Sunday, April 30, 2017

Lessons Learned

Whenever we would complete a project at work, we would have a meeting and record our lessons learned.  So, as we come to an end of our Great Loop Project the following is a review of boating lessons learned.

July 2011
During our vacation to Alaska with friends Gary and Vicki on their boat, we first learned about the Great Loop and decided we might enjoy living on a boat.  We joined the AGLCA (America's Great Loop Cruisers Association) and began receiving the information from their website about trip itineraries, listening to blogtalk radio, and shopping for the right boat.  We even drove to the Looper Rendezvous in Rogersville, AL in the fall 2012 where we met other Loopers, looked at boats and listened to seminar speakers.

January 2013
After shopping and looking at many boats we finally purchased a 1983 38' Gulfstar twin engine trawler. King and Gary worked on the boat for over a year, flying back and forth from Austin (and Denver) to the boat.

May 2014
I retired the middle of May and we sold our house and most of our household goods. Downsizing at this stage in life was always in our plans, so selling the home was a no-brainer. We flew to Norfolk, VA and drove to the boat in Elizabeth City, NC, where Gary & Vicki had taken it from the Jacksonville, FL area.  Everyone begins The Loop in different locations, with a major consideration being the time of year.  Springtime is the correct time for the East Coast.

Captain Chris and Alyce are a couple we met at the 2012 Rogersville AGLCA Rendezvous, who have a business helping new boaters learn everything about Looping in a boat - to anchor, tie up to docks, and navigate.  I thought it would be a good idea to hire them to help us.  King said, "We can learn everything we need to know - how hard could it be?"

Day 1
We left in the rain, heading north through the Dismal Swamp. We planned to stay at the Dismal Swamp Welcome Center, but all spaces were already taken when we arrived.  We continued on in a raining downpour and came to a lock, which was not open.  We attempted to tie up to a bridge wall at the Lock. We managed to catch the bow cleat, but we were going with the current and could not tie up.  The boat was tied, but perpendicular to the wall. We untied and left the dock line behind and turned around back into the Dismal Swamp.  King said that was our best rope. We found a dock and tied up, just a little drenched and minus one dock line.
Lesson Learned - tie up against the current.



Day 2
We made it through the two Deep Creek Locks and felt good that it was uneventful.  Before long, we came to lock three.  That is strange, I said, I thought there were only two locks before we came to Portsmouth.  The lockmaster asked where we were headed, we said Portsmouth.  He said, "you are heading back to Elizabeth City. Portsmouth is behind you".  He said we could turn around in the lock and go back out because the lock doors were not yet closed.  We did a 180' in the lock, a challenge, and headed for Portsmouth.
Lesson Learned - use the chart plotter


Our first lock - Deep Creek Lock.

Day 3
Destination Horn Harbor Creek anchorage, off of Mobjack Bay
We left Portsmouth at 9:00 a.m. and rocked and rolled our way out into the Chesapeake Bay.  We have a large bell that hangs in the sundeck - used for ringing if caught in a dense fog. When the bow of the boat plows into a deep trough,the bell will ring. This means the waves are too big for a comfortable ride. Our bell rang all day - just about every wave. With the extremely rough conditions the anchor started coming loose from the front of the boat. King said he must go out and secure it.  I didn't want him to go out in the rough water, but he crawled out on his hands and knees wearing his life vest.  I said, "I'm scared".  He said I should be out where he was.  All secure, he came back inside. Photo below is from another day when the wind and the waves were calm.
Lesson Learned - find wind and wave weather forecast websites and pay attention to the forecasts.


Day 4
We had a good night's rest at the anchorage.  I was nervous driving the boat while King set the anchor, but all went well. King used hand signals and told me to come forward, turn right, left or stop.  Next morning, we left Horn Harbor.  We carefully stayed in the channel and still ran aground! A passing crab fisherman pulled us off and we were off, headed for Deltaville.
Lesson Learned - stay in the middle of the channel and expect the unexpected. Watch the depth sounder.  Pay attention to the tide tables. If there isn't much depth, go in and out at high tide.


