The Cruising Adventures of Wild Blue and crew...

Jim, I don't think you ever knew Oscar, our Lhasa before Baxter. Anyway, Molly had every right to be worried, the dang sea lions at Cathlamet in 2004 were sizing Oscar up for a snack right there in the marina! We had to be very vigilant! I STILL miss that silly little puppy so much...

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JamesTXSD":5v2ku95a said:
OK, this one really cracked me up...

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Of course, Molly never called me "Jimbo"... :wink:

Kudos to Dan!

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Hi Pat,

No, I never got to meet Oscar, but I read about him before you and I met. I truly understand. Izzy goes to the vet today to be "fixed" (not that she's broken)... I get a big catch in my throat each time I go into the vet's office.

Hope Mother Nature has eased up on you folks there.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Jim, You are doing the right thing, again. Hang in there buddy, Izzy will forget you took her there ............ later. :rose :note :note :note :rose2 :thup

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
hardee":20xokaw0 said:
Jim, You are doing the right thing, again. Hang in there buddy, Izzy will forget you took her there ............ later. :rose :note :note :note :rose2 :thup

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

Thanks, Harvey. Izzy is home, resting somewhat comfortably. Her luxurious belly is naked, she is minus front claws... we know it's all for the best... right now, she just wants to be on Joan's lap, being stroked and soothed. The pain meds have slowed her "enthusiasm" but not her sweet manner. No grudge. :wink: Once we get her romping around, it will be time to make some travel plans.

We expect to see Brent and Dixie soon, our neighbor just bought a Ranger 25 tug (I've offered to take him out on Wild Blue to get him up to speed on the nav gear 'till he can pick up his boat) - lots of stuff to keep us occupied. Out on Wild Blue daily; the weather has been typical January for here, upper 60s-low 70s, with the occasional norther. Yesterday was pretty blustery, this morning is calm. :hot

The vet told us that Izzy hissed at her... we haven't seen that behavior... yet. :cat

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Monday, and time for another Captain Jim strip...

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Dan has diligently been producing these strips for a year now... hope you've been ejoying them.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
YES--- We have been enjoying them very much! :D
Tell Dan to keep up the good work---- oh yea-- you and Joan are to keep up the good work, also-- giving him the "ammo" :thup :wink:
 
Jim,

With two German Shepherds in the house, it would be caught long before it hit the ground. Hence 5 second rule is a myth in this house.
Don't get me wrong but you cannot even mention cats around here. Not that we have anything against them but primeaval forces are at work. If the dogs don't do it, then the local population of Great Horned Owls, Bald Eagles, Ospreys, Coyotes and even Red Tailed Hawks would make me keep any cat inside the house.

I will admit to being a Dog Person but It is amazing how cats seem to gravitate toward me.
So, are they trying to convert me to "The True Faith" or do they just see a sucker who likes all animals and will provide food....?

An Enquiring mind would like to know.. :) (and its a very long Winter..)

Merv
 
Hi Merv,

We used to have a couple Old English Sheepdogs, so I understand. Over the past 26 years, we have had the company of only 3 cats, so it isn't like I'm a cat authority. Our first cat, a small scrappy girl seemed to look over a room, decide who didn't like cats, and then go try to convert them. :wink: Molly just assumed that everyone must like her, because she liked everybody. This new kid is more of a tease... she stays just out of reach of people she doesn't know.

I haven't been posting a bunch here, but we've been out daily. Our weather has been warmer and dryer than usual, with surprisingly low humidity. It's been lovely. We've been getting Izzy used to traveling in the boat and the truck. On Sunday, there was a good breeze, making for some chop on the bay. Up to that point, we've been taking Izzy out when it was calm or staying in the protected channels. There were some wide-eyed looks, but she handled the movement of the boat just fine. Certainly, she doesn't sit still for long; lots to look at. I wish I could bottle that energy, or at the very least get some by osmosis.

I've considered making a t-shirt that says, "My daughter won't have a grandkid for me, so I got this cat." Molly was a good hand on the boat - she could handle dock lines, made a mean margarita, and always knew when I needed to go for a walk. This new kid has a lot to learn. :wink:

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Jim in regard to the cartoons I still really enjoy them. I've been a long time cat lover and dogs too. Dan seems to have a knack for catching the personality of cats in his cartoons. :thup
 
To paraphrase the great philosopher, Forrest Gump, "Pulling a boat is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you're going to get." There was some discussion on another thread regarding bottom paint. I had mentioned that Wild Blue had her bottom painted over two years ago and she was doing fine. Well, when we last had her out of the water in late November, she was fine. We pulled her out today to powerwash the bottom and found a few spots that needed some touching up. Micron CSC Extra goes for about $60/quart, and I think the quart will do it. A few places where the paint was thin, a spot near the brass stem where the paint was gone, and some general touching up. However, no barnacles, just a fair amount of the green furry stuff that came off with the powerwash. The paint has been doing its job. I touched up the thin stuff and when that dries, I'll use up the rest to get an overall coat.

