Our first long trip.... Port St. Joe

I am usually the one who writes and post the blogs and I have asked Dirk to contribute some since we will be having more stories to tell. I think having a different perspective sometimes is good. Tuesday the 19th Dirk and I decided to take a trip with a destination other then Shell Island for a change. Below is Dirk's account of the trip that he penned into our log book.


Well, this was our 1st trip past Shell Island with a real destination. The weather was reported to be good for the next 3-4 days. 5-10 knot winds with 2-3 foot seas. MY ASS!!!!!! Shortly after our bumpy departure through the St. Andrews pass we saw on our newly installed fuel vacuum gauge that our filter was soon to fail us. It was reading 18 when 0-10 was normal. So what to do now, turn around or try to change the filter while being bounced all over the place? Then the phone rang, it was Ron telling us about some bad weather that was coming our way. Oh, did I mention the cat was sick as a dog, throwing up, diarrhea, and drooling like a St. Bernard? Not only that, but the auto pilot, GPS, and part of our Nav Pod quit working. We decided to stick it out. I mean come on, we were already over 1 hour into the 8 hour trip. There is no turning back now. So we found a blown fuse which fixed some of the of the problems. Butters (our cat) found a spot in the galley from which he didn't move until our arrival. We still wanted to change the filter before the engine quit and the weather report now had a "special observation" put out. Basically what it said was "The weather has gone to shit, find a safe harbour and don't go out in it." The radar confirmed all that, so we changed the filter, got the engine going again, which is a story on it's own and battened down the hatches. We sailed in rain, 20-25 knot winds, and the occasional lighting for about 3 hours. We arrived just around sunset, threw out the anchor and called it a night. How about that for our first trip!!!!

Now back to your regular poster....My account is as follows....

Pulling out of the dock and heading into the pass was a breeze. Once we hit the pass we did experience a bit of rolling which is pretty much the norm for that area. Once we were out into the gulf we hoisted the sails and headed east. "If its gonna happen, its gonna happen out there" I wont bore you with the same details Dirk wrote about already but I have to say, the experience gave both Dirk and I a good confidence booster. Tybee Time preformed like a champ. Even in the swells and waves she gave us a comfortable ride. Dolphins came by for a visit which is still so cool to me. I have to say even with all that went wrong the trip that took 8 hours did not seem like that long at all. The day flew by and before I knew it we were headed into St. Joe's Bay. We anchored just before sunset then popped a cold one to toast the day with.


Here I am right after anchoring and still managing a smile after the long day.

The beautiful sunset that followed.....

For July, I have to say the weather was wonderful. Comfortable sleeping weather and nice breezes throughout the day. We decided that we would do some scalloping and before long we had bagged our limit. The last time we went we had a bit of time elapse from harvest to cleaning. Well once we bagged our limit of 2 gallons each we headed back to the boat for a cleaning spree. Okay, no one told me how much of a fight these buggers put up. We hung the sack off the rear of the boat and piled some into a bowl for cleaning. If you have ever seen the wind up chattering teeth you would know what the bowl looked like. The bowl was chattering with the occasional squirt that found its way to you. For someone who has never cleaned a scallop it goes something like this....First you grab a scallop without getting nipped. Usually if you put your knife into the open mouth they will close down on it. Holding it in your left hand you wedge the knife into the scallop close to the flared end. Once you wedge it in you scrape the muscle off the shell from one side. I found it very unsettling at first and winced every time they would try to squeeze back together fighting to keep the knife out. Once you have them on the half shell you scrape the extras away from the shell except the white muscle all the while they are flexing and moving. Eeeewwwww......Even with everything gone a few of them still had fight in them as you scraped the white muscle from its last holding place. Guess you really can't get any fresher then that for fresh seafood.

Just wish you could get shrimp as easy as you can get scallops. The next day we headed back to the marina and we had an absolutely beautiful sail. Once we set the sails we engaged the auto pilot (otto) and sat back and relaxed. We trolled the whole time but only managed to catch a little tunny. That's actually the name of it. It is related to the tuna but I guess it is more of a game fish from what we read so we released it. Oh well, maybe next time we can catch some mahi mahi. We ended up getting back to the marina shortly before sunset and by nightfall we had the boat all cleaned up. Geeeze, its amazing how dirty a small area can get in such a short time. So with our first "real" trip behind us we look forward to another one very soon.

