The Cruising Adventures of Wild Blue and crew...

mbwf":3j82tpng said:
I just love reading about your adventures. You really should think about writing a book. It would be a best seller.

Your stories inspired us to take boating classes and look into purchasing a boat. We passed our Coast Guard Aux test last night. (I had the higher score - does that give me more authority on board? :twisted: )

Be Safe and Thanks for sharing!!

Moria
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Hi Moria,

Congratulations on the CG Aux test and thank you for the kind words. I am working on a manuscript right now, and it absolutely includes our cruising adventures. It's about a cruising cat... the feline kind, not the catamaran type. It's 65 pages so far and may never go beyond our family, but it has been interesting. I've written for several photography magazines and journals, but never tried something like this. No deadline, no idea what I'm going to do with it if/when it's done. But, right now, it seems like the thing to do.

What makes this particular thread so interesting for me is the regular input from others. I never know how many people follow along, but it is definitely more fun when others participate. I never intended this to be a blog/diary; we're just having fun with our boat.

Right now, we're sitting in the rain again; when it lets up, I'll row Joan over to Dixie so they can have their sundowners. :D

The number of views on this thread are humbling, but I figure it's Pat Anderson clicking on and trying to convince himself that work is more fun than retirement! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

My thanks to everyone who takes the time to look in here and drop a note. :D

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Jim - It's been several hours since you posted that "Brent has a line in the water" and yet no FISHING report? Jeez - you sure know how to create anticipation.... :wink: So what (if anything) did he catch and where are the photos of the fish? I got my priorities ya' know. :lol:
 
When I first found this thread i read a few posts , then went back to the beginning . Took a few weeks to catch up and i was kinda bummed when I did , Now i gotta wait for new posts .
. Hey i bought a boat too, Not a c-dory but an arima Sea Chaser . Im still in the working stage of life so don't really need a cruiser right now .
be safe and thanks for the adventure
red
 
Jim and crew,

Did you spot the alligator that lives near John's boat lift?

John told us that the gator would sometimes sun himself/herself on the boat ramp---right where you guys were changing the impeller.
 
JamesTXSD":172jlsqu said:
mbwf":172jlsqu said:
I'll row Joan over to Dixie so they can have their sundowners. :D Jim
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Not certain that I'm going to "buy" that line......believe it should read...I'll row Joan over to Dixie so Joan and I can have sundowners :roll: .

Surely, you weren't planning on leaving Joan there to have sundowners without you, while you dutifully rowed back and waited until she summoned you to row back to get her :disgust .
 
Jim --

Did you guys check out Saul Creek on the way up the Apalachicola? We thought the depths were pretty amazing -- plus it was a very pleasant spot to swing on the hook.

The marina at Port St. Joe is nice with a great staff.

Regards to all,

Greg
 
If I were fishing in the Intracoastal , I would get some live or dead shrimp to entice the Hybrid and Striped Bass with .The Redfish and Speckled Trout should cooperate as well Especially around the bridges, and places where two creeks or tidal flows meet . I might use a 1 or 1/0 Owner mutu light circle hook with 2' 20 Lb flourocarbon leader tied to a small swivel with about 1/8 to 1/2 Oz. egg sinker sliding freely above the swivel on the 6-12 Lb spinning or baitcasting outfit you might bring along. Not that I have ever done anything like this .
Marc
 
Jim,
Sounds like a wonderful trip you guys are on. I did the Apalachicola River from Lake Seminole down to John's house in 2006 and loved the trip. The only mistake I see you guys made was when you were a John's house doing Brents water pump repairs is that you didn't stick around there a few more days. I have found that if you hang out there long enough, someone will show up and feed you lots of good food. Let me know your long term winter cruising plans. We would love to see you guys and provide any assistance you might require.
 
Charlie , that post was mostly for Brent and Joan's benefit [they fish]. I could have mentioned more excruciating detail for sure , but that might just be enough to get em started .

