Overdue Update

Wow, I just looked at this blog and realized that I haven't updated it in quite a while. Let me do the quick version…While we were at Great Guana Cay, my wife injured her knee while entering a fiberglass insert pool at "Grabbers". We were there to observe the magnificent sunset and to snap a few photos with our friends. Following sunset, we made our way to the pool located next to the bar and my wife slipped during entry and twisted her knee and hit her head on the edge of the pool. It was quite a scare and the weird thing was, she wasn't even drinking and alcoholic beverage. We made our way back to the boat and she started nursing her knee by applying ice and elevating her leg. It was obvious that something serious was wrong even though there was no evidence of swelling. After a very difficult night, we decided to continue our journey to Hope Town, our final "leg" of the Abacos journey. It quickly became apparent that we should consider heading back to get her to an orthopedic specialist. During our discussions with fellow boaters, one of the owners was very knowledgeable in this field and offered to contact his personal friend to arrange a telephonic consult. We were grateful for the offer and during the consult we were assured that no further damage would be inflicted if we kept it immobilized. So, with our new peace of mind, we realized that we were restricted to the boat and could not participate in the festivities (snorkeling, dinghy races, etc…), we decided to depart Hope Town and abort our vacation. We left Hope Town the next morning and made our way back to Jupiter via West End Bahamas. We arrived at our dock on Wednesday at 10:30 AM after a smooth ride across a peaceful sea. We contact the orthopedic surgeon and were granted an appointment at 2:30 PM. To make a long story short, my wife had a severe sprained knee which does not require surgery. She is currently in physical therapy and continues to make progress towards a healthy knee.

By the way, I caught a really nice lobster during our stay at Great Guana...

Since then…We were threatened with a direct hit from hurricane IKE and we hauled Wonderfun out of the water and had some minor maintenance performed during the dry dock period. The bottom was high pressure washed and repainted. We had a minor leak in the engine compartment that was traced to a leaking clamp and we had some minor snaps replaced. We are scheduled to retrieve the boat from Stuart on Wednesday. So, all is well again and I can't wait to get back on the water.

Until next time…

Mike

Abacos Day..Honey what day is this?

So I planned on writing in this blog each day and I must say, that's not going to happenJ It appears that there is so much to do here that I never even get this computer out and quite frankly don't want to either. So I'll catch up to date with the latest goings on…As reported earlier, we made it to West End on Wednesday and departed there on Thursday in route to "Green Turtle Cay"..Jen and I departed an hour prior to the rest of the gang because we just wanted to travel through the Bahama Bank on our own. And because we didn't want the pressure of being the slowest boat and making the large boats travel at our pace. We also are seasoned enough to navigate through the Bahamas alone. So we headed out at 7:00 AM sharp and made our way to Green Turtle. The trip took about 5 hours and it was absolutely beautiful. There is nothing like traveling in a boat and not seeing another vessel for miles.

Upon arrival, we stopped at the fuel dock and were surprised to only take on 148 gallons of gas. Our little boat made a 5 hour trip in under 30 gallons/hr. Wonderfun is rated at 32 gallons/hr not including the generator consumption. We ran the generator the entire trip and it is rated at 1.5 gallons per hour, so that means the engines consumed approximately 141 gallons…Awesome! I attribute this to taking our time and not trying to keep up with any schedules or faster boats.

While we were at Green Turtle we took the MarineMax dinghy out for a little lobster hunt. Dan, Larry (A.K.A. Larpy) my wife and I were going to go out an "slay" a boat load of lobster…Well after four hours of snorkeling, we finally bagged three of these ever elusive delicacies. I say "we"..I found a couple of them and Dan speared them. My wife bagged the first one of the day on her way to help spear the ones I found. So once again, I didn't catch a lobster…Maybe todayJ

 

We departed Green Turtle yesterday (Saturday) and headed south to Guana Cay at 8:00AM. Dan (MissMax) led the way and we followed. The trip was only 15 miles and we were traveling at approximately 22knots which was a nice comfortable pace. We arrived about 45 minutes later and set up camp. My wife and I enjoyed the local beach and tried snorkeling for a little while, but our suntans couldn't take very much more. Dan invited us to travel with him on the MarineMax boat to Marsh Harbour to pick up his sisters and his girlfriend due in around 5:30 PM…so, off we went. I must say, there is a huge difference traveling on a 58' Sedan Bridge versus a 32' Sundancer.

