More on Boca Chica (25 Nov - 30 Nov)

Oh, thank you, thank you. Everyone has been too kind in responding to my earlier bloggy-type writings. Well, everyone except those two people who offered criticism. Imagine that! Would the two of you have criticized Hemingway?? Steinbeck?? King?? So, why you two people had to single ME out for criticism among my peers I just don’t know. Don’t worry Dave, don’t worry Kathy, I am not going to embarrass you by mentioning who you are. Nor am I going to say what criticisms you made. SOMEONE, however, suggested I add dates to the sections as I write them and SOMEONE ELSE actually believes I should develop the characters we run across in our travels a little more fully. The fact that both these points are …well …  maybe not so bad …  is irrelevant. I want to see your criticism of Hemingway (whose house, as you probably know, we saw in Key West).

At any rate, we left you, our loyal and dedicated readers (you too Dave and Kathy) at Boca Chica Naval Air Station Marina. There are three aspects of our time at Boca Chica that are particularly memorable. I have already mentioned the people. In all the marinas we visited during the shakedown, we met two or three folks at each that we will remember. At Boca Chica, there were probably ten. Ron from Last Dance, who took us to meet our repairman at the front gate and to the commissary, Ed and Maryann who invited us over to their boat for some dinner, Chuck who helped us with our radio, Paul who was in the slip next to us, and several others who helped us into our slip.

Our second memory from Boca Chica is Kevin. You will recall that after Fort Myers we were desperate to get our windlass and radio fixed. While at the very expensive Key West marina, we asked for the best repairman they knew and got Kevin’s name. I called the number before we left the marina (have I mentioned that it was very expensive?) and left a message saying that we had heard all sorts of good reports about him and we wanted him to work on our boat. I did not get a reply.  (Imagine that: a guy who doesn’t want to work the Friday after Thanksgiving). When we got to Boca Chica I left another message and told him that we had references for him from both Key West and Boca Chica and we really wanted him to work on our boat. Now that wasn’t exactly a lie as one of the guys who worked at the Key West marina also kept his boat at Boca Chica.

When Kevin called back later that day it was clear that he was flattered that people from both Key West and Boca Chica would recommend him and, for that reason, would deign to work on our boat.  (Kathy – please note this attempt at in-depth character development). Kevin was quite a character! On Saturday, he made his first attempt to take apart our windlass. He got it to the point Dan had, then decided that he, literally, needed a bigger hammer.  The following day he brought one. When he got to the boat, he started pounding – I mean really pounding. I didn’t like the sound and decided that I could better spend my time watching football at the local … er … lounge . Although he later told us that he succeeded in pounding it apart, I have since learned that he was exaggerating a little. In fact, there is no evidence that he got any further than Dan. Score: Windlass 2, Repairmen 0. However, he did tell us – correctly – that we would not be able to fix the windlass and would have to buy a new one. <Deep, wistful sigh>

Kevin also worked on the radio. Chuck, one of our dock mates, had worked on radios during his Air Force career and was now a Ham radio operator. He came over to help. Between Kevin and Chuck I think they checked everything that could be wrong with the radio and came to the conclusion that it had to be the microphones. So we replaced the microphones and it looked like it worked … until we left the marina the following day and could only get static to come out of the speakers. Conclusion? We need new radios. <Another deep wistful sigh>

When Dan worked on our windlass and radios in Fort Myers he was so disappointed that he could not help us with our problems that he charged us only $155 for about ten hours worth of work. Kevin, also worked about 10 hours, accomplished the same (or less) than Dan and charged us $500. So, here are the two lessons I learned: (1) Hire Dan whenever we get a chance and do not hire Kevin again. (2) Figure out when to quit trying to repair a piece of equipment and just buy another one. I spent $655 to fix the radio and windlass and accomplished nothing; the equipment was as bad off after the money was spent than before.

Finally, I got the bicycle off the back deck and rode all over the base. I know you don’t think that’s particularly exciting, but you have to remember that full time cruisers don’t have access to a car. So, unless they are willing to take taxis, lucky enough to find public transportation or can find a rental car company, they do not travel more than walking distance from the marina. And while marinas are fun and interesting, if you see nothing but marinas, it can get a little old.