Ready for Christmas, Almost
16 December 2015 | Regatta Pointe Marina, Palmetto, FL
Jill
A few things have happened since I last wrote. Jamie, Adler and I had our week together. Thursday we came to Gulfport, FL and the boat. We went to the beach at Fort Desoto State Park. The water was cold, but Adler and Bud at least waded. I have a photo of them I added to the photo album.
As planned, my brother Jim came over and helped us move the boat on Monday. Jim and Bud took the boat and Matey and I went by car. They were going about 20 miles across the mouth of Tampa Bay and up the Manatee River to the marina we're in now, Regatta Pointe Marina in Palmetto. It was supposed to be a pretty calm day, winds of only 8 mph predicted. Bud said he saw 18 knots out in the bay, that's about 20 mph. I asked Jim how he liked the trip. He said it was interesting. Not fun, interesting. I understand.
It turns out that this marina has fixed docks with pilings and fairly short finger docks, Bud wanted to back the boat in, but with the amount of wind he decided he'd better just come in bow first.
That turned out to be a challenge, because the spring line on the side of the boat that we usually rely on to hold us from going forward wasn't going to work, as the cleat on the short finger dock was in front of the cleat on the boat. A man stopped and helped us; he had the bow line. But I hadn't realized the guys would need to get a line around one of the outside pilings, so they weren't prepared. Bud left the helm to help Jim get a line around the piling and neither of us on the dock had a line to hold us back, so the wind pushed us forward into the main dock. Our bow light had an argument with the dock box. Our bow light lost. We're all tied up now and Bud repaired the bow light.
I cleaned the boat and today finished up the inside Christmas lights. But we think we want to turn the boat and back it in. We have to check the measurements in the morning, because it's close, but right now we have to go over the lifelines to get off the boat. That means Matey has to be lifted over. That's not bad except at high tide when the gap and the boat being 18 inches or so above the finger dock combine to make it impossible for one person to get Matey off. If Bud measured right, we should have about a third of our open gate forward of the piling at the end of the finger dock if we back in. That would be a lot easier. So if that's true when we check the measurements with two of us, and if it's calm in the morning we'll turn the boat around, and then I can figure out where I want to hang the outside lights. Meanwhile, we're almost ready for Christmas.