We made it to the boat and she was a wreck. This boat has been on the hard for about a year and a half and I can see why nobody wanted to buy her. 

She looks rough. 

When Mark and I first got here we were appalled. This was not the beautiful boat that we left all those months ago. Perhaps that was our first sign that things would not be going according to plan. Everything was covered in a layer of grime and mold. The varnish was peeling off of the teak outside. Nothing smelled good. There was a flooded compartment on the inside of the boat.

Sailors’ plans are drawn in low tide sands. And once again, it seems like we forgot.

Our plans are a bit off track.

The good news, the boat floats. The bad news, the dinghy doesn’t. Neither engine is running and we have so much cleaning to do. I’m sure we will be discovering more problems as we go. It looks like we will be spending some quality time in Indiantown getting to know our Yanmar diesel engine.

Neither of us are diesel mechanics, but we’re about to be!

At this point there is no way we will be in Stuart for the arrival of our first friend. Oh well! He’ll be getting a real taste of boat life. In this case, making repairs with an alligator for a neighbor.