 

Until next time…

 

M

Abacos Day 1

Well we started our day with the most pleasant ride to the Bahamas. We departed our slip at precisely 6:20 AM and through the Jupiter Inlet by 6:30 AM. We were elated to find the ocean as calm as we've ever seen and were able to cruise at 22 knots all the way to West End, Bahamas. We arrived in a mere 2 hours and 50 minutes, refueled ($5.86/gal), cleared Customs and Integration and were ready to head to the Ginn Sur Resort pool by 10:15. We are truly amazed how close we are to this tropical paradise. The remainder of our group of 9 boats arrived approximately one hour later and met us at the pool around 1:30 PM. What an awesome day lounging around, bike riding and just enjoying life with our boating friends. We are currently preparing to leave Wonderfun and join the group on the MarineMax 58' Sedan Bridge for a "Docktail" party. My wife prepared a nice little crab dip as our favorite appetizer and I am truly ready to hang out with our friends again.

 

Until next time

 

M

Abacos Preparations

Well it's finally here, we are within a week of taking our 10 day trip to the Abacos. We are traveling to West End on Wednesday and staying at Old Bahama Bay Resort for the night. We will then motor to Green Turtle Cay Thursday morning and docking at Green Turtle Yacht Club. The trip will take approximately 5.5 hours and we will stay through Saturday morning whereupon we will travel to Guana Cay and dock at Guana's Orchid Bay marina. This trip will only take two hours and we will stay on this Cay until Monday. Monday morning we travel to Elbow Cay and visit Hope town. I can't wait to visit this cay, I really want to see this place. It is described as the best of the Bahamas. We stay at Hopetown through Wednesday (8/6)…We head for Marsh Harbour which is only 4 miles from Hope town. We stay at Marsh Harbor until Friday at 9am and we head back north to Spanish cay which will take about 2 hours. We only stay one night at Spanish Cay and depart the next morning at 9AM and travel back to West End…about a 5 hour trip. We are so excited and can't wait to get under way!

Our plan is to go to Costco this weekend and purchase the bulk of our supplies…water, coffee and beer. We don't really drink that much beer, but it seems as though we host a lot of people when we are at our slip. We actually paid $67 dollars for a case of Bud Lite when we were in Bimini and learned our lesson quickly to always bring extra "provisions" when in the Bahamas. We are currently authoring our list of meals during the trip…mostly steak, chicken and hotdogs…Our freezer section is so small that we can only take a small supply for such a long journey, so I guess we'll have to eat at the local restaurants…Yeah!!! Don't get me wrong, I love grilling on the boat, but the fresh seafood in the islands is absolutely out of this world. Most restaurants require you to make reservation in the morning and decide what you want so they can catch your desired dish…How awesome is that! Anyway, we are taking a few filet mignons, chicken breasts and a couple of packages of hotdogs. The last time we rafted up in Lucaya at Petersen Cay we fed three boats full of people. It was so much fun having everyone enjoying a surprise lunch!

Until next time,

Mike

Goodyear Blimp

Well summer is here and my girls are here visiting for a couple of weeks. They were visiting their grandparents in South Carolina and this year I decided to fly them instead of doing the meet me half way. After calculating the time and fuel costs for all involved, I felt it was more efficient to fly. They returned on Saturday and I picked them up at the Fort Lauderdale airport around 11:45. We left the airport and made our way to I-95 for the hour long journey back to our home. Along the way the weather tuned stormy and it became very hazardous near Hollywood Florida. We noticed that flying near the coast was the Goodyear blimp and we decided to take a detour to watch, what we thought, the blimp mooring. So we took a quick exit and proceeded to make our way to the airfield to find a good vantage point to observe the procedure. We found the perfect spot and continued watching the blimp weave it's way back and forth up and down until we realized that the blimp was not coming any closer to the landing facility. We finally gave up and made our way back to I-95 to find the weather clear and the traffic calming significantly. However, we were delayed a little while longer due to a serious wreck….I guess the Goodyear diversion may have been our lucky break.

