One More Time

Yep, we're making another attempt at the Salon cushions. C-2-Shore Custom Canvas and Upholstery has convinced us they are the folks to do the job and do it correctly. I showed them our Marine Services Review blog and assured them I would tell their story; they didn't back down so we're feeling cautiously confident it'll be done correctly this time. We'll definitely let you know.
Remember the fiasco with Florida Yacht Interiors?

Yes, this is the continuation of our quest to restore Istaboa to near new boat condition. They don't make these 57s anymore and it would be a shame to let it be anything less; it's such a good boat.
Been seriously thinking about spending the bucks and replacing the KVH Sat Dish. It would be nice to watch NFL in HD. Craig, my old partner at Boatronix is in Lauderdale and the two of us could do the install; cabling is already in place so it shouldn't be too difficult and the old unit has value and is sellable on eBay. Those are all my justifications anyway. We'll see.

Woke early this morning and walked down to the beach; it's less than a mile away and a nice stroll, especially before it gets too hot. Jupiter is a nice area with a totally different feel than Stuart... not any better, just different. We're enjoying the change.

Got a couple of pics with my phone.

We're not sure when we're going back to Memphis, life's interesting here right now so there's no reason to hurry. Maybe when it cools off we'll head back for a while. There's lots of fun stuff going on in Memphis in the fall.

Anyway... that's about it... Thanks for checking in on us.

Life is still good, no complaints at all.

Adios,

Istaboa

Isaac update

The weather in Jupiter:

Check out the wind speed.... 1000 mph!
Boy, this marina really is protected.

So far... 15 to 20kts with a gust every so often... lot of rain, though we're in between bands and not much weather.

Supposed to pick up tonight.
Hope not.

The first bands have arrived

It looks like Isaac has moved further to the west, but we're still feeling his early effects. The winds are out of the east and we have a 114' Hatteras tied up on our east side. So far, all we've felt are 10kt winds, but the storm has not passed the Keys yet. I could get worse. Lots of rain.

Borrowed this pic off Deelights website. Thanks Marv for all the great weather info. Very informative.

We may drive over to the ocean side just to see the storm. I'll try to get pics if they're worth taking.

Adios,

Istaboa

A Good Night

Tonight we caught up with our old buddies from Compass, Bart and Natalia, had dinner at Hog Snappers, and it was excellent. Later we went to a quiet little bistro for a nightcap. It was a lot of fun to hang out with them in an environment other than Compass Cay's. We had a great time reminiscing and laughing about our times on island.

After getting back to the boat, the light show was very cool.  It's the outer edges of TS Isaac. The winds have picked up and our whole tie up configuration turned out to be rather loose. The lines tend to stretch when they get wet so I went out to readjust... in the wind and rain. The pups came along for whatever reason and it fired-em-up, I think Muddy actually liked it, I think Radar came along just to keep a eye on me.
I wish I had some pics to show you, but I don't feel like doing photography in the rain after a few drinks.

So imagine this... (an exaggeration) 
The wind has really picked up, the sky's flashing like strobes from all directions, thunder's rolling around and sounds like the bombing of London in an old WW2 movie, and the boat is-a-rockin to beat the band.  This is just the beginning of this storm and it's good that we can spot our weaknesses now vs in the real shit, if, the real storm ever arrives. We hope this is as bad as it gets, but we think it's prudent to expect worse and prepare for it.

All in all it was a nice night. We really enjoyed hanging out with Bart and Nat and we're finding the Jupiter area to be a lot of fun... Great Restaurants!
The weather is adding a little drama, (we hope it's just fun), making the night even more interesting.
So let's see what tomorrow brings.

Here's to Life!

Adios,

Istaboa

p.s
Disclaimer: Been drinking so maybe an edit tomorrow.

We're almost outta the cone!

Or so say Tampa Bay's Storm Team 8. Of course their forecast may be a bit skewed as they hope for a successful Republican National Convention, but most forecasts are saying similar things.

Tampa Bay Online has a good hurricane tracking tool. Here's the link...
http://www2.tbo.com/hurricane-guide/

We're slowly tying lines and trying to figure how best to fender up. Though there's no big hurry, it could still be quiet a blow.

I'm hoping for a non-event.

Adios,

Istaboa

Tied up at the new digs...

... and it seems the blow, or the computer forecasts, have pushed the prediction lines further west into the Gulf of Mexico.

NOAA's forecast is for a Tropical Storm to hit the Keys then form into a Hurricane in the Gulf before making landfall somewhere on the panhandle. Not good news for our friends in that area, but who knows... it's still a long way off and all this prognostication is based on the jet stream staying put.

So here we are in our new slip at the Bluffs in Jupiter.

As you can see it's nicely protected and is a "Hurricane Rated Marina Facility" as stated on their website.
It's different than Sunset Bay. No bands playing every night, not many folks walking around, parking isn't an issue, the dogs can find grass quickly, and absolutely no current in the clear water. We've stayed here briefly in our old boat years ago. It's nice.
Talked to Bart, an old Compass Cay buddy who keeps his boat here, and he says that's the way it is, he's been here for years. We're tied up next to Good Times, a 100+ Hatteras, another boat we were neighbors with at Compass Cay and right behind Adventure, a 62 Nordhavn we met years ago in Orange Beach, Alabama.
I think were all in a big circle and sooner or later we meet again.
So if TS/H Isaac blows itself away, life will continue to be good. We will like this area also. We're about a mile away from where we found and bought Istaboa. Full circle.

Adios,

Istaboa

Found a nice shot today, done with an iPhone, by one of my Mobli friends from L.A.

Pic Of The Day

Time to find safe harbor... again.

Okay Isaac, in the morning we are heading south to the Bluffs Marina in Jupiter hoping to find shelter from whatever happens in the next few days.

Looking at this scenario; all we can tell is that a blow is heading in our general direction. Hell, a few computer tracks show it's even heading for Memphis.
We've been down here for a few years now... wonder when we'll get used to it? Some of our old time Florida boater buddies don't pay much attention until a couple of days before an event. Me, like in business, I start looking for rough times as soon as the possibilities appear.

Kinda looking forward to a change... Jupiter's a neat place with some friends and great food, so it can't be bad. Food Shack, Guanabana's are a couple of our favorites.

So, unless the wind, Yo Ho Blows The Man Down... life is still excellent.

Adios,

Istaboa

Pic Of The Day... again, not mine

Nope not mine... just saw it on Reddit. Said it was taken this morning on the Chesapeake.

Nice pic!

I'm happy to say I went down in the engine room to clean the new isolated A/C strainer and after almost a week in this St Lucie River muck... It was spotless. Kinda scary actually.  I used the new flushing system and that worked nicely also. Maybe we've finally cracked the code to maintaining clean waterlines.
James Knight's Yacht Tech crew really did a good job. Quick, correct, expensive... but done right. Now we can go back to the islands confident that our A/C's will continue to work while we're there. Late summer in the Exumas requires air conditioning or it will be a miserable paradise, for us anyway.

Proposed a new Wireless Internet Network for Sunset Bay and got radically mixed reactions. I really don't want to be responsible for the internet here, but it's really slow and unstable so someone needs to do something or we need to move somewhere else until they do. Too bad, this is really a first class marina, but technologically, they're still in the 20th century. Seriously, it as slow and spotty as dial-up. Our Verizon Wireless Card is just as slow. Being next to the huge Roosevelt Bridge may be the problem and AT&T Wireless is the same on this side of the bridge.

Some of you are probably wondering why we care so much about being connected, there are those who hope to someday cut the lines of communication and live on a boat. Well.... I still kinda work, would love to download and stream movies, and it's more difficult than you think to just drop out. Cruising and the internet really compliment each other quite nicely.

For us anyway...

Adios,

Istaboa

Oh yeah... All that stuff that was and still is missing off our finger dock, it seems everyone thought we had left and weren't returning... scavengers me thinks. Like my friends on Broulee said, lock it or lose it!

Something's Amiss

And there are some things missing.

Last week while we were in Palm Beach having modifications done and a wax job on the hull, it seems someone took several things off our finger dock that belong to us. I noticed something peculiar when we nosed into the slip, but being busy tying up, I forgot to investigate. Later I looked and my suspicions were realized. Someone had taken our nice PVC Kettler chairs, ($250.00 per), also missing, and this is the weird part, two 2' raw water hoses we had removed because they were clogged with weeds and barnacles, the Astro Turf that Radar and Muddy relieve themselves on when it's too hot or raining and we don't want to walk, and our door mat we set next to the entry gate of Istaboa. We were only gone for 3 days so...
In the 4 yrs we have been at this marina we have never had anything stolen so we're hoping there's an explanation and our stuff returns.
They can keep the hoses.
We're starting to get the itch to do some moving... Maybe this is a sign.
James Knight from Yacht Tech has offered to sub-lease us one of his slips in Jupiter for a few months. The Bluffs Marina is located inside a cluster of 4 story condos and makes for a great place to weather out a blow. We're thinking we may take him up on it for a couple of months until hurricane season ends. Maybe go back to Memphis and check on our new apartment. Memphis is normally not too hot in September so it would be fun. Check on our Memphis peeps.

I've not done any photography lately so I borrow from others... I like this one.



Adios,

Istaboa

For You NFL Fans

and you David Bowie fans...





I know; nothing to do with boats or cruising, but you have to admit it's very clever.

