Still Waiting.

The last blog was titled "Gearing Up and Waiting It Out".  A week later, that's still what's going on.  Waiting.  And checking a few more items off the ole To-Do list.  Yesterday, for example, we made a bracket for the dinghy's outboard motor to sit on while we make the crossing.  Because we are not towing that dinghy across the Gulf Stream.  We're pretty slow as it is, and we don't need the extra drag slowing us down even more.  So we had to find a place to put that big, awkward, clunky old motor.  After several redesigns of the plan, I finally came up with something that would work.  I then spent an hour sawing wood to make the bloody thing.  It probably wouldn't have taken so long if we had a hack saw that was actually made for cutting wood.  One day, we will have a garage or shed or something that has all kinds of tools, and we'll always have the right tool for the job.  This is my dream.  But after lots of minor modifications, we managed to get the motor secure on our back rail where it won't scuff or scratch or break anything.  Yay!

But that's not all that's been going on.  Trevor's parents came in for a visit.  It was so awesome to see them!  They got to see our boat and my parents' boat.  They hadn't gotten to see them before (mine was a huge mess in Chattanooga because I was working on it to get it ready [and because I'm a slob], so they didn't get to see it then).  But with Trevor's good habits and impeccable (and unshakable) tidiness, I was okay with them seeing where we live.  They even got to see us play softball.  I'm sure it was a thrill for them. 

So with a visit from the parents curbing Trevor's homesickness, we were ready to head over to the Bahamas!  Except the weather didn't cooperate.  I guess "weather" isn't the right word.  The weather is great.  Sunny and warm!  It's that wind that keeps fighting us.  In order to have a safe and comfortable passage over to Bimini, we need either a south wind or a west wind.  If we have a north wind, it will go against the Gulf Stream and make for a very bumpy (and potentially dangerous) crossing.  If we have an east wind, it'll be in our face, and we'll go extra super frustratingly slow (and an 8-hour crossing will turn into a 16-hour crossing).  So we keep waiting for a good weather window to first head up to Key Largo and then scoot across to Bimini.  And you know what we've got coming up for the next week?  North winds for the next day or so, then turning east through next Thursday.  Yep, we're going to be here for a while longer yet.  As eager as we are to get over to paradise, we're not going to fight the weather to get there.  Oh, look at this snippet from the forecast "Friday: North winds 17 to 22 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet near shore and up to 6 to 8 feet in the Gulf Stream."  6 to 8 feet?!  That doesn't sound fun at all (or does it sound really, really fun? this is an adventure after all).  Beyond uncomfortable, that's edging toward dangerous. 

So we remain here in Marathon, waiting out the weather.  I have to say, there are definitely worse places to be stuck.  And the Seafood Festival is this weekend!  Huzzah!