SO WHAT DID YOU DO WITH OR ON YOUR C-DORY TODAY??

I took C-Run out today. Haven't been out for a few weeks. If a perfect day is a 10, today was a 10+. It was foggy in the morning, but that had it's own charm. I followed the shoreline north, staying within eyesight of the beach. Got into some coho and fished for about an hour. The sun was trying to peak out, but was not quite making it. Oh, the heater is sooo nice. Made a cup of coffee and then motored north of Day Island and found some more willing fish. I also watched as they raised the 3rd to last bridge section off of the lifting barge. By then the fog had cleared and it was an absolutely beautiful day. I went over to the west side of the narrows and fished some more. Then I watched the sunset. :hot It lasted for about 20 minutes, it just got better and better. Ran home in the evening light. Cordell was there with the trailer in the water. What a great guy. Washed C-Run down and put her to bed. Had a beer. :beer Perfect day. Pictures tomorrow. I sure do love my boat, :smiled And my husband. :love Robbi
 
Robbi - Sounds like a great day - I worked inside most of the day wishing that I was outside on my boat. I had to go out for lunch just to be in the sun. It was nice. Sounds like the fishing was good. I've heard that there are reasonable numbers of resident coho in the south sound and that the cruise close to shore like cuts. Were you fly fishing?
 
I was fly fishing, and the residents are usually within casting range from the beach. Unless you are in your boat, then they are right on the beach. :? Robbi
 
We rolled into the driveway of Mike and Judy (Papillion) in Naples late this afternoon. Mike is enjoying the Seattle Boat Show, Judy and their boss, Joe, guided us into our parking spot. We'll spend another night on land, provision tomorrow, and hopefully get launched. Then more checking to see what Mother Nature has planned before we head out.

It was 73º today and the sun was shining! :D Looks like the cold front that we've been dodging is moving in behind us, but I got to do a check on the sweat glands today - working fine. 8)

We're going to take Judy out for supper tonight, and then cash it in. Six days of driving; not bad, but Wild Blue is definitely happier on the water (as am I).

Hopefully the next time we check in will be from the water!

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
We spent an extra night in Naples so we could meet Mike (from Papillion) - definitely worth the wait! We heard tales of the Seattle Boat Show and got some good local information. Mike and Judy have been very helpful... and tonight Mike grilled steaks; good food and lively conversation. We made a quick switch from the dock at their canal, up and around to the next canal when the dredge working in their canal got within inches of our boat.

Wild Blue is provisioned, clean, fuel and water full, and we are heading south in the morning. One more chilly night here, but the 10 day forecast for the Keys is looking delightfully warm. We'll be keeping an eye out for Discovery and any other C-Brats who may be in the area.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Left Naples heading south today. A very special thanks to Mike and Judy for their hospitality (and keeping an eye on the truck and trailer). The canals in Naples are a bit different from our man-made canals...

1170199046.jpg


White pelicans in the Everglades area...

1170198963.jpg


"Old Florida" in Everglades City...

1170198823.jpg


Molly the C-Brat cat, apparently thinking we have a fly bridge...

1170199127.jpg


We talked to Brent and Dixie (Discovery) today, hoping to meet up in Boot Key Harbor yet this week.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Finally got Anna Leigh in the water today. I haven't been anywhere since late September. Weather is absolutely beautiful today. For those of you that made the SBS it is just like the Friday you were here..

I didn't get very far, but that's not the point. I am in LaConner at the public dock. That is about 5 miles from Guemes Is. were I launch from. Found a wireless connection.

Got a steak to cook, a baked potato, salad with a whole avacodo to slice up and a tomato. And a bottle of Cabernet. But first I must finish the whiskey and seven.sss

Life is good on a boat. All I am missing is Kate. She is home weaving.
 
Cathy awoke this morning and said lets go to the lake. We fired up the heat to keep us warm and spent about four hours out in the sunshine. Great day here in Alabama too. Only time we had any wind was when docking. :lol:
 
We didn't know how long Brent and Dixie were going to be in Boot Key Harbor, so we came across 80 miles of Gulf/Florida Bay. The weather weasels said, "Less than 2 feet." Yeah, they lied. Two to 5 feet until about 15 miles out from Boot Key Harbor (Marathon). Wild Blue was a champ, averaging a bit over 15 knots in that stuff. Brent had told us about all the crab pot floats; also read about them in one of the cruising guides... "thousands" was mentioned. It wasn't an exaggeration. Like running a mine field. I'm gonna sleep good tonight (on the hook in Boot Key Harbor). We spent some time with Brent and Dixie onboard Discovery this afternoon (after much needed showers) and are looking forward to dinner with George and Penny (Wanderer) tomorrow. The traveling is fun; seeing new places is exciting; meeting other C-Brats is the best!

We are looking forward to some "veg time" over the next week, exploring the Marathon area, and then heading west... Bahia Honda, Key West. And warmth!

I saw the Miami Boat Show mentioned in another thread - what a spectacular boat show! Probably won't make it there this year... really don't need to... the Blonde, Molly the cat, and Wild Blue... add in some great water, and I've got everything I need to be a happy guy.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

How's this for technology: we can pull in one Spanish speaking tv channel, but we have wireless broadband!
 
Jim & Joan,
Well I am sure glade you are in safe harbor. My buddy Joe told you about that streach of Gulf and you just had to go a prove him right. He
will enjoy hearing you discovered his version of the Marathon Run.
Judy wanted me to thank you for keeping her company while I was enjoying myself in Seattle, it made her time pass a little quicker and much more entertaining. So...Thanks

Keep us posted on your travels and give George & Penny, Brent & Dixie our best.

Mike
 
How's this for technology: we can pull in one Spanish speaking tv channel, but we have wireless broadband!
Click to expand...