 

Until next time,

 

Mike

Memorial Day - Lucaya

We just returned from our vacation in the Bahamas. We took our boat Wonderfun to Port Lucaya and had the time of our lives. Our trip took four hours from Jupiter cruising at 22 knots in seas reaching 1-2'. We were joined by another SeaRay owner and his wife aboard their 34' Sundancer. We were all pleased to cross the gulf stream with another boat in the vicinity. You never know when you might need assistance from a fellow boater.

We departed our dock at 6:30 AM and were greeted by the flattest ocean we've seen in awhile. My wife and I floated at the mouth of the inlet anxiously waiting for our traveling companions to make their way from their dock. We were actually a little early departing and were anxious to begin the trek. We were fully on our way by 6:45AM with our way points set and tracking perfectly. We were motoring for approximately 10 minutes and our companion boat radioed and stated that he was having an issue with a bilge pump constantly running. This forced us to stop and give him time to assess whether he had a water intrusion issue or a pump/float switch malfunction. Upon investigation, Mark reported that he's had this problem for a while and would just let the pump run until it "burned itself out"... I personally would not have departed with a known issue that could result in an overheating problem, but he felt as though it wasn't an issue. We revved our engines and proceeded to the Bahamas.

We arrived Port Lucaya at 11:50 AM and were delighted to see the unbelievable colors of the Caribbean sea. I can't find the words to describe the beauty of these tropical waters surrounding the Bahama islands. After making our way in to Port Lucaya, we received our dock assignment (G58) and proceeded to the western most area of the docks. We were so happy to have such a pleasant crossing and were truly excited to be in paradise.

I prepared myself to spend the next hour and a half checking into Customs and Immigration which is quite a chore in the Bahamas if you arrive with a group of boats. Fortunately, my wife and I decided to beat the rush and arrive an hour prior to the arrival of our friends from Stuart. It took about 45 minutes to finalize the legalities. By legalities, I mean we paid our $150 (Cash only) for our cruising permit.

I returned to the dock to find that our friends had arrived from Stuart and we were docked next to Dan (the MarineMax guy that sold us our boat). I knew this would be a great trip and were fortunate to be in the midst of friends.

I have to stop typing for now, but will continue the blog in the next day or so...


Until next time,

M

Perfect...well almost..

The weekend weather was the best I've ever seen for this time of year. My wife and I spent Saturday and Sunday anchored just off of Blowing Rock Preserve and had a perfect boating weekend. We only wish we had our girls on the boat with us so they could enjoy the spectacular snorkeling conditions. The water was crystal clear and the sea life abundant. We must have snorkeled over 6 hours over the weekend and saw some amazing creatures. I was surprised to find a sand shark during one of my lone journeys from Wonderfun. I wasn't afraid of the shark because I know how docile they are and only want to be left alone. Sand sharks will only abrade your skin with their sand paper like teeth should you disturb them. I was also fortunate to see a small (trash can lid sized) Loggerhead turtle. I followed it for a short distance until he notice me and sped off into the abyss..What a great time!

Following Saturday's ocean anchorage, we decided to relocate Wonderfun to marker 44 on the intercoastal to prepare dinner. Earlier, we purchased two fillet Mignon, potatoes (for baking) and a bottle of KJ Merlot and I was so excited to have such a great dinner planned. I anchored and immediately retrieved the grill from the aft compartment and discovered that I previously lost the attachment handle overboard which rendered the grill useless on the boat. I was quite disappointed and wanted to head back to the dock but my wife said she wanted to stay longer and I could just pan fry the steaks...I reluctantly accepted that we would enjoy microwave "baked" potatoes and fried versus grilled steak. Anyway, I used our very cheap aluminum pasta pot to fry the tenderloins and "baked" the potatoes in the microwave. After all was complete, my wife and I sat at the salon table and enjoyed a pretty good dinner....I think the Merlot had something to do with masking reality.


