Titusville - part 2

On Saturday, after breakfast, we tidied up, packed up, said goodbye to all the luxuries on land, and headed back to Titusville.

We got to the dinghy dock to find our dinghy full of rain water. Somebody walked past and said it had rained a lot. We realized that we hadn't had any rain since arriving in Titusville and we were not aware of how much rain can fall in a short space of time. 

Using a sponge to get tons of water out the dinghy

I was very relieved to see Calypso still on her mooring ball in one piece! Apart from the typical musty boat smell, everything looked fine.

Soon after we arrived back a storm rolled in, with thunder and lightning right above us. The biggest gust of wind was 76 knots! The most we have seen. It was quite scary as the wind was coming from the side and not the front of the boat. It knocked us over, with things falling off shelves and falling all over the place. It didn't last for long, probably a minute or two, but it always feels like it lasts for ages.

The wind blew our port solar panel up and it went over the railing and hit the stanchion, shattering the panel. It still works but not at optimum capacity. We will have to replace it. They are only about five months old!

Smashed!

Andrew also started the engine during the storm and it overheated. He had forgotten to open the sea cocks. I hope we haven’t damaged anything.

The wind blew the lid of the braai up and Andrew had put the metal dish inside it. This flew up, spewing old brown fat all over the underside of the solar panel on the back of the boat, before flying off into the sea, never to be seen again! We had to order a new one. Thank goodness for Amazon.

I had a serious hankering for Rooibos tea. We had found some along the way but hadn't had any for a long while. We have been buying another herbal lemon and orange tea which is nice, but there is nothing like a lekker cup of Rooibos first thing in the morning. Andrew went on to Amazon and found some. Think we will be ok for a while!

A taste of home!

We spent the next few days doing household chores, washing, cleaning and provisioning. Andrew and I had gone to the supermarket before taking the car back so that we didn't have to walk back with loads of shopping. We had taken all our supplies with us to Orlando, and had nothing left on the boat.

We had been struggling with our anchor chain for a while. It gets very twisted and slips on the gypsy making it quite dangerous when raising the anchor. Laura is down below with her head in the anchor locker pulling the chain down into the lower locker to make space for the incoming chain. I always worry that her hands will get caught when the chain slips. For the past while, Andrew has been doing the chain while I drive. It is very frustrating and obviously quite dangerous. We would never be able to get the chain up in a hurry. Something had to be done!

We took the anchor off the chain, putting it in the dinghy, and dropped the chain into the water, untwisting it while it went. Then we hauled it back up again, trying to untwist it as it came up. But it still slipped at around the 25m mark, even without the anchor attached. 

We decided the best thing to do would be to cut off 20m of chain as it seemed to be worn and thinner than the other section. We put the anchor back on and hoped for the best! The last 5m or so still slipped but it was much, much better. We managed to get the anchor back on the chain without losing it in the mucky water! 

Andrew and I went ashore to get more water. We are not sure if our water maker is broken or if it is just this water that blocks the system. I am hoping that it is just this water otherwise it is an expensive fix.

We got water from the marina dock which is free. As I turned on the tap, a few drops spewed out into the water. The next moment a manatee popped its head up, catching the droplets in his mouth. I wish I had had my phone with me to take a sweet picture. 

Oil change

We had a few essential boat jobs to do before moving on, but once they were finished it was time to leave. Titusville had been a good place to stop, especially with us wanting to leave the boat for a week. 

The facilities are good and the people are friendly and helpful, and being able to get parcels delivered here was a bonus!

On Wednesday 22 May, we said goodbye to Titusville and headed north. 

Have you heard the saying that a boat is just a big, black hole that you toss $$ into? Well, in the next episode you will read about the many boat issues that arise, causing us to spend $$ which for us who have RRRands, is a lot of money.