Thursday December 21: More Work but Also Play

There is still a great deal of work happening with the boat - but the nice part is that it is so easy to see the difference.

Steve first washed both sides of the boat as he prepared to repaint the area of the boat that was scratched up during Irma. Most likely from the anchor platforms on other boats bouncing around and banging into the front sides

Fortunately none of the boats had an anchor on the platform or the results would have been much worse.

Next step was to sand and then prime the repair area.

Even with just the primer on it looks SO much better!!

Last step is to put on a finish coat of Brightside paint. The boat was originally painted before we bought it in 2005 and we have continued the tradition.

Makes for a nice finish and it's very forgiving when there are scratches to be repaired. One more step to getting the boat back to what it was. Painting the anchor was another project Steve completed the other day. It looks so much better :-)


There is also time to play - especially the past few days which have been calm and not so hot.

Out for a kayak ride - and I'm learning to watch where NOT to put my fingers when taking a picture with the phone :-)

My contribution hasn't been near what Steve's has been but then whose counting, right?

I can still do the sewing part at least. Canvas has been ordered for a new cover for the flybridge area (also lost to Irma) but first the straps that hold the flybridge cover down needed to be replaced so that was a relatively quick job. Steve can now replace the ropes that he used in the meantime.

The manatees are back! So nice to see again :-) They are drawn to the dock in front of us because of the faucet that leaks.

It is still exciting to see them come in even though their appearance is by no means unique.







The sign at Porky's - one of our breakfast places. Not the Free Beer Tomorrow so much as the smaller sign above: Here We Salt Margaritas - Not Sidewalks.

Very appropriate as we continue to be in touch with family and friends who still live where the white stuff falls!

One more Irma job done: the windlass fuse breaker was underwater for about 2 months as the boat sat on its side with water partially in the front cabin. Not a hard fix - just again one more thing that needed attention before we were going anywhere. Windlass now works!!

Finally - today was the perfect day for dinghy fishing! Basically no wind and the tide changing at the right time for a 9 am leave time.

Off went Steve and Flint from Grace Full. Destination was the 7 mile bridge. This is a nice 1 1/2 mile ride from Banana Bay and is a perfect place to fish as the current flows quickly under the bridge. Exactly what the fish like.

It was a great day - in fact probably the best day ever for fishing under the bridge!

From top to bottom:

11 lb permit
2 lb bermuda chub
3 yellowtail snapper (largest ever!)
5 chubs

Steve with his permit fish.

Fresh fish for dinner I think!









Funny thing was that before he left, Steve decided to take a knife "in case we catch a fish that doesn't fit into the cooler"





How right could he have been? :-)

Stevedore has decorated for the season and the perfect reflection in the water the other night was very nice :-)