Until next time,

M

Club Championship

What a fun weekend! My wife and I played golf on Friday as a practice round for our Couple's Championship tournament scheduled for Sunday. The format was a "modified" Pinehurst Tournament which means: We both tee off, hit each other's ball on the second shot and select the best of the two and play altenate shot until the ball is holed. Well, we actually played good on Friday, but Sunday, we were outstanding and won our club chamionship!... I couldn't believe we held it together for the entire tournament against another couple that put up one heck of a fight but failed to maintain on the final six holes. My wife drove the ball farther and straighter than ever and my short game was on. We won with a score of 78 and they finished with an 80...Now bear in mind that the next closest score was an 87, so we really had a stellar round and until you play that format, you have no idea how good the score was.



Saturday we planned to attend a MarinMax raft up at Peanut Island in Palm Beach. We loaded the boat with our day's provisions and headed south through the Jupiter Inlet and down to Lake Worth inlet a trek of approximately 10 miles. Upon arrival we were thrilled to see the most beautiful water and the calmest of water presenting an awesome place to anchor for the day. We circled the island and searched for the MarineMax flotilla and to our surprise did not see any signs of a raft up. I contacted our salesman and he said everyone is on the way, so we decided to anchor and enjoy our day. We had so much fun by ourselves that we decided that even if we spotted a raft up, we would just stay put for the remainder of the day. The issue was we planned on traveling up the intercoastal to our favorite waterfront Restaurant (Seasons 52) and dine at 7:30PM.

Smoke on the Water

Well you'll never believe what happened ...That's right, the boat broke down. This time it was a little scary due to flooding and smoke. We were approaching marker 44 (our favorite local anchorage) and received an alarm on the smart craft system. The starboard engine was overheating and causing some flooding in the engine compartment. I immediately turned off the engine and dropped anchor to assess the situation. I opened the engine compartment hatch and discovered approximately 1/2' of water in the bilge and a significant drip coming from the aft end of the starboard engine. I asked Rebekah to look at the thru-hull port and let me know if water was being pumped over board and was pleased to hear that there was a small stream of water flowing. At this point, I felt as though everything was alright and we had only lost the cooling due to a hose rupture or something. I closed the hatch and decided to let everyone enjoy the day boating and we would leave just a little earlier than planned since it would take longer to return to the dock on one engine. As I closed the hatch, I detected a small hint of smoke...that's right...smoke...I immediately started scanning all compartments of the boat and discovered the air conditioner circuit breaker in the tripped position and realized that the water in the bilge may have caused the AC seawater pump to short...And that's exactly what it was...So, we continued having a good family outing and returned to our dock right on time.



I contacted MarineMax and they dispatched a technician to investigate and he discovered a clamp on a raw water line on the starboard engine had failed and caused the flooding. He also verified that the water caused the AC pump short. The good news is that everything was covered by our warranty. We were back in business by Friday.



This was a very valuable experience for me because even though I knew what could cause the problem, I didn't think of how many questions would be asked by the passengers while I was trying to discover the source of problems. I must say that overall, the girls and my wife reacted appropriately but I've learned that I must brief all passengers on emergency procedures including the need to follow directions immediately...Also I need to let them know that the captain will brief them on the status as soon as the problem is under control or an abandon ship order is commanded.



Until next time,





M

Mother-in-Law Visit

My mother-in-law (MIL) is visiting this weekend which is always a treat. She is really fun to have at the house and it absolutly makes my wife happy. We all decided to take Wonderfun out on Saturday and try out the newly acquired underwater dive scooters. I picked up four of them from Sam's Wholesale Warehouse on Friday as gifts to the family(http://www.seascooter.net/products.html ). I bought two children and two adult units thinking they would really enhance our upcoming Summer on the water. My youngest took to the water with her new scooter with ease...Ok, maybe a little coaxing and bribary to get her into the chilly water and use this new contraption, but after her initial try, she took to the water with ease. As for the other child....I can't even begin to write how bad an experience I had with her...Let's just say I don't want to record it in the blog in hopes that I will soon forget how awful this day was... What happens in a 12 year old mind that makes them behave so badly? And, by the way, this all happened in front of...you guessed it...my MIL...perfect relaxing weekend for me. Sure am glad I bought those damned scooters...

