Waiting out the cold front
We decided to stay a few extra days here in Tierra Verde to give the panhandle a chance to warm up a bit after this last cold front passed through. This is the same cold front that brought snow to Alabama.
Yesterday I took the truck to the dealership to have a couple of minor warranty issues resolved and to get the oil changed. The truck has sensors in the tires that transmit the pressure to the dashboard -- a great idea in theory, but in practice it leaves much to be desired. If the tire pressures vary very much from the programmed values (which are not user-changeable) I get messages telling me that one or the other of my rear tires has only 1 pound of pressure. It's a PITA to have to keep making these warning messages go away. Other than that, I have been very happy with this GMC Duramax with the Allison transmission. I've been able to get up to 22 MPG on flat highways, and when towing the Tom Cat I've gotten up to 12 MPG.
There are quite a few liveaboards in the Tierra Verde marina, and from talking to a number of them, have learned something of the history of this deteriorating facility. From what I hear, this was once one of the finest marinas in the area. Up until about 7 or 8 years ago, the facility consisted of the marina, a dry stack boat storage, a timeshare condo, 2 or 3 restaurants, and a pool with a dance floor/lounge. Apparently the owner at that time got tired of all the management necessary for all these services and sold out to an investor who intended to flip the $20M purchase. From what I understand they could not do that right away, as various stakeholders and leaseholders had to be bought out. In the meantime, the economy tanked and now the marina is slowly falling apart, the timeshares are vacant magnets for homeless and worse (none now, fortunately) and the dry stack business is the only thing making money. What is really sad is that when the economy recovers, all of the current facility will be torn down and replaced by eight-story condo units. Very sad, but a common fate for marinas everywhere.
You may have read in your local news about the small single-engine 21' center console boat that capsized while anchored in 30-50' waters, 38 miles offshore from here near Egmont Key. Passengers included two NFL players and two former South Florida football players, who had gone out fishing for Amberjack. When the boat was found, only one of the 4 was still holding on to it. The others lost their grip in the 6-foot seas after 12-16 hours in the water and are still missing. It is common knowledge that cold fronts here can turn the Gulf from 2 foot waves to 8 foot in 15 minutes. Another boat following the 4 men turned back after the seas increased to 6 feet in 20 minutes. It took them 2-1/2 hours to battle their way back to shore.
I find the shallow waters here much more intimidating than what I am used to in the PNW because you are much more constrained in where you can go -- unless you have a shallow-draft boat you are by and large confined to the marked channels. Wind has a much greater effect here on wave height and on tide depths because the shallow depth of the Gulf. Although I am enjoying the warmer weather and the sunshine, I now have a greater appreciation for what we have in the PNW.
Warren
We decided to stay a few extra days here in Tierra Verde to give the panhandle a chance to warm up a bit after this last cold front passed through. This is the same cold front that brought snow to Alabama.
Yesterday I took the truck to the dealership to have a couple of minor warranty issues resolved and to get the oil changed. The truck has sensors in the tires that transmit the pressure to the dashboard -- a great idea in theory, but in practice it leaves much to be desired. If the tire pressures vary very much from the programmed values (which are not user-changeable) I get messages telling me that one or the other of my rear tires has only 1 pound of pressure. It's a PITA to have to keep making these warning messages go away. Other than that, I have been very happy with this GMC Duramax with the Allison transmission. I've been able to get up to 22 MPG on flat highways, and when towing the Tom Cat I've gotten up to 12 MPG.
There are quite a few liveaboards in the Tierra Verde marina, and from talking to a number of them, have learned something of the history of this deteriorating facility. From what I hear, this was once one of the finest marinas in the area. Up until about 7 or 8 years ago, the facility consisted of the marina, a dry stack boat storage, a timeshare condo, 2 or 3 restaurants, and a pool with a dance floor/lounge. Apparently the owner at that time got tired of all the management necessary for all these services and sold out to an investor who intended to flip the $20M purchase. From what I understand they could not do that right away, as various stakeholders and leaseholders had to be bought out. In the meantime, the economy tanked and now the marina is slowly falling apart, the timeshares are vacant magnets for homeless and worse (none now, fortunately) and the dry stack business is the only thing making money. What is really sad is that when the economy recovers, all of the current facility will be torn down and replaced by eight-story condo units. Very sad, but a common fate for marinas everywhere.
You may have read in your local news about the small single-engine 21' center console boat that capsized while anchored in 30-50' waters, 38 miles offshore from here near Egmont Key. Passengers included two NFL players and two former South Florida football players, who had gone out fishing for Amberjack. When the boat was found, only one of the 4 was still holding on to it. The others lost their grip in the 6-foot seas after 12-16 hours in the water and are still missing. It is common knowledge that cold fronts here can turn the Gulf from 2 foot waves to 8 foot in 15 minutes. Another boat following the 4 men turned back after the seas increased to 6 feet in 20 minutes. It took them 2-1/2 hours to battle their way back to shore.
I find the shallow waters here much more intimidating than what I am used to in the PNW because you are much more constrained in where you can go -- unless you have a shallow-draft boat you are by and large confined to the marked channels. Wind has a much greater effect here on wave height and on tide depths because the shallow depth of the Gulf. Although I am enjoying the warmer weather and the sunshine, I now have a greater appreciation for what we have in the PNW.
Warren
