Well, I can say you could not find much water that did not have a boat in it this afternoon. Jake and I went out for about three hours from noon. lots of activity. Saw a few dolphins, but I believe most of them were hiding. All the tour boats, the Black Dragon, and Scarlet was out. Scarlet had a full boat. The bay between the old an new causeway was really choppy, not from wind from the boats pulling parachute riders. In the midst of all this we got passed in the channel by a huge loaded tanker. Any day on the water is a good day.
The Cruising Adventures of Wild Blue and crew...
- Thread starter JamesTXSD
- Start date
Hi Herb,
We had a nice time with you two last night. Plenty busy when we were out this afternoon at the south end. Let the sun go down and it will get quiet on the water. From our vantage point, the causeway had plenty of traffic on it again. Good for the local economy!
Best wishes,
Jim
We had a nice time with you two last night. Plenty busy when we were out this afternoon at the south end. Let the sun go down and it will get quiet on the water. From our vantage point, the causeway had plenty of traffic on it again. Good for the local economy!
Best wishes,
Jim
We've been home 2 1/2 months and Wild Blue has been in the water all that time. Yep, she was due for a bottom scrubbing. I could pay the marina around $200 to pull the boat and pressure wash it... or, anchor in some shallow water, hop in, and scrub it.
Joan was the "safety person" onboard. We dropped the main anchor in a cove then backed towards shore. I got off the back of the boat and hand set the second anchor. Then went to work with the brush...
The bottom was in reasonably decent shape, with some furry stuff on the sunny side and a few barnacles on the shady side. Our comparatively warm and salty water is a real breeding ground for critters. It took some scrubbing, but that job is done! The ablative bottom paint made the work easier, but I'm not sure the scrubbing is any easier on the bottom than pressure washing.
The glamorous world of boat ownership.
Best wishes,
Jim B.
Joan was the "safety person" onboard. We dropped the main anchor in a cove then backed towards shore. I got off the back of the boat and hand set the second anchor. Then went to work with the brush...
The bottom was in reasonably decent shape, with some furry stuff on the sunny side and a few barnacles on the shady side. Our comparatively warm and salty water is a real breeding ground for critters. It took some scrubbing, but that job is done! The ablative bottom paint made the work easier, but I'm not sure the scrubbing is any easier on the bottom than pressure washing.
The glamorous world of boat ownership.
Best wishes,
Jim B.
Morning Star
New member
I feel for you. Your picture brings back unpleasant memories of when I kept my Corsair trimaran in the water behind the house. I had to scrub it every three to four weeks in the winter and almost weekly in the summer. The stuff grows fast over here, too. I left Morning Star in the water for a week back a couple of weeks ago, even with the below average cold water, the barnacles started to stub up. I'm keeping it on the trailer until I can put a lift in. The glamour of boat ownership indeed.....
toyman":ru9nnma0 said:
If the water temp is below 80º (maybe 83 or so even), if I go in intentionally, I'll be wearing a wetsuit. Helps keep you from getting scuffed up when scrubbing, too. I am a wuss when it comes to cold water. When we came home with the boat, I was able to enjoy my favorite water temp: 102º with bubbles. 8)
When the kids from the frozen northland come here for spring break, they go in the water. A clear indication that they aren't ready to make important decisions yet. :wink: The water temp is in the low 70s right now... that's wetsuit temps for me.
Best wishes,
Jim
Jim- In all your sunrise and sunset viewings, have you ever seen the "green flash" that occurs momentarily as the green light from the sun is the first/last bit of light to come over the horizon due to the green's shorter wavelength and tendency to be bent (refract) more that the other colors?*
Green Flash
Joe. :teeth :thup
Green Flash
Joe. :teeth :thup
Hi Joe,
Yes, I have seen the touted green flash... 3 times. Once in the Florida Keys, twice in Hawaii. Never gotten a photo of it. I've watched for it many, many times. Here on the Texas coast, our sunrises are more impressive than the sunsets, since we face east looking at the Gulf. Our sunsets are over land. Well, during the summer, you can place yourself on our bay (the Laguna Madre) so that it's kinda over the water.
