The Cruising Adventures of Wild Blue and crew...

Jim and Joan, I do not have anything to add that has not already been said by others. I just wanted you to know that I have been thinking about you and am shedding tears with you currently. Though it is part of life, I really hate the finality to some parts of it. It should get easier from here.
 
Jim & Joan,

The last great promise that we have to fulfill to those who gave us so much, is to make the decision that they cannot make. You know that, you did that, but no matter how many times you have to do it, it never gets easier. That's the way it should be.

Sympathy but also proud of y'all.

Merv & Kathy
 
Jim and Joan you have our profound sympathy. I too teared up reading the posts about Molly. Molly truly became a part of the C-Brat family!
Dave, Carol and Jessica
 
Jim and Joan,

Sydney and I know how you feel. :cry: Believe me! You are so lucky to have had her. :D. We don't know how it will be with out her. Please continue to keep Sydney and I posted on your adventures. :)
Thinking of you.
 
Jim and Joan:

I'm so sorry to read of your loss. I regularly update my wife as to what "Molly the C-Brat Cat" is up to. It was always a happy thought thinking what it would be like to be Molly for a moment... You gave her a wonderful life and shared that happiness with so many people. I'll miss her.

Ron B.
 
"Molly the C-Brat Cat"
Click to expand...
That makes me smile.:smile


Jim and Joan -

I am so sad for you. Molly is fortunate to not only have known so loving a family, but to have already been immortalized in the funny papers, as well.

All the best,

Mike
 
Jim and Joan,

Sorry to hear that you had to let Molly go but it sounds like it was clearly the best thing you could have done given the circumstances. I'd just like to put in a pitch to your son in law to carry on the strip with Molly still alive and well in the comics. While she may not be with you (and us) in real life, she can live on in the comics and keep us all a little lighter on our feet. Furthermore, in the comic strip she clearly seemed to be the smartest one on the boat. :wink:
 
C-Brat friends,

We are overwhelmed. Your comments here, the private messages, e-mails, and phone calls have truly touched us. For those who have known the companionship of a dear furry family member, you understand the profound loss. Molly's story is so touching because she picked us... and she was persistent. She followed me to work. She became an official part of our family about a year later, while we planned our retirement. The three of us were together 24 hours a day, and that was the way Molly liked it. When we started cruising with Wild Blue, Molly was a part of it from day one.

Yesterday was tough. Getting up this morning and not having my gray furry kid follow me out to the kitchen just makes my heart ache. Our routine was the same, regardless of where we were: mornings were for Molly and me... belly rubs, feeding, then make the coffee, followed by some outdoor time. Evenings were Joan and Molly's time; they were together, usually Molly on Joan's lap, and it was my pleasure to watch the tender interaction.

After a lot of tears yesterday, Joan asked me to take her out on the boat. Somehow that seemed very fitting, because Wild Blue was Molly's safe haven. We didn't go anywhere particular, but it provided an escape. We talked, cried, told Molly stories, laughed, and cried some more. Molly was a great boat cat and so much more.

We are planning our next outing, and it will be different without her along. We will find new routines, and we will carry her spirit with us. We will try to approach each new experience with the wonder and curiosity Molly taught us. In the meantime, please accept our heartfelt thanks for taking the time to send us your kind words.

Sincerely,
Jim & Joan
 
Staying busy helps. We have both been working around the house and the boat. Wild Blue is almost 2 1/2 years old; I went through her from stem to stern, tightening and adjusting. Surprisingly little to deal with. The battery charger was hanging by one screw, but I can't blame the factory for that - I replaced it while we were at anchor in the Keys two winters ago when the original gave out. I did replace the fresh water pump today... the third one. C-Dory sent me the second one as a warranty item and I moved it higher in the bilge so it wouldn't sit in the water (who came up with that placement???). It didn't seem to matter, since it only lasted half the time of the first pump. This time I replaced it with a marinized version - it's supposed to be sealed better. We'll see if it makes a difference (still made in China). I went through all the water lines, sanitized the tank, tested the water heater and the fridge. I'm gathering up chartbooks, cruising guides, and chartplotter chips. I still have to service the wheel bearings and check all the lights.

Living in a small town means Wal-Mart is one of our few shopping options locally. You'd think since much of our town is on an island and we're right across the causeway from South Padre Island that they'd have more boat stuff around here... but, no. I ordered batteries from my neighbor (he's a boat builder, but his shop is in another town 40 miles away). We drove to Brownsville to order tires for the truck and trailer. Not easy to find the E range for the truck, even tougher to come up with D range tires for the trailer. New rubber all around tomorrow! I find it odd that King Trailer put C range tires on this trailer as original equipment. Not that it's a problem - we haven gotten about 20,000 miles out of two of the four original tires. Getting the tires replaced will shoot several hours tomorrow, but there is a Texas Roadhouse within easy walking distance of the tire place and they're open for lunch on Fridays.

After a thorough cleaning next week, Wild Blue will be ready to roll. In the meantime, Joan has been hard at work on the house. Today, she sanded, retextured, and repainted the bathroom that our contractor's workers botched up after Hurricane Dolly. It looks like new again. She is a cleaning whirlwind, making each room look like a model home.

We are anxious to get back out on the water again... the change of scenery and routine will be good.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
We are sorry you three had to go through this, but you have done it in a most commendable way. Thank you for sharing Molly's viewpoint along the way, and for the beautiful portrait of her. (A printed copy is now on our wall in the sleep lab.)

