01/28/2012, Fort Myers Beach Mooring Field
Alive and Well
Internet has been sketchy so sine we are connected I'll do a brief update. We traveled from Ft. Myers to Ft. Myers Beach, about a 20 mile run, it was in open water of the Gulf of Mexico. We rocked and rolled about for 1 hour, occasionally things going air born, things that were not secured, like a shelf of deodorant, etc in the aft bathroom was strewn around. Close Knit handled very well in these conditions, so well that we have confidence that a Bahamas crossing will now be on our radar. We have had discussions about a gulf stream crossing, (especially since the world renowned Captain Pete offered his valuable services !!!!!!) but with this experience being akin to what that would be like we think if we pick the right weather window a crossing could possibly be less rolly than the Gulf. And yes we hate go fast boats.. We walked the beach yesterday and it's a nice beach. It wasn't so crowded yesterday since it was overcast but still very warm. Today we are going to take the trolley to West Marine and to do some other shopping. Al took apart the boat lantern that came with the boat, cleaned it and it needs a new wick and fuel. I also need to buy a new kayak paddle since mine was lost on the crossing. I guess it was not secured enough. Bummer. I'll likely look for a lighter graphite style so I don't get arm fatigue.
Lots of knitting has been happening, I've switched things up a bit and am working on a welted cuffed pair if fingerless mitts.
Will post more & pics when we get a better signal. In the mean time our plans are to bust out of here on Monday & cruise Sanibel Island while we slowly make our way to Port Charlotte Boat Yard where CK will spend the remainder of the year. We are going to have the top shrink wrapped as we still have a couple of sometimes leaks in the fly bridge, depending where the wind comes from.
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01/25/2012, Fort Myers, Florida
Last evening we walked the town and had supper outside at a French Cafe. I enjoyed ham crepes,and we finished the walk off with Italian ice cream.
We had planned to shove off this morning to cruise over to Fort Myers Beach area, but I have been a bit under the weather and I was up and down all last night so neither of us had a good sleep. We have decided to have a down and quiet day. If I can get some energy going I'll do some light cleaning and of course knitting always perks me up.
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01/24/2012, Fort Myers Florida
Another job off the list. We have wanted to nest Tink in between the dinghy and transom since the new Weaver davits were installed. I think TINK looks rather comfortable in her new storage spot. This will make it easier for me to deploy her when I want to go for a ride. I am anticipating some nice anchorages as we cruise around in Fort Meyers beaches, Sanibel and Captiva islands as we make our way to Charlotte Harbour for the haul out.
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01/24/2012, Fort Myers Florida
Up & Upgrade
As luck would have it Enterprise gave us a free upgrade to this swanky puppy. We cruised about Ft. Meyers and Sanibel Island doing errands and playing tourist in the convertible black Mustang. It was a lovely day ending with a great dinner out at an upscale restaurant.
Today Al is finishing the plumbing job so that we can draw our fresh water from both tanks. This means we will have 150 gallons of fresh water at our disposal. Bob and Jane will join up with us tonight and tomorrow we will continue cruising this area for a couple of weeks. We have identified a suitable haul out and DIY yard at Port Charlotte so we are thinking we will try to haul out about Feb, 17th, have several days to pack up and do some immediate boat jobs. Then we will get a one way rental car to Syracuse where we hope family will pick us up to bring us back to Kingston. The weather has been so glorious and much warmer than last year, it will be hard to leave.
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01/22/2012, Fort Myers, Florida
Not Quite Identical
I finished this pair of socks on our lake crossing. We had perfect weather for the crossing. At times no land was in sight, it reminded me of our crossing in Lake Ontario from Main Duck Island to Oswego, NY in '09. The canal part of the trip ranged from very pretty to down right boring.
My socks are fraternal, I love using the self patterning yarns. Its fun to see what colour comes up next and what design results. I have a second pair on the go in just a brown colour (moccasin). I also am almost finished a pair of Turkish bed socks, in another great yarn from Yarn Paradise. That yarn had a few false starts. I hadn't realized it when I bought it that it was 6 ply which is not my preferred weight for socks. I finally let the yarn win out when it revealed a more sipper-style sock was what it wanted to be.
We are in Fort Meyers as of yesterday afternoon. Last Dance broke off as they are staying with friends at their condo slip. Al and I did a cursory walk about town yesterday afternoon, getting the lay of the land. Today I hope to convince Al to walk to a flea market for browsing and maybe to get some fresh local citrus. Tomorrow we are getting a rental car for 2 days. There are a couple of haul out boat yards we want to check out. We will also check out some local beaches, and do some tourist type things. There is the Thomas Edison museum which has been highly recommended.
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Ain't life grand?
01/21/2012, Fort Myers Florida
Dispite what SPOT may show, we are currently (as of 2pm) nestled into a slip at the Fort Myers Municiple Marina, after a nice 5 hour trip from Riverside Marina in La Belle. Tomorrow we will do a walk about of the town & on Monday rent a car for a couple of days to go visit storage marinas, & go sight seeing, to plan where to next take CK. Hopefully somewhere on the Gulf coast to hang on a ball or anchor & maybe do some fishing. Bob & Jane left us for a few days to tie up to their friends condo slip the other side of the river from us. Will hook up again sometime next week. Jennifer will post a more interesting blog tonight or tomorrow!!!!
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