January 10, 2013; still at Gulfport, FL

Thursday:  It has been some time since we posted.  We haven't been doing much other than getting a few things done on the boat.  After 3 days with Charlie, the electrician, being here we finally have a working inverter system and Keith now has a good understanding of how it works.  He also found and fixed some potentially dangerous problems which we did not know about.  We also had an air conditioning mechanic come in and he found and fixed the leak in our air conditioner.  After about a week of strangers coming and going on the boat we now have it back to just ourselves.  Thank goodness.

Gulfport Municipal Marina is a nice little marina but without transportation you are kind of stuck.  We can walk to the downtown area for restaurants and shops but as far as groceries go you really need a car.  We rented a car the other day and were going steady all day buying groceries, going to West Marine, doing the laundry, and going to the hardware store.  A full day but we should be good for a while.

CO's comments:  The leak in our air conditioner was caused by the last person who supposedly fixed it.....  I finally have an understanding of our electrical system and have some ideas as how to upgrade the batteries when the time comes to replace them.  Charlie is retired Navy.  He served  aboard  nuclear powered boats and he sure knows a lot more about electrical systems on boats than any other electrician we have met.  We are very pleased with his work.  We have been having 4' plus tides the last couple of days. 

Late yesterday afternoon a guy and his wife came into the marina on a 19' outboard and just about hit us.  When he finally docked his boat, he put one foot on the dock and the other on the boat while holding his line and you know what happened next.  The boat moved and he fell in.  Some passers by dragged him out of the water.  He was all cut up and bleeding and could not walk a straight line he was so drunk.  The boat is still here this morning but they are not.

Gulfport, FL - last sun set of 2012

The boat in front ours is the same size we started out with.  We went from a 28' in 2009 to a 49' in 2012, wow!

This ice breaker is paving a trail for the 1004' Steamer on Lake Superior the first part of 2013.  My good friend Joyce is the head cook and her husband Tom is the Captain.  They were on the lake over Christmas but were finally able to celebrate in January and start a long deserved winter vacation.

December 28, 29, and 30, 2012: Gulfport Municipal Marina, FL

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday:  After staying at Treasure Island for 4 days it was just took a short hop down to Gulfport Municipal Marina.  We plan on staying here for a few weeks.  It started out a beautiful, sunny day, a little cool in the 60's, and it was in the low 70's when we got here about 12:30.  Late in the afternoon it started to rain and it rained all night and was still raining on Saturday morning.  By noon the sun came out, but with the wind it was cool.  It is predicted to be the low 70's for the next few days 

We got to say good-bye to Les, who was the Dock Master at TI for the past 38 years.  He is a good man and very deserving of retirement.  In the past 2 years there have been a lot of changes at TI.  We were glad to see Les but will probably never go back there because of the cost increase.  We can stay at Gulfport for 2 weeks for less than the 4 days we stayed at TI.

Our friends from Blue Angle are also staying here.   We took a walk around the town of Gulfport on Saturday afternoon. It is a nice little town just off the GIWW.

N27.74010
W82.69707

CO's comments:  We woke up this morning and found ourselves touching the bottom.  Forecasted 2 foot tides are in reality 5 feet. tides.  Hopefully the winds will change and stop blowing the water out of the bay.

:

Our little Christmas Tree

Sunrise from our slip at Clearwater on 12/23/2012
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Sunset from our slip at Treasure Island on 12/23/2012

 

 

 

Nose to nose with Blue Angle at the floating dock at Gulfport .

 

 

A lot of sail boats at this marina.

 

 

This sail boat is tilting to the port as he is on the bottom-12/30/2012.

 

 

Sun rise at Gulfport on 12/30/2012.

 



Merry Christmas

A friend sent this to us and it is so funny we had to share it with every one.  Just click on the arrow in the lower left hand corner of the video.  Thanks to Nick and Aline.

Merry Christmas to you all

December 23, 2012; Clearwater to Treasure Island, FL

Sunday;  After a week at Clearwater Municipal Marina we are moving down the GIWW to Treasure Island where we will spend Christmas.  We loved it there 2 years ago.  It is my understanding that due to a fire on the docks last year their insurance company will only allow people to stay on their boats for 3 days at a time.  That's too bad because it is a beautiful place to stay.

CO's comments:  I am ready to move again.

Sunset at Pier 60 on Clearwater Beach; 12-22-2012

Bobbie and Keith on 12-22-2012; Pier 60.  It was a windy and cool night but a beautiful sunset.