6am I used anything to try and stay awake.  Some hours went by without me seeing any other ppl.  Then work crews would come through.  (big surprise: they didn't vacuum anything.  they didn't clean ANY chair or table in my concourse.  didn't spray or wipe anything.)

At 6:48am I found an early opening restaurant and got coffee and breakfast.  (lifesaving)  Caught my 9:40am flight to Key West with very good seating distances.  (20ppl on a plane for 260)  Arrived in Key West to discover my luggage was in Atlanta.  Drove to Marathon, caught a ride out to the boat with a stranger.  Opened some hatches and immediately fell asleep for a two hour nap.   I'm quarantined.  

ps.  Arriving in Key West Airport they have set up two small tents beside the baggage claim door.  (you deplane out on the tarmac and walk to the airport)  while still outside on the hot tarmac in the sun, all passengers fill out a 3 page medical form.  (coming from / going to / staying where / for how long) You put down your contact into and confirm your are not sick.  LAST STEP: they take your temperature then hand you a 3pg "Monroe County Emergency Mngmt Directive."  it says - Covid19 bad, masks and quarantine good.  tells me via 24 separate paragraphs of 'WHEREAS' blah blah blah of legalize language.  Then 6 'NOW THEREFORE' points.  It all explains that the state of Florida has the right to take my temp and check my health....   (it does not give me any (zero) medical / Covid19 / Qurantine instructions.)

_________

LATER ON:

I am down in the salon and just saw a very bright flash immediately followed by a massive explosion of thunder. It sounded like canon fire.  I went up into the cockpit - RAIN.  I rushed down into the salon and re-closed hatches....     Rain had blown all along the settee and across the floor.  It blew rain into the forward head and all through the salon.

Its been raining all day.  Off and on.  I awoke last night to rain hitting me in the face.  I jumped up and ran through the boat closing hatches.  Two forward and three aft. Climbed back into bed and looked at my watch 1:11am.  

I cant count how many times I have opened and closed the hatches today.  (probably could count that high but didnt try and it's a butt load) Every half hour or so it just starts raining.  The clouds pass by in a parade format.  Sun, rain, sun, rain....   I should have looked at the radar to know what was in store.  Instead I open and then close.  Didn't go to shore.  Pulled down a bad fan and replaced it with a new kind.  Spent a few hours working on the Sump Pump for the forward shower.  I've scheduled it for follow-up tomorrow and settled down to dinner and more rain.  *I put some 'heavy-duty' drain cleaning crap down the sump pump shower pan and will inspect it again with coffee in the AM.  (I used the same stuff to clear up a "clogged" pipe back in Stuart FL, circa 2017)  I am somewhat hopeful.  

When I returned from Texas my neighbor who watched the boat for me said "its been raining.  rained 6" in 24hrs."  I know we have not had much rain now, but it's rained all damn day.

Now i'm finishing my to-do list for preparations to depart back to Fort Pierce in June.

A Texas Style Visit - Lake PK

Covid Anyone?

This situation never leaves your mind.  There is a Virus out there.

Please use all caution and best practices to stay healthy.

____________________

That said, I flew to Fort Worth, Texas last weekend for a 'family visit.'  It was our 8th annual Possum Kingdom Gathering.  Friends from elementary school get together for a reunion.  We kept the group below the 10 person limit.  We were all healthy and traveled with the greatest cautious care.  Upon arrival we practiced a slightly more relaxed form of social distancing.

Skip, Cam Prock, Charles Wicker, John Daniel, David Cox, Tom Cammack, Jay Reese.

 Scooter Cox

Cam making Chile Rellenos

 Toms birthday cakes

 Buzzy singing with his Ukulele

Poblano peppers stuffed with: grilled portabello mushrooms, cheese, spanish rice, onion, garlic.

Brussel Sprouts, Squash, Sweet Corn, Carrots.

roasting the poblanos 

skip stuffing peppers

 David eating the chile rellenos stuffing

 Stuffed Poblanos

Toms famous Venison

 Bacon wrapped venison backstrap stuffed with creme cheese

Everyone had a great time 

and nobody got hurt.  

We almost ate most stuff we bought, 

had lots of laughs and cant wait till next years visit.  

Please stay safe and healthy.           -skip

As i mentioned in my last post, I am home on Prodigal - Quarantined for 14 days as ordered by the state of Florida, and my marina.

A TRIP TO TEXAS - the air ways

The 8th Annual PK Extravaganza 

and social distance test lab.  

A festering petri dish of the unclean.... unmasked and unwanted!

_____________________

DEPARTURE Key West, Wed 5.13

 Security at Love Field

 Atlanta gate

Boss, de plane!