Life onboard

Well, here it is two weeks after moving aboard and I am finally writing a post. Can I tell you things have been crazy......Dirk & I closed the doors on the storage units, locked them up tight, headed over to the rental agency turned in the keys to the apartment and made tracks down to Panama City. We weren't able to fit everything into the truck that we needed to bring as the cat and his box took up a large portion of the back seat. So one more trip back up to the storage units will be needed to get everything on board we want and need. We did find time to enjoy our first meal aboard the 2nd day. Our marina sells fresh shrimp off the boats, yum......

Below is the final product, grilled shrimp and grouper cheeks with a fresh salad.
Four days after moving on board we had our 1st guest for the 4th of July weekend. What a nightmare trying to find homes for things plus tidy up for guest. We needed about another 2 just to stow stuff and so many items never left the back of the truck and actually at the time of writing this several items are still there. The 4th however was a great weekend. No rain except for a shower here and there which did its best to cool things off. Below are our guest Keith & Linda Jo with the sun setting over Shell Island.


Doesn't get any better......


The moon rising over the bay


we had terrific seats for all the firework displays going on all along the bay, Panama City beach and some by the City Marina.

Great shot Dirk took with his camera of the fireworks and then below is a shot Dirk took of an almost full moon. Beautiful night...

We had two days at anchor at the island trying to get in a little R&R. The waves were wonderful and the water so pretty on the gulf side that we had to go and play like little kids in the surf. If it weren't for the still night air making it hot to sleep it would have been a perfect weekend. Sunday evening our guest departed and headed home so it was back to business for Dirk and I. Monday through Wednesday Dirk got lots of projects and organizing done. Come Thursday we decided to go scalloping. The season just opened up and the couple that sold us the boat were down on vacation so we decided to have a go of it. We actually packed the dinghy and the moter up and drove it over to Port St. Joe where the hunting was to occur. We started our day at a little after 8am, by 10:30ish we had arrived at the marina that we put in at. A short dinghy ride and we found our first spot.

I had never scalloped before so it was a new experience for both of us. We almost caught our limit of 2 gallons apiece. We ended up with 7 gallons

Here are some ready for cleaning....

and below is Dan & Dirk doing the 3 hour chore of cleaning them.
The final product was cooked up by Dan on the dock. Fresh bay scallops sauteed in garlic, butter, and white wine served along side of pasta. I had never eaten a scallop before and I have to admit the texture will take some time to get use to but the meat had a very good flavor. It was a very long day and we didn't actually eat till about 10:30 that evening. By 11 Dan & Roxanna had taken off and headed back to the RV. What a great fun, tiring day.
We were suppose to go back the next day but all of us were too wiped out to think about it. Dirk did however go back today and I hear there will be more to clean this evening. Till next time.....and I'm hoping it wont be too long in between post. I need to adopt some sort of schedule....., wait, were retired now....we don't need no stinking schedule.....

Its done!!!!!!! The day has come......finally

wow! Today I write from the cockpit of our Tybee Time as a "full time cruiser". No photo today as I haven't found where I packed my camera yet. Judging by the amount of stuff we brought it might be awhile. But I can say that the sky is baby blue with tones to purple and beautiful pink/peach clouds high in the sky as the sun is setting as an orange globe behind the marina. The air is pink and even though I don't yet have a tan the color cast is very flattering. Conch horns blowing in the distance signal another day has gone and one can hear the sounds of the nightlife beginning to waft with the breeze. It really has not hit yet that this is it. Come Sunday there will be no packing up and heading home, no kitty waiting by the door for our arrival. Our life has been packed and put into two storage units awaiting. Waiting for what? for when? for how long? Who knows.....right now who cares. We have just a few days to square things up well enough to have our first guest of the season on for the 4th of July. So much to do, so little time.