Palm Beach Boat Show

Friday night we decided to take Wonderfun out for a trip to "The Crab House" restaurant. We departed the dock around 5:30 PM and traveled the 3/4 mile trip to the restaurant's dock. After securing the boat, we decided to sit in the bar area and listen to the music of an acoustic guitar player. The place was absolutely jammed pack with people and we were hoping to find a table so that we could listen and enjoy our beverages. As we waited, a very nice lady with two children asked us if we would like to have their table because they were on the way out. She said she wanted us to have it because we didn't "hover" over her vying for her place. We were thrilled to get the best table in the house....YAY...The music was awesome and he played all of our favorite songs. We decided to have dinner right there and it was one of my most favorite evenings....EVER...

My wife and I spent all day Saturday on Wonderfun and was it a blast...just doing nothing...Well, by nothing I mean I cleaned things on the boat while she sunned herself...I love that boat and really don't mind keeping her in perfect order.

Sunday was spent at the Palm Beach boat show. My wife and I received tickets from MarineMax and man was that fun touring all of the yachts on display. It is obvious to the two of us that we are definitely boat lovers. The show was awesome and presented literally hundreds of boats in all shapes and sizes. Of course we loved the larger boats with the awesome creature features. We visited several Azimut boats ranging from 42 - 110' in length. Azimut really knows how to build attractive yachts. Anyway, we are not planning on upgrading anytime soon but we love dreaming about that lottery win which might just enable us to purchase one a little larger than Wonderfun.

Lazy Saturday

Wow I've taken a long time to post another entry....Let me see...Well this is the weekend before Easter and we are taking Wonderfun out for a lazy day. My wife and I boarded around 11:00 AM and stayed until 6:00 PM. We took "Wondy" out of the inlet and anchored about 200 yards off shore near blowing rocks preserve. The seas were calm and the weather was perfect. We were only out in the ocean for about an hour and a half and decided to relocate to the even calmer waters of the intercoastal. We proceeded to our favorite anchorage, Marker 44, and promptly consumed our lunch. We were starved and thoroughly enjoyed our Publix Subs. After gorging ourselves, we lounged around and enjoyed the beauty surrounding us as the day slowly passed away. We are so fortunate to have an opportunity once in a while to do absolutely nothing.


Until next time

M

Another Rainy Saturday

It seems as though the rainy weather moves in when he are here at home in Jupiter thus precluding our use of Wonderfun. I hope the afternoon clears as predicted and hopefully we can take a small trip on the intercoastal. It's been very busy week for my wife and me and we could use a small break aboard the boat. Anyhow, the girls are with us this weekend and we are going to I-Hop for a late breakfast and following that, we may go to Brandsmart to purchase a new television for the family room. If you'll recall, our reception on the new TV on the boat is far superior to the one we have at home which is driving us to upgrade...YAY!

Until next time,

M

Naples

My wife and I traveled to Naples, FL this weekend to visit her parents and to play golf at their home course. I truly enjoy visiting with her parents because it is always fun being around them. During our visits, my wife and I stay in one of two of her parents condos. We love having a separate condo here, it provides such a greater sense of privacy. My mother-in-law (MIL) decided at the end of last year that she needed to redecorate/upgrade the upstairs condo and what an outstanding change. Not that the condo was hideous, but it had a few dated items like wall paper and carpeting....Well, my MIL went over the top and created a showplace with a color scheme that makes you feel like you are resting in a five star resort. She replaced the carpet, tile, furniture, lighting and interior decorations...I know this project was difficult for her, but it was well worth the effort.

