and you David Bowie fans...
I know; nothing to do with boats or cruising, but you have to admit it's very clever.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Saturday, August 11, 2012
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:
Adios,
Istaboa
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
Friday, August 10, 2012
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.
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.
Meanwhile in Palm Beach.... We're back in the water after our modifications and repairs. Probably heading back to Stuart tomorrow.
Adios,
Istaboa
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Pic Of The Day... with a story.
This one will kill ya...
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
They say a dog is a man's best friend, but to John Unger, a Wisconsin resident, his dog, Schoep, means everything.We dog people understand his love and devotion for Schoep.
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.
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
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
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?
Cute pic, huh?
Adios,
Istaboa
Monday, August 6, 2012
Friday, August 3, 2012
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
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.
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.
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
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Bahamas Cruise 2012 Recap
Yes, another cruise has come to pass, albeit brief, we had a lot of fun. Ran into folks we haven't seen in years and made new friends we hope to cross paths with again.
Our Memphis real estate transactions held us up longer than expected and a hasty departure for the islands caused a few problems, but all in all we had a really good run.
Highlights of this short journey:
Went to Bimini for the first time and discovered not only was it deep enough for us to enter the harbor at low tide, but it's a fun place. We will do Bimini again.
We enjoyed some smooth seas...
and some not so smooth.
Some beautiful sunsets.
Saw a puppy that was once scared of the water...
turn into a water dog...
Radar and Muddy have really become close on this trip... Finally!
Muddy is growing up and irritating Radar less and less everyday. They're really starting to look a lot alike.
Old friends were visited...
and new friends were made.
It was fun to have good friends come over to the islands and visit us this year
We had beautiful weather ...
and some that was not so good ...
We saw Killer Whales for the first time on the crossing from Nassau to The Abacos. Very exciting!!
This trip, we decided to do more cruising than we have in the last couple of years. Our stops included Bimini, Chub, Cay, The Berrys, Nassau, Highborne, Cay, Compass Cay, Marsh Harbor, Elbow Cay, Hope Town, Great Guana, Green Turtle, and ended in the lee of Mangrove Cay before heading across the Gulf Stream and home to Stuart.
We only stayed a day and a night at Green Turtle, but we rented a golf cart so we could show Peter the island. It's one of our favorites.
We stayed at the new Bluff House Marina. They too are having a few growing pains, but they were friendly and we enjoyed the bar and restaurant. Bluff House needs to work on their electrical system, we had to run our generator all night.
Our last day in the Bahamas was just a run north on the Sea of Abaco and past, "Center of the World Rock", then head west at Great Sale...
...followed by a night at anchor off Mangrove Cay. We've never anchored here because there nothing but a rock with mangroves. No beach, nothing, but we need to shorten our next day's run to reach St Lucie Inlet at a decent tide level.
We pulled anchor at 5:00 AM and made way into the darkness and across the bank to Memory Rock.
It was a bit disconcerting leaving Mangrove. For some reason I've yet to figure out, our chart plotter malfunctioned. I could see on the radar we were heading away from the island, but our chart plotter didn't show any position change though the GPS showed active. I knew I was moving yet the plotter said other wise. I quickly switched over to my backup plotter/radar and confirmed we were headed in the right direction.
Wonder why this stuff always goes toes up on those fuzzy early AM departures?
With the sun up and a fresh backup computer running our Nobletec composed route, we cleared Memory Rock and hit the Atlantic Ocean. Running wasn't too bad, the seas were on our tail. By 11:00 AM they were almost smooth. We made St Lucie Inlet by 1:30 because the stream added a couple of knots to our speed. We made it through the shoaly inlet, but we bumped ground twice at the notoriously shallow "Cross Roads". I just added power and we slid over the tops of those two sandy bumps. No damage, just hurt feelings.
It was a sunny Saturday and everybody with a boat in Martin County was using it that day. The inlet and the cross roads weren't nearly as stressful as the chaos created by the hundreds of boaters, both large and small, that were erratically screaming past us at warp speed.
But we made it with all our fingers and toes, and no loss of blood. Successful cruise.
As we cleared the bridge, Sam from Sunset Bay called to say he was waiting. We have a nice new slip that's a lot closer for dog walking in this hot Florida summer sun.
So that's it... The whole trip in one long post. Who knows what we'll do next?
Too hot to go to Memphis, though we need to check on things there.
Another island in the Exumas has called about an Internet installation gig so we may be going back. I've even been talking about going to Miami for a couple of weeks just to experience the different culture and all the Cuban food they have to offer.
Who knows?
We'll see.
Adios,
Istaboa
Our Memphis real estate transactions held us up longer than expected and a hasty departure for the islands caused a few problems, but all in all we had a really good run.
Highlights of this short journey:
Muddy is growing up and irritating Radar less and less everyday. They're really starting to look a lot alike.
Old friends were visited...
and new friends were made.
It was fun to have good friends come over to the islands and visit us this year
Mary and Bob from Stuart and Sunset Bay
and our old buddy Peter from the Chesapeake spent a couple of weeks with us.
We had beautiful weather ...
and some that was not so good ...
We saw Killer Whales for the first time on the crossing from Nassau to The Abacos. Very exciting!!
This trip, we decided to do more cruising than we have in the last couple of years. Our stops included Bimini, Chub, Cay, The Berrys, Nassau, Highborne, Cay, Compass Cay, Marsh Harbor, Elbow Cay, Hope Town, Great Guana, Green Turtle, and ended in the lee of Mangrove Cay before heading across the Gulf Stream and home to Stuart.
Pics from Green Turtle.
Our last day in the Bahamas was just a run north on the Sea of Abaco and past, "Center of the World Rock", then head west at Great Sale...
It was a bit disconcerting leaving Mangrove. For some reason I've yet to figure out, our chart plotter malfunctioned. I could see on the radar we were heading away from the island, but our chart plotter didn't show any position change though the GPS showed active. I knew I was moving yet the plotter said other wise. I quickly switched over to my backup plotter/radar and confirmed we were headed in the right direction.
Wonder why this stuff always goes toes up on those fuzzy early AM departures?
With the sun up and a fresh backup computer running our Nobletec composed route, we cleared Memory Rock and hit the Atlantic Ocean. Running wasn't too bad, the seas were on our tail. By 11:00 AM they were almost smooth. We made St Lucie Inlet by 1:30 because the stream added a couple of knots to our speed. We made it through the shoaly inlet, but we bumped ground twice at the notoriously shallow "Cross Roads". I just added power and we slid over the tops of those two sandy bumps. No damage, just hurt feelings.
It was a sunny Saturday and everybody with a boat in Martin County was using it that day. The inlet and the cross roads weren't nearly as stressful as the chaos created by the hundreds of boaters, both large and small, that were erratically screaming past us at warp speed.
But we made it with all our fingers and toes, and no loss of blood. Successful cruise.
As we cleared the bridge, Sam from Sunset Bay called to say he was waiting. We have a nice new slip that's a lot closer for dog walking in this hot Florida summer sun.
So that's it... The whole trip in one long post. Who knows what we'll do next?
Too hot to go to Memphis, though we need to check on things there.
Another island in the Exumas has called about an Internet installation gig so we may be going back. I've even been talking about going to Miami for a couple of weeks just to experience the different culture and all the Cuban food they have to offer.
Who knows?
We'll see.
Adios,
Istaboa
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