Sunday, January 8, 2012

And The Weather In Florida . . . ..

SHIP'S LOG:

I got a chance to get around s see a couple more people who are on "The List" today. It is really something when I show up at their doors. They look absolutely shocked, stunned, like they can not believe their eyes. It is a great way to spend an afternoon, for both me and them.

The weather here has gotten a little bit "warmer" or shall I say unseasonable. A year ago, I was still in Fort Pierce battle the wind and the temps in the 70's. This was the day of the great battery replacement when the "old" house battery bank went away and a new one took its place. After a couple of days without electric "juice in the can" it was great to be able to run things again without firing up the engine or the portable generator. Basically I was still heading south though my pause at Fort Piece and my visits with Jerry had caused a bit of a delay. soon I would touch base with Brad and that would cause even more of a delay as together we worked at getting his boat "seaworthy." There are times when I think about him, whether or not he was able to finish up, whether or not he was able to get away before the local constabulary forced him to have his beast of a dog "fixed?" I will have to see if I still ave his cell phone number ad give him a call one of these days. I tend to think he is probably still on the hook in Fort Pierce, still planning to go but not being quite able to get going yet.

The first of the year brought a couple of big financial blows. The first was the bill for the dues for TYC - $708.63! Ouch! The second was the balance for the hauling, storage and launching from Yankee Boatyard - $786.53! Ouch! ! ! And the third was also from Yankee, the maintenance bill, I mere $663! Ouch!!! Ah, but then it is only money and had I gone south, I would have spent it anyhow. Then again, hauled out in some DIY (Do It Yourself) Mom & Pop boatyard someplace off the ICW down in "sunny Florida" I probably would have already been hard at work with the projects I have planned for the spring. Boy, is that list growing! Then again, it never really shrinks. Every project you begin reveals 3 more that need to be done, usually before you are able to finish the initial project, so it is better to leave it until spring when you can force yourself to stop because it is time to launch the boat. And that's a day that can't come soon enough. Have you noticed that the days are getting longer?