Until next time,


M

Tiger Woods

This past weekend was another awesome weekend aboard Wonderfun. We anchored at marker 44 which is just north of Tiger Woods' property. I have to tell you, there is something great about watching Tiger Woods on our new HD TV while sitting on our boat across from Tiger's future home....And let me tell you, this new TV is truly amazing...I only watched golf for about 20 minutes, but it was so cool to see the vivid details of the golf course. My wife was so impressed with the quality that she now wants to get an HDTV for our house...YAY!!!



Until next time





M

Father Daughter Dance

I just received my photo from the Father/Daughter Dance and I am so amazed at how quickly the girls are growing into little ladies. We had such a great time and I got to meet some of Rebekah's friends and one of Rachael's "Arch-Enemies". I know it's been a while since we were in elementary school, but I always get a chuckle out of hearing the trials and tribulations they must endure. It seem so serious to them and as we all know, they will laugh at the silly things later in life. Anyways, I am about to go to Wonderfun to do a little routine maintenance. Clean the AC filter, shower sump scouring etc...It's work, but I love working on the boat.

Until next time,

M

New TV (part deux)

I finally installed the new 23" LCD TV in Wonderfun. I was a little apprehensive, but knew that I would be successful given enough time and patience. I went to ACE hardware and purchased two long screwdrivers (Phillips and Regular) due to to position of the bracket fasteners. I unscrewed the fasteners securing the decorative TV frame which gave me the visual access to figure out what I had to do to remove the TV from it's bracket. It actually was pretty simple once I got access, only two screws to remove and then slide the TV up to release it from the bracket. EASY...Now, I needed to take the TV side bracket and transfer it to the new TV...Guess what...The bracket was too narrow for the new set and so I dispatched to Wal-Mart where I found a wider bracket for $55.00. After completing the TV installation and connections, I was a little disappointed that it only receives one channel using our on-board antenna. After considerable thought, I realized that I connected the antenna cable to the "Cable" input instead of the "Ant" input port on the TV. Now this may seem like a dumb mistake, but I connected the system exactly how the previous TV was connected. The big mistake was assuming that the previous TV was installed properly. So, I removed the TV and switched the connection to "Ant." input and viola...AWESOME Digital TV Reception!!!! I am thoroughly impressed by the quality of over the air broadcast of HD and Digital television. We now get over 20 channels and they all have superior clarity. I couldn't believe the dramatic difference.


Until next time

M

New TV

My wife and I went shopping for a new LCD tv to replace the one on Wonderfun. As I discussed in an earlier blog, the LG 23" TV in the salon stopped operating and SeaRay recommended purchasing one at a big box store....sooooo...We went out yesterday on a quest to find the perfect TV. We visited Costco, Best Buy and finally Brands Mart where we found the right TV. By right, we needed the perfect dimensions and screen size. We settled on a Samsung 23" HDTV LCD and wouldn't you know it, it was on sale! We got the TV for $100 less than the other two stores (Costco and Best Buy). We were thrilled and were on our way before noon which was totally awesome because we wanted to go boating.

We took the TV home and packed our bags with bathing suits and towels and headed to Publix to pick up the other provisions. After arriving at the boat, we prepared Wonderfun for departure and headed out of the inlet. The ocean was very calm, but we decided that we would really enjoy anchoring at marker 44 and having lunch. So we quickly turned the boat around and headed up the intercoastal to our favorite spot. What a calm day and the temperature was perfect. We enjoyed our lunch and settled in for the afternoon. My wife took her normal position on the bow of the boat to catch a few rays enhancing her tan and I went below and considered taking a nap....ok I actually didn't consider taking a nap I hopped up on the bed and fell asleep...But don't tell my wife, she doesn't know I take naps. What a great day!

Today we decided to play golf with an 8:15 tee time...We were paired with a couple of guys (Ray and Woody) randomly chosen by the starter. We had a blast playing and Ray was so funny that it didn't really matter that my wife was totally whipping my tail...She eventually won $4.25 which is quite a considerable amount since the bets were fifty cents per hole...We also play garbage (Sandies, greenies, one putts etc...) for a quarter per point. Anyhow, she had a good day and so did I....

