2nd December 2008 Thunderbolt Marine, Savannah…. Still !!

 Yes, we are still high and dry in the yard at Thunderbolt Marine, but hoping to get the bottom wet tomorrow afternoon. It has been a long and difficult task to get things done, but it is hard to get angry when everyone here in the southern USA is so utterly charming and pleasant. Both of us do enjoy Savannah 

and its people, I do not think that we have met one person who has been rude, brusque or unpleasant to us. A very welcome change to some parts of North America !! When they address Catherine each sentence is finished by a “Ma’am” …she gets a kick out of the wonderful manners of men down here….women usually call us “honey”, “sweetheart”, “darling”. 

Anyway, work is progressing, the sacrificial zinc anodes, which Catherine so cleverly tracked down in San Diego, California, are due here tomorrow and will take me five minutes to put on, after which we are ready to launch. Work is also underway to fit the solar panels on the stern and our new car (the AB dinghy) is paid for and awaiting our word to be delivered. Now let’s just hope and pray that our trusty Westerbeke engine starts after its long rest. We have a handy dock astern of a boat (ship) that I am totally in love with named “Blue Moon”…. If you blog “Fedship Blue Moon” you will likely find her. Once on the dock we shall start to put the sails on, depending on the wind probably a morning’s work then load the new dinghy on the fore deck, finish up a few other odd jobs, return the rental car and be off . I am thinking that Thursday is a likely day for departure at first light and if the weather is reasonable I would like to go outside for a distance in order to try and make up some of the lost time here. It would be good if we could make Fernandina Beach in a day, but it will be a long day. Time will tell….. we are cruising, so what’s the rush?? We left our digs up the road and have now moved aboard the boat. If anybody wants a cheap, clean and quiet motel we would recommend La Quinta…(it’s a chain we think)… USD 48.66 with CAA discount per night, including a good continental breakfast – decent sized room – free wifi internet – king size bed etc etc. Very good value !! It is chilly here – unseasonably so, the locals tell us. Around 35/36* F at night and upper fifties to low sixties during the day. The Thanksgiving holiday was a beautiful day, high in the low seventies and we spent it exploring Tybee Island – walking on the beach and eating a delicious fresh sea food platter (shrimp, scallops and oysters)at a small restaurant.

We also took a tramcar tour of old Savannah doing 

the tourist thing. Quite interesting and also sampled the pecan candy that we find so delicious. As ever.

The past weekend , it did nothing but pour with rain, however we managed to stay dry and do a lot of shopping for stores ….. we are single handedly keeping the local Publix grocery store in business, but we have been told by our friends, who are already in Hope Town that prices have gone up, so we are trying to be as self sufficient as we possibly can be and five months is a long time to be self sufficient !!!! How much pasta to take … how much meat in the freezer – cans of beans etc etc etc …… the list goes on and on. In previous trips Catherine has had a friend to go with her and it has not seemed to be such a big job as it is now being on her own. It would be an interesting exercise for those readers who care to ….. imagine being unable to visit a grocery store for a month at a time and decide how much and what to eat for that time ? Then multiply that by five or six! Fresh milk – we do not go through much, but we buy several litres and freeze most in handy half litre jars…. It keeps surprisingly well for quite a long time. We have meat…. filet steak, pork chops, pork loins and a turkey breast for Christmas to freeze. Ah – the victualling officer has just returned – I must away to help her bring another load aboard. One day she will have to explain how she keeps tabs on where everything is – that’s an art form in itself and entirely of her own design!!