For most of my adult life, my work was about the lighting. Maybe that's why the sunrises/sunsets fascinate me... watching the colors morph through the spectrum during that change from day to night. Photographers often talk about "the magic hour" around sunset, where the light is directional, but soft, the color temperature is warm, and the colors saturated. A few minutes, actually; and two of them each day... more convenient for most folks to catch that later one, though. :wink:
Best wishes,
Jim
Yes, I have seen the touted green flash... 3 times. Once in the Florida Keys, twice in Hawaii. Never gotten a photo of it. I've watched for it many, many times. Here on the Texas coast, our sunrises are more impressive than the sunsets, since we face east looking at the Gulf. Our sunsets are over land. Well, during the summer, you can place yourself on our bay (the Laguna Madre) so that it's kinda over the water.
For most of my adult life, my work was about the lighting. Maybe that's why the sunrises/sunsets fascinate me... watching the colors morph through the spectrum during that change from day to night. Photographers often talk about "the magic hour" around sunset, where the light is directional, but soft, the color temperature is warm, and the colors saturated. A few minutes, actually; and two of them each day... more convenient for most folks to catch that later one, though. :wink:
Best wishes,
Jim
Wild Blue is back on her trailer and the cleaning is in progress. Getting the bottom pretty well done while it was in the water was a good way to go; a few missed spots, but nothing major. Our "brown tide" the last couple months left that ugly yellowish stain on the hull. The Atwood Hull Cleaner did a spectacular job of getting rid of that - Wild Blue's hull is a crispy white once again. I started waxing on the top, but a light rain put a stop to that.
The anchor locker was pretty skanky. I pulled all the rode out, rinsed it thoroughly and ran the line through a bucket with some fabric softener in it... it feels like new again and goes through the windlass better. The line gets pretty stiff in the salt water. I scrubbed the inside of the locker with some bleach water... not as sparkly as new, but much better than it was.
If the rain lets up, I'll get the rest of the hull waxed. If not, there's interior stuff to be cleaned and put away.
Wild Blue is going into indoor storage for a while...
Oops, I did it again. I took another seasonal captain job for the summer. Similar situation, hopefully a better management (they sure say all the right things). We'll be heading out with our 5th wheel in a couple weeks, and it will be "home" while we're away.
There's a joke in our family about "someone has to work hard so people can have fun." That started when our daughter took a summer job at an amusement park. So, as I told Pat, this "vacation" will be a job... with a schedule and clocking in. BUT, it will be doing what we want, where we want. We'll see how this situation unfolds, but we're looking forward to the experience.
Plus, I think the Blonde digs a man in uniform...
Best wishes,
Jim
The anchor locker was pretty skanky. I pulled all the rode out, rinsed it thoroughly and ran the line through a bucket with some fabric softener in it... it feels like new again and goes through the windlass better. The line gets pretty stiff in the salt water. I scrubbed the inside of the locker with some bleach water... not as sparkly as new, but much better than it was.
If the rain lets up, I'll get the rest of the hull waxed. If not, there's interior stuff to be cleaned and put away.
Wild Blue is going into indoor storage for a while...
Oops, I did it again. I took another seasonal captain job for the summer. Similar situation, hopefully a better management (they sure say all the right things). We'll be heading out with our 5th wheel in a couple weeks, and it will be "home" while we're away.
There's a joke in our family about "someone has to work hard so people can have fun." That started when our daughter took a summer job at an amusement park. So, as I told Pat, this "vacation" will be a job... with a schedule and clocking in. BUT, it will be doing what we want, where we want. We'll see how this situation unfolds, but we're looking forward to the experience.
Plus, I think the Blonde digs a man in uniform...
Best wishes,
Jim
Hey Jim, Is that going to be a vacation from retirement? Uhh, I might need Pat's help here, but seems like there is something about making a change in ones activities level, retired, vacation, not working, tripping ahh, maybe not. I guess it is only work if you really don't like it.
The important part, have a great time.
Harvey
SleepyC :moon
The important part, have a great time.