Were still alive, just very very busy

Sorry for the lack of a post lately. I myself don't like to have lags when I read certain peoples post but sometimes life gets in the way. Dirk and I have been In North Carolina dealing with family matters so this is my excuse for the lack of an update. Sorry Kathy from s/v Seeker, I know I told you I would give you a heads up if we ended up coming this way but things have been so very hectic. Guess we will have to save our intros until next cruising season. Before heading here we made a one day trip down to Tybee Time to drop more "stuff" off. I think that was the last trip before we officially move on board. While there we decided to contact CB Sails to see about getting our sail cover repaired. We just purchased it last season and we had a problem with some stuff but they seemed more then willing to help us out on that. So the cover was removed and the sail had to be removed and stowed below to protect it from the elements till we returned. While at the boat we asked them to give us a quote on a new sun shade as we have been looking at making one ourselves but time is quite against us these days. And we also decided for the sake of asking to quote us for re-doing the salon cushions. A couple weeks ago we tried adding additional foam taken from the back berth to them for a little more cush. Well we ended up tearing two of the cushions. So long story short we have taken a big bite out of the cruising kitty for a couple new creature comforts. We will be leaving N. Carolina to make the 12 hour drive back home in the next couple days. I dread it, as I will have just over a week to pack up the house and get it into storage before we turn over the keys. You know, for thinking this time would never get here it sure is barreling down on us now. Yikes! Next post you read will probably be as liveaboards.

Life is falling into place

We find ourselves looking right into the last month of living a land based life. This past week found us on the boat for 8 days, the longest I think since we purchased her 2 years ago this month. The weather was fairly crappy as we had a large front lingering around Florida for quite some time. Not too much rain in Panama City but the winds were pretty hefty and the temps actually got down to about 57 one evening. We managed to pack the truck full before leaving home and actually found a home for all items. Got the new mattress installed on our berth and I slept like a baby most every night. Got lots of organizing done, lazerettes cleaned out and stuff we can live without packed into the truck for long term storage. As I sit here and write this I am now recalling that I left a bag of potatoes behind the stove. Whew! That's gonna be rank by the time we get back down there. Maybe we need to make a call to a dock neighbor.

We did manage to head out to Shell Island on Sunday afternoon and spent the evening grilling steaks and enjoying sun downers with Gary & Jan of S/V Divine Miss Em. Memorial day we headed to the island and did a little beach walking and taking a quick dip to cool off. The water temp is still only 75 so its a bit chilly when you first try to get in. After grilling some dogs for lunch we pulled anchor and headed for the docks. Dirk threw out a line hoping to catch some fish or perhaps the fish that the day before ended up with a new lure of ours. Anyone catching a large fish with a red and white lure attached we claim dibs. From the anchorage to the fuel docks I had the wheel and when I tried to pass it on to Dirk to take over he claimed "You will be fine" Oh no, not again.....He did this before to me. Surprise!!! your taking her in. He knows better then to tell me before hand because he knows how anxious I get. So like the good husband he is, he springs it on me last minute. Once I get close to our dock I see Charley from a couple boats over standing on our finger pier there to offer assistance. Guess once he saw me at the wheel he figured I would need it. Perhaps he was just protecting his boat...With gentle encouragement from Dirk I got her into the slip with no problems. Even got some atta girls from the hubby and Charley saying I did a job well done. (as I grinned from ear to ear) Ah the little things. Once my heart rate dropped below 100 bpm I opened up a Corona and toasted the evening. Life is good.

Oh, before I forget. Dirk is officially among the ranks of the "retired" About 2 weeks ago there was a luncheon recognizing him and bidding him farewell. Here he is accepting the black hawk helicopter given as a token. (Hummmm, maybe we can put it on top of the mast as a wind vain of sorts) Congratulations Dirk, you deserve this time off for the many years of service you gave to this country. So here we are back at home dealing with packing, storing, and beginning to tie up some loose ends. I will check in soon and let you all know how its going. Till then.....

44 days till we become liveaboards

Figured I needed to put out a blog as here it is almost mid May and I haven’t done one yet. First things first, for those keeping up. Our official count is 44 days but we have had so many wrenches thrown in the mix I really am not sure what I was counting down to. I think I originally was counting till Dirk was completely done with work. That changed…. He had so many leave and sick days accrued that this morning finds him heading off to work on his last Monday. Yep, that’s right, Friday is his last day. Then we had gotten our lease renewal in the mail Saturday and realized our lease isn’t up on the 30th of June but in fact the 24th. So we have a week less of living in the apartment. Yikes!!! So I guess if we count the number of days until we become liveaboards then that would bring us to huh......I just counted and its 44 days till our lease is up. So my count is correct, I just didn’t realize it.

