SOUTHWARD HO DECISIONS

Those of you who followed my musings regarding AURORA’s 1800 mile move from Marina del Rey to Kentucky Lake will recall my elation at finding a place that met several criteria.  First, a starting point for doing the Great Loop, second a place where a mild winter could offer a relief from the serious winter weather of our Milwaukee abode 100 yards off of Lake Michigan’s western shore, and lastly a place where we could explore  new summer vistas from our floating home away from home.  Alas, one for three may get you a great contract in the Major Leagues, but that average fell far short of expectations for our “Old Kentucky Home,” AURORA.  A big OOPS! 

During the summer of 2014 we installed two air conditioners, screens on every hatch, port and window, and spent more time inside the boat than out as the heat and humidity both hovered around 95 most of July, August and September which was perfect for the spider population.  Not so much for the human population. Strike one.  At Thanksgiving I decided I had better winterize the boat just in case the concept of a promised “mild” Kentucky winter proved erroneous.   Helping my boat neighbor Big Jim break the ice away from his hull was a wake-up call.  Actually that previous February night, the temp had fallen to ZERO and the entire bay was iced in solid. And the covered roof on the floating docks were covered in 14 inches of heavy snow that pushed the floating docks down about a foot and a half making the step up to my decks quite a stretch.  Strike two. 

Sunny day during the "mild" KY winter

Yes, that is snow on my aft deck

Obviously, the icemaker worked TOO well

Although we were assured that winter was an anomaly for this part of Kentucky, the summer of 2015 proved even hotter and more humid than the previous.  Strike Three.  I spent most of the summer in Milwaukee where 75 degrees and low humidity was the rule all summer long.  Facing the prospect of another cold Kentucky winter made me shiver even on an 80 degree September day on Kentucky Lake.  Winterize? Worry about ice damage to the hull? Constantly checking Paducah winter weather?  Not gonna happen.  Hence the decision was made to move AURORA south and start the Great Loop adventure slightly earlier than previously planned.  And so begins the next chapter of AURORA – EAST of EDEN.