May 2012 Blog Posts (25)

At last!!!!! my boat is back on the water. I have made a lot of work on it sanding and varnished all wood pieces, changed all glass etc......hope to have a good season with lots of sunny days. I will look on next winter to change it for a bigger one, just around 26 to 28 footer.  I wish sunny days and a good wind to all of you. ;-)

Where oh where does the time go. Like my budget I seem to have this propensity for taking longer than I plan to get things done and spend more than I budget to buy some of life's little pleasures.

Take today for example. I took a mental health day from my school counseling job to tidy up the house. It took me six hours just to wipe down the baseboards and vacuum between the carpet and the wall. You know the edges where it would seem impossible for even the smallest speck of dust to…

Everyone heard it here first!!!  OH YEAH!!!  I know we are all maintaining safe boating environments. 

Next week is Hurricane Preparedness Week.  Please see link:  http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/prepare/ 

There is even a Hurricane Preparedness Seminar in Orlando.  It's June 1, 2012. …

I really have been remiss in keeping up with this blog, but as usual life has gotten in the grand plan a few weeks back we sailed to the Farralone Islands for a good shake down cruise, sucking up a crab pot and sheering off the bolts between the transmission yoke and the flex coupler.   These bolts don’t appear all that difficult but a machinist is required to produce them.  With a little redesign to make them removeable and replaceable in the future we are …

Sunday morning I saw some manatees in the marina!  The marina has a lot of vegetation on the bottom, so often there are manatees around.  These were the first ones I had seen for several months.  Sometimes they nudge the Owl's bottom as they pass in the night.  A most cool feeling.

A couple of years ago I saw a mama manatee and her baby.  It was awesome!  I love seeing them in their native environment, although I did enjoy seeing them at Sea World here in Otown. …

Eighth Day??? What happened to Day 9? OMG as they say in text land. The last two days made for perfect sailing. With a northeasterly 12 knot breeze we cruised along at an average of 7.6 knots on a close reach using the stay sail as our jib. Then on Sunday we had no main sail (that's another story) and used the big jenny. Cruising along at an average of 5.5 knots we were happy sailors. Thanks to my blue eyed crew on Saturday and  my green eyed crew on Sunday SPRAY never kissed a piling at the…

"What the heck?" I muttered while the toothpaste oozed out of the sides of my mouth. Slowly, I eased out of my bathroom wearing a t-shirt that barely covered my butt. Curiously, I peeked into the master bedroom where a guest had been sleeping. Noticing the covers on the floor and no visible signs of a body in the bed, I tip toed toward the sliding glass door. "Oh gees" I thought in surprise. My 82 year old special visitor was briskly swimming in my pool. How invigorating is that?  What a…

It was overcast today in Orlando...YAY!  Weather is now taking a turn to rain most afternoons right around rush hour.  It's not QUITE to that point, but rain will be coming soon at that time.

Hurricane season starts in 2 weeks...WOW!!!  I was reading the wikipedia article about the history of Orlando.  The article states that Orlando as the location of WDW was chosen by Mr. Walt Disney because it was inland more than Tampa (one possible choice) so hurricanes would probably…

In continuation of my alliterative titles....OH YEAH!!!

So, what's your favorite beverage (other than water) to take on cruise?  Obviously, one has to take water. Beer takes up a lot of room, and to keep it cold, one has to take a lot of ice.  Even with the good maxi coolers and using blocks of ice to cool down the cooler, 3 to 4 days is about the limit.  Of course, drinking should only be done when anchored and by responsible adults.  ***painfully obvious…

Here I am...congratulating myself about my very "clever" alliterative blog titles lately...YAY ME!!

Out to the Owl this weekend.  Will be preparing for a short cruise in two weeks.  Excited about that...BUT...

I have roaches!  And I don't leave any food onboard most weeks.  However, the owner before me lived on her too, and I would guess they are into their 200th generation or something. 

Yes, I know this is Florida....but I am going to be living out…

not mine, as i do my own work ....someone else does your refitting--you go to sea. it breaks..WHAT YE GONNA DO-- call someone while out there or do it yourself--or will ye make  the trip  return to where it was done and gripe about it not working??   seems to me many do the  latter bit--go back into the original port many miles backsliding from their destination to have original  do-er   redo the work. is ridiculous....why not do it yourself so it is done to your own…

I have four elongated oval shaped plastic windows that I want to replace. Having taken off a similar window from my Corsair I do not want to attempt this on my own. Finding an installer is akin to getting free quality work on any boat project. Realistically, I expect to pay a fair price. I just can't seem to find someone who will take on the job. As I will be venturing north from Cape Canaveral in 21 days I'm wondering if anyone exists up the coast. Maybe I'll come into a marina knowing a…

I have four elongated oval shaped plastic windows that I want to replace. Having taken off a similar window from my Corsair I do not want to attempt this on my own. Finding an installer is akin to getting free quality work on any boat project. Realistically, I expect to pay a fair price. I just can't seem to find someone who will take on the job. As I will be venturing north from Cape Canaveral in 21 days I'm wondering if anyone exists up the coast. Maybe I'll come into a marina knowing a…

I decided to finally take my African Grey parrot, Bogie, out to the Owl this past weekend.  I had been wanting to take him out there to acclimate him to the sailboat and the general atmosphere of the marina.  When I say atmosphere, I mean the openness of physical area and the friendly chats that often go on between neighbors.

I had not been able to handle him for a while as I needed to get his claws and wings clipped.  I have been a very bad parrot mommy because I kept…