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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

A trip down Memory Lane

After the cable guy showed up today and hooked us up so I could enjoy my morning coffee watching the news, we took a 15km joy ride up Tavernier Creek, returning via memory lane...


Actually, we came back "home" via the Toilet Bowl, a cut through the flats that is very well "marked". Last February we gave some friends the thrill of their life with a boat ride through the same cut...


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Sunday, January 15, 2012

Shrimp for Breakfast

Yesterday morning I found this large shrimp in our dinghy. Too bad there was only one... Ended up giving it to the guy on the cute little boat nearby to use for fish bait.

On the beach next to the marina a large Multihull regatta is finishing up today. With the current cold front blasting through (high temp about 70), they've had good air for sailing.



Thursday, January 12, 2012

Buddy is in Plantation Key

We hauled out yesterday and headed south this morning on I75 to our winter home for the next two months, arriving at Plantation Yacht Harbor about 2 pm. A cute little boat was in the slip we had last year, so it looks like we have a new view this winter.


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Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Sailing on Charlotte Harbor

It was a beautiful day in Punta Gorda today...


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Monday, January 9, 2012

Punta Gorda Isles


Thursday we cruised 45 KM south on the ICW to Boca Grande then across Charlotte Harbor to Punta Gorda. We are visiting friends that have recently purchased a canal home in Punta Gorda Isles. We have been hanging here, helping a little with final touches on a major renovation. The social calendar has been quite full... The plan is pick up the truck and trailer on Wednesday, haul out and then tow to Plantation Key on Thursday.

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Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Launched today

Got Buddy in the water today after spending 4 nights with good friends in Venice. Even though we are in the middle of the first real cold front to hit this area this winter, we took a 30 mile cruise with our friends aboard. With the sun out and the cockpit enclosure up we enjoyed the afternoon in comfort. We motored back to Venice, docking at the Marker 4 for dinner. After thanking our hosts for five super days, we cast off to anchor off the ICW by Venice Yacht Club. It's forecast to get to 35 tonight, but our Cozy Cabin Heater with the Ecofan on top is keeping us comfy.


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Saturday, December 31, 2011

We took the wool socks off today...

We're in Venice prepping Buddy for launch on Monday. We decided to get off of I65 early last evening as it appeared every snowbird in the world was heading south. After almost being rear ended by someone behind us as he drove onto the shoulder to avoid hitting us, we baled out and headed the nearest Holiday Inn...


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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Tailgator

After a slight delay and one busted knuckle from replacing both batteries in the truck, Buddy is headed south. First launch - Venice, FL.  :-D


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Sunday, December 11, 2011

Great day for boating in Wisconsin

Ice boating is cool..


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Friday, December 2, 2011

Monday, October 17, 2011

Muskrat problem solved ...


With the help of my very capable, high-paid assistant, we ended up running a fish tape down the center line of the boat through the limber holes to get the transducer wire to the helm. The new transducer is now mounted underneath the cockpit floor. My original thought was to mount the transducer underneath the helm. But after measuring the hull deadrise there, I fished for another location..The layup is a full 1/2' thick.
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Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Muskrats are not my favorite animal...



I have a new through-hull depth transducer ordered to replace this one...
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Saturday, September 3, 2011

Fayette State Park Michigan


A labor day cruise north for the holiday weekend, meeting up with sailing friends Les and Barb. As we were leaving, some nice folks we met at the dock took some photos. The building in the background is an 1880's steel mill...

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Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Two Weeks in the Thousand Islands

A recap of our cruise...  After launching in Picton, we headed to Waupoos for a rendezvous with the crew of Grey Hound... As usual, we had to climb Mount Goofy...
From there we spent a night in Parrotts Bay. Then it was off to Beaurivage Island in the Canadian National Park where it poured rain for about 15 hours... In spite of the rain, it was a beautiful spot. The next night we were back in civilization at Kingston.


From there we headed to Downey and Hambly Islands for a night on the hook with the Grey Hound anchored beside us. There we waited out squall warnings that never materialized. We then headed to Clayton, NY for a night and a tour of the Antique Boat Museum. 
The next day we headed east and did the Castle tour. We did not feel inclined to get off the boat... A-Bay was the next stop to watch the Pirate Days celebration. Fortunately we fueled and docked at Rogers Marina across from the Village Dock... 
Our next stop was Gananoque for a night and bicycle tour of the town.

The next morning we headed to Camelot... Island that is. Spent a quiet night there with storm warnings posted again. We then headed to Bath for the night. A VERY quiet little village...
Camelot Island is a popular spot offering moorings and docks and good hiking.

Wildlife was abundant...



This was one of many quaint private islands in the area...
Our last night was in Picton, getting together with friends Lynn
and Don for dinner, with haul out the next morning. Sixteen hours later we were back home.  180 gallons of diesel, towing 1,810 miles, and 90 gallons of fuel, cruising 220 KM... A beautiful area. We saved the Rideau Waterway for another day...

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Pirate Days in Alexandria Bay...

First time I've ever seen one of these...
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Friday, August 12, 2011

Thousand Islands cruising

Took a 28KM Castle cruise today visiting both the Boldt and Singer castles.
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Monday, August 8, 2011

Kingston, Ontario

We took a walking tour of downtown Kingston this afternoon. A number of buildings we saw were over 200 years old. A cruise up the Rideau Waterway is planned for the next 2-3 days.
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Sunday, August 7, 2011

Picton, Ontario

With friends Lynn and Don on their mooring for the night.
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Monday, August 1, 2011

New suit of threads...

Except for rain flaps at the deck level of the new side curtains, packing provisions for 2 weeks, and a couple of other odds and ends, Buddy is ready to hit the road. We'll remove the cockpit enclosure prior to leaving for points East on Weds. The trailering bra we made last fall is on for the haul.

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Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Glass houses...


Buddy it is getting a new bimini plus a cockpit enclosure. The Admiral hopes to have it done in time for our trip to New York and Canada next week.
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Monday, July 18, 2011

engineered for life...


In this case "life" was 13 years. Re-build kit, $70, new improved head $180. The choice was easy...
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Saturday, July 2, 2011

Two piece band...

Actually, the horn on Buddy died. I found a new AFI horn through Amazon.com that is a pretty close match (the price was right). Such beautiful music...
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Sunday, June 26, 2011

Cruisin' home

A bit smoother ride than Friday...
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Friday, June 24, 2011

Ye ha!!

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