I have New Orleans boat show 7-11 of Jan ,Atlanta Boat Show14-18 Jan .Then there is Trawlerfest Stuart on the 22-24th.Seattle starts on the 27th . I suppose if we sold an inordinate amount of boats and left them strewn about the southeast we could make it to Seattle . That would be a pretty ambitious schedule. I would love to do it though.............
Marc
 
The only fishing report is from last night in a bayou off the GIWW - Jeff caught a small trout. The rest of us caught about a gazillion no-see-ums. For Dave, yes, I did row Joan over, but only had some of the hard stuff: caffeine-free diet soda. I know how to party. :wink:

We are now in Panama City, livin' large in the city marina. We not only have power and water, we have cable TV... how you gonna keep us down on the farm. The Weather Channel is showing a night-time low in the 30s on Saturday night or Sunday. This is Florida, right? :disgust

The shower here felt great, the broadband signal is good, and we're going to go walking around town when everyone is done with showers. When we get back, I may go shower again... just because I can. 8)

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Just up the main drag (Hutchison) from the city marina-- a couple blocks on your left is a real good greasy burger joint--Tom's. Its a real small place but the burgers are good.
 
Mike, ol' buddy - I got your e-mail - nice photos! Looks to be a bit sunnier in the Keys than in the Panhandle. Sorry to hear about your mast! :shock:

Folks, Mike & Judy and the furry kids sailed down to the Keys...maybe if we ask nice he will post something on the Brats? I'd love to hear the details.

I'll be in touch.

Happy Sails to You,
Jim
 
Friday night - tornado watch, severe thunderstorm warning. We've been watching the storm approach, both on radar and at the seawall. Chance of thunderstorm is 100%, hail, and possible 5-6 inches of rain. The radar is showing two large cells coming together over the top of Panama City. I just came in when a lightning strike hit IN the marina - stood my hair on end, and the simultaneous roar of the thunder took my breath away.

We've put extra lines on and intend to stay with the boat... unless - and then the marina restroom will be our refuge. Here comes the rain. The central part of the cell is moving at 40 mph with winds in excess of 50 mph. And the REALLY ugly part: Jim Cantore is talking about it right now on the Weather Channel.

Yikes!
 
OMG. Jim Cantore and a bunch of talking heads in rubber boots against a background of 2 " waves. That is really scary !!

Seriously:- Good luck. We know first hand how those E Coast squall lines can test your moral fortitude (to be polite about it).

We only have dead farm animals and trees floating around to deal with.

Merv
 
Looking at it on radar, I expected stormy conditions for at least a couple hours. The way the storm wrapped around the area we are in, we were through the worst of it in less than 30 minutes. It was shaped like a big "V", and the two arms of it passed just east and west of us.

When the gust front hit, it was like a slap alongside the head. We could hear the wind shrieking through the rigging in the sailboat next to us, and the rain came down in sheets... it was blowing hard enough that rain came through the cable opening from our radar arch. It found every opening in our camperback. We rocked, we rolled... I had put on extra lines, anticipating the wind direction. During the worst of it, a Carolina Skiff on a trailer in the parking lot blew around, heading towards Jeff and Joanne's boat - the curb stopped it. We had joked about that prospect while standing in the parking lot earlier, watching the lightning from a distance.

It quieted down to a steady rain. Chop made its way into the marina, so we had the pitter of the rain and the comfortable rocking of the boat to put us to sleep. Truly, the best nights sleep I've had in while.

There is a trolley/bus system in Panama City; I think we'll go exploring later this morning.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
We saw the weather report for Apalachicola on the TV here in Fall City yesterday morning, and wondered how it would affect you guys. Here is a little video of how is was going here. Not so long ago, Patty, Marc and I were standing right where this video of Snoqualmie Falls was taken. When Marc was here, I think we had 200 cfs over the Falls, this is somewhere between 30,000 and 40,000 cfs (crested at about 45,000 cfs on Wednesday). Seems like it is exciting all over...
 
Jim (and the rest of the Florida flotilla),

I was watching the weather reports for Florida much of the day yesterday, and wondering if/how it might affect you. Glad every body is OK. I know how you feel about sleeping on the boat. No place else like it. The Good thing about having your hair stand up in the presence of an electric storm: It means you have some. If you want to keep it, it's a good idea to keep your head down. But then any boy from I Oh Way would know that.

I really appreciate your posts, your whole thread here, and keep up with it pretty close, but rarely enter here. Love your photo's, It is obvious that you have been around the business end of the camera some time and do enjoy that. And I, for one, love that you share. good to hear about your "book" and I do think it is a good idea.

You writings have opened my eyes to some very interesting facts about living south of the freeze zone, and in a few years we may be able to try out a few of those places too.

Mean time, When your hair stands up, keep your head down. We want to be able to enjoy the next trip with you, and keep making those beautiful pictures.

Harvey
SleepyC
 
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