The Cruising Adventures of Wild Blue and crew...

No C-Dory content, since I haven't even seen one in a couple weeks. There were two C-Dorys on mooring balls at the marina north of us, but I haven't seen them out on the water, yet.

Yesterday was mostly a day off, but I was out on the small jonboat, playing "tugboat"...

http://captnjim.blogspot.com/2011/07/mo ... y-off.html

And a preview...

JonboatViewE.jpg

MtnReflectionE.jpg

It's a joy to read about the Brats in the Broughtons, folks cruising on the East Coast, the Great Lakes, etc, etc. Tis the season!

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Howdy Jim,

Good to see you are getting back into the swing of things there, finding your stride and keeping everyone awake. Good job. Have a wonderful summer.

Happily watching for your photos from cool Sequim,

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Thanks, Harvey. We are having a good summer, but without C-Dory content, I don't post a lot here. Joan has been talking about how anxious she is to get back on our boat. We're into the beautiful part of the season here: cool mornings, shirt-sleeve days, and lots of sunshine.

Reading real C-Dory content on this forum is like a bit of "home" each day.

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
I stopped at Coulter Bay for an hour on my way through from Yellowstone last week. I talked to a guy who I thought was you on one of the tour boats that was tied up. I asked him if he was part of the blue crew, and he said he was. I guess that was because he was wearing a blue shirt. I chatted with him a while assuming he knew a lot about the c-dorys. I left happily until I realized he probably wasn't YOU.

He was confused I'm sure. I know I was and still am. I any case, Still Crazy will be on an end tie in Coulter Bay Wednesday through Friday. Maybe I'll have a chance to meet YOU.


Harry and Susan Ames
Still Crazy
 
potter water":eyxgzs7y said:
I stopped at Coulter Bay for an hour on my way through from Yellowstone last week. I talked to a guy who I thought was you on one of the tour boats that was tied up. I asked him if he was part of the blue crew, and he said he was. I guess that was because he was wearing a blue shirt. I chatted with him a while assuming he knew a lot about the c-dorys. I left happily until I realized he probably wasn't YOU.

He was confused I'm sure. I know I was and still am. I any case, Still Crazy will be on an end tie in Coulter Bay Wednesday through Friday. Maybe I'll have a chance to meet YOU.


Harry and Susan Ames
Still Crazy
Click to expand...

Hi Harry and Susan,

Sorry I missed you. I didn't talk to anyone last week about C-Dorys, so it wasn't me you visited with. Next time, ask for Captain Jim. If you go into the store, they will be able to tell you if I am there. Most days, I am wearing a white captain's uniform. When I'm not driving the cruise boats, I switch to a blue shirt to do maintenance work... everyone in the marina except the captains wears a blue shirt (and we all wear that on our mechanic days). My days off are Wednesday and Thursday, so you won't see me around the marina either of those days... we'll be out and about, probably kayaking, motorcycle riding, or just touristing about. I've learned to stay away from the marina on my days off to avoid getting roped into some project. :wink: I will be there on Friday, but I don't know what the driving schedule is that day... I'll look for a C-Dory in one of the transient slips.

Have fun and I'll look forward to meeting you in person.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Well. bright and early on a beautiful summer day, I saw Joan slaving away at the Colter Bay Marina office. Holy mackeral, she can do eight things at once, all with a friendly smile. Dotty and I enjoyed the breakfast cruise immensely. The Tetons are just as awesome in person as a Jim Bathurst photo. We didn't have Jim as our cruise captain, but Captain Ron and his first mate were great. As we were leaving the marina we did spot a 22 footer which I think is named C-Crazy. When we got back it was gone.
 
dotnmarty":25f7hc25 said:
Well. bright and early on a beautiful summer day, I saw Joan slaving away at the Colter Bay Marina office. Holy mackeral, she can do eight things at once, all with a friendly smile. Dotty and I enjoyed the breakfast cruise immensely. The Tetons are just as awesome in person as a Jim Bathurst photo. We didn't have Jim as our cruise captain, but Captain Ron and his first mate were great. As we were leaving the marina we did spot a 22 footer which I think is named C-Crazy. When we got back it was gone.
Click to expand...

You didn't tell me you were gonna be here??? Marty, my friend, sorry I missed you. Joan did have to go in this morning to cover for her assistant manager who had a dental emergency. I heard the morning cruise was a mosquito fest! :shock: They have been tough out on Elk Island the past few days.

So, are you still in the area?

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Yes, Still C-razy was there for a couple of nights. We'd still be there, but the mosquitoes drove us out today. Back home in Logan, Ut.

Did some fishing, but mostly just enjoying the stunning mountains and trees and lake from the CD. My 12 inch by 12 inch props sure took a beating at that density altitude. 4200 RPM wide open. Lake Powell, same props, 5500 wide open. Gonna need some 10 inchers for Jackson and Yellowstone.

Hope next year will be more normal for the bugs by the end of July. Went through two bottles of DEET. But even with the good repelant, the little (*(&^* were in our faces.
 
