Cape Haze Florida – It’s almost time to move on – Jan 30, 2017

Jan 28^th – It was a cold and cloudy day.  We drove to Pasadena Yacht Club in Gulfport FL for a Looper reunion party.  On the way we stopped in Venice FL to buy a used portable air conditioner and then St Petersburg to buy a used Hooka dive unit.  The Looper party was outside by the pool thus it was chilly, however it was great to see all the Loopers that we haven’t seen in a while.  We even slipped in a quick Euchre game which my partner, Amanda, and I won!  What a small world … we ran into a boater from Krates north … Dick from “The Mistress” who keeps his southern boat at Pasadena Yacht Club.  After the party we drove back to the boat and cranked on the heat. 

Jan 29^th – It was a cold, cloudy and rainy day however the sun did make an appearance in the late afternoon.  I used an old shore power cord to build an extension cord for my new hooka dive unit and tested the setup above the water with positive results.  The real test will be underwater which should happen when the weather gets warmer.  Maria, Amanda and I went for a walk around the area and the sun finally decided to show up.  We hopped in the dingy and went for a ride to Palm Island resort and walked along the beach and found a few sand dollars.  It was sunny and cool however we still walked with our feet in the water.  The water was actually warmer than the air!  As the sun started to go down we quickly made our way back to the dingy to ensure we could navigate back to the marina.

Jan 30^th – It was a cool, sunny and windy day today.  I went to get a haircut this morning at Babb’s Barbershop and wow there was a beer tap with free beer … amazing!  We sat by the pool most of the day and Amanda and I went swimming and sat in the hot tub … which is almost working, however it needs to be a few degrees hotter.  Don came over and joined us for dinner at Leverocks and gave us a personally subscribed book about Rotonda FL.  After dinner we drove Amanda to the airport and said our goodbyes.  She says she enjoyed her visit even though the weather wasn’t as good as it has been.  We’ll be on the move south in a couple days thus we’ll need to shop tomorrow morning before we return the rental car and then give the boat a final wash before we head out.  It will be nice to be on the move again, however we are going to miss our Canadian snowbird friends that live close to our current marina.

Amanda monkeying around

Pandabear Yoga

The Tampa Bay bridge ... We went under this bridge by boat a couple months ago

What a small world ... we ran into Dick from "The Mistress" in Gulfport FL

The line up consists of Loopers with birthdays in Jan / Feb

It was great to see our looper friends we haven't seen in a while

The beach at Palm Island resort

Mom & daughter

Dingy ride back to the marina

Dad and daughter

At the Looper reunion

Cape Haze Florida – Our Southern Home – Jan 27, 2017

Jan 25^th – It was a warm and sunny day.  We performed a number of boat jobs since we’re trying to get our jobs done before our daughter Amanda arrives.  I waxed the other side of the boat that’s accessible on the dock.  I also changed the oil in the generator.  Maria was cleaning the inside of the boat and did some laundry.  At 4:30pm we headed over to Jim’s place for a goodbye celebration for Greg and Joanne since they are heading north on Jan 27^th.  We have wheels so we don’t need to be picked up … which seems strange since we haven’t had access to a car (except for courtesy cars) for some time now.  Dawna, Jim and Pat made the chicken and steak skewers and Pat did a great job cooking them on the BBQ.  We all put money into a pot while we picked names from a hat and the last name chosen, which was Don, won the pot.  

Jan 26^th – It was a warm and sunny day today.  We drove to Costco in Sarasota FL to purchase provisions for the boat.  We came back with a car load of stuff and Maria and I worked as a team to vacuum seal the meats and then pack every square inch of our freezer for our trip south.  Jim dropped by for a visit during our meat packing job and shortly after our vacuum sealer quit … our guess is that it was overheated.  We took a break and headed over to Don’s bar with Jim for one cold one before we returned back to the boat to complete our meat packing job.  The vacuum sealer worked again thus we were able to finish the job.  Oh and did I say that Costco sells a case of 48 Kirkland beers for $22 … Wow!  Now we’ll have to test it to see if it’s any good.  If so, we may buy a few more cases before we leave.  Our daughter Amanda is arriving here tomorrow morning … can you tell that we’re a little excited J

Jan 27^th – It was a cool and sunny day today.  The divers showed up this morning to remove the barnacles from the bottom of the boat.  They said the painted surfaces were OK, however the unpainted surfaces were bad.  We drove to the Fort Myers airport to pick up our daughter Amanda and brought her back to the marina.  It was a cool day, however she said it was hot!  (A true Canadian)  We sat by the pool, she floated on a floaty and I went for a swim.  The hot tub is supposed to be working again however it doesn’t feel hot yet.  Let’s hope that it’s working soon!  At 5pm the marina hosted an event with free beer and munchies for the boaters.  Afterwards we went to the New Faull Inn for pizza … I’m so stuffed!