Wild Blue is pushing 800 hours on the motor, traveled over 8,000 miles on her bottom (and a bunch more on the trailer), and has been in the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Gulf, and a bunch of fresh water lakes in between.

As a side note - the furry stuff was on the "sunny side" of the boat. At our dock, the starboard side doesn't get much sun (faces east, but is covered by the house). The stern gets southern exposure and the port gets west. Guess that green furry stuff likes some sunlight. Do you think if I rotate the boat once in a while that will keep the furry stuff at bay or just give me an even, all-around coating? :roll:

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
The sun, and maybe just the heat, makes it grow faster. If you turn it you will even out the growth, probably not slow it down though. That growth is amazing stuff.
 
Glad you're not going to be at the SBS CBGT Jim, since I'm saying this, but I know if I rotate my bride, the furry stuff is on the other side... :shock: :oops:

I never said that, no sir!!

Charlie

Didn't mean that about you not being there, would love you to meet you and your bride!!
 
Captains Cat":1r2r8jzn said:
... but I know if I rotate my bride, the ...
I never said that, no sir!!

Charlie

Didn't mean that about you not being there, would love you to meet you and your bride!!

It's apparent that your wife doesn't read this forum, huh? :roll: I mean, really... implying that your wife has a hairy back? That is what you meant, wasn't it, Charlie? :twisted: Now that I think about it, don't answer that question. :mrgreen:

You can say that you didn't say it, but we can all SEE that you wrote it. And now that we have "the 30 minute rule"", you can't delete it. :wink:

Kidding aside, each year since we ordered our boat, we talk about going to the SBS, but then the talk turns to cold and snow, we feel the sunshine on our bare arms, and we change the subject. It would be fun to see everyone there. Give them all our regards - we'll be thinking about y'all.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Jim and Joan - don't be such wimps, hop a plane and come on up! Roger can still get you into the Larkspur. It is bright and sunny here right now albeit a bit chilly. The CBC is indoors, the SBS is indoors and the factory party is indoors. This is the big one, you would really love it!

JamesTXSD":3jipqyeq said:
Kidding aside, each year since we ordered our boat, we talk about going to the SBS, but then the talk turns to cold and snow, we feel the sunshine on our bare arms, and we change the subject. It would be fun to see everyone there. Give them all our regards - we'll be thinking about y'all.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
JamesTXSD":1axskuk5 said:
Kidding aside, each year since we ordered our boat, we talk about going to the SBS, but then the talk turns to cold and snow, we feel the sunshine on our bare arms, and we change the subject. It would be fun to see everyone there. Give them all our regards - we'll be thinking about y'all.

Best wishes,
Jim

right now Southwest has a special rate into or out of Seattle. 50% off. so there is no viable excuse....lol...
 
Big one? Hop on a plane and go south to the Miami Boat Show! :mrgreen: Come on, Pat, man up... take off your parka and put on some sandals. Expose some skin that hasn't seen sun in a while. Have a drink that has a little umbrella in it! 8)

I appreciate the encouragement, Pat, and we will make it to the SBS again one day. Right now, we're expecting company... some folks from Utah will be visiting this weekend. We won't have the factory party, but I'm sure there will be wine, song, and lively conversation... much of it about our boats.

You guys have fun, post some photos so we can see what we missed. We look forward to the next time our paths will cross.

Best wishes,
Jim (on my way outside to wax the hull)
 
Maybe we need to have annual get together at Furnace Creek or Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley to get the temperature up enough for Jim and Joan?

There are also probably a few folks from the PNW, Alaska, Canada, the Midwest, and the East Coast that would like to turn up the thermostat a little abut this time of year.

Joe. :lol:

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Furnace Creek Inn, Death Valley, California

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Stovepipe Wells, for those of simpler tastes.
 

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Re Death Valley -- drove through one week ago today on my way to Carson City -- nary a flower in sight!

Mustard was in bloom in Napa and Sonoma last weekend though!

Bill Uffelman
Las Vegas NV
 
We've been having big fun the past couple days... the crew of Discovery is visiting! The conversation has been lively, Joan and Dixie have been cooking, we took a nice long walk on the beach yesterday...

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Today, we toured along South Padre Island on Wild Blue, then went into the ship channel in search of F-D dolphins...

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Brent photographing the aforementioned dolphins...

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Coming back in, we came across this shrimper, intentionally aground...

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Looking closer, you can see a guy out on the starboard boom, working on getting it to drop...

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We're heading to Mexico tomorrow (my daughter made me promise to take our SPOT communicator :wink: )

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And while we have been playing, Dan has been hard at work on this week's Captain Jim strip...

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Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
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