03/09 - 3/11 - Hontoon Island CBGT DeLand Florida

Hello All,

Going to Hontoon. Any one got the skinny on where you park your land rig, check in, where you launch your dory and Lat/Lon of marina . I have cabin reserved 8th & 9th. Don't be square/be their...
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You can launch and park your rig at Ed Stone park on hwy 44 west of DeLand. Park on SE side closest to highway. To get to Hontoon go south from the park. Lat/Lon is N28*58.485. W81*21.492. For a marina slip go to reserveamerica.com web site.

James
 
We have been at Hontoon since Friday the 5th. Cool at nights. Nice Days. Had heavy rain Saturday--no more predicted for the week.

It appears that you can pull in and get a slip for the night--contrary to what the policy had become last March. Ranger prefers that reservations be made.

Not many people at the park in contrast to previous years.

We had trouble getting adequate internet until today. Using Verizon hot spot currently.
 
While preparing for the trip we discovered that our plan to get one more year out of our bearings and tires was foolish and unfortunately we don’t feel comfortable making the journey this year. We are disappointed that we won’t be able to see everyone- but looking forward to next year when hopefully trailer issues and covid will be behind us.
Slip 13b is now available.
Thanks to Tom and Joyce for putting on such a wonderful gathering-see y’all next year
 
Hi Steve and Tina
Good call on not trailering with old tires and worn bearings......enough stuff can go wrong when we think everything is Perfect! I’ve just helped one boat that had problems with 2 engines and they were both just serviced.
See you next year and God bless......Tom and Joyce
 
Hontoon attendees can try free wi-fi at

'HONTOON GUEST'
and maybe get one or two bars.

If only this kind of awesome tech also applied to getting a warm shower!

If anyone needs a secure wi fi, we'll share our Verizon hot spot with you.

Cheers!

John
 
It was good to meet the C-Brat crew Tuesday.
Thanks for the tours!
Alas, I had to leave early Wednesday to get back to work.

FYI - You will all have a great view of the early morning (night) launch noted below.
This IS impressive to see - definitely worth setting an alarm for !

Rocket Launch: March 11, 2021 3:13 AM ET | SpaceX Falcon 9 Starlink-20
When: Mar 11, 2021 03:13 AM
Where: Kennedy Space Center LC 39-A

Floyd
Tampa, Florida
 
We missed the launch, but we always catch the sunrise over the river at Hontoon Island State Park marina…here is today’s; we’ll load the boat and start back home tomorrow.

Thanks all, especially hosts Tom and Joyce Schulke, for another great Gathering!

DSC04319.jpg

Happy Cruising!
John and Eileen
 
Forgive me if I ramble a little. As I was laying in the V-berth this morning I was overwhelmed by the thoughts of God’s blessings that I experienced this week at our Hontoon gathering. It was not long after the gathering last year that the Virus overwhelmed all of our lives. Frankly...I wondered if we would ever have another and yet here we are!
We had about 22 boats and 50 or so great people in attendance with the most fantastic weather that we have ever had in our 8 years. We made some adjustments like holding our talks and auction spread out in the open areas. We did not have our potlucks but rather had servers place our food on plates. Lots of sanitizer! We spread out the tables. It was great to see fellow brats visiting out on the docks talking about boats and what has been going on in their lives.

The spirit of the volunteer is alive and well in “C-Brat Land”! As far as I know everyone at the gathering signed up to do something at the gathering. We had setup, take down, disinfect, garbage, food servers, campfire care, grill tenders and more. Everything was accomplished on time with smiles!

The “Clow Auction “ was a great success under the leadership of Eileen Highsmith and her crew. $461 was raised for the park at the auction. Pat Clow will be proud! A more generous group would be difficult to find. When I mentioned that we were about $60 short of expenses on Thursday extra money found it’s way into the can! Another $333 dollars came in for the Park. Almost unbelievable but true!

We also had a Dr. Bob and Marie day. Bob was our main speaker......again.....this year! We all appreciate their service and dedication to the group and look forward to seeing them again at future gatherings. A special cake was produced in celebration and I’ll get someone to post a photo later.


We understand some had situations that came up and were not able to attend this year. We look forward to seeing you in the future. As they say in the south....We miss all y’all.

The C-Otter and crew will be out on the St. John’s for the next 10 days or so.

Thanks again........Tom and Joyce
 
Glad to hear it all went well. I missed being there, but still having a great time on the ICW and St. Johns. Tonight we are back at the Jacksonville Free Dock. Tomorrow plan to be at the Metropolitan Marina, and then Sunday night Six Mile. Slowly working our way back to Ed Stone, where we'll pull out on the morning of the 20th. Hope to see many of you on the water between now and then. Colby
 
The group of 4 (5 currently--including Miss Jill--are in Deleon Springs and setting up for the pancake breakfast at the old Sugar Mill. We are slowly heading down River--North.
 
Avidmagnum12":932063vt said:
We made some adjustments like holding our talks and auction spread out in the open areas. We did not have our potlucks but rather had servers place our food on plates. Lots of sanitizer! We spread out the tables. It was great to see fellow brats visiting out on the docks talking about boats and what has been going on in their lives.