Our daughter Amanda has joined us in Florida for 4 days

Jim and Pat with their dinner creation ... Exxxcellent!

Don, Greg and I at the goodbye party for Greg and Joanne

The gang at Greg's and Joanne's goodbye party

The divers that cleaned the bottom of Aqua-Fennatic

Amanda enjoying time by the pool and a few hours ago she scraped ice from the windshield

Jumping for Joy!

Free beer and munchies night at the marina

Cape Haze Florida – Our Southern Home – Jan 24, 2017

Jan 22^nd – It was a warm sunny and extremely windy day today.  There’s a possibility of a strong and complex storm with dangerous squalls and risk of a tornado.  The forecast shows winds gusting to 45 mph (72 kph for my Canadian friends).  To prepare for this I wrapped our flags around the flag poles since they were taking a beating.  I also ensured my lines and fenders were ready for the blast.  Don picked us up this afternoon to continue our tour of the area and then we went to Greg’s and Joanne’s house for football Sunday for lots of food and good company.  Of course there was another football pool which we won … Exxxcellent!  When we returned back to the boat the tide was so high that the water was almost over the concrete breakwall.  Maria could barely get on the boat since the dock was only inches above the water … and it’s not high tide yet … yikes!  The winds are high and the boat is blowing around at the dock, however the good news is that the only risk left is that of a thunderstorm.  In the middle of the night I had to get up to adjust the lines and fenders since the rubrail of the boat was hitting the posts that we were tied to and making a loud squeaking noise.

Jan 23^rd – It was a warm and extremely windy day with intermittent rain showers.  The wind was blowing the boat hard against the dock thus I had to adjust the lines and fenders multiple times throughout the day and we expect that the winds will continue until sometime after midnight.  We watched movies today and defrosted the fridge to get ready to get provisions for our trip south.  We pick up a rental car tomorrow that we’ll have for the week so we can go shopping, get Amanda at the airport and go to Gulfport for a Looper reunion party.  It’s hard to believe that we only have 1 week left at this marina before we start our travels again.

Jan 24^th – It was a warm and sunny day.  We picked up a rental car today, a Hyundai Accent, for 1 week.  We used the rental to get a couple oil filters for the generator, get some supplies for the boat and get some t-shirts on sale at Bealls.  We also called a diver to get our boat bottom cleaned before we leave the marina.  I’m hoping to have the equipment to do this myself, however there’s a risk that we won’t be able to purchase the equipment due to the availability of the seller.  Our daughter Amanda is flying in in 3 more sleeps, however it looks like the weather may be in the low 60’s … we’re hoping that the weather man is wrong.

The winds are howling and the tide is sooo high ... how is Maria going to get on the boat?

Adjusting the lines and fenders multiple times due to the winds and tide

The cement breakwall is almost under water

Greg and Joanne ... Our gracious hosts for a Sunday football get together

Time for dinner!

Cape Haze Florida – Our Southern Home – Jan 21, 2017

Jan 19^th – It was a hot and sunny day.  I went for a swim behind our boat this morning to switch out the anode on the back of the boat from Aluminum to Zinc.  The Aluminum anode was put on in April 2016 and it quickly deteriorated in salt water.  Thus I’ve replaced it with a Zinc anode which should last longer.  While I was in the water I noticed that a bunch of barnacles have grown on our rudders and other non-painted surfaces thus I’ll have to get the bottom of the boat scraped by a diver before I leave the marina at the end of the month.  We sat on the front of the boat for a while in the morning listening to some tunes and then went for a dingy run with another boater at the marina to Stump pass.  Upon arrival we beached our boats and walked along the beach and found a bunch of shark teeth.  Maria was a little cold (wimp!) on the way back to the marina thus we went and sat in the hot tub … our normal pre-dinner activity.  Another beautiful day in paradise J 

Jan 20^th – It was a warm, windy and sunny day today.  I decided to do some interior cleaning today and wiped down the headliner in the aft, salon, heads and v-berth with a vinegar water solution while we watched the Trump inauguration.  I also investigated Hookah diving systems to see if I can set myself up for a DIY bottom cleaning job.  Afterwards we walked over to the hot tub, however it was not hot.  I guess they are still having their intermittent issue.  We socialized by the pool until the sun went down and then back to the boat for dinner.

Jan 21^st – It was a warm, windy and sunny day.  Maria and I continued with our interior cleaning today and wiped down all the walls and cupboards, etc on the boat.  The wind helped dry everything up nicely before the sun went down.  Afterwards we decided to go for a swim and sit by the pool for the afternoon and the hot tub is still not hot.  Today we would normally be at the Toronto International Boat Show with a number of our boating friends which is normally the first indication that Spring and boating season is getting closer.  Instead we're sitting by the pool surrounded by palm trees.  Not bad!

