We woke up onboard this morning (where thankfully we also fell asleep- otherwise someone would have had some ‘splainin’ to do) to the sound of what must have been an alligator thwacking near the hull, due to the noise level (and precise thwackage meter I am known to possess). A nice wake up call, really, and despite the 50 degree temps on the boat, it was lovely to wake up on the water.
It was delightfully possible to do so thanks to the super speedy completion of the checklist that we had yesterday. We ended up launching early, which in turn made all of our other stowing and organizing begin sooner, which of course ultimately made the end-of-day beer a)come sooner and b)taste better.
Cabins are prepped, galley and head are clean, the salon has a few empty horizontal spaces, and future projects are planned out. We upgraded a few things this year, including storage for the girls’ clothing. They previously had bins at the foot of their bunk, which the expiration date is quickly approaching on due to the length of Lily’s legs. In preparation for that, we hung shoe organizers on their door, thanks to Ruach’s idea, and voila! Easy access.
The kids made a house, and their first Family Game, out of a cardboard box. They’ve been dumpster diving for parts and bits and bobs to make it a home, and everyone at the marina seems to stop in for a picture. I’m not sure if they’re pleased to see kids not entertaining themselves with screens, or if they’re recording the scene for future DHS fodder, but either way, it’s kept them occupied for hours, so we’ll take our chances.
Today is provisioning day, and a day largely spent in Stuart, acquiring last minute list items before a hopeful shove-off tomorrow. We’ll spend a night in Stuart on our way out in order to have our rig tuned, and then we’ll be off and heading south via the intercoastal waterway. It’s a loose plan, of course, since we know better than to anticipate perfection in timing when it comes to cruising!