Tuesday September 26: Great News!

We were able to walk to where Yesterday's Dream is sitting and found the boat to be in way better shape than we could have hoped.

The worst cosmetic damage was on the bow of our boat where another boat's anchor platform was rubbing on ours up, down and sideways. Fortunately there was no anchor on it though or it would have been so much worse. (We saw some boats that were clearly in contact with an anchor. Anchors are designed to dig in and hold!  It is not pretty.)

There is a small boat under the back edge of our boat that is probably keeping it from being more on its side - definitely a good thing.


The rudder, prop and keel all look ok. Of course we won't know for sure until the boat is in the water and running.






The bottom looks good as well - you can see the small boat that our boat crunched a little. Not a good thing for it for sure.











We marveled at how close the boat on the port side came to being a battering ram with it's anchor platform and anchor.

I'm sure that could have torn out a chunk of railing had the boats still been floating.

One piece of the flybridge railing is missing. My theory is that the emergency throwing ring I had bungee corded to the railing and stanchion was taken by the wind. That was one tough bungee cord!





The other piece of railing missing (well, not really missing as the pieces are likely all there) is the front railing. The hardtop of the boat next to us likely took it out when the water finally receded and the boats all settled.

Two stanchions broke and bent and a length of the railing is broken. Seems to be lying on the deck - or at least part of it.


So, we're not sure when we'll be able to get into the boat but based on what we saw yesterday, we are very hopeful. Of course the boat will need to be surveyed to make certain there is no damage structurally.


The real loser in all of this mess are the folks who live here in the Keys. It is an unbelievable mess.

The picture above is one of the numerous piles of trash which has already been collected around Marathon. A lot of the trash is due to the water surge. Refrigerators, and other appliances lined parts of the highway waiting for pickup and disposal. They were all ruined when the saltwater flooded the residences. A continuous pile of debris lines not only the side streets but the main streets as well. It was encouraging to see a large amount of heavy equipment; cranes, trucks, bulldozers, etc. working to clean up the debris. We wonder how they are going to get rid of all this stuff.

The foliage looks like Ohio in the winter with most of the leaves stripped from the trees and the mangroves. It's just a mess. It is a sad time for the Keys but the work going on is amazing. There is clearly a great deal of outside help trying to clean things up.

Friday September 22: A Real Picture!!

Finally! A real, current picture of Yesterday's Dream! From this pic (sent from Shelly at Driftwood Marina), we can see the front railing is gone as is part of the railing on the flybridge.

Two of the covers for the front and port side front windows are missing. Not sure what else is there or not there but the boat looks pretty good from this vantage point - which means we can't see any holes :-)

We already know the boat is sitting at what we estimate a 45 degree angle on the starboard side. Which is the better side given the position of the batteries, fridge and freezer. Everything is pretty well secured (microwave, tv's, etc.) just due to the normal movement when traveling on the water.

The greatest concern of course is the running gear. But we will be able to at least superficially take a look on Monday.

In the meantime, we have really enjoyed the wonderful weather in South Dakota exploring the Black Hills area.

Mount Rushmore was the highlight.

This is such a beautiful area - almost beyond imagination ....





So we travel Sunday to Fort Lauderdale to find out the true story of Yesterday's Dream.

We'll be reporting back on Tuesday!!

Thursday September 14: Good News!

Thanks to a new picture sent by TD Dream via Cindy, we have for certain identified Yesterday's Dream in this pile of boats. Circled in red in this picture.

Sitting not all that far from where we left her.

We've filed an insurance claim (didn't even have to be on hold to speak to an agent which was amazing to me!). But many unknowns. In a perfect scenario we'll find some cosmetic damage from when the boats were floating and banging into each other but no major issues.

Still won't know until we are able to go there in late September.

In the meantime, we continue to search for Randy and Cindy's boat which has to be in the picture of the marina - just a question of finding her .....


Banana Bay - our marina in Marathon - is estimated to open on Nov 1. Hopefully we'll be able to be able to be there again this winter.

Wednesday September 13: An Emotional Rollercoaster ....

This morning there is new NOAA imagery of the keys with more resolution than the posted pictures had yesterday (thanks Pat and George Hospodar for the link!).

Using those images we believe we have spotted Yesterday's Dream in the pile of boats from yesterday's post. Circled in red are the only two boats that we can identify as trawlers - we think one is ours and the other one may belong to friends of ours from Banana Bay - Randy and Cindy.

Not sure of course and until the marina has personnel actually in Marathon, there is no way of knowing if one is ours or what shape it is in.

But the picture has restored hope that we may have been lucky and will be able to return to the boat this fall. Time will tell.

Our trip to the keys will be 9/25. Updates provided as we learn more. Fingers crossed .....

Tuesday September 12: Well - We Had a Great 12 Years ....

Well, the news is not good.

Yesterday's Dream is somewhere in this pile of boats. We aren't able to spot her but undoubtedly this is the area in which our boat was left on shore.

