Log 112; Day 306; Mar. 23, 2009; Fort Lauderdale

Just across the river from us is Briney's Pub, where they have this HUGE shark.

Here are our friends, Lynn & Jerry...from Sea La Vie...we had lunch with them at Le Tub on Friday

Just another day on New River...this is a constant scene of Mega Yachts going by us

We took a dinghy ride way up the New River where the ship yards are. Just for a perspective...the yacht in the front is 92 feet. I wonder how big the large yacht is?

This yacht has it's own covered slip...it has to be over 200 feet long, and there are many more like this one

Gary Hedge visited yesterday, and he wanted to see the engine room on HQ

Joan Hedge...on Headquarters

Log 112
Day 306
Monday, March 23, 2009

7:30 AM EST
Location: New River City Marina, Fort Lauderdale, FL.
Weather: 68, windy, with gusts to 23 mph...it will be about 76, windy, and chance of rain today

It has been raining off and on for 3 days now. It has also been windy, and the forecast is for that to continue for a few days. Lots of marine warnings on the beaches for rip currents. (Side note; a couple years ago, a friend of mine, Ken Batista, a very strong swimmer, lost his life in the rip currents down here...they are certainly something to pay attention to). At about 2 pm last night, the wind kicked up, and it rained hard again for a while. This morning it’s very cloudy, and winds of 15 to 20 mph...not one of those beautiful mornings we have been used to for several weeks.

On Friday we went to a Marine Flea Market with Lynn and Jerry, our friends on Sea La Vie. It was interesting to see...lots of used stuff, and a fair amount of “junk”...but I assume (because I’ve not been to a real flea market before) similar to normal flea markets...except this stuff was all marine. I did buy a couple of LED bulbs for the boat, and we had a great lunch at Le Tub (again) so it was a very good day, none the less. We also stopped off at Boat Owners Warehouse, a great marine store I had not been to before, and I did find a couple of things I had to have. We were back at the boat by 4 pm, and had a quiet evening.

Saturday...it rained all day, and we had a very lazy day on the boat. About 4 pm, I was walking past the helm, and saw a light on the control panel was on. It turned out to be a light telling me the aft bilge pump was running...not a good thing. After checking everything out, and determining that we did not have a water leak, I determined that the bilge pump was running because the float switch that shuts off the pump was too low, and the pump could not pump the water out enough to make the switch shut down the pump. We fixed the pump temporarily, but it needs a permanent fix...which I plan to do on Monday.

Sunday...the rain finally stopped, and the sun was out most of the day. It was still windy, but got to near 80 degrees. I needed a tool to try to fix the aft bilge pump, so I called Jerry on Sea La Vie, and asked him, if he was out running errands (which I know he does almost every day) would he mind swinging by, and taking me to Home Depot...which he did. I picked up a side angle drill and driver tool, to help remount the bilge pump, which I am hoping will fix the issue we are having. At 3 pm Gary and Joan Hedge, long time friends of ours from Geneva, IL stopped by the boat. They drove from Illinois down here, to visit Joan’s parents, and celebrate her Dad’s 85th birthday. Gary is also a certified financial planner, and stopped along the way (coming down here, and going back) to visit several of his clients...us, being one of them (although our visit was mostly social). After a couple hours of catching up, we walked to the Downtowner Saloon, just a couple of blocks away, and they treated us to a great dinner. It’s always great being with Gary and Joan...we have had some wonderful times over the years, and relive those memories each time we get together.

Today...the main thing on the agenda is to fix the aft bilge pump. My belief is I can do that if I lower the pump...or raise the float switch. It is a very difficult place to get in to, and will not be easy to do, but I think I can fix it without hiring a mechanic. At least that’s my plan. Other than that, we have no plans as of yet. At this point, we are planning to stay here in the New River for another week, and then maybe head out to one of the marinas on the ICW, nearer the coast. We don’t plan to leave the Fort Lauderdale area until the first part of April.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob