River run

Yesterday we hitched a ride up the Peace river for lunch at Nav-A-Gators with friends Bob and Bev. The forecast wasn't the greatest with wind and rain to come. The weather held off for most of the day allowing us to enjoy an outdoor lunch with a search for alligators afterward. We saw a number of gators further up the river before turning around and heading back to Punta Gorda. Toward the end of the ride a few showers passed through, but for some reason, we didn't melt...

Beach time!

On Thursday we took a couple of days cruise to Cayo Costa State Park. Remnants of the last cold front were still hanging on, but day temps warmed up to 70 degrees. In preparation, our 13 year old dinghy decided to part company with its floor. So... we went without it. As usual, we met up with sailing friends on the island. Friday's cocktail hour was spent on the beach playing bocce ball. The nights were beautiful with calm winds and a near full moon. Sunrises weren't bad either...

The park is 17 nautical miles from our dock, an easy hour and a half run at 12 knots.

Rossies in the neighborhood

With winds reported to be 15 to 30 out of the WSW, the Admiral suggested we take a little sightseeing cruise up Alligator Creek this afternoon. Before doing so I poked Buddy's bow out into Charlotte Harbor at the entrance channel. The chop didn't appear to be much from the helm...

We turned around and headed back up the Creek. When we got to the entrance to our channel by Riviera Marina (another land of broken dreams), we stayed to the right and headed up the creek. About 20 minutes later we discovered two HSV 246s moored at Windmill Village marina. One appeared to be a fairly new, well-equipped model that was named "Wind Drift". I couldn't see a name on the other. It was tight getting into the harbor through narrow canals, but I managed to do so without hitting anything... We took a couple photos and headed back out.

Our plan was to meet up with friends for a few days of cruising, but another nasty cold front is passing through. Perhaps we will be able to rendezvous at Cayo Costa on Tuesday...

Buddy leaves the dock!

Only to go to another...

Well, this winter cruise certainly hasn't gone as planned... Our original intent was to use Fisherman's Village as a base, going out for short cruises, then returning. Buying waterfront property in Florida was certainly not on the agenda. Well, this week we closed on our "new" canal property in Punta Gorda. So... Our time has been consumed buying furniture, house goods, dinnerware, etcetera,  etcetera, etcetera, for our unfurnished winter abode. This stuff was stored in a mini 10x10 that we rented for a month... None of the above was in the budget either...

The dock at our place was blown away by Hurricane Charley in 2004. The house that was here also took a hike... A new neighbor has graciously offered us temporary use of his dock across the street from us at the vacant lot he also owns. This week we will be contracting for a new dock that will probably get built after we head back to Wisconsin.

The photos are of the "palace", Buddy's quarters for the next month, and our canal where the new dock will be built. It will be big enough to accommodate friends that come to visit by water...

C c c c cold!

37 degrees in southwest Florida! It's March for cry aye! We had a hard time rolling out of the sack this morning... I immediately started the coffee and all other sources of heat. We are hoping the more typical winter that has occurred back in Wisconsin will help raise the Great Lakes water levels...

Buddy leaves Fisherman's Village

After 2 months at Fisherman's Village, Buddy has moved. Except for a 4 day cruise to Fort Myers Beach and back and a few day cruises, Buddy has remained tied to the dock. We met many nice people at the marina and enjoyed the times we spent at cocktail hours with them. We have now moved to a friend's in Punta Gorda Isles. We will stay with them until we close on our "new" southern headquarters up Alligator Creek on March 12th.

That's not Humphrey...

It was a quick trip by land yacht this week to deliver Cathie's new yacht to its new owner.  A Gentlemen from Key Largo decided he wanted it more... He paid us to deliver it and it was a great opportunity to see our good friends Candi and Larry at Marina del Mar. When we got there the African Queen was headed out for a little ride...

Low tide...

We're having a super low tide this morning with the passage of a big cold front yesterday. Buddy hasn't left the dock lately as we have been working on our dirt deal...

Never say never

We have lived on the water for 17 years. Friends and family have heard me say that our current residence is our last waterfront property. The reason Buddy has been chained to the dock for the last 3 weeks has to do with today's cruise up Alligator Creek in Punta Gorda. We have a deal pending on a new winter home for Buddy and ourselves. The dock is missing thanks to Hurricane Charlie, but that can be remedied. It looks like we will be hanging around Punta Gorda for the rest of the winter... To my friend on Tonic, the gentleman fishing in the photo says it's really good!

Notice to Mariners

If you were touring the Intercoastal in the Cape Haze area, be advised, you may have to give way to this guy... He is known to make erratic turns, with no signals of intent. He may have an aquatic in tow, but again, no proper day shapes will be displayed. Regardless of what may be in tow, all evidence of such actions will have been released by the time of his return to port. It is not known if proper permits are in his possession. Once this individual is back ashore he is known to advertise his supposed nautical prowess on the internet using devious technologies that may or may not have been fabricated. Be advised, stand clear...

Having Cold beer...

...is important. The Admiral is a gourmet cook and I enjoy a cold beer now and then. As a result, the 2.5 cu. ft. Fridge in Buddy's cabin doesn't quite cut it. So we have always used our Waeco portable fridge in the cockpit of Buddy while cruising or living aboard. A big problem developed when we launched Buddy a month ago. The thermostat on the Waeco quit working... Except for one 5 day cruise since launching, Buddy hasn't left the marina. So... my solution? Another trip to Walmart for a light timer. It works on 110v anyway... More later on why Buddy has been chained to the dock...

More of the Golden Conch...

