4 - Repairing your boat in exotic (or rather not so exotic) places!!!

We've often heard that the definition of cruising is "repairing your boat in exotic places."  Well, after a little over 6 weeks in south Florida, we sailed back into Cocoa Village Marina  to attack our boat list (things that broke and things we broke).  We hit something on our way south (somewhere just north of Vero Beach in the Intracoastal Waterway) and when we got to Key West and dove the boat, we noticed that a chunk of fiberglass had been ripped off of the keel!  There was thankfully no structural damage but the boat had to be hauled out of the water and repaired.  The boatyards in Key West are still backed up with damaged boats from Hurricane Irma this past summer so they couldn't get to us for quite sometime.  We needed to get back to Cocoa Village to get the canvas work finished anyway, so we called the boat yard in Port Canaveral that we've financially supported many times in the past and they were able to fit us in their schedule.  We had the boat hauled, repaired and back in the water in less than a week and just under one boat dollar. It ended up being "just a flesh wound."  We were back in business!!!

Gary had to fly out for one more business trip and MaryAnn decided to head to Louisville to visit one more time with the family so that took a week.  By the time we got back to the boat the canvas was finished!  We are ecstatic about it!  Looks great and will be much needed protection for hopefully years to come.

Next, we had a list things that broke, ripped, leaked or just needed attention that we attacked and conquered!   The captain might be a little worse for the wear but the boat looks great!!!  Took about 2 weeks but Whatever She Wants is ready for her next adventure!  We can proudly say that, at least for now, this it the only "leek" we have on the boat!!!

We're Getting a few last minute groceries, medical/dental appointments and anything else we can think of taken care of this week before we take off in a couple of days heading north to see where the wind and the sea takes us!

Until next post!