Back in Florida - Week One

Lynn & Mike ..around the world
Mike Drinkrow & Lynn v/d Hoven
Fri 11 Mar 2011 17:06
 26:49.91N 080:03.27W       Week One on Time 2 at Old Port Cove
 
We have been back in Florida for a week now.    The flight over was fairly pleasant - plane was empty and we were able to stretch out.  However the effects of a 34 hour journey and 7 time zones took its toll, and we took quite a few days to get over the jet lag. Waking up at 4am every night was becoming a bad habit.
 
It was very exciting to get back to Time 2 - our new home. She has been under the care of James Knight and the team at Yacht Tech who have done quite a bit of work, getting her ready for our next journey. It is hard to believe that this boat is 6 years old - she looks brand new!  Old Port Cove is currently hosting 12 Nordhavn's, including 4 of the 38 Nordhavn 57's ever built - quite a site!
 
The marina at Old Port Cove is fabulous. The staff are very helpful and have golf carts to help you take stuff down the floating docks to your boat.  Lucky for us - as we had a lot of unloading to do!  When we sold Indigo we took a storage garage in Palm Beach that was filled to the brim of boxes, crates, dive gear, tools, clothes, books etc etc. All this had to be taken down to Time 2. We rented a car - the crazy looking CUBE - which proved to be an effective "bakkie"!  We also had a spare outboard engine, our dive compressor and 2 canoes to bring on board. Mike fetched these with James' small boat. North Palm Beach, like many of the other areas of Florida is full of waterways, and it is often quicker to get around on the water.  Finding a place for all our belongings has been quite a challenge - as you not only have to pack them away, but make sure that which is regularly needed is accessible, and more importantly, remember where everything is!
 
One 'near disaster' of unpacking... we could not find the crate with Mike's fishing reels..that is - ALL his fishing reels!!  We searched and searched, mentally going over all our packing and unpacking, from Annapolis down to Florida - even contacted the new owner of Indigo to check that we had not left them behind...but ..nothing!  This was not helping Mike's sleeping pattern!  However after a few days we found one crate, hidden under our new BBQ !!  Yippeeeeeee!  There they were, and peace was restored!  Mike has now put up 7 rod-holders on the back deck roof, to accommodate his precious toys!
 
Given the disaster in Japan, our weather news seems somewhat insignificant, however we did have a storm.  It created a waterspout with high winds that tore right through the marina. Mike and I were our shopping, but apparently it passed right in front of Time 2.  Boxes and canoe oars on our back deck were scattered around and one shoe lost!  Other boats were not that lucky, with torn bimini covers and one foresail that got unwound and shredded. Some furniture also flew off one of the high-rise condo buildings on to the marina.  But it all passed quite quickly and this morning the skies are clear. 
 
While doing lots of work, and preparing Time 2 for the next leg of our trip, we have also found time to catch up with friends in Florida. Tom von Ohlen came over from Bonita Springs to help us the first weekend, Louis Graham popped over for dinner and this weekend we are going down to Fort Lauderdale to see Will & Di Patterson.
 
 
Time 2 on the dock
The Cube
Condos around the marina - Katie Jane & Time 2