Watch "Golden Conch Regatta Start" on YouTube

Golden Conch

We spent the past weekend sailing on Pam and Jim's F-39 "Screech", racing out of Burnt Store. Not many multihulls showed up, but still a good time.

Thin water...

After a painful evening watching the Packers, we decided to head back "home". On the way out of Fort Myers Beach we passed this Corps of Engineers dredge working on the entrance. To cut about 10 miles of our trip, I decided to head north on the east side of Pine Island. The Channel south of the bridge was quite shallow. We "touched" bottom once after being forced to the right by an approaching boat. Fortunately there was no prop damage other than removal of a bit of paint. Once we passed under the bridge we noticed larger boats. The Channel on the north side of the bridge was much deeper all the way to Charlotte Harbor. Been there done that. we don't need to do that route again...
When we reached Punta Gorda we passed a sister ship of ours drifting about in the bay.

Game day!

Our second evening at Cayo Costa was spent on the beach having a cookout with the Cheesehead Navy. There ended up being 7 boats from Wisconsin on the hook that night. The bochi ball tournament got quite serious, just we experienced another beautiful sunset. Yesterday four of the fleet headed south to Fort Myers Beach. It's game day with Packer fans congregating at Parrot Key Caribbean Grill for the game tonight. The Grill is owned by a gentleman from Wisconsin. Go Packers!

Cheesehead Navy Revisted

Yesterday we headed south 20 miles to Pelican Bay at Cayo Costa State Park at Boca Grande Pass. There were quite a few boats on the hook for the evening. Included in the fleet were 3 boats from Green Bay, all sailing friends of ours - Jim and Pam on Screech, Les and Barb on Revision, and Guy in Debbie on Redeye. Go Packers!

Run to the beach..

Yesterday we joined friends in Venice for a day on the Intercoastal. We took a run north for lunch and then headed to the beach, stopping at Midnight Pass. The pass it isn't an opening to the Gulf anymore, after it was filled in by  adjoining property owners in 1983. It's a nice public beach now...

Cathie's new yacht!

You says you can't go sailing when cruising on a power boat?

Before and After

We left home Dec. 26, stopping at friends in Milwaukee to wait out a blizzard passing south. Because the brunt of the blizzard hit Indiana, we decided to take I57 in Illinois the next day. Based on the amount of traffic, it appeared everybody else did too... We planned on stopping in Dalton, GA for the night, but discovered everyone else on the road did too. Fortunately we found lodging 25 miles south. The next day was a real pleasure also, but we managed to make it to Punta Gorda in one piece, spending the night with friends. Yesterday we launched and have taken a slip at Fisherman's Village. Last evening we joined friends for a canal tour to view Christmas lights. We will base out of here for 1-2 months.

Bottoms

In preparation for this winter's cruise, I have been occupied with bottoms.. Well... They are finished! Buddy came home today from Manitowoc with a new bottom, 4 new coats of Interprotect 2000e ...

... and three coats of Vivid Black bottom paint. I chose Vivid because it is a hard ablative that works well on trailerable boats. In addition, because it is formulated with "white copper" for its antifouling properties, it can be painted over my aluminum engine mounts. Some good sailing friends used it on their 33' trailerable trimaran. Their trailer was a bunk trailer, just like Buddy's. Their bottom always looked like it was recently put on and it did a good job with the nasty crusty things lurking in salt water that like to grow on boats that don't have the right repellent..

While I was at it, I decided to test a new, water-based inflatable boat bottom paint...

Buddy goes in the barn this week for a month. I'll bring it home just before Christmas as we plan to leave for points south shortly after.

Looking for a good stripper...

Paint stripper that is... Buddy has been moved inside and jacked off of its trailer in preparation for removing the old VC 17 bottom paint and applying a better salt water bottom paint. From this angle you can see I began sanding off  the old paint. I didn't like the results, as I was also sanding off a good portion of the epoxy barrier coat.
The very talented crew at Manitowoc Marina believes they will be able to remove the paint using an environmentally friendly paint stripper, spraying it on with a garden sprayer, then removing the bottom paint with a pressure washer. Here's hoping that works, as the alternative is much more expensive...

Update... The marina ended up using a dustless blaster - cool... http://youtu.be/GQfDqBNqEiM

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Summer is over...

Buddy has been hauled out for the summer season. I have buffed out the topsides and cabin. The water line has been raised two inches. Friday we trailered the boat to Manitowoc where the Vc 17 bottom paint will be removed. Petit Vivid will be applied. This should have been done 2 years ago when I applied a barrier coat and bottom paint...

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Labor Day

Traditionally we have gathered with good boating friends (all sailors) over the Labor Day weekend. While our boating weekend was cut short this year because of a wedding, we still managed to hook up with our friends, spending Sunday night in the North bay of Chambers Island and another anchored off of Horseshoe Island. Sunday was a peaceful night but Monday on Horseshoe had a bit of activity as a  rather severe squall came through about sunset.

We got to Horseshoe early, had our pick of the anchorage and tucked well behind the point with plenty of scope. When the front came though we were told it blew 35-40 but you would not have known it on Buddy. A couple of friends boats dragged after the squall passed and the wind settled in out of the Southeast at 10-15, hitting them broadside. We were facing Southeast so all we could do was assist, untying shorelines for the affected boats...

Eureka!

A couple of weeks after delivering our J80 Hustle to the new owner in Fairhope, Alabama, I took a little trip to Columbus, Ohio. I came home with an F-24 trimaran. This is our third Ian Farrier designed tri, having previously owned an F-27 and F-31. Once you sail one of these engineering marvels, it's hard to go back to a monohull, We tried, didn't work... So now we have two friends at our dock, Buddy and kimosabi... The best of both worlds (for us anyway).

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