The outcome is uncertain at this point but we don't hold out very much hope. It would seem that the storm surge was just too high and boats floated.

We're very thankful to the marina owners for the support they have shown in communicating what was happening and are very sad for their losses.

It is a sad day for all of the Florida Keys. In retrospect, we likely have lost a boat. Stuff. Replaceable. Others have lost so much more......

Monday September 11: Status of Yesterday's Dream - Unknown!

So we don't know if we still have a trawler or not! The middle keys were so torn apart by Irma that we have yet to have any reports back that are "credible".

One report from the marina indicated that there appeared to be more than one boat with GPS units showing the boats were "moving about the marina".

That was frightening .... and then a later post from the marina indicated it was a single boat  several hundred yards from where YD is actually blocked and sitting.

So we wait. I guess no word is better than knowing we lost her. As soon as we hear something, we'll post a note here.

Hopefully our previously scheduled trip to Florida (made a month ago) for Sept 24th will permit us to either get the boat ready for fall or who knows....

In the meantime, we continue to hear from Banana Bay boaters that they and their boats are safe. After all, boats are replaceable ......

Wednesday September 6: Guppy is Ready for Winter

It was a perfect morning yesterday as we prepared to travel 16 miles to Lagoon City Marina - which is on the east shore of Lake Simcoe.

Finally a really great day to travel after 3 days of just plain crummy cold weather :-)


We thought we were really lucky to see a pair of swans and one of the young from this spring - until we pulled into the opening of the marina.


There was a pair of swans with SIX of their young from the spring! Easy to tell the difference because the young ones are still grey. Still fun to see no matter how many time we see swans .....

Getting Guppy ready to sit for 9 months is easier than getting the trawler ready to sit for 4 to 5 months simply because it's smaller!



The only engine we winterize is the generator - empty fuel tank, drain carburetor, oil in cylinder and done.  We also winterize the water system (with pink RV antifreeze) but the rest we have the marina do.

Neither of us feel a need to do that anymore after owning and winterizing boats in Cleveland for 40 years :-)







The rest of the time is spent packing up food stuff that wouldn't make it through a freezing winter, clothes and any electronics that need to either be with us or back to the trawler.

Both flybridge and aft covers are rolled up, covered and folded up. Antennae are down and all seems to be ready to go.

Fortunately we were able to do some of the work yesterday (before the rains came in - again :-) ).



Also nice was that all of their docks are very close to where you could park a car. It made it so much easier to load the car with our stuff.

So Guppy is good to go!

The marina will take the boat out and do the shrinkwrapping within a day or two.

Boats in the north seem to take being put away a lot better than in the south. We don't expect it to look any different next June than how we left it :-)                            








And then there is Irma. We watch the weather channel to see what she is going to do.

Yesterday's Dream is sitting on the hard in Marathon - in the Keys - in Florida. It may get interesting ........

Monday September 4: Orillia - Time to Head South

After spending our last night out at Couchiching Lock we headed to Orillia last Wednesday.

The plan was to be there during the coldest of the days of August remaining as well as for the long Labor Day weekend.

Big Chief was quiet with only a handful of boats as we passed it by.

Steve did try a couple of places for perch but that didn't pan out so we went on in to the harbor.



This is really a nice place to be and we are staging to leave the boat and head back to Ohio for a bit. Good breakfast place, great Chinese place, nice grocery store, really nice showers and facilities in the new marina center (the old one burned down a couple of years ago) - many trails for Steve to explore and ride.

But first was a call to Lois - Cheryl's mom! She lives about 45 minutes away and told us to call her if we're in Orillia and she'd drive over for lunch!

So Steve called - I suggested that perhaps Lois really meant when we came back up next June - and she came! Nice Chinese lunch and a short game of dominoes before she needed to drive back home.

We've had the opportunity to travel with her and Peter and Cheryl on several occasions over the past few years and it's always a pleasure! Such enjoyable company and a wonderful sense of humor :-)

The day we arrived was probably the best weather day although the sun has been in and out. Mostly in .....

Steve did quite a bit of biking around and happened upon the relatively new Gordon Lightfoot tribute.

It's done in bronze with the overall wreath of individual leaves forming the Canadian maple leaf.

Each single leaf is designed around one of the songs on the Gord's Gold album.

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is pictured to the right.

Pretty fun. We actually saw him perform in Cleveland at the old Front Row theater - since then torn down.

Having been born and raised here in Orillia, there is naturally much pride in his works!

The other kind of leaves we're starting to see are the ones indicating it's time to get this boat put away!

To that end, we leave here tomorrow for a last 16 mile ride to Lagoon City Marina - on the east side of Lake Simcoe.

Fortunately the bad weather has moved on - extremely strong winds, rain, thunderstorm. Made for a bummer weekend for those still working and wanting one last 3-day weekend. The marina was pretty full but the weather really kept the partying down .....

And finally - after 5 years of owning this boat, Steve found his perfect seat for movie viewing!!

Not sure why it took so long :-)