Now go on with the peace in knowing that you did all that could be done for her, and that she will live on in your hearts and our memories. Your positive outlook has been a blessing to many of us here and we thank you for that.

:rainbow :hot :rose :photo

Harvey & Deena
SleepyC :moon
 
We feel and share your loss. The boat will be a salve and comfort, but always also a reminder of your loss - remember the good times together. With our sympathy.
 
The prep continues. Our neighbor dropped off the new batteries last night; I got them installed this morning. The voltage is right where it should be (as you'd expect), but the charger is only showing green lights. I'll keep an eye on that, since the charger caused us grief in the past.

Joan asked if I'd install a single lever faucet with a sprayer on the galley sink. She had seen Roger's (Dreamer) post on that a while back. While we were in Brownsville yesterday getting new tires, we stopped at Home Depot and picked up her choice of faucet. I went to work on that after finishing up the batteries. Here's what the stock faucet looks like...

StartE.jpg

Proof when we cruise, we take everything, including the kitchen sink...

SinkE.jpg

The instructions for installation were pretty straightforward - well, they were all pictures, so even a guy like me could kinda follow along. As you can see, I took the sink out prior to the install, at Roger's suggestion; it made access much easier.

OpenE.jpg

Joan ran to the nearby building supply place to pick up a couple flex hoses while I get the faucet mounted in place. Living where we do, you have to be flexible. They didn't have the exact hose fittings, but Joan was able to make the fittings work by getting a couple step up/down adaptors. What can you expect from Hector's Building Supply, Used Tires, and Iguana Sales?

I had my doubts about all those fittings... eight places to leak instead of four. Murphy didn't let me down. One fitting leaked no matter how much I messed with it. Nothing was different on that connection... well, except for the drip, drip, drip. I took it all apart and put it back together... drip, drip, drip. Joan gave me a hand... drip, drip, drip. I gave Roger a call; during that conversation I mentioned that Joan is our home plumber (I call her Josephine the Plumber, in reference to the old TV commercial, not intending to be political here). Roger said, "The solution is simple - let her fix it and you go have a beer." Good idea except for the beer part. By the time I got off the phone with Roger, Joan had the leak stopped. I didn't ask... if I have the knowledge to fix it, I may have to someday... better to not know. :wink:

With the new fresh water pump and fancy faucet, we can wash dishes, hair, and anything else that comes along.

DoneE.jpg

While all the stuff was out from under the sink, Joan took the opportunity to clean and arrange there. We have a couple bins worth of stuff that came out of the boat after our last cruise - we'll go through all that over the next few days, make an overnight test run or two, get packed, and hit the road.

Again, folks, thanks for the kind words and good thoughts. We may be missing an important part of our crew, but there are coves to check out, sunsets to toast, and more adventures ahead.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Jim and Joan, I have just now read your posts from the last two weeks. I like to save them up and enjoy them in one long read. I am sitting here with tears in my eyes, and an ache in my heart. I am so sorry for the loss of your beloved Molly. Thanks for sharing her with all of us, for she touched the hearts of many.

Robbi
 
Some of you know this has been a tough week for us. I visited with Steph and Dan, hoping that he would keep Molly as a big part of the comic strip. I know he wrestled with this, concerned for our feelings.

Molly will stay in the strip, just like that great little spirit will stay in our hearts. Dan is a most thoughtful and compassionate guy.

10_26StarStripE.sized.jpg

Thank you, Dan. Thank you C-Brat friends.

Best wishes,
Jim & Joan
 
I was about to post what we did with the boat today when this week's comic strip came from Dan. For a time, I put aside what the time on the boat did for us... but here was our day:

We were up before sunrise; easy to do this time of year, since the sun doesn't come up 'till around 7:30. The boat is mostly unloaded, but Joan has cleaned all the contents and they are waiting to go back in. Last night, she said, "Let's take the boat out first thing in the morning; I'll make breakfast onboard." Who am I to argue?

We watched the sunrise as we motored down the ship channel at 1800 rpm. With no schedule, time has no hold on us. We pulled into a cove about 6 miles from our place, dropped the anchor, and put chairs out in the cockpit. The dolphins and pelicans were putting on an early show, and we were the only audience.

Joan fired up the Wallas... bacon, eggs, and hash browns. We dined in the cockpit; 75º and sunny, light breeze. The Sunday paper got a good going over, then Joan started putting things in cabinets. I stayed out of her way by napping in the v-berth. Around noon, we both had as much relaxation as we could take - with the anchor up, we headed north for a tour through the Fingers area in Port Isabel. From there we made our way back out to the ICW, under the causeway, and back home.

Following Bill's advice, we spent about 6 hours on the boat and used between 2 and 3 gallons of fuel.

Taking our time, we can push the fuel economy to a bit more than 5 mpg. Nice return on investment.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Overnighted on Wild Blue last night; a shake-down to check out all the systems. Other than the starboard nav light (hope it's just a bulb), everything is functional. We had a 2" memory foam pad on the v-berth that was showing its age. In shopping around locally, we could find 1.5" or 4" as a replacement. 4 is too much, so we went with the 1.5". Not sure if my bones have aged that much since our last time in the v-berth, but I could feel the difference.

Time to start the loading process.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Back
Top