we have been back from our travels to NE and NW to see family and friends, for 3 weeks and have been busy with boat projects and day-to-day life on Isle of Venice, Ft Lauderdale

it is still hot hot hot and daily weather is always the same...88-90 with heat index over 100 chance of showers or t-storms and or lightening, unless there is a tropical storm in the area, then there is heavy rain

we have coffee and tea early, watch the "today" and stockmarket shows during breakfast we (usually i) walk to beach in am and listen to the surf while doing stretches or ride bikes we bike to library or riverwalk or to do errands when sun is cooler in late day

G rides his bike all over town searching out pieces and parts and latest dvd's & videos at the library one of our "friends-with-car " takes J along for food shopping, so bus & taxi routine is history J combines laundry day with swim and hammock time or gabbing under shade trees & poolside table umbrellas she spends heat of day reading, computing, or napping

it IS OFFICIAL, G is a licensed captain US Coast Guard Merchant Marine Operator of uninspected inshore vessels and authorized to engage in commercial assistance towing. he took the course and test in july and his license arrived this week . it is encased in acrylic and mounted on the main salon bulkhead behind the tv. he said i can call him "sir" . unh huh

many projects are underway and Captn G works on his chores list 9-5 every day the nice thing about living in a small boating community is that when you don't know what you are doing , someone else does

the stern arch is shaping up. halogen (read bright) spreader-type and low watt overhead-type lights are installed. G snaked messengers for future wiring jobs...gps, k.i.s.s.wind machine, and since he spends hours pouring over websites, magazines and catalogs with latest hi tech sat nav and mini radar gizmos, only he knows what "sugar plums" dance in his head and he isn't talking

G has about 15 coats of varnish on the cap rail revisions and mounting blocks used in affixing the stern arch. he says another 10 coats or so and he can start the older teak the dinghy now rides high on the davit block system he made for the arch...many beautiful spliced eyes and it works like a charm he has taken several trips on the canal to run the dinghy motor and to practice hauling it up and down people stop by on the dock and by dinghy to see what is new with the arch

the pump system G installed in July to drain the oil, leaked , and he learned there was a recall for revisions the good news is the factory is here in town (ft lauderdale is so handy for getting boat stuff) so he pedalled the many miles over, had the work done and was back within 3 hours. fortunately he had installed it mounted on a board and secured an extra loop on the hoses, a trick he has learned because there is NEVER a flat surface to afix anything to a hull, so he spent minimal time hanging upside down in the 100+ degree rear deck locker putting everything back together...in fact i didn't hear any !@#$% boat talk ....of course i was below reading in the cabin with the Cruisair conditioner on high

the canvas crew installed the extra panels in the shadetree awnings to cover the gaps at the mast where sun and rain got through. the vinyl "door" flap and mainsail cover are still works in progress

this week the cabinetmaker took the nav table and made patterns-in-place for the nav station we designed. they use 2" wide balsa-type strips and cut them with big shears then hot glued sections to shape and fit contours of the walls and floor. these patterns are used at the shop to make the teak "box-in-box" pull out shelf unit we designed to hold computer supplies, exterior zip, cd burner, printer and other stuff imagine the wall hung storage unit over the main salon table as a slide-out (box) within a fixed counter (box)and a modified nav tableleaf to pull up for a larger workspace this will allow us to access hanging locker and storage cubbies in nav station area without the need to clear and fold down the nav table in the meantime we use both computers on the dining table and stow at mealtime

we replaced the end caps on the staysail traveller that were cracked from sun damage and found out those pretty teak strips on the headcover (cabin ceiling) hide all manner of through-bolts boy, those cabo rico guys did a great job in planning them out one in shower and one in vberth...i'm too short to reach the nut AND turn ratchett so i get to muscle the giant screwdriver in place on deck outside and watch to see the goop squish out that means we have sealed the bolthole

G also got to play in super- goop while sealing a porthole. this stuff is always a challenge. a 30 minute job requires 1/2 a day to clean up, scrubbing with mineral spirits, because the sealant tube squirts to all-the-wrong-places. shirts and shorts are left with permanent hard shiny splotches. skin rejuvenates in time.

yesterday was a beauty-spa-day for Alegria. Divers scrubbed the bottom and replaced the zincs. in March everything was ok. this time there were some barnacles and on one side the zincs were completely disolved then a fellow came by to clean the hull. first an acid wash to remove rust and other stains from 18 months in tea colored water (mixed depending on hull condition...our was fairly clean) and power rinsed and left to cure (dry). rubbing compound and conditioners and wax are mixed (again depending on hull condition) and sponged on and power scrubbed. finally polish is rubbed on then power buffed wow she looks brand new and shiny. 3 other boats got their bottom and zinc work done and 2 other boats will have hulls cleaned at dinnertime while grilling our chicken & zucchini , G was so tired from all his supervising, he collapsed on a chair with a tall beer to tell everyone about his hard day.

well it isn't all work... there are boats leaving and new folks arriving every few weeks most are just like us...learning as we go... trying to stay in shape, but struggling, because after all this time our body and our fat are really good friends of course there is a skinny mini...who power eats to maintain her weight. she is also over 50 and STILL fits into Victoria's Secret undies & bikinis...and says sometimes she just forgets to eat i've forgotten my address and phone number, my husband's mother's maiden name, keys, but i've never forgotten to eat. That is a special kind of stupid. and there is a special kind of singles cruising... the internet daters...aka "crew wanted" bulletin boards...they meet a live one, we all get to meet him/her, spend few weeks vetting to be sure our friend will be safe & happy not just excited about nothing and rats, in spite of hearing our concerns, they really do go off cruising...well don't forget to email actually, cathy, who crewed with ruth, our buddy boat for bahamas crossing, came by to visit last night. her computer tech writing/consulting job ended suddenly and she was at loose ends. ruth emailed cathy a crew wanted note from a woman ruth had met here earlier this year, cathy followed up and with in 3 days is off to Luperon, Dominica to crew for an openended voyage to tortola, bonair and next year the pacific the woman has family in the area and cathy & ruth met them, helped the brother find boat stuff she needed and it sounds like a good match for their adventure...networking lives

sundays we often ride bikes to riverwalk for the farmers' market and concerts....latino bands and a monthly jazz brunch

J enjoyed a lunch at Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA) and signed us up for the annual meeting (called a gam) for 3 days in mid Nov in melbourne florida. we are going with bill & diane downing from cypraea. they are driving. we met them in Daytona Beach in Dec and travelled the ICW together to lake worth, met them in the foodstore in ft lauderdale in feb and saw them at their slip while on a dinghy ride in june. their slip is on canal across isle of venice . nice thing about this lifestyle, you keep running into people you have cruised with. J sharpens her infamous red pencil for proof reading the monthly "commodores bulletin". an article J wrote on the trip down the ICW was published in the july 2000 bulletin.

Saturday J is going with 2 other women to Palm Beach to a charter meeting brunch for a new south florida chapter of "women aboard", a networking group for liveaboards.

Wednesday night we have tickets to hear Nestor Torres, jazz and latino flutist, at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.

In mid October G and geoff are meeting for a football weekend and tracey is coming here for a visit.

and this life goes on...dooby... dooby.... dooby.. .do