Hi Jim- We spent tody on a great 10 hour guided tour of Yellowstone . We were going to check the marina this evening, but we got invited by some nice people we met to the western bbq at Jackson Lake Lodge. Sorry we missed you, but we did have a great time. As for the mosquitoes, we're from NJ so these mosquitoes can't hold a candle to "ours". No problem at all.i
 
Sorry we missed you, Harry and Susan. I sure understand what you are saying about the mosquitoes this year - no real problem with them until this past week... since then, they have been relentless. More so out on Elk Island than in the marina, though. I have been using a spray that is 98% DEET... not getting bitten as much, but I do seem to be growing a third eye out of my forehead. :mrgreen:

For reference, Lake Powell is around 3,700' elevation, Jackson Lake here in the Tetons is about 6,800'. The lake at Yellowstone is another 1,000' higher. When I first put Wild Blue into Yellowstone Lake a few years ago, I had to check to make sure I wasn't dragging my trailer around below the boat. :roll:

Dang, two C-Brats I missed... see what happens when I take a day (or two) off.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

Marina view...

MarinaWAe.jpg

One of the cruise boats...

Tee1e_001.jpg

How I've been spending my days off...

KayakTetonsE.jpg
 
dotnmarty":3nneycj4 said:
Hi Jim- We spent tody on a great 10 hour guided tour of Yellowstone . We were going to check the marina this evening, but we got invited by some nice people we met to the western bbq at Jackson Lake Lodge. Sorry we missed you, but we did have a great time. As for the mosquitoes, we're from NJ so these mosquitoes can't hold a candle to "ours". No problem at all.i
Click to expand...

Hi Marty,

I'll be in tomorrow (Friday), after two days off. Captain Ron and I will likely be trading off driving and mechanic work. If you're still around, it would be a treat to see you again.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Sliding into a couple days off... and counting down our time here in the Tetons (about 5 weeks to go). It was a treat to meet Dave and Ginny from Will-C while they were here; Joan and I had to work that whole time, so we didn't get to spend a lot of time together. I went by their slip each day, but often found them out on the water or enjoying time on land - taking it all in. They made plenty of new friends out on D-Dock. Dave came out to say good-bye while I was getting ready to shove off for the breakfast cruise yesterday - they should be enjoying the waters of Yellowstone Lake now.

With mid-August upon us, we are nearing the winding-down time. The number of guests on the cruise boats and in all the facilities here in Colter Bay isn't showing any sign of decreasing, yet.

One especially nice feature of this time of year: sunrise is happening about the time we head to work - no need to go early to see those beautiful mountains as the first rays of light paint the peaks...

Morn3e.jpg

A cool, crisp, clear morning...

SunriseE_003.jpg

After the color temperature of the light changes...

Morn1e.jpg

And a setting full moon over Mt. Moran...

MoonsetE.jpg

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Getting short... 19 days to go for marina operations... and we have the next two days off. We're both looking forward to no schedules, some wandering around, time on the boat, and leisurely cat walking.

CruiseBoatsE.jpg

JimUniform1e.jpg

See you on the water!
Jim B.
 
I made a roller furler for the Hobie kayak sail... less than $4 invested, and it works fine. A nice day off to try it out today.

The details: http://captnjim.blogspot.com/2011/09/it-works.html

And, a preview...

FurlerE.jpg

SailE.jpg


In the words of Bob (1991 Bill Murray movie, "What About Bob?"): I'm sailing!

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Are you sure you don't want to put one of those big boats on the back of the truck, leave the 5th wheel there for the winter and tow the big hunk South? :roll:

No, I didn't think so. Know you'll be glad to get out of there again, understand you won't be coming back next summer? What are the plans for winter and next year? Izzy must be getting itchy to travel!!

Maybe SBS 12? Or the Chesapeake next summer? Wondering minds want to know!! :mrgreen:

Charlie
 
Hi Charlie,

Not planning too far in advance right now. We'll take our time getting back to Texas, spend some time there kicking back, then make some decisions. I'm leaning towards the PNW for next summer. Not sure about this winter... we do have itchy feet, but south Texas is often the warmest place in the Continental US during the winter.

While it has been mostly enjoyable running the cruise boats all summer, we're both looking forward to getting back on Wild Blue.

The meal cruises are done for the season... so, we're down to 4 scenic cruises a day for the next 10 days... "easy" days of 9 hours or so. :wink: Heck, I even have a couple more days off coming out of those next 10. :mrgreen:

I can feel the chill in the air, mostly at night, but I know what's coming. When we get back to Texas in October, we'll get a whole 'nuther summer.

Not sure if little Izzy is getting "hitch itch" (what 5th wheel RVers call it), but she had a couple concerns on her usual walking route today... fresh deer scat and bear scat... right where she likes to walk. :shock: I'm guessing we'll be making more noise when we walk for the next 10 days. :wink:

Best wishes,
Jim
 
skeeter report please...may get up there for a couple days yet
 
potter water":2ewcb2rp said:
skeeter report please...may get up there for a couple days yet
Click to expand...

Who could imagine mosquitoes into September? But, it has been unusually warm for this month, so far. We've had a couple mornings in the low 30s, even saw 29º yesterday morning - that should go a long ways towards eliminating the mosquitoes. Frankly, I haven't used any DEET in over 3 weeks... I'd say that we're beyond that situation now.

Haven't seen a single mosquito in the marina area in over a week; still some out on Elk Island, but WAY less than last month.

All in all, a pretty nice early autumn so far! :thup
 
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