Fighting for Space

Fri Feb 6, 2015
Matanza Marina
Ft Myers Beach, FL


Yesterday just disappeared. We came in from the storm mid morning and ate and went to bed. I woke up at 3:45 and Lee got up a little before me. We spent the evening trying to dry things out as we were pretty damp from the wild ride earlier in the morning.

Mark and Judy went to Mark's sisters house and ate and did laundry while we napped. Before dark Lee noticed Marks boat was leaning, Usually a sign that a boat is on the bottom. He called Mark and told him. They really could not do anything but wait for tide to rise but Mark wanted to be with the boat so they came back to the boat. Guess they were on the bottom a while. When we got up this morning we saw mud everywhere around us. Mud that was under water when we had come in the day before. Mark had already up anchored and gone in to hunt a mooring ball.

We called the marina office and they said there were some empty mooring balls and we could go look. They mentioned 3 numbers in particular that had a little deeper water.  We looked around but only saw one empty ball but it was one of the numbers they gave us. We hooked to it. Mark had gone aground lightly twice hunting for a ball but did not find one. Lee went to the marina office to pay for the mooring and while he was gone someone came over in a little john boat and told me the mooring we were on was taken and the person it was reserved for was aground. I told him the marina specifically gave us that ball number and if he was with the marina they needed to get it straight.  He admitted he was not with the marina he was just trying to do a friend a favor by holding it.
I called Lee to tell him what happened and he happened to be in the marina office at the time. They said don't pay any attention to the man we could stay and we were the paying customers.

Shortly after that I saw Mark come to a mooring ball and the man came over and tried the same thing with them. They obliged him and left the only mooring ball empty and went back where they anchored last night and were aground. I called them and told them he did the same to me and he was full of crap but they said they were not going to argue with the guy. Guess I am just not a nice guy.

I discovered water under my mattress. We think it may have come thru the stern where there were holes drilled in the deck for the solar panel wiring. We will check it out more tomorrow. Our red/green running light quit working during the storm and when we checked the bulb wire seemed to be broken on one end. We called West Marine but it would take a week and is a special order item. Hope some other boating supply place in town will have it. Check on that tomorrow too.

I went to the marina laundry this afternoon. First time I have had to dinghy clothes to and from the boat.  (pain in the ass) There were only 3 washers and 3 dryers and 5 people waiting to do laundry. It took 50 min to get all 3 loads started washing and all in all it was a 2 1/2 hr ordeal. This thing of needing to have clean clothes everyday is a hassle.  I am considering being a nudist! A couple from Nova Scotia waiting to do laundry said they were leaving tomorrow and 3 or 4 boats around them were too so we hope that will let Handleys get Windbird in here and moored.

Supposed to be 49 degrees tonight here, What the heck is that???