Log 116; Day 325; Marina Bay Marina; Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Donnie and Mary (Deb's sister) join us for dinner on the boat

We took a 4 hour dinghy ride...with a couple of stops for liquid refreshments

This is a large boat that makes 2 trips daily up the New River. I ended up meeting this boat in the narrow channel when I brought HQ up here...not fun.

These 2 boats were sitting at Pier 66

I talked to this captain, and asked him what this larger overhead structure was for. He told me they lifted boats out of the water.

Another "normal" yacht along the Intracoastal

Up and down the New River are canals like this one, where there are hundreds of boats

This home is for sale...I think it was built by the Mars (as in M&M's) family

Log 116
Day 325
Friday, April 10, 2009

6:10 AM EST
Location: Marina Bay Marina, Fort Lauderdale, FL.
Weather: 68 with light winds...it will be about 80 and sunny today

It’s warming up now...80’s during the day, and 70’s at night. I think last night was the last night, for a while, that we will be able to sleep without air conditioning. The 10 day forecast calls for beautiful weather.

Deb’s sister Mary, and husband, Donnie, have been here the last couple of days, and we have had a lot of fun with them. On Wednesday, they came to the boat at about 11 am, and we went to lunch at Pier 66 Marina, where we could over look the Intracoastal. No matter how many times you see these huge yachts go by, you are still amazed at their size, and what they may cost to buy, and operate. After lunch, we came back to the boat, and took a long dinghy ride down the New River, and out to the Intracoastal. We explored the Marinas of Pier 66, and Bahia Mar, which is where some of the largest yachts in this area are docked. Donnie could not get over the size, and number, and just laughed the whole time. Or...come to think of it, maybe it was the effect of the two stops we made for margarita’s and pina colada’s. Whatever the case, we had a great time, and it took us about 4 hours to get back to the boat. For dinner, we had Italian beef, that Deb had been cooking in the crock pot all day. Great day.

On Thursday morning Donnie and Mary went to Palm Beach and checked out the Barrett Jackson auction, and then spent the afternoon on the beach. Deb and I made good use of our rental car, and ran several errands. At 5 pm we hooked up again, and the 4 of us went to dinner at a great Italian restaurant, and then took a walk along the beach at sunset. Although we did not get to spend a lot of time with Don and Mary, we had a great time together, and they really enjoyed their week in Fort Lauderdale. They had never been here before...and they are ready to book next years trip back again. We agree...this is a great place to visit.

On the maintenance side...when we had an issue with a plastic bag being sucked up in our A/C intake a couple of weeks ago, the diver (who removed the bag) said I needed to replace some of the zincs on our shafts, and trim tabs, so I hired a diver to do this on Thursday. He also told me that our bow thruster did not have any zincs on them, and I needed to find some, and get them installed. After a few phone calls, I found a person who specialized in selling and installing our type of bow thruster. He not only had the zincs, but also an upgrade kit for the thruster that would give it up to 25% more power, if we installed new thruster props. So...I had the divers also install new front thruster props, and zincs. They also cleaned the bottom and all running gear, which they said it needed. If we keep moving, instead of sitting in one spot for so long, our bottom should be good for a while.

Today...before we take the car back tomorrow, we want to run some more errands this morning. Anytime we get access to a car, we are always making lists of things we need, because we never know when we will get to a store, or a West Marine, in the future. I also need to give the boat a good washing, because with the winds we have had over the last couple of weeks, the boat is full of dirt, and with the morning dew, it is causing lots of black streaks, and I need to get them off.

Our plan...for leaving is still to head out on Monday. We don’t plan to go too far...just up to West Palm, where we will meet some friends of ours (Bill and Susie Donovan) who live there. From there, we will be heading to Stuart, to see some other friends (Jack and Char Meyering) who live in that area. We are still thinking we will be in Florida until late April or early May. By then the weather should be warm enough to head further North.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob

Log 115; Day 322; April 8, 2009; Marina Bay Marina, Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Log 115
Day 322
Tuesday, April 8, 2009
7:10 AM EST
Location: Marina Bay Marina, Fort Lauderdale, FL.
Weather: 58 with light north winds...it will be about 74 and sunny today

Side note: Deb’s camera is broken (again) so no pictures for a couple of days.

It got a little cool last night...down to 55 degrees. I had to use the heater on the back deck this morning. The sun is not quite up yet (sunrise is 7:05 this morning), but it’s light out, and not a cloud in the sky. It should be a beautiful day.

We got back from Illinois yesterday about 3:30 pm, and after a stop at Publix for some groceries, we were at the boat by 4:30. It’s great to be back “home”. The services for Mom went as well as those things can go...they were very respectful, and simple. Just the way she would have wanted it. This captain’s log is not a place for this kind of thing, but a few words about Mom are in order. Like most funerals, kind words are said about those departed, and this was no different. Mom touched a lot of people. We knew that; but maybe were not aware of how her attitude was so infectious to others. In the words of others...”she always had a smile on her face”...”she used to get her hair done at my hair salon on Fridays, it was my favorite day of the week, because I knew Geneva was coming in”...”Geneva not only lit up a room, she lit up the town”. Enough said.

The marina where we are at now (Marina Bay Marina) is very nice. There are probably at least 200 slips, and many of the boats range from 70 to 125 feet. When we docked here, we did not have any time for exploring, but I told Deb last night, that we need to take a dock walk...this place is awesome. Along with the big boats, it has beautiful condos, a large swimming pool, and a great restaurant. The bad news is, it is fairly remote, so if you were going to be here very long, you would want a car. The good news we still have our rental car, and will not take it back until Saturday, so we are in good shape.

The plan (at this point) is to stay here until next Monday, and then head north. Deb’s sister (Mary) and brother in law (Donnie) are here on spring break, so we hope to get together with them for a couple of days, before they leave on Friday. We could leave at that point, but we are in no hurry, and this is not a place to travel on the weekends, if you don’t have to. The boat traffic is the most I have ever seen, and for some reason these folks down here do not really care about the “rules of the road”. Coming so close to you, that you could reach out and touch them; cutting you off; and making large wakes, are just normal. In the dinghy it’s fun...in the big boat, it’s a real pain. We don’t need to go...so we won’t.

Today...as soon as it warms up a little, I need to wash the boat. It’s not that dirty, but it has not been washed for a couple of weeks, and the salt in the air just makes everything feel gritty. We also plan to hook up with Deb’s sister. Maybe a trip to the beach...or a dinghy ride on the New River. Should be a great day.

FYI...we love living on a boat!!!

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob