We made a short run from Black Point to Staniel Wednesday morning. Calm weather again gave us a smooth cruise. Our normal routine of closing the below decks portlights before we get underway is still the routine, but we have been keeping the midship ports open to provide some ventilation. Since conditions have been so calm, the need to close those openings to keep the splashing seawater outside just hasn’t been too pressing. We can remember our cruises in 2009 when we arrived salt-encrusted at the end of nearly every cruise, especially those involving any open water. Quite a dramatic difference this season! A welcome one, at that!
Our stopover at Staniel will enable us to refill the dinghy fuel, catch up on some email and blog posts. Gasoline is at $5.65/gallon, not cheap, but there aren’t a lot of alternatives, so we take advantage of the availability when we can. A trip to the store, and a walk around town, we also did some snorkeling, revisiting the Grotto again, always a fun outing. We also met Mike and Carrie who were aboard S/V Carrie Anne at Big Majors Spot. We welcomed them aboard shortly after the Admiral gave the skipper his monthly trim, and the conversation turned to Mike’s shaggy mane, so before the cleanup was complete, she took a few swipes with the #3 attachment, and Mike left a new man! Still, no tips from either customer. No reflection on the trim job!
The spa treatments continued with Molly receiving her much anticipated (NOT!!) toenail trim. The squeeze clipper that cuts the nail has been qualified an abysmal failure with Molly after having nipped a bit too deep a few times, mostly the result of her spastic squirming while the operator (yours truly) attempts to precisely gauge the depth of the cut. At the moment the clipper closes, she yanks a paw and the precision is gone, the depth too far, and a yelp as the high drama of the excruciating pain is played out for all the anchorage to witness. I’m abusing my dog… hear how she’s in agony? What a drama queen! I discovered an alternative method during one of our trips home, almost by accident. Molly was nosing around while I was running the belt sander on the floor of the summer house, and since she seemed intrigued, I quickly enveloped her and held her paw to the moving belt before she realized what was happening. It was a minor success, I was able to trim several nails before she was able to squirm away, and with no blood, no pain. Still drama. So that method has been adapted to a smaller scale on board, and now I trim her nails with the Dremel tool and a drum sander. She’s becoming less frantic although there’s still plenty of drama, but neither of us are fond of the procedure, but it’s a necessary evil. I’m resolving to accomplish it at least every three weeks, the boat will thank me, and the wear and tear on swimming companions will certainly be much less!
Up anchor from Staniel late Friday morning and headed for Cambridge Cay, part of the Exuma Park, and one of our favorite spots on the trip south this year.
