Jingle bells, jingle bells, Harbour Towne smells and Leopard laid an egg

Our plan was to get to Florida and get the boat set up and work done so we could set sail to the Bahamas before Christmas. A big goal of Nikki’s was to be in the sun on a beach and have a kite and a swim on Christmas day. This is blog three and you will notice a trend, we plan one thing and the opposite happens. Ah boat life is such a wonderful thing.

November ended with our first boat guests, Sharon and Dave. They came and stayed with us from November 26 until December 1st. Now the boat was still having work done on it but Sharon and Dave were the perfect first guests as they are low key and low maintenance. We took some nice walks on the beach and around the estuary. Had dinner in Hollywood at a great Thai restaurant and we took in the mural walk in Miami. The time flew by and we had a blast. Thanks for the visit guys hope you come again.

It was also nice to have visitors to take our minds off the fact that it was looking less and less likely that we would get out of Fort Lauderdale before Christmas. Nikki was not happy about this but before she could get worked up about when we will get to set sail she needed to get to Cancun to meet up with her sister Sheila. It was a quick getaway to have some sister and family time since we do not know when that will happen again. Unfortunately this time flew by super quick and Nikki was back in no-see-um hell before she could take a deep breath.

Three things I have not yet mentioned. First Harbour Towne Marina is right on a mangrove and as such has a very vibrant no-see-um population. This makes enjoying the outdoor space on our new boat almost impossible. Almost, because if there is a nice wind we can sit outside. The second thing is Harbour Towne is a work yard marina which is great if you are getting work done but it makes for a lousy live aboard location. The water is dirty and smells and there is the constant buzz of work being done on boats. So not a great holiday cheer place. For me that is fine but Nikki loves Christmas so for her, not so much. The third thing is a big one. The reason we have not left yet is that our mast was damaged by the delivery crew. Leopard and the delivery crew are arguing over who should pay. Nothing to do with us but it means delays in ordering a new mast and delays in getting the new mast rigged and on our boat. To add to this problem almost all of the workers take off from Christmas Eve to the beginning of January.

Fortunately we got the mast up and managed to have a great first Christmas and New Years on our new boat. Plus our good friend Bob showed up to assist us with our first trip to the Bahamas. I am sure he did this out of friendship and not a means to escape the Vancouver winter.

Bottom line is we love our new boat and all of our aftermarket work is done so we are clear to set sail in January. Nikki is looking forward to some warm swimmable water and a few kite sessions. Boat life can be unpredictable but so far we love it and Zorro is getting used to it as well.