Atlanta Airport

Key West gate #2  Just before boarding our 14ppl onto a plane for 260.

My REPORT of the airports, TSA and other 'new' strange things of air travel goes like this...   It's about the same as usual but with less people. (less pushing and shoving.)  Everyone is required to wear a mask.  Pants are optional.  (not really.  when i was boarding in Key West, as i removed my shoes and belt, my shorts hit the floor.  They were so baggy that suddenly here i am holding shoes in one hand, belt in the other and my pants are on the ground.  The TSA agent looks at me and says, "YOU can wear the belt.")  When boarding they of course loaded first class first, but all the others were called up in reverse order from the back to front.  (so you would walk past fewer ppl) Plus they spread the passengers out in a hodgepodge format.  Window, up two rows aisle, up to rows window...  easy.

One new thing.  Just prior to departure in ATL the gate agent informed all passengers that "there is a one page form required to be filled out prior to landing in Dallas.  The plane will be met by the authorities who will collect all flyers who de-plane in Texas."  (if you continue THROUGH the airport and fly to another state you are not who they want)  IF you are flying into Texas from New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami,... you are required to provide: local home address, contact local phone number, duration of stay, location of Texas habitation.  You are REQUIRED to QUARANTINE in place for 14 days.  Upon leaving the airport, you are to go directly to your Texas quarantine location, stay there, and not have others come and join you.  OK.

Upon landing, we were met at the jet bridge by 6 Texas State Troopers, in uniform, with big cowboy hats on, collecting our paperwork. Separating the passengers by destination, they handed us a 6 page memorandum of Texas Governor Abbot's proclamation of "Mandatory Terms of Self-Quarantine."  It has 18 sections of "WHEREAS" and under Section blah blah blah of Texas laws that give the governor power to "NOW THEREFORE" by the virtue of the power and authority vested in me... order Executive Order GA-12, March 29: Travelers from the state of California, state of Connecticut, state of New York, state of New Jersey, State of Washington, City of Atlanta*, City of Chicgao, City of Detroit, or City of Miami - shall be subject to mandatory self-quarantine for a period of 14 days  from the time of entry. (*my flight was through Atlanta - Damn!)  "DPS Special Agents will conduct unannounced visits to quarantine locations to verify compliance.  Failure to comply may result in a $1,000 fine, confinement in jail for up to 6 months in jail, or both."

The Cops may have come out and spied on me, but i never saw them.

_____________________

RETURN Dallas, Mon 5.18 & 19

The return went "as planned."  (really, as 're-planned.' after the Cxld flights were replaced with worse flights that no longer connected requiring an overnight in the ATL airport.  Concourse B.)  I caught my 3p Dallas flight and arrived 5:30pm ATL to sit and read a new book.  I dropped into the first 'very well lit lobby spot' that I could find.  Then about ten pm I found another spot, in another terminal near my gate, with electric plugs to start a Netflix marathon.  From about 11pm till 6am I used anything and everything to try and stay awake.  Some hours went by without me seeing other ppl at all.  Then work crews would come through.  (big surprise: they didn't vacuum anything.  they didn't clean ANY chair or table in my concourse.  didn't spray or wipe anything.)

 Atlanta concourse, 10pm of my all-niter

the next morning, early, and feeling fresh as a daisy.

At 6:48am I found an early opening restaurant and got coffee and breakfast.  (lifesaving)  Caught my 9:40am flight to Key West with very good seating distances.  (20ppl on a plane for 260)  Arrived in Key West to discover my luggage is in Atlanta.  Drove to Marathon, caught a ride out to the boat with a stranger.  Opened some hatches and immediately fell asleep for a two hour nap.

I'm quarantined.    :)  xoxox skip

ps.  Arriving in Key West they have set up two small tents beside the baggage claim door.  (you deplane out on the tarmac and walk to the airport)  while still outside on the hot tarmac in the sun, all passengers fill out a 3 page medical form.  (coming from / going to / staying where / for how long) You put down your contact into and confirm your are not sick.  LAST STEP: they take your temperature then hand you a 3pg "Monroe County Emergency Mngmt Directive."  it says - Covid19 bad, masks and quarantine good.  tells me via 24 separate paragraphs of 'WHEREAS' blah blah blah of legalize language.  Then 6 'NOW THEREFORE' points.  It all explains that the state of Florida has the right to take my temp and check my health....   (it does not give me any (zero) medical / Covid19 / Qurantine instructions

I'm on the boat, quarantined.  "Each person screened shall isolate and quarantine for 14 days.  The Florida penalty for not doing this is: $500 fine and 60 days in jail.  (plus, additional charges may be prosecuted if other statues are violated.)"

the Keys on takeoff