Days Events:

Wx - a quiet wind day! Forecast is only 6-13 mph S/SSW/SSE. Temp 78/84. Tomorrow will be the bigger winds, starting early a.m. but only rising to 35-40mph sustained; with higher gusts possible to 70mph however.

Storm Prep - Although looks like the storm will be less than originally predicted, won't relax until it has passed. This evening, adjusted lines to keep boat more centered in slip and reduce risk of hitting/rubbing on stbd side. Otherwise, we are about as ready as can be.

The low tide today, at 14:20/2:20, is exceptional per the dockmaster and mostly due to the very bright full moon - see photo; the speed boat next to us is obviously grounded, with his stern 'in', but we are fortunately in a deeper slip, although our bow tip may be just touching; the stern is still definitely free; it surprised me when I saw the lines to the pilings 'way up there' - they are fixed with just the docks floating of course; the lines tied to the cleats on the docks will be ok, but the ones to the pilings were under some strain, so moved 3 of them a foot lower to reduce the tension; will adjust again later.

An unwelcome association with the low tide is the 'odor' of sulfur or septic due to the exposed mud. Initially thought it was someone's holding tank since the stink was upwind of our boat.

Photos - only the one.

Travel - Admiral went for groceries.

Admirals Desk:

Still constantly checking the weather channel. It still says we're ok. And our neighbors say not to worry, they've been thru much worse But I will keeping checking.😁

Cooking again! The Lobster House right next to us still doesn't answer their takeout #. I was hoping for dayboat fresh scallops. Doing pork tenderloin, roasted lemon potatoes, roasted asparagus. All in the oven to keep the power draw down. Only one appliance at a time! It's a small oven so timing is complicated. [but it sure smells and tastes good!! per the Captain]

Outing for the day was to the bigger Acme grocery. Great store, but I wouldn't have seen the old city center and the beautiful Victorians if I had gone there first.

Good night all. Going to check the weather channel again.😁

I think the Captain has now used all our lines, so I made him have a glass of Balvenie to relax.

Maintenance:

A/C strainer - not much in the basket, just twigs/debris and some mud; cleaned and dropped copper 'elbow' back in and didn't have to prime the pump fortunately.

Engine drive belt shrouds - put both back on, since have had no more problems with belts or tensioners. [they cover the forward end of the engines, where the drive belts are located - they are a safety feature]

Holding tank monitors - the #1 reads 37% at 10:00 and the #2 shows '1/4' - we are PPOD 2 [that's PostPumpOutDay 2] so both are reading a bit high, but that seems the norm now; everyone is likely 'bummed-out' reading about this, so will stop reporting unless we experience a 'brown-out' or some other significant catastrophe. :)

Travel Plans - called the 3 marinas we have reservations for and let them know our new departure date. The limiting factor remains the off-shore leg from Manasquan to Raritan Bay/NYC as we can't run the 30+miles along the open coast without favorable wx, and at the moment that may not be until Monday Aug. 10th - but that can quickly change. I have plotted our course on the ICW from here to Manasquan so far - had to do it 'manually' as the automatic Navionics software kept taking us offshore.

That's all for today. Keep us in mind tomorrow.

Stay safe.

Comments:

Ernie R - 4 Aug 2020: Wow, that is a low tide! There is a reason it smells like that! Belt shrouds are highly overrated! Be safe