Tonight we are settling in to watch the Superbowl between the New England Patriots and the NY Giants. I would really like to see the Giants win because they are the underdog, but I also want to witness a true perfect season that is within the grasp of the NE Pats...Such a dilema.

Well, I need to go to Wonderfun and get the half sandwich I left in the upstairs fridge before I regret discovering a real mess. I am very tired and may try to sneak in a nap while I am there...But don't tell my wife:-)



Until next time

M

Repairs Complete

MarineMax notified me that Wonderfun repairs were complete and they discovered that the repair could have taken place at our dock. Since this was the case, they were going to put 50 gallons of fuel at no cost. Yippie... The bad news is the LG 23" LCD tv is kaput...finis...busted and is not covered under warranty....BOOOO... They advised us to purchase another TV from a local big box outlet instead of through SeaRay and save ourselves over $1000....Sounds good to me. My wife and I will probably go shopping in the near future to make the purchase and get our friend Rick to install it for us...Ahhh the life of boating...

Until next time

Mike

Repairs Underway

Well, I received a call on Friday to tell me that MarineMax was dispatching Captain John to pick up the boat on Monday....To be honest, I am actually happy that they decided to take the expensive way. Especially since I was having difficulty carving out the time to take the 3 hour trip (2hr boat and 1hr car ride back). Capt John picked the boat up around 10:00 am and had her at Stuart around 11:45. He had to take her up the intercoastal due to the rough ocean conditions. That was actually good for us because you can't run the boat at cruise speed which reduces the fuel consumption dramatically.

Until next time

M

Weekend Fun

Saturday's weather was perfect so we decided to take Wonderfun to Marker 44 and anchor for the afternoon. After enjoying fun in the sun, we returned to the dock at about 4:00PM. I cleaned the exterior of the boat and Jen typically packs our day bags and cleans the interior. When I completed cleaning the exterior and buttoning up the canvas covers, I was surprised to see that she was watching a movie and not in any hurry to leave...YAY! I love sitting on the boat and watching movies and just hanging out...We stayed aboard for at least a couple of extra hours and considered staying overnight but we both agree that even though the main berth is comfortable, we'd rather sleep in our bed at home.

As I listed in an earlier post, we still have a small water leak in the engine compartment. I am scheduled to take the boat to Stuart on or about Monday of next week for repairs. MarineMax offered to send a captain down to bring the boat back to the shop, but due to the fact that we pay for the fuel for the trip, I'd rather enjoy the two hours of boating myself...And besides, the 20 mile trip up the intercoastal is really enjoyable. I asked if a tech could bring me back to the my marina (that's where my car would be) and to my surprise, the service rep said no. So I told the service rep to just pick up the boat...It is really surprising how quickly he realized that it would be better (and cheaper) to find a way back for me than to supply a boat captain...Duh...

Until next time

M

Repair Update

I forgot to mention in my last entry that MarineMax replaced the horn on Wonderfun resolving that issue, however the drive shaft seal leak appears to be an actual leak through the hull. Not good...Anyway, I have to schedule to have the boat returned to the Stuart shop to enable further investigation and disposition from SeaRay.

Until next time,

M

Waterway Cafe and Stuart Boat Show

Well, once again the weather forcast was wrong. Saturday was a beautiful day for boating so we loaded up Wonderfun and had an awesome outing. We started out by visiting our local marina to fill up the tanks with what has now become "liquid gold". WOW, who would have thought that fuel would be $4.39 a gallon? Not me...Anyway, we filled up at Jupiter Island Beach Club (JIB) and received a 10% discount since we have a member sticker on the side of the boat.

After the fill-up, we decided to cruise south to the Waterway Cafe for lunch. Due to the perfect weather, the intercoastal was full of boaters...boy was it crowded. The trip to Waterway Cafe is about 8 miles and took us about 45 minutes after passing through the numerous slow zones(manatee zones, slow boaters, monster wake from larger boats). We finally arrived and had the good, make that GREAT, fortune to have a prime docking spot. Typically there are too many boats to safely maneuver Wonderfun. We docked and proceeded to the hostess station and requested an outside table. The wait wasn't too horribly long and we were seated in less than 15 minutes.