Day 5
Good weather, small waves and something new - lots of crab pots.  We were zigging and zagging and successfully missing them.  King was on the bow of the boat and I was driving.  All I had to do was push a button on the autopilot and turn the boat 10' to keep from running over a crab pot.  All of a sudden a crab fisherman came up in front of our boat, stopped, and started yelling at us to move to the ship channel.  King told him he doesn't own the waterway and that we aren't running over any crab pots. Meantime I am turning the wheel like crazy to avoid hitting the boat that foolishly stopped right in front of me. But, our boat isn't turning.  I am heading straight for his boat and he keeps yelling and doesn't move.  He did move just in time, as King realized at the same time, I had the boat on autopilot rather than being able to manually steer the boat. Photo below is a different crab boat.
Lesson Learned - how to operate auto pilot

Day 6
Deltaville Boatyard was our next stop.  We needed a repair, which after parts were ordered and reordered, took about a week.  We enjoyed the courtesy car and took advantage of the small town of Deltaville, VA.  One night, there was a terrible storm with high wind and waves.  We could not see the boats that were anchored in the bay during the storm.  As the storm subsided tornado sirens started to blow.  The storm was mostly over, but we quickly checked the local weather stations and no alerts were given. Finally the sirens stopped.  The next day we asked the lady in the office if she heard the sirens.  She thought a minute and then answered, "Oh, the town tests the tornado sirens on Thursday nights".
Lesson Learned - don't get too excited

Lesson Learned - hiring Captain Chris and Alyce might be a good idea after all.

Days to follow
The first week was a big learning curve, but we did manage it.  We learned to navigate, learned when the weather and the waves would be a good day to go, and I am proud to say I finally learned to catch a cleat and properly tie up a boat.  King gained in boat engineer skills, repairing and rebuilding many items on the boat.

We continued on up the Chesapeake and out into the Atlantic turning north toward New York City.


We completed our first Loop, over 6,000 miles, and we knew we wanted more.  We stored the boat in Brewerton, NY at Winter Harbor Marina from September 2015 - May 2016.  This was so we could boat a third summer in Canada.

In May, 2016, we took Blue Moon from Brewerton, down the St Lawrence River to Montreal and then back west across Canada and ultimately down to Ft. Myers, FL.  We have covered about 10,000 miles.  Although, we are not master mariners, we would say we are accomplished boaters and enjoyed our Great Loop experience.

Saturday, April 29, 2017

Matlacha A Feast For The Eyes

January 20. 2017

We took a day trip to Matlacha, Pine Island, FL (pronounced Mat - la - shay) with friends Captain Jack and Jane, from Dixie, and had a wonderful day.  Matlacha is on Pine Island which is about 20 miles from Ft Myers Municipal Marina.  

This house is for sale - can I buy it?

Captain Jack, Jane and I are ready to see  Matlacha shops and restaurants, birds and seaside.

Captain Jack ready for a boat tour.

Something to do with all those coconuts - postcards that can actually be mailed.

Leoma Lovegrove's art gallery ready for a tour.  What a feast for the eyes!  Such bright colors.  No photos can be taken inside the gallery, but we took lots in the outside garden.  So pretty. 



Hard to see on my t-shirt, look close and see the sailboats, is from Art Fest 2016. Leoma Lovegrove's design is on the shirt.



 The Beatles Outdoor Garden and Stage.






Bottles in blue




 Scenic boat canals.

A working boat.


Hoping for a handout.

Looks like a three point landing.

We had lunch at Bert's, then went across the street to the t-shirt gift shop.

Boat music for lunchtime listening.

 What a fun day we had in Matlacha.


Wednesday, April 26, 2017

More Ft Myers Fun

More birthdays - or another excuse for a party


It is a birthday party for Grant, from As The Crow Flies.  Grant and Cindy, friends from Ontario, Canada were en route to the Bahamas.  We sure enjoyed seeing them and help eat birthday cake.


Crews from Twelve Stones, Nearly Perfect, Pura Vida, Attitude Changer. Blue Moon and land crew Dave and Leslie enjoy the party.

The Firestone
Everyone who visits Ft Myers should go to The Firestone, a roof top restaurant, and experience the wonderful view of the river, boats and the marinas.  Our marina is on the right hand side of the photo.

Photo taken from the walking path, looking back at The Firestone.



 Jane and Jack from Dixie, King, and Patty from Nearly Perfect ready to see the view.

We met Nicole, James and boys for lunch at Bahama Breeze.  We watched Nicole grow up her entire life, so it is even more special to spend time with her and her family and see the boys grow up.  Nicole posted this photo on Facebook, calling us her second parents.  What an honor.

A day at the beach
We were up before dawn, very, very unusual for us and set off in the car for Sanibel Island.

We passed Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge and searched for seashells at Bowman's Beach.

Low tide usually makes for a good day to find seashells.


King wonders what we will do with all these shells in Texas!



Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Windy Windy-er Windy-est

December 5 - December 7, 2016

We left Dunedin in the wind.  The waves were small, but the wind blew and was very tiring. Fortunately, it was on our nose, so it wasn't rough.  We hurried across Tampa Bay because waves and wind were favorable.  We knew from the weather forecast the winds were expected to increase over the next two days, which they did. We spent the night anchored at the Cortez Bridge, in Bradenton, FL.

Cape Haze anchorage was our stop for the next night.  It is a small bay shaped like a bowl, surrounded by palm trees and nice homes.  We were sheltered from the winds and had a good night's sleep.  King caught a weak fish, which he threw back, not wanting to clean just one fish.

We had planned to stop at Cayo Costa State Park, one of our favorite stops from the previous loop, but the winds were just too strong.  So we continued on to Ft Myers.

From the ICW it is 15 miles up the Caloosahatchee River to our destination, Ft Myers Municipal Marina.  Up the river we pass this bait and soda shop complete with sunbathing mannequins.  

We were tired and very happy to be at our stop, Ft Myers Municipal Marina.  When we arrived, we did not know that this would be our final leg of the Loop and this would be where we would sell Blue Moon.  

Yahoo Weather shows Ft Myers Municipal Marina and the weather.  Good weather for winter!

Lots of Gold Loopers in town to attend the AGLCA Looper-palooza, a gathering of Loopers, held at the Harborside Event Center.  Three tracks of classes to choose from, one for Gold Loopers, one for current Loopers and one for future Loopers.  We attended the class on how to sell a boat.  

Ft Myers Municipal Marina is located in downtown Ft Myers, just three blocks from shops and restaurants.  It's a great place to be.  This is a Gold Looper gathering at Ford's Garage Restaurant.  

 Ford's Garage with great decor.

 Bathroom sinks are tires and gas nozzles.

 Customized hamburgers.

Dave and Leslie had driven to Ft Myers and were still waiting on their grandbaby to arrive.  They spent a few days on the boat with us.  There was to be a super moon that night, so we went to The Firestone - a roof top restaurant and bar with spectacular views.


The next evening we drove to Cape Coral to visit Todd and Paula, 2014 loopers we first met in Leland, MI.  We enjoyed dinner together plus they gave us a sneak preview of their new home. 

Docktails 
Loopers like to visit at docktails.  Jack and Patty from Nearly Perfect had a perfect spot to host these gatherings, and they enjoyed playing the role of hosts.  We first met Jack and Patty at Great Kills Marina in Staten Island, NY in 2014 and had not seen them since. There, we went to dinner with them and took pictures which King promised he would text to Patty.  One of Patty's first comments to King was, "you owe me some pictures".  So, after a two year wait, King sent her the pictures of the group at Staten Island.  

Docktails

Comparing boating stories.

CJ, Curt and Julie are Gold Loopers with a "Crossing Their Loop" party at Legacy Harbor Marina, Ft Myers.


King and Jack, from Nearly Perfect, discussing the day.

Festivals
Weekend festivals are popular in downtown Ft. Myers.  From the deck of our boat we saw the parade of festival goers take in a Food Truck and Motorcycle Fest, Doggie Fest. Artfest 2016, and Edison Light Parade, to name a few.




Seashell covered VW

Edison Light Parade
In 1885, Thomas Edison built his winter home in FT Myers.  He died in 1931, having successfully received over 1,000 patents for his inventions.  The annual celebration of his life started in 1938.  We were happy to see the Light Parade and Festival.  James and Nicole and sons watched the parade from Blue Moon's sundeck. Our good friends, Captain Jack and Jane, were there also.

The boys see the floats, lights and bands.



Birthday Party for Max, Mike and Lee
We drove from Ft Myers to St Pete Beach and spent the night.  The event was a birthday party for Lee, Mike and Max.  The party was held outside at the St. Pete Country Club. Only problem was, a cold front had come through and it was cold and windy. Still, a good time was had by all.  We enjoyed seeing Looper friends at the large party. We also enjoyed staying that night at this retro motel at St. Pete Beach.

 Blind Resort Courtyard.

 Birthday boys - Lee, Mike and Max

 Everyone having a good time at the party.

 Judy from Valentine and Suzan.

Max from Lazy Suzan.

We first met Max in Orillia, Ontario around the end of July, when he became part of the Lazy Suzan crew.  Nine months later,  in March, Max left Lazy Suzan in Florida to begin his new adventure as a Navy Seal.  Our best to you, Max.