The sun’s shining on the marina this morning and the temperature in the boat is above 26º, though it is still chilly outside. Hubby’s gone up to do the washing, I’ve cleaned through the boat and things are getting back to normal.
Last night we had heavy winds, and there were an awful lot of clangs, bangs, thumps and thuds, luckily none of which appeared to relate to us.
When we first arrived, a fellow live-aboard advised us to ensure that anything on top of the boat was well secured, as they had not only lost a top box once, but their ladder, pole and a bucket. We therefore invested in bungee cord and tied our pole and gantry down.
The ‘hat’ that Hubby made for our roof hatch is secured at each corner and tied to the grab rails. Fred sits aloft (must remember to remove his tinsel) and sees all. He is not only glued to the top, but screwed and bolted, so he ain’t goin’ anywhere!
Our immediate neighbour has two top boxes, a hose reel, ladder and a variety of flower pots and crates on top of their 50 footer, and in the first storm lost both box lids into the drink. Luckily, they were fished out and replaced in position, but I noticed yesterday that he was outside checking everything was secure so that there was no chance of repetition.
The cruiser on the other side of us is lonely.
I say that because in the five months we’ve been here, we have never seen anyone on board, no-one tending to her, or even tightening her ropes. Last night, she was continually bashed against the pontoon finger, and her outboard motor was bouncing off the back walkway as the water swirled around us in a frenzy of activity caused by the high winds.
We were rocked back and forth, the choppiness of the waves causing eerie echoes against our hull, like some kind of gurgling indigestion inside our water tank.
Our zip condoms are still in place, and the occasional rattles and clinks we hear have been identified as relating to the securing straps for the roll-upable sections of our covers.
Unlike in the house, raging winds or heavy rain don’t bother us here.
pensitivity101 
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