Two weeks ago found us down at the marina for a three day weekend. Saturday was the annual marine flea market so we put out a few items that we had removed off the boat and tried our luck. We made just enough money for Dirk to turn around and spend it at another booth. That’s how it goes sometimes, but the items he bought we in fact had intentions on buying anyway. He managed to get a good price on them to boot. Was a long day as it started at 6am and by 11am we packed up the left over gear and headed back to the boat. We met a great couple from a 50 foot trimaran that were on their way south. Beautiful boat which Bill the Captain had built himself. His wife JoAnne and he charter their boat “Yacht Ultra” in the Texas area and decided to take a break and do some traveling. They will be heading down to the Bahamas next season so I’m sure we will run into them again. So our evening was spent having dinner with new friends and old as we joined Gary & Jan from Divine Miss Em for great food and conversation.

Sunday found us packing up and heading home to prepare for a yard sale this past weekend. How do two people accumulate so much stuff? Up at 5:30 to face the day and by 6:30 the people started showing up. All in all it was a very prosperous day. Thank goodness that is done.

This week my goal is to get the bedding custom fit for our berth. I had said in the past that we purchased a memory foam mattress system. It came with a 90 day in home trial so we did the trial for about 6 weeks and decided we liked it. So yesterday was spent cutting it down to the size of the berth. Simple? Yeah right…..Nothing is ever simple…Not only is the berth an odd shape it also has an odd angle as in one spot it follows the shape of the hull. Measure twice, cut once, or in our case measure twice, re measure, sit and think about it a while then ah what the heck cut and leave a little extra. Then I spent the evening custom fitting the mattress cover that came with it. Guess it’s ours now, no sending this one back. Today will be spent custom fitting sheets and after yesterday custom fitting the cover I don’t think it will be too big of a deal. I am no seamstress but I am learning my way around that sewing machine.
We are planning on taking some time during the Memorial Day weekend to put down the tools and plans and just relax. Slip away from the dock, sail over to Shell Island and anchor out for a couple days to decompress and enjoy. What a needed break that will be. Will try and have something interesting to report or pictures to post after the weekend away.

60 days and counting, or maybe less

My counter reads 60 days till Dirk is done with work and is officially retired. Then we begin our new chapter in life. However in reality it is less as Dirk has accumulated time off and sick days that need to be taken. In less then a month he is outta there......Things here at the home front seem to be put into overdrive at least for me. Packing, sorting, organizing, stacking, and piling, the story of my life right now. Were getting some last minute items ordered as we realize that before long we wont have a home address to ship things to. I'm coming to realize that this is all happening weather I'm ready or not, but it just doesn't seem like reality yet. I guess because this has been so long in the making that it actually getting here just doesn't seem real. Let me pinch myself, yikes, yes it's real.

As far as the boat goes we were down last weekend and pulled the cushions from the vee berth in order to start transforming it into "the garage" See the pic below to see the before. It wont look like this for long, now, how to maximize the space.

Dirk also finished putting the shelves in the closet in the back berth for me. Now we have begun to transfer clothing down. How does one take a walk in closet and 2 dressers full and cull it down to two shelves a piece? Two and a half if I can figure somewhere else for the endless number of flip flops, boat shoes, and land shoes to go. We have this one and a smaller closet right next to it that use to house the drop down sink that was removed. I'm still wondering though, hows it gonna fit? Minimize, minimize, minimize, ummm scary words for a woman, not so bad for a man, he who can wear the same shorts for so many days on end that they could stand up on their own. I myself will need to get use to wearing the same thing more then once. Gonna take some practice. Get me some rum, that will make it easier, I just wont care.....

We also installed the new table we got for the cockpit. After thinking that it would be straightforward to adjust it for height we were sadly mistaken and after a few small setbacks we got it done with happy results. Now we can enjoy our meals outside and actually have a place other then our lap to put our plate. This of course shows the table in the folded position.

Other progress being made is the new mattress arrived for the back berth and we have it on our bed here at home giving it the test trial. Seems pretty good as I have not awaken yet with a sore back as I do each morning on the boat. We just wanted to make sure we liked it before whacking it down to fit our odd shaped berth. Words keep ringing, measure twice, cut once, measure twice, cut once. Cross your fingers...Anyway, just wanted to give some kind of update as its been a few weeks. Till next time..........