More Repairs?

Christoph spent the morning troubleshooting. He found the blown fuse in the freezer controller, and replaced it. Our aft head pump was oozing smelly liquid into the head locker. Yuck. Christoph spent a great deal of time tracking down the membrane for the Whale Pump, and was excited to find that we could obtain it at Boatowner’s Warehouse, in nearby Riviera Beach. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the wrong size, so we ordered the part from Amazon, and had it delivered to our friend Wayne's house.

We climbed into the dinghy to head for shore, but the opposing wind and current made for a choppy sea, and waves broke over the bow, soaking us. We returned to Delfina to put on our foul weather gear. I love the feeling of protection provided by my bright red hooded jacket, impervious to wind and water.

We tied up a the Palm Beach Sailing Club dinghy dock, crowded with the dinghies of members and transients. We registered at the Club, and rented a car. By now, we were starving, so we stopped at Makeb’s for a late breakfast, and sat a an outdoor table. An older woman dressed in an orange sweater and long black skirt was seated in her wheelchair nearby. She fed her bagel to the pigeons, and complained to us about her juice; then she pushed back from the table and used her bare feet to propel herself down the sidewalk.

We brought our now unfrozen food to my brother Mike's house in nearby Wellington. Mike is my youngest brother, and I hadn't seen him since my father's funeral, three years ago. My nephews Justin and Coby had grown into adulthood since I had last been here; one thing that hadn't changed was their obsession with video games. 

Back at Wayne and Sally's, we watched a video of one of Wayne's deliveries––a brand new 52 Jenneau, sailing downwind with a Jennaker sail. Wayne loved this sail, and recommended it to us, in lieu of a whisker pole. With sailing, there are always multiple solutions to any problem.

Wayne joined us at the Sailing Center bar for some Dark and Stormy's, served up by Sean, the friendly Irish bartender. By the time we got back on board, we were too tired to cook, and snacked on marinated veggies, cheese and crackers. We knew we'd be feasting tomorrow.