Hey, far out. Any words you don't understand from the TV you can just type into Google translator.

You guys sure have fun!
 
WhalerGoFar":204i3dde said:
Jim & Joan,
Well I am sure glade you are in safe harbor. My buddy Joe told you about that streach of Gulf and you just had to go a prove him right. He
will enjoy hearing you discovered his version of the Marathon Run.
Judy wanted me to thank you for keeping her company while I was enjoying myself in Seattle, it made her time pass a little quicker and much more entertaining. So...Thanks

Keep us posted on your travels and give George & Penny, Brent & Dixie our best.

Mike
Click to expand...

We enjoyed Judy's company, Mike. She certainly made us feel welcomed.

And let Joe know that... we didn't break anything! :wink It was a bit lumpy, but other than Molly yakking, none the worse for wear. You might also let Joe know that we only used 50 gallons of gas from Calusa on down. In fact, the guy at the fuel dock at Calusa couldn't believe we only used 9 gallons coming from Naples.

Molly said to tell Susie, Daisy, Dabber, and Lucky "Hi!"

For Tyboo Mike: yo hablo espanol, amigo.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Warmth, glorious warmth! We slept in this morning, windows open, covered with a sheet (instead of the Trav-a-sac with the "winter" side up). We visited with George and Penny onboard Brent and Dixie's Discovery, made a run for some supplies, just showered, and we're heading to the dinghy dock to have supper with the 6 of us at George and Penny's condo. Nice!

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Supper last night a George and Penny's was nice - good food, good conversation, and the opportunity to see George's slide show of their Alaska trip the way it was meant to be seen. Truly spectacular!

It is warm here in Boot Key Harbor... but on the bright side, it's only about 385% humidity. It truly makes south Texas feel dry. ;) After being chased by cold all the way around, I am not complaining. Hanging on the hook here is interesting - different from other places we've visited. LOTS of boat, some new, most old. A mixture of sail and power. Big and small; and I was surprised to see the number of boats 22-26 here for extended times. There are a couple of guys living on a Catalina 22 anchored near us (escaping the cold Chicago weather they said). The city marina isn't fancy, but does have the basics: 3 showers... with the hundreds of boats here, you can imagine that there are occasionally lines. Still, it's nice to get off the boat and get clean (in 8 minutes per token... doesn't sound like much time, but it's plenty adequate for a couple to get good and clean). Water is 5¢ per gallon. A few well-worn washers/dryers. The city is working to get mooring balls installed all around the harbor, so the character will change as those who want to anchor are driven away. I was told the waiting list for a mooring ball is several months.

As I mentioned, no tv signal that we can get, so we get our local news/weather on the Cruisers Net at 9:00 each morning. A well-run net that does a great job of making even us newbies feel welcome. They even brought a "Welcome Wagon" type of service to our boat: a nice canvas bag with several local newspapers, some brochures, a couple floating key chains, and a bottle opener - a nice service!

The house batteries seem to be losing ground, so I am suspecting the on-board battery charger. They were nearly flat this morning, with just the fridge and a couple lights usage. I asked about a place to buy a Honda 12v adaptor (to connect the generator direct to the batteries) on the Cruisers Net, and got an immediate reply from a guy who offered it to me for a six pack of beer. Deal. It is slowly bringing the batteries back up.

We're off to go exploring today in the dinghy, but will leave you with a few images of the harbor...

The bridge coming into Boot Key Harbor:

1170435486.jpg

The view out our window at anchor:

1170435598.jpg


Wild Blue on the hook:

1170435681.jpg


Best wishes,<br>
Jim B.
 
I can only mirror what you have already learned from Jim and Joan. We launched in Punta Gorda, on Jan 12th and have been slowly moving south. We arrived in Boot Key Harbor last Tuesday, and will probably move on to Bahia Honda Key next Tues. We have had a great time visiting with George and Penny "Wanderer". They have a Condo in Key Colony, and have been gracious hosts and travel guides. We just had a Lobster Rubin Sandwich lunch on the dock, and I am borrowing Penny's computer to catch up with the C-Brats. Dixie and Penny are off shopping.

We are glad that Wild Blue caught up with us. It will be good to have a companion boat as we go on toward Key West.

Dixie has kept a more detailed travel log, and she will post it when she has a chance. Good Internet connections are few and far between for us. We don't have the same broadband setup as Wild Blue.
 
Today was laundry day and try to get your batteries charging day in Boot Key Harbor. The crews of Discovery and Wild Blue shared a cab to the ever-popular Maytag Laundry in Marathon. Imagine a third world laundrymat, make it a bit scruftier, and you've got it. The place was packed. Joan and Dixie "stalked" out machines and made threatening moves on other patrons. You've heard the old saying that man is "just three missed meals away from the breakdown of civilization"? That old saying has nothing on two boat women trying to get a washing machine in a crappy over-crowded laundrymat! :wink:

Meanwhile, Brent and I hoofed it to K-Mart where I picked up an automotive battery charger. Several hours later (and a stop at the Overseas Bar & Grill) and we loaded clean clothes and my new charger into the dinghies. With the Honda generator going, the Eco-throttle off, the battery charger plugged in, and the Honda 12v cord also going to the batteries, the voltage is finally going the right direction.

It has just started to sprinkle, the Blonde and the cat are both panting, the outside temp is 81º with about a million percent humidity now, and with fans blazing, we have cooled the interior of the boat to just a shade over 80º. :crook

The front that is supposed to move in tonight/tomorrow appears to be making an early appearance - it will be cooling daytime highs into the 70s and give us some rain to wash the salt off the boats. Looks like the weather will be less than "Florida Sunshine" for the next several days. We plan to hang right here in this protected harbor for a while.

In the meantime, here is a sunset shot from last night...

1170535182.jpg


Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Back
Top