The spirit of the volunteer is alive and well in “C-Brat Land”! As far as I know everyone at the gathering signed up to do something at the gathering. We had setup, take down, disinfect, garbage, food servers, campfire care, grill tenders and more. Everything was accomplished on time with smiles!



Thanks again........Tom and Joyce
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Thank you Tom and Joyce for the information in this post. We are looking forward to our own CBGT at Friday Harbor, Wa. in May. Good information for how to be safe with a gathering of people in the midst of this current pandemic.

Glad everyone at this event had a good time.
 
You're right, I am thrilled, but I sure missed being part of the action. I've been on a virtual cruise with Mystery Girl and C-Traveler looking enviously at your warm temperatures. My window view is still very snowy.

Enjoy the rest of your exploration of the St. Johns and its environs. Camp Clow will be in session this summer and I look forward to welcoming many of you Hontoonites and introducing you to the joys of fresh water cruising on Lake Superior.

Pat Clow
 
Oh, but I didn't cancel my reservation so the park still got paid

Wife and I are headed over there in May

and staying across the river for a week at Hontoon Landing

Believe me, that's way more her speed

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We had a "Dr.Bob and Marie Day" at Hontoon to thank them
for all the wonderful help that they have shared with the C-Brat family.
Bob_Marie_1.jpg

Cake.jpg

We can't say THANKS enough!

Tom, Joyce and all the crew at Hontoon
 
The crew of Molly Brown arrived home safely yesterday. We did not sink or catch fire and have only minimal wear and tear on the boat. This was an epic adventure for us having only been able to cruise 1-3 weeks at a time in the past. Covid is what made this adventure possible and Betty worked Monday to Friday the entire time. She only took 2.5 days off the whole trip...she is one busy lady!

77 days. 1942 miles, 700 gallons of fuel, 265 motor hours, 4 cat falls (two of which she reboarded on her own)

Super large thanks to Tom and Joyce without whom this gathering would not occur. Also our thanks to all the Brats that attended without whom it wouldn't be special. And lastly, a tip of the hat to Dr.Bob, Marie and Gigi...it was a particular honor to cruise with you one last time.

Someone give Pat a BIG hug from us when you see her at Camp Clow this summer please.

James, Betty and Luna
 
4 cat falls (two of which she reboarded on her own)
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Please tell me more about this.....

My wife and I are cat people (not that I dislike dogs, but I have never had an interest in having a dog). From time to time we attempt to take one of our cats with us on a multi-day cruise. One cat hated every minute of it; another took it in stride and slept in the v-berth most of the time; other cats have been somewhere in between. However, one aspect of "cats on board" has always bothered me, and it often stops me from taking one of them more often.....my fear of them falling overboard. I'd even say I am paranoid about it. I'm forever looking to see where they are; or am fearful of a partially open window; and many other worries.

Clearly, you guys have found a way to deal with this.......indeed, you've even had a cat fall overboard and dealt with it. Is there a secret?

P.S. I once thought for sure I had lost one of our cats. Gizmo was the cat who hated it (it was on a 5 day trip). He found crazy places to hide, and I was always trying to find him. Then one time at anchor, I couldn't find him, I mean really! I looked every possible place a zillion times.....no Gizmo. I had that sinking feeling knowing that he was gone (and it was my fault). Eventually I heard a faint meow. My heart lept....but where could he be? Turned out he had found that the CD25 "cubby pockets" (I don't what to call them....those open "compartments" under the gunnels on both sides of the cockpit) are not 100% sealed up. In the back of each, it you reach up high, there is a small opening for wires to pass into the transom lazarettes. I traced his cries and found him in the battery box. I couldn't believe he was there. Took me a while to figure out how he had done it.
 
smckean (Tosca)":13j2xzjq said:
... P.S. I once thought for sure I had lost one of our cats. Gizmo was the cat who hated it (it was on a 5 day trip). He found crazy places to hide, and I was always trying to find him. Then one time at anchor, I couldn't find him, I mean really! I looked every possible place a zillion times.....no Gizmo. I had that sinking feeling knowing that he was gone (and it was my fault). Eventually I heard a faint meow. My heart lept....but where could he be? Turned out he had found that the CD25 "cubby pockets" (I don't what to call them....those open "compartments" under the gunnels on both sides of the cockpit) are not 100% sealed up. In the back of each, it you reach up high, there is a small opening for wires to pass into the transom lazarettes. I traced his cries and found him in the battery box. I couldn't believe he was there. Took me a while to figure out how he had done it.
Click to expand...

We had a cat once. It would disappear for hours inside the house. We'd look all over for it, but no luck. Eventually found that it would climb up the back of one of the nightstands by our bed (inside between the back panel and the closed drawer) and sleep in the bottom drawer. The cat would reappear when its nap was over. Never figured out how it managed to pull that off. Cats are pretty good contortionists though.

Used to have some friends in BC that would cruise on their sailboat with two cats. One went overboard one night. Fortunately, the splash was heard and the cat was fished out using a landing net.
 
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