Back Home In Stuart

All went well with the AC project, now we'll see if it works as planned. Yacht Tech added a flushing valve so I can back flush the whole system and blow out the grass in the water lines with fresh water before it starts growing. Got my fingers crossed it works.

Hit ground at the crossroads as usual. I really wish they would dredge that out. Because we're a full keel hull it doesn't hurt anything, but the anticipation of the impending thump drives you crazy.

Oh yeah... another Pic Of The Day:

LOGGERHEAD TURTLE RELEASE

Juno Beach, Florida, USA

by Michael P. O’Neill

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

“Listed as a threatened species, loggerhead turtles are in decline due to incidental capture in fishing gear, among other reasons. But various conservation efforts are underway to increase their numbers including rehabilitating injured animals. Here, a crowd gathered on the beach to watch as volunteers release a rehabilitated loggerhead turtle to return to the wild. I waited in the surf to catch that magic moment.”

Adios,

Istaboa

Pic Of The Day

Actually, two pics today...
My blogging buddies aboard Drift Away and Broulee have posted some beautiful photographs. Couldn't decide which to use...  so I used both.

Drift Away posted this one. I've actually seen this vista before, they are tied up at Brunswick Landing, Mel's home town.

Beautiful shot of the sunset over marsh grass.

 Nice perspective.  

Great shot Broulee! 

They have a lot of really nice pics of Maine on their blog right now, check em out.

http://mvbroulee.blogspot.com/

Meanwhile in Palm Beach.... We're back in the water after our modifications and repairs. Probably heading back to Stuart tomorrow.

Adios,

Istaboa

Pic Of The Day... with a story.

This one will kill ya...

They say a dog is a man's best friend, but to John Unger, a Wisconsin resident, his dog, Schoep, means everything.
Unger adopted Schoep, named after the famous Wisconsin ice cream, when he was just a puppy, and the two have been together ever since. Now, at 19 years old, Schoep has arthritis and has trouble sleeping, the Pioneer Press reports. Unger found that water is therapeutic for his pained buddy, so he takes Schoep into Lake Superior and lulls him to sleep.

We dog people understand his love and devotion for Schoep.


Presently Crew Istaboa is camping out in a hotel in Palm Beach while Istaboa is on the hard at Seminole boat yard. Besides re-plumbing the AC system, we're having her rubbed on. She should be pretty and shiny when we drop her back in the water today.

Adios,

Istaboa

Pic Of The Day

A newborn baby gorilla at Melbourne Zoo gets a checkup at the hospital and shows surprise at the coldness of the stethoscope.

Didn't ya hate that when you were a kid? 

Nope, we're still not doing anything remarkable. We are cranking up and running down the ICW to Palm Beach for a few days, but other than that... not much. We're enjoying being lazy.

Cute pic, huh?

Adios,

Istaboa

 

Curiosity lands on Mars

Nothing new to report...

...but thought I should post something just for the sake of posting something.

We've been busy mending the mechanicals that came apart while cruising in the islands. Nothing major, got new completely clean water hoses leading from the inlets to the sea chest, (Tech talk for how we keep our A/Cs and generators running), Beard marine came by and descaled the whole AC system and all is working well for now (it is a boat), and the watermaker pump will be repaired and installed by next week.
So it's back to square 1.

Been reading a book that my brother recommended. It Came From Memphis by Robert Gordon.
I'm about half way through and it is a chronicle of my former lifestyle as a Memphis Musician. It seems Robert Gordon was in the same places at the same time with the same folks I was, but I don't remember him.

Robert Gordon begins where most chroniclers of the music world end and spins a magical fairy tale peopled with Delta bluesmen, a peanut vendor, a matinee cowboy, a professional wrestler, and a manic deejay. It Came From Memphis doesn't focus on Elvis, Al Green, or the Sun/Stax studios. Instead it creeps into the shadows cast by those institutions, concentrating on artists like Jim Dickinson and Alex Chilton, and bands like the MarKeys and Big Star. Gordon limns, with respect and the fascination born of true devotion, the story of white teenagers caught in the middle of an extraordinary confluence of music, entrepreneurship, to usher in an exciting new musical form. The result is a rock 'n' roll and Memphis -- its alma mater.
Not sure if I would recommend it unless you lived through it. It is interesting though.


Also, been keeping up with our friends aboard Broulee and they've made it to Maine.

They're reporting lots of this...

.... and some of this...

but it sounds like they're having a lot of fun as they dodge the lobster pots.
Wish we were dodging them also. Read their blog here...http://mvbroulee.blogspot.com/

So that's about it. We're tied up at our new slip and it's nice to have such a short walk for the pups. We also have a great spot to have cocktails on the fly bridge and listen to whoever is playing at Sailor's Return as the sun sets.

No complaints.

Adios,

Istaboa