| June 15, 2004
20:00 SEDATION 4 is
still tied-up at the dock behind the boat builder's facility.
It's a long story ... hmmm ... where to start? Thanks to a SNAFU
by the boat storage idjits (yes, the same ones who delayed the launching in April) the dinghy was stranded 30' above ground, in a dry
storage rack, throughout the Memorial Day weekend.
Oh well ... I enjoyed ReggeaFest at the Cocoa Beach Pier
instead. Ya mon :}~ This lagoon is teeming with wildlife. I witnessed a Manatee birth at 1:15 am in April and named the little fella "N. Hugh Manatee". Baby Hughy has doubled in size these past two months and his family spend lots of time under and around the boat. I have a whole new respect for these dumb critters but still despise the legal abuse by the $ave The Manatee Club. Darren has started a new site, to enlighten folks about the Club Manatee dilemma, at www.SavorTheManatee.org I will write some recipes and other humorous tidbits soon ;} |
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| I finally
retrieved the li'l yellow launch on Tuesday morning and proceeded to
bathe and pamper her. One Group 24 battery was completely dead
but the
friendly folks at Wal Mart replaced it at no charge! I picked-up
some West Marine Premium Inflatable
Protectant at West Marine
(of course) and applied an entire 16 oz. bottle after thoroughly
scrubbing and rinsing the Caribe bow-to-stern with Comet. Whew ... that was a
chore! It was past happy hour, so I headed to the boat for a
well-deserved cocktail. As I stepped aboard at 1815 EDT, two teenage hispanic boys emerged from my starboard hull stairway! I yelled, interrogated them, looked around for signs of wrong-doings, yelled some more, checked again for missing items, then told 'em to "get the hell off my boat" and sent them away. Geez!!! There was an incredible thunderstorm early the following afternoon. A delightfully cool, calm followed immediately so I decided to take the dinghy out and snap a few rainbow photos. I grabbed the "dinghy bag" and the waterproof housing, then ... WTF? MY CAMERA WAS MISSING!!! Those little bastards ripped me off!!! Grrrrr..... That's why there's no more pictures in the frames at right. I hadn't downloaded about 2 weeks of photos into the iBook, thus those records of history are lost. |
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| So, I've been searching the Internet for a replacement camera. I spent a LOT of time (and dinero) picking that camera/housing combination and have been 100% pleased with the system. Unfortunately, the Canon S30 is already out-of-production. So are the later S40 and S45 models which will also fit my housing. Double Grrrrr!!! I'm still holding-out for an S30/40/45 but, in the meantime, there's no digital photos to post on this site. Those little bastards!!! | |
| The mooring buoy is installed offshore Banana River Marine
and awaits my arrival. I set 2 large Danforth type anchors with
100'
of 3/8" proof coil chain, in a Bahama Mooring fashion, attached to a
15" spherical buoy. This should hold SEDATION 4 nicely in anything
short of a hurricane. BTW: my new mailing address, at Banana
River Marine, is posted on the Contact page. |
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| My old bicycle died when a bungee cord escaped from the
luggage rack, entangled the rear spokes and ripped the derailer
off. Everything aft of the seat post was destroyed so I had to
buy
a new bike. This one is aluminum (60% lighter) with front- and
rear-suspension. Way kewl! I pedal about 30 miles
daily and really love the smooth ride of the new machine. I'll
post a pic whenever a replacement camera becomes available. |
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| Meanwhile, progress on the boat is steady, albeit slower
than originally expected. Hey ... we're on "Florida Time" now
:) I've abandoned air beds after the 2nd one deflated in as many
months. The new queen size orthopedic mattress is very nice and I
sleep wonderfully. Pre-dawn lattes, early morning bike rides,
breezy work days, post-lunch siestas, evening dinghy cruises and the
occasional happy hour are requisite perks to this do-it-yourself yacht
building lifestyle. I haven't watched even 2 minutes of TV
since
April and all of my shorts require a belt to stay up. Life is
good :) |
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