Changing the anode on Aqua-Fennatic

The water is 71 degrees F

The Aluminum Anode that was removed

The Aluminum Anode after clean up ... into the garbage it goes!

A busy day at Stump Pass

We beached the dingy at Stump pass

A Shell tree on the Gulf side close to Stump Pass

We would normally be at the Toronto Boat Show, however we're by the Pool instead

Cape Haze Florida – Our Southern Home – Jan 18, 2017

Jan 16^th – It was a warm day with a mix of sun and clouds.  Maria went for a power walk with a few ladies while I washed the inside of our bridge top and hard top.  Afterwards I visited our boat neighbour to relax on his flybridge while we watched the wildlife in the area including fish, osprey catching fish as well as fisherman catching fish.  When the girls returned from their walk we went over to the hot tub to socialize with the hot tub crowd.  After we turned into prunes we returned to the boat for dinner.

Jan 17^th – It was a hot and sunny day today.  We went on a road trip with our boat neighbours (Michael and Donna) to visit our Canadian friends, Dennis and Pat, at Riverside RV Park in Arcadia Florida.  We went for a walk around the park and then went back to their RV for a couple cold ones.  On our way home we stopped off at a restaurant called the Crackle Barrel for dinner.  And on the way back to the boat we stopped in Punta Gorda and walked around Fishermans Village to check out all the unique shops.  While we were there Michael and Donna talked us into taking pictures in front of a number of interesting backgrounds which you’ll see below…

Jan 18^th – It was a hot and sunny day today.  Five Looper boats pulled in to the marina late yesterday and we walked over to say Hi.  One of the Loopers was Eddy on Spiritus the author of Eddy’s Weather Wag.  Three of the Loopers continued south today while 2 of them are leaving tomorrow.  Maria and I went for a dingy run to Palm Island resort, however we forgot our yacht club memberships thus we decided to check out the canals on the island and then went to Stump Pass and we had the dingy out on the Gulf of Mexico … Wow … what a feeling cruising up along the beach on the Gulf.  Once we got back to the marina we went to the Pool to socialize and ended up in the Hot Tub with a number of others.  Afterwards we headed over to the community BBQ to prepare our dinner and then back to the boat … It’s Blog day!

Our new slip at Palm Island Marina

Now these birds are tall!

Alligator alert!

Visiting Dennis and Pat at Riverside RV Park with Mike and Donna

A motorized parachute

The new Florida Weather Girl ;)

These dolphins were easy to catch on camera

Catch of the day in Punta Gorda

Maria is liking the boating life and thought she'd pick up someone more salty than me

Cruising down a channel in the area

A dingy ride on the Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico was extremely flat today

Cape Haze Florida – Our Southern Home – Jan 15, 2017

Jan 13^th – It was a warm day with a mix of sun and clouds.  This morning I decided to wax the portion of the boat (on the port side) that must be done from the dock before moving to our new slip.  After I was done we moved the boat to our new slip on the starboard side … thus I’ll have to wax the starboard side of the boat in the next few days to ensure both sides match!  We had an issue with our cable TV hook-up thus our new boat neighbours, Michael and Donna, helped us figure out the issue and we ended up using a splitter on their cable to get it working.  Once it was working we had a cold one and they invited us to a place called the New Faull Inn which serves Exxxcellent Pizza!  And then we stopped by a gas station … Superday Express … and bought great cheesecake for desert.  I think that I’ve put on a couple pounds today with all the good food I ate …. I guess I’ll have to do some more waxing to burn off the extra calories ;)     

Jan 14^th – It started out as a warm cloudy day with the sun making its appearance in the afternoon.  Our daughter, Amanda, has booked her flights to visit us at the end of this month thus I’ve reserved a rental car which we had to do anyway to attend a Looper Reunion party that we’ve been invited to in Gulfport Florida.  Hopefully we’ll have good weather while she’s here so she can enjoy some of the great outdoor activities that we’ve been exposed to in the area. 

Jan 15^th – It was a warm day with a mix of sun and clouds.  I had a closer look at our salon air conditioner and did some research and found that the split units are prone to leaking and tend to be costly to fix thus marine technicians tend to replace split units with a self contained unit.  I guess we’ll have to make a decision on what our next steps will be … at least the air works in our sleeping cabins which definitely helps on those hot nights.  I also had to do some work on our bicycles to free up the brakes … I guess the salt water / air is taking a toll on them.  They should be fine as long as I continue to keep them clean and greased.  Jim came by the marina to pick us up for a fish fry at his place with the Canadian gang plus one couple from the US.  We had lots of fresh fish and we all participated in another football pool.  The lucky winners were Pat and Dawna.

Enjoying a swim at the pool

Great Pizza with our boat neighbours - Donna and Michael

I can't believe these deserts are sold at a gas station!

We have hundreds of fish swimming by our boat ... too bad there's a reflection