Swift

Cheesecake in Coconut Grove

Coconut Grove 

Miami Sunset from our sailboat, moored off Dinner Key Marina
Sunset view from our Mooring at Dinner Key Marina
We rowed to shore Sunday night to take in the sights. Hastings hadn’t been off the boat for a little while and we were all looking forward to some exercise.

I had to row across a channel filled with returning holiday boaters, then be amongst them as they lined up to fight at the boat ramp. Hastings leapt to shore with great alacrity and we admired the fights and horn honking taking place. “Ive just had a great day on the water, now I am filled with rage against fellow mankind and confused as to why other people want to be in the same spot. Plus I have TV to watch. No, I don’t know why we got married! Is there a divorce lawyer around?!”

We left this happy scene of domestic bliss and marched to Coconut Grove, a lovely, charming place lined with outdoor cafes, live music, twinkling lights. Apparently I have become a hermit as all I could focus on were the throngs of people pressing on me and the can’t stop, won’t stop traffic.

The din from talking and music was so loud and all encompassing I couldn’t even hear myself think, let alone contemplate having the planned dinner conversation about holding tank sludge. What’s a person to do!

Laundry Day!

Monday, Memorial Day, a very exciting thing happened. I did laundry! On land, I would complain about walking 5 feet to machine and then having to transfer clothes to the dryer and then - oh the humanity - have to fold them. Now, we rowed for a mile, walked 10 minutes, carried the laundry up a flight of stairs, and couldn’t have been more thrilled to get the laundry done! There is nothing like clean sheets and clean towels.

We then marched through Coconut Grove to get cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory and rowed off the calories.

Engine Update

Tuesday we rented a car and drove to get our starter for Starboard Stan. Imagine our joy when the mechanic said. “Some dude just came and purchased the starter I had set aside for you. I thought it was you! I think I have another one though, standby." He had another starter. Disaster averted. Drumroll please….. it works! Now the only actor in non-compliance is the Yamaha dinghy engine. It’s giving off such a resentful vibe, none of the mechanics in Miami that we’ve called want to look at it in exchange for money. This can’t go on forever. The Cheesecake Factory only has 58 varieties of cheesecake to row off, and there’s no rower’s fuel back up plan.

Whats Next

Hastings is going to fill you in on his sufferings on Friday. Maybe by then we’ll be on our way to our next stop - Fernandina Beach, FL and St. Mary’s / Cumberland Island, GA (330 miles and approx 2.5 nonstop days depending on winds, currents, waves, divorce lawyer availability, etc)

This is the story of Matt, Lucy and Hastings, the crew of the sailing vessel Dulcinea, a 1985 Cabo Rico 38.

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4 comments

  1. The Cynical SailorJune 1, 2016 at 1:10 PM

    Mmmm....cheesecake. I think you may have mentioned some other things in this blog post, but all I can remember is cheesecake.

    ReplyDelete
  2. TheCambriansJune 4, 2016 at 9:42 PM

    Ha ha ha. Forget the cheesecake, I'm still thinking about the brownies and calculating how many hours I have to wait for the boat to cool down before I can bake -- Hastings might be on to something with this air conditioning thing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Boat Life Larks - S/V DulcineaJune 5, 2016 at 6:57 PM

      I've always despised people who bake / cook in their underwear. It only took me three weeks to join their ranks! -Lucy

      Delete

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