Well it is definite we are not going to the Bahamas this year. Our daughter, Erin, is getting married in August in Destin, Florida and we are needed at home. We had thought we could get it done with me flying back and forth but it has become clear that idea is not very workable. Rusty had a hard time giving up cruising this year as I as sure most can understand but he is such a good guy he decided to come home, work, do wedding and then we will take off for maybe a year (I made Erin and Michael promise not to have any babies for at least a year so we could have a year + to cruise).
I left home a week ago with Erin and Michael headed to Destin to get a venue, photographer etc lined up. We had florist, photographer, cake, rental company but no venue until the very last day. We found a lovely house, Palazzo Del Sol, right down the beach from Jetty East where we spent many a Fourth of July. Here is the link (I haven’t learned how to create a link that you can just click on…later!): http://www.vrbo.com/199051 Pappy, Rusty’s dad, and Rusty picked me up Sunday and we headed to Brunswick while Erin and Michael headed back to Beaumont. We arrived here Monday afternoon. We have been in high gear since then so we could use the car before Pappy took our car back to Buna, Texas. I’ll copy a FB post of Rusty’s to let you know what he has been up to.
Rusty’s Post on FB:
50% ready to sail… The first two days on SYL have been very productive. Pappy and I got the engines serviced including a complete removal of that good old “green” addative ethanol from the carbs. I know why they call it a green fuel… it makes the inside of your carburetor green and gritty… good job America! I never had a problem in the Bahamas where they don’t even sell corn but as soon… as I bought US fuel…. neither motor would run at idle anymore. The instant you go to neutral they die. And that’s really handy when your passing through a lock on the ICW… lol.
The next job we tackled was changing the complete shifting and throttle system. I bought the system they are installing on new Seawinds along with new cables. The old ones came out easy enough… but the new throttle box has a different footprint and naturally it’s smaller in places and bigger in others so you have to cut a bigger hole in the base, then decide how to cover up the old holes that stick out. I had some 3/4″ thick star board so I cut out a nice spacer that covers the top of the existing pedistal. I used the template for the new throttle box to cut a nice hole for it in the spacer, the upgrade will look and operate very nicely. Hopefully I’ll get the new cables pulled today. The long cables going across to the left engine will be a challenge. There’s a blind hole to hit as the cables pass through the inner hull… the rest of the job will be getting the new box and cables adjusted properly.
Pappy just left in the car for Texas, he was a blessing getting the car back home for us. With him gone, it’s just me and linda on the boat again… even though we haven’t left the dock it feels like we are cruising again. While pappy was here we felt the need to hurry so he could get home. In the first two days here we got a good jump on things, but now I’m on my own schedule, I can go at my normal procrastinating pace…. lol.
Linda just made our first meal on the boat, she went to Wal Mart this morning for provisions. SYL is quickly getting in shape to leave the dock. Last night we took the time to go to our favorite restraunt in the world. “Fancy Q Sushi” on the island here in Brunswick. My gosh! it was better than I remembered it. Pappy is a meat and potatoes guy but they had steak and shrimp on the menu so he was fixed up. If your EVER in this part of Georgia, look it up and go there.
OK, no more procrastinating… I better get busy on the boat again.
SYL !! Rusty
I am unloading and reorganizing. I found a nasty moth problem in the kitchen and had to throw just about everything away. Nasty critters. I am unloading so much clothing. I hate to wash when we are cruising so I bring enough clothes that we could go two months with out washing…..I’m bad…..I know.
It is not a good thing leaving a boat unattended for six months. We will leave in a few days when we are ready and start the sail home. We will probably take a couple of months and plunk along the Florida coast. When we are in Destin we will meet up with the kids to continue wedding planning.
Sea Yawl Later!!
Linda