April 2007
Staying in St Augustine for the month of April has allowed us to tackle a huge list of backlog maintenance that might never get done otherwise. Good examples are cleaning out our water tanks and sterilising them and draining cooling water and replacing anti-freeze in the diesels.
The most despised of all jobs was dismantling and rebuilding the heads (toilet for the land-lubbers). We have become so disillusioned with the failure of diesel tank senders at the wrong moment that we have fitted one that reads directly on top of the main tank even if the sender fails.
The built-in computer has suffered screen failures from fluctuating voltages and we have now found neat 12 volt stabilisers that accept 10-28 volts and put out a constant 12 volts. This holds promise for future longevity but we will have to wait and see if it works out in practice.

The rounded flat tail fin is clearly visible
These Sportfishers are larger than they appear and may have four stories - they catch huge gulf stream wahoo, mahi-mahi, marlin and swordfish but put put a lot of them back
These two appear to be a pair and drink from the tiny fresh water trickle without any conflict
Note the covers for the nostrils and look for the pits containing the tiny eyes
The staircase within the lighthouse

The manatees have given us great pleasure. Three of them have been regular visitors here and know that they can sleep just below the surface in the quietest corner of the marina. There is just a tiny trickle of fresh water close by and they will drink from it for hours, sharing it if necessary.
Manatees are slowly recovering in Florida and this has been our first opportunity to get close. Their closest relative is the elephant and you can easily see why despite the obvious differences. They eat grassy vegetation on the estuarine beds and must consume an average of 10% of their body weight daily! Considering they sleep a lot we don’t know when...
The front flippers have three or four fingernails evident but the back flipper is a single rounded structure. Aall have barnacles, weed and propeller scars. These scars have been used by the conservancy authorities to identify individuals and track them. A shame they have suffered though.

In spite of the high work rate we have still had time to have some fun. Retail therapy is always satisfying and we have taken our share. We do not need a car in the UK for a while so we have bought a jeep for use in Colorado. All done by phone and internet and we just hope it will be OK. Having built our home in Colorado by e-mail we have more faith than many!
The St Augustine lighthouse is a restored structure that identified the inlet to the Matanzas and Tolomato Rivers. It was well worth the visit and the views from the top were splendid. The wind piped up to >30 knots and they were just considering closing the top level outside to small children. Our friend Ed from Merlin managed to lean well forward into the breeze up there.
John from Misty also visited and introduced us to Columbia’s, a great Cuban/Spanish restaurant in the old city with a courtyard, fountains and excellent food. We have returned a few times...

A view up to the Villano bridge at the start of the Tolomato River
The restored St Augustine Lighthouse

In amongst all the work and tourism we have been preparing for a visit from our daughter Bridget and granddaughter Aspen from Colorado. There is great news as Bridget is pregnant again and due in the autumn/fall. We have planned to be there this time to look after Aspen.
The new arrival will modify our cruising plans again and we may not get so far north as we expected this year. Never mind, we can always extend our time here as ‘snow birds’ and delay the next stage of cruising a year.
Temperatures here are in the high 80’s F and fires are raging in the wilds of Georgia. Some days the boat is covered in ash - just like Portugal in 2005!

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