After a month at anchor, it felt distinctly strange to get up in the night and see boats on either side in their slips. Also odd to have all the hatches and ports closed and air conditioning running. Very nice though, not to have to visually check all four directions to reassure one’s sleepy self that the anchor is not dragging.

This morning we made coffee as usual, then Paula set to work cleaning and righting C Ghost, who in some ways now resembles an Airbnb bungalow after a bunch of spring breakers have left. The refrigerator had not been thoroughly cleaned since we left St. Augustine, and the freezer likewise was in sore need of defrosting. Once the fridge was cleaned and reorganized, we got an 8lb. bag of ice and used it to keep the remaining frozen foods frozen while Tom undertook the manly job of defrosting the ice flow that once was our freezer’s evaporator plate. To Paula’s surprise, we still had 10 frozen dinners left. They are in good shape and we will use them in the next few weeks.

That done, we walked to Solomon’s Yamacraw, the modern and well-stocked grocery just a mile away. We bought mainly fresh fruits and vegetables  as well as some treats and snacks. We will wait to stock up on meat, fish and canned goods until the freezer has come down to operating temp (9-12 degrees, now down to 15.6 as of just after dinner) and we can borrow the courtesy car for that heavier load.

It is amazing the sense of richness we felt seeing our hanging basket full of produce (featured picture) and having two new boxes of brownie mix! After a short rest, Tommy continued checking and adjusting boat systems that got continuous use while at anchor and Paula continued cleaning: the cockpit, various grimy nooks and crannies, etc.

The weather today was windy and overcast, but no rain, We took a walk around the marina and saw the boat of a family we met in Warderick Wells. Their boat is a beautiful schooner named Magic. They are back home in the states but left the boat here. We also saw a good example of the kind of go-fast boat we’ve been seeing a lot.

For dinner Paula attempted a recipe that new friends made for the potluck dinner we enjoyed so much in Cambridge: Braised pork in sauerkraut a la Rocky. It was not quite as good as the original, but tasty enough that Tommy eagerly agreed that Paula could make it again and try to refine her technique. Accompanying this was fresh steamed green beans and fresh sliced pears.

After dinner, we started two loads of laundry (unfortunately, only part of our dirty clothes and towels). The breeze has picked up, as forecast, and it has gotten noticeably cooler, so we turned off the air conditioning and opened up the boat. This feels much more natural.