Harvey
SleepyC :moon
rogerbum":3g10dd2m said:
Here's a link...
http://www.gtlc.com/activities/marina-lake-cruise.aspx
We will be spending the summer in Grand Teton National Park, based out of the Colter Bay Marina. I'll be the captain on a 38 passenger scenic cruise boat. Deja vu? Well, it is just south of Yellowstone. The HR people and the marina manager seem very responsive and supportive. We love the area and are looking forward to spending the season there. It's a similar 3 1/2 days on, 3 1/2 off schedule, so plenty of time for riding the motorcycle, kayaking, hiking, and touristing about.
To answer Harvey's question: yes, it will be a break from our regular routine of no particular schedule. Call me optimistic, but this looks to be the situation that the last one should have been. We didn't retire because we didn't like what we were doing. It has given us the freedom and flexibility to do things long term (like our boat time) or short term (like this upcoming job). The wandering lifestyle suits us.
Dave, I've photographed the Tetons many times over the years. You can be sure the cameras will accompany us on this trip. I'll have time on my side to capture the amazing views in the Tetons at the best time of day. No dolphins, but eagles, moose, elk, bears and more. And the mountain scenery is some of the prettiest.
Best wishes,
Jim
Jim,
In reading the menu for the Breakfast Cruise and the Dinner Cruise, you should perhaps have them order a larger uniform for you as the season progresses!
......(and how much are you paying them to have you Captain their vessel?)
Congratulations! It appears to be a super gig!
In reading the menu for the Breakfast Cruise and the Dinner Cruise, you should perhaps have them order a larger uniform for you as the season progresses!
......(and how much are you paying them to have you Captain their vessel?)Congratulations! It appears to be a super gig!
Levitation
New member
Jim, in reading this thread I had a visual flash of you with an 8X10 folding camera and the blond with a back pack of film holders, hiking into the wilderness...
You know, with a black plastic tent for a darkroom and a couple of trays you could process the negatives... Contact print them on silver iodide paper using the sun and have an exhibition this winter...
You know, with a black plastic tent for a darkroom and a couple of trays you could process the negatives... Contact print them on silver iodide paper using the sun and have an exhibition this winter...
Dave - I haven't checked to see if the captain gets to partake of the meals on Elk Island. I was told that there is a crew that goes over ahead of time to prepare the meals and have everything set up. It sounds like a neat experience for the guests.
Denny-o - I served my time with view cameras. I was in photography long enough to see the transition for professionals from view cameras to "those little roll film cameras" (what my old boss used to call Hasselblads and RB67s :wink: ), and then into the digital realm. When we made the transition to all electronic imaging, including a full digital lab (we were early adopters of the technology), it was like a giant weight being lifted! The equipment was smaller and could do more. Yes, there was a depth to those big transparencies, but I don't miss it one bit. And don't get me started on all those nasty chemicals! No looking back for me!
Dave - Little Izzy isn't into hiking. When our daughter was small, I carried her on my shoulders all over western Wyoming. Maybe Joan can make some sort of backpack to carry Izzy? It will go well with our matching sweaters. Anyway, cats don't hike, they meander. There will be plenty of meandering for Iz... hiking into the wilderness for us? Probably not, but I have to get into shape to walk all around Jackson... they really should put the ice cream parlor and pizza place closer together.
We're looking forward to the experience.
Best wishes,
Jim
Denny-o - I served my time with view cameras. I was in photography long enough to see the transition for professionals from view cameras to "those little roll film cameras" (what my old boss used to call Hasselblads and RB67s :wink: ), and then into the digital realm. When we made the transition to all electronic imaging, including a full digital lab (we were early adopters of the technology), it was like a giant weight being lifted! The equipment was smaller and could do more. Yes, there was a depth to those big transparencies, but I don't miss it one bit. And don't get me started on all those nasty chemicals! No looking back for me!
Dave - Little Izzy isn't into hiking. When our daughter was small, I carried her on my shoulders all over western Wyoming. Maybe Joan can make some sort of backpack to carry Izzy? It will go well with our matching sweaters. Anyway, cats don't hike, they meander. There will be plenty of meandering for Iz... hiking into the wilderness for us? Probably not, but I have to get into shape to walk all around Jackson... they really should put the ice cream parlor and pizza place closer together.
We're looking forward to the experience.
Best wishes,
Jim