A Very Nice Labor Day Holiday

As I was preparing for a typical Labor Day for Crew Istaboa, which is like any other day to us, Mel was working in the shadows, covertly arranging a get together with my son and his family. I'm glad she did, it turned out really well.
Mason, Lindsey, and Silas live in Jacksonville and they drove down on Sunday for a couple of days.
It turned out their visit coincided with a Labor Day party our friends here in Jupiter had invited us to. (They put on a great party! Thanks Guys!)

So upon arrival we took off to Guanabana for a quick lunch.

 Silas, Mason, and Lindsey

I've written about Guanabana before, it's kinda like eating at Tarzan's house and a fun place, Silas and his Mom and Dad seemed to enjoy it a lot; Silas really liked the police boat that was tied up at the docks.

Then we went to the beach, which was really hot, and let the boy check out the ocean before heading back to Istaboa to hang out and catch up before Bart's party.

Silas likes boats....

... as well as flash lights. He's such a cute kid and a nice little fellow too.

So then it was off to Bart's and Nat's party.
They have a beautiful home and everyone in the neighborhood must've been there; they really out did themselves.
There was a pool and the kids all enjoyed that before diving into hot dogs and hamburgers. Bart told us to bring Radar and Muddy and they had fun also; especially when the kids started feeding them their burgers. (Our dogs can eat anything without getting sick)
Keith Hernandez, the famous Baseball player and now Sports Broadcaster, was there and we all enjoyed getting to know him. He's a very nice fellow.

Keith and Mason...  and that's Bart and Nat in the background just over Mason's shoulder.

It was a big night and all the Taylor clan enjoyed themselves.

Then the next day we decided that having all these boats around and not letting the little guy go riding in one was just wrong. So we loaded up and drove north to Stuart where we have the Albury in storage and took Silas and his Fam out for a ride then lunch at Wahoos. 

 Think Mel likes the little pirate?

Silas had a blast in the Albury and he likes to go fast. He had a big smile on his face the whole time until after lunch. I think too much partying had finally wore him out. One minute he was grinning ear to ear, the next he was sound asleep on GrandMel's shoulder. So we took the boat back to the Marina and loaded the boy in the car and off they went back to Jacksonville.

We don't do these get togethers often and this one was the first time for Mason and family to stay on board. It worked out well... Silas had a big time and I think his folks enjoyed it too. We did.

So... It was a Very Nice Labor Day indeed.

Thanks for checking in.

Adios,

Istaboa

Sorry, couldn't resist...

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!