Providential Timing

December 10-17, Daytona Beach to Ft. Pierce, FL
Most of the dock space for the month of December at Ft. Pierce City Marina had been booked since August. We called at the end of November to inquire about a space to leave Pelican when we would fly home for Christmas and were very fortunate to reserve the last spot. After an overnight stay in Daytona Beach and a couple nights at anchor, we arrived safely, filled up with diesel, and backed into our slip. The timing was providential—everything had fallen into place beautifully.

The next morning, the screen on our laptop went black. Even though Keith is computer savvy, he was baffled. Research needed to be done and reservations made, and without a computer we were at loose ends. The expert we called in determined that an external monitor would cure the malady. But by the time we got home for Christmas, we knew we had to buy a new laptop. (Ask Keith how he spent his vacation.)

If the events of the morning were not enough, that afternoon the cabin began to reek of the offensive odor of diesel. Opening the hold, we were greeted by an ominous puddle of pink marine fuel. Fortunately, not a drop had leaked into the bilge. Keith spent the next day and two nights replacing absorbent sheets around the leak every half hour around the clock to keep it that way. Finally a great mechanic, also named Keith, fixed the leak by replacing the neoprene gasket by the fill-hole.

In the end, the timing of the computer failure and fuel leak was providential, too. If these things were about to happen, better that they should occur in Florida than after we cross over to the Bahamas. Thank God, all things do work together for good!