Jan 11, 2015. Marathon

Yesterday turned into a nice sunny day.  Rich and Kathy went to Burdines Chiki Tiki Hut for lunch, which was excellent.  The stone crab soup was so good they could have eaten a gallon of it.  Then a short hike to their favorite store "West Marine" to buy a backup pump for the refrigerator.  They went to the City Marina to get info and put their name on a list for a mooring ball.  They are number 30, so not sure if they will ever get on one.  They also scouted the harbor for anchoring spots, and talked to a boater who is leaving Monday, so he will call Rich so we can get his spot.  It's a good thing they did this leg work to get us closer in, as you will see from their escapade later.  They heard from another boater that there was music at the City Marina, so after dinner they decided to go check it out.  They left us behind in the cabin listening to some old George Benson disc, and after about 10 times of that, I still can't get the tunes out of my head.  So Kathy and Rich went in, and they had to use a big flashlight to see the markers in the dark.  When they saw the harbor it was beautiful.  The hundreds of anchor lights looked like the stars, or at least something out of a Disney movie.  So they stayed and listened to music for an hour, then made the trip back.  It takes about 20-25 minutes for the trip, and Kathy said all was going well until they got out of the harbor, and you guessed it...condensation in the fuel tank again.  The motor sputtered, started again, sputtered, and then dead.  By this time the waves were pushing the dinghy into the anchor line of a 40 foot sailboat.  Rich grabbed on to the anchor line, while both of them got the oars out.  This was not a happening thing!  Kathy said they were bobbing in the water like those red bobbers on the end of a fishing pole, and she was afraid she was going to get a concussion from the bow of the sailboat.  What she was more afraid of was the owners of the sailboat coming out with a shotgun, thinking Rich and Kathy were trying to board their boat.  Rich knew the seas were not in his favor for rowing back, and like a miracle he spotted another boat who he flagged down with his light.  Kathy said that Rich looked like a cormorant drying his wings on a mooring ball with the anchor line hooked under his arm.  When the other small boat came to their rescue, the owners of the sailboat they were under came out to see what the commotion was all about.  Whew, no guns, and they were a very nice couple who said Rich should have knocked on their hull, and they would have come to their rescue.  Well a 100 yard tow and they were back on Rikava.  Bitts and I couldn't understand why they just didn't stay home and listen to George Benson with us.