Boat is all fixed

 

Well, Mary Elizabeth is in tip-top shape again. The mechanic came on Monday morning and spent most of the afternoon troubleshooting. Turns out that the ground for the bow thruster was loose. When Bill tried to use the bow thruster it caused a fuse in the charging system to blow, which was keeping us from charging the batteries with the alternator. We are very thankful that someone at Ocean Reef was able to come on short notice and give us a hand.

 

Tuesday Bill played another round of golf at Ocean Reef, which turned out to be one the best courses he has played in a very long time. I spent the day walking around Ocean Reef and eventually ended up at the pool. Tuesday night Dave and Molly were back in Key Largo and we were able to see them and go to dinner one last time before they head north and we continue south. 

 

Ocean Reef

 

We have had a great week here at Ocean Reef in Key Largo. There have been days at the pool, golf cart rides, Red Sox, poker, Skip-bo and Go Fish games, golf, and food, food, food. All of the Taylors left yesterday afternoon for Ft. Lauderdale after Bill and Todd played a round of golf. 

Last night Bill and I stayed on the boat and had pizza and watched the amazing Red Sox sweep the Yankees. 

Molly and her sister-in-laws put on a huge spread every night at the house, which was a lot of fun. It has been so nice to be around a big group of really great people. Thank you Molly and Dave for sharing your family with us!!!

 

This morning we are expecting a mechanic who will work on the alternator. After troubleshooting with Dave, Jason, and the IP folks, Bill figures that the bow thruster problem is really a result of the alternator problem (not enough juice) so hopefully Mary Elizabeth will be in tip top shape soon. We are going to rent a car and drive to St. Petersburg on Wednesday or Thursday for the Rays vs. Red Sox series with Mary Alice. 

 

Blues and Greens

 

Bill and I left Miami around 11:00 on Wednesday in order to arrive in Key Largo at high tide. As we were taking the lines off and leaving the dock, Bill realized that the bow thruster wasn't working. Another blown fuse? 

About 10 minutes after we left the dock, Bill also noticed that the "charge" light was on on the engine console. There were -18 amps going into the batteries -- meaning that the alternator was not working. Since we only had a four hour trip, it wasn't a big deal; the batteries would stay charged enough until we got to the dock and could plug into shore power.  

 

While we were underway, Bill brainstormed about the alternator and changed the fuse out on the bow thruster, but it still didn't work. He thinks that maybe there is something stuck since we sat at the dock in Ft. Lauderdale for so long and there was a lot of growth. 

Despite our few issues, it was such a beautiful day on the water. The colors were amazing. The ocean would change from navy to light blue to almost neon green within seconds. In parts it looked like the water was polka dotted. 

Molly and her brother-in-law met us at the dock at Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo around 4:00. Bill docked the boat bow-to since we are without a bow thruster at the moment. We had a perfect lasagna dinner with Dave, Molly, Dave's sister and her family, and Dave's brother and his family all of whom are visiting. 

 

Today we washed the boat and then went for lunch at the pool side restaurant here at Ocean Reef. Bill is about to start on more troubleshooting. 

 

Orchids

I took these pictures when we were at Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo with Dave and Molly. The orchids were simply stunning. I have never seen orchids in such beautiful colors.

Lilly pads

Molly, Andre, Bill and I went for a tour of the Ocean Reef Club and stopped at this pond to try to find an alligator. We didn't see any gators, but we did see these beautiful lilly pads.

Key Largo, FL

On Friday Bill and I rented a car and drove from Ft. Lauderdale to Key Largo. Dave and Molly are at the Ocean Reef Club in Largo and graciously invited us down for the weekend. What a place! Friday night Dave beat Bill 6 to 1 at yahtzee. Molly gave us a tour of the reef in the golf cart on Saturday afternoon; we even stopped at the Ocean Reef Club museum. We went out for a sunset cruise in the small boat and Molly and I came back and spent several hours in the hot tub while the boys went to the bar. We had planned on returning to Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday morning but decided to stay another day. And we are so glad that we did! Dave, Molly, and their friends Ron and Steve took Bill and me out fishing for the afternoon. It was amazing. First we caught the bait (ballyhoo). We caught some with the rods and Ron caught others (many more) with the net. The water was beautiful; green and blue. In addition to the ballyhoo, we saw little yellow fins and sargent majors in the water. It was the perfect day; sunny and calm. Truly awesome.

After we caught enough bait fish, Dave drove the boat into deeper water. Ron and Steve put the bait on and set up the rods and then we waited. After a short time we had a fish on. Bill caught a sailfish, his first blue water catch. The sailfish was between 30 and 35 pounds. It was awesome. Molly took some great pictures.

After a little while longer, there was another fish on and it was my turn to reel him in. With (a lot!) of Ron's help, I managed to catch a black fin tuna. It is a lot harder than I thought it would be but Ron showed me how to get into the rhythm of reeling, waiting, reeling, waiting, etc. When the tuna was just about up to the boat, a shark came from behind and bit off its tail. But the shark left everything else (the good parts!) and Ron filleted the tuna up right then and there. I learned that it tuna doesn't get any fresher when the meat is still warm when it is filleted. Next was Molly's turn. She caught a (whole) bonito tuna. It was an awesome day. One of the most fun times we have had in a long time. It was a totally new experience for Bill and me and we were lucky to have the best of the best teach us. Dave and Ron are so knowledgeable.

We headed back to the dock around 5:00. Ron hung the flag to indicate that the boat caught one sailfish. It is upside down because the fish was released. Molly grilled the fresh tuna for dinner. The whole weekend was (of course) full of her fabulous meals.




We had an awesome weekend. It was so nice to see Dave and Molly, to hang out, see some of Largo, and to meet their friends. Life really doesn't get any better - great friends, amazing food and hospitality, learning and experiencing new things, hanging out and having a really, really good time.



Of course we took a million pictures. Click here to see the web album.




We are back on Mary Elizabeth in Lauderdale now. Bill replaced the fuse on the bow thruster and finished the last of the turnbuckles. We have a few other things to take care of before my father flies in from Boston on Wednesday -- which we are both looking forward to!