Rocking and Rolling

It was a very rocky night at the marina. The winds were blowing strong all night long and into the next day. While my lovely wife and I got some sleep, it wasn’t the best. I kept dreaming that a martial artist was beating me up all night. However, while it is still windy, it’s not nearly as strong. This should be a better night for sleeping.

I took advantage of the cooler day to sort out some issues with my trailer lights. Before we left the campground to come here a light check revealed they weren’t all working. To get us on the road I did a quick and dirty repair, but that was not a long term solution.

The thing about boat trailers and trailer plugs is that they are in water all the time. Salt water is the worse. My quick and dirty taped connections were replaced with regular connectors using waterproof shrink tubes. One of the issues was traced to an original wiring job done on the Blazer. When you buy a Craislist special, you usually buy someone else’s kludge repairs too.

Since it wasn’t a beach or sailing day, we drove across the Seven Mile Bridge into Marathon. They have a good sized Publix there and it’s nice to restock with fresh foods.

Just to make things interesting this morning the power went out. Apparently it was pretty widespread across a number of islands. I had a bit of a debate with myself. Do I set up a windbreak and brew my own coffee or hope the power comes on? The marina offers a free coffee with the slip, but they have to have power to make it happen. This time my slothful nature was rewarded and power came back up. I like a problem that gets fixed without my intervention.

At least the cell towers were still working. There was some on-line business that needed to be done. My hotspot device worked just fine. The computer was powered off my little inverter connected to the Blazer’s solar electric system. It’s nice to have my own backup systems.

One of the big news items in the local papers is the realization that it’s impossible to evacuate the islands within 24 hours if another hurricane comes. The Key West military bases recognize the problem. They start to evacuate three days before a potential strike. Think about it. They have planes, boats and trucks. One of the things they specialize in is moving people on short notice. Even they figure it takes three days.

While I love to visit here, I wouldn’t own any property in the Keys. A few bad hurricane seasons and it’s all over.

-Sixbears