August 6 - 9, 2009

I am going to have to remember to write in my journal every day, because I’m definitely on Island Time and the days are running together. If I can stay on top of my journal, I’ll be able to remember what day of the week it is. I’m writing this entry on Sunday, August 09, 2009…so I’m going by memory.

Thursday, August 6 was a great day, not that we did a whole lot, but that we are where we are and doing what we are doing. It’s sinking in. We did get a few things done. We straightened up the boat – I cleaned up the inside while Harry worked on the outside. Some of that work was interrupted with the desire to fish. We had to – fish were consistently jumping around us, as if asking us to cast a bait. Harry even saw a large Tarpon jump just off of our stern, so we HAD to fish. Unfortunately, nothing was biting but the catfish. So, we decided to take dingy down and head over to the White Elephant for lunch, but our 15hp Yamaha didn’t want to keep running. We put some carb cleaner in the gas and ran her around the anchorage until we blew out the varnish…she then ran like a dream. Jack Mosley and his wife Debra invited us for dinner, so while at the White Elephant for lunch we asked permission to tie her up there tonight so Jack could pick us up. We were told about a dozen times that we could, as long as we were back by 9:30 p.m. I’m pretty sure we understood.

Dinner was great, and spending time with Jack and Debra was even better. We met Molly, Jack and Debra’s Jack Russell, who greeted us with a series of barks warning us that this was her territory. She later gave her approval with several licks. Jack played us three of his new songs, after Debra put Molly outside because she insisted on singing along – and she does so rather loudly! For any Jack Mosley fans out there – this next album is going to be amazing. His song “Time On The Water” is as good, if not better, than Small Boats. Tomorrow night, we’ll here him sing it with the band.

We returned to the White Elephant in plenty of time to make our “curfew”. We had a nightcap with Jack and headed back to Gypsy Wind. We’re exhausted. We were told that living this lifestyle we will be up with the sun and down with the sun – it’s so true.

I can’t recall what all we did on Friday, August 7, other than wash the boat down. We were on the outside of what I believe was a nasty thunderstorm on land, because everyone asked us how we did during the storm. We got some good rain, so I took the opportunity of having free fresh water and washed down the decks. Harry and I then gave the hull a saltwater bath and let the rain do the rinsing for us. Not only did Gypsy Wind get a good cleaning, it was a refreshing cool down for us as well. We cooked some chicken on the grill, took a shower, waited for the rain to subside, and took the dingy to the White Elephant to see the Jack Mosley Band. Jack writes and sings songs that describe what we are doing to a tee. In fact, you’d think he wrote them specifically for us. We always enjoy watching him play and hearing the new songs with the band was quite a treat. However, now that we are in the up and down with the sun mode, keeping our eyes open for the last set was a bit of a chore. Once Jack finished playing, we headed back to the boat and went to bed.

Saturday morning, August 8, we got up and piddled around a bit, had breakfast, then packed up and headed to Gasparilla Marina, where we were picking up Jack and the band for a photo shoot on Gypsy Wind. Our boat will be on the cover of Jack’s next CD, which he and the band will be recording in Nashville next week. Jack, Rick, Don and Alan all had a great time on the boat and a lot of fun with the shoot. Harry took Mike, the photographer, out on the dingy to get some shots and it’s possible he got the photo of all photos. As the guys were sitting on the starboard side of the boat, with their legs hanging over the side, dolphin began to swim and jump right in front of them. It was almost too good to be true, and an awesome site for all of us. Once the shoot was over, we headed back to the marina to drop of the band. They headed for the night’s gig in Punta Gorda, and we headed south for Cabbage Key. We thought we’d get the opportunity to sail across Charlotte Harbor, but a large, nasty looking storm was looming, so we opted to motor across. We reached Cabbage Key just after 5:00 p.m. and dropped anchor between Useppa Island and Cabbage Key. What a peaceful, beautiful anchorage. As the sun set, a storm brewed off in the distance and displayed an incredible lightning show. The rumbling thunder was melodic enough to lull me to sleep.

Today, Sunday, August 9, we explored Cabbage Key. We did the typical Cabbage Key tourist stuff…had a beer at the famous inn, signed a dollar bill and taped it to the wall, climbed the water tower, and walked the trail. We met a couple at the island from Tampa that couldn’t seem to grasp that we were heading south in our sailboat and not coming back. As we tried to explain what we are doing (and they still weren’t getting it), it made me realize that there are people out there that have no concept of this lifestyle. I know friends and family question what we are doing, maybe think we’re slightly out of our minds, but most people get it. For those who don’t, go to the “Our Story” section on our website and listen to Jack Mosley’s “Small Boats on Big Oceans”. That pretty much sums it up. Anyway, we ended our tour with a dingy ride all the way around the island, and then headed back to the boat for a nice cool shower (believe it or not a cool shower is rare if we’ve been running the engine. The engine heats the water pretty much to the point we could make a cup of tea right from the faucet), and then cooked up some chicken on the grill. Now it's time to relax, enjoy the sunset, and get ready to head to Marco Island tomorrow morning.