Once we were seated , I decided to send Bekah and Rae back to the boat to turn off the generator (no need to burn fuel if you don't have too). I love that we taught them how to operate the power systems on the boat. It was so cool to see the two of them walking through the gauntlet of tables making their way to the boat. I watched (from a distance) as they boarded the boat, found the key, unlocked the cabin. They went below to access the power systems and quickly finished their task. They proudly made their way back to our table...As I sat there in my fatherly pride, I noticed water continuing to sputter out of the generator cooling port indicating that the genereator was still running...I laughed and asked if they turned off the generator and Bekah and Rae looked at each other and were POSITIVE they did...I pointed out that water was still sputtering and they needed to return to secure the generator. Bekah, being the typical lazy older sister, tried to send Rae back and I quickly nixed that plan. They returned together and finished the original task assignment.

Sunday we decided to go to the Stuart, FL Boat Show. We love looking at boats and had the best time walking through the yachts on display. We saw Dan, the salesman that sold us Wonderfun and he took us on a tour of the newly introduced Searay 47' Sedan Bridge. All I can say is that this new modern look is not my favorite. The master suite looked like a night club with the lighted panel walls....the only thing missing was a stripper pole...

We continued walking around visiting boat after boat. We finally found a boat that the whole family loved...A 55'Azimut. It was absolutely awesome and at a price of $1.5 Million, it should be. The girls laid claim to their private state rooms and had a blast dreaming that one day we would own this monster yacht....Not going to happen girls...OK, maybe if we win a very large sum of money from the Florida Lottery...never say never...

Until next time,


M

Cloudy Weekend

The girls (Bekah and Rae) are here this weekend and unfortunately the weather doesn't look too great for boating. They love to go to the intercoastal marker 44 and play on the sandbar. (Marker 44 is approximately 3.5 miles north of the Jupiter Inlet and is within 1/2 mile from Tiger Wood's $48M property.)..But it just doesn't look like we'll go this weekend. We took Bekah to P.F. Chang's last night to celebrate her 12th birthday...We always go to P.F. Chang's for our birthday celebrations... I think we've been there at least 27 times over the last 6 years.

I have yet to make it to Wonderfun to verify the repairs that were planned for last Thursday. I plan on making a trip to the slip sometime today. If you will recall, we had the minor leak on the port drive shaft seal and the horn needed replacement. Somebody, I won't say who, may have sprayed the horn environmental seal a little too much causing the membrane to rupture...OK, so it was me...I was just washing the boat down and didn't realize there was a thin plastic membrane protecting the horn area. The horn rapidly deteriorated and would barely utter a sound when activated...It actually started sounding like sheep in the distance...baaaaahhh...Oh well, lesson learned...


Until next time,


M

Repairs

During our trip to Duck Key, I noticed the bilge pump motor operating more frequently than normal. The pump occasionally will operate if you get heavy rain or if you are washing the cockpit using a hose. Well upon investigation I discovered a leak coming from the port drive shaft seal. The leak was a slow trickle and initially created serious concerns regarding the safety of the trip home. I contacted Marine Max when we returned and notified them about the leak and they assured me that this was not a big deal and the seals are adjustable and would dispatch a technician within the next couple of days to resolve the issue. I know it's no big deal for them, but the thought of our boat relying on a little $70 pump to keep her afloat still had me nervous. Ok, we do have more than one pump on board, three more exactly, but they are at higher water levels which would cause a lot of damage should the first one fail...Ah the life of boaters....

Until next time,

M

The Journey Home

We departed Hawks Cay at 6:45 AM on January 1st for the long journey back to Jupiter. The sun was barely peaking over the horizon and the sea was calm. We headed east towards marker FK22 which is the channel at the beginning of the Key Biscayne route to Miami. We decided to take the "inside" route even though the "outside" route was looking calm. The inside route is just beautiful and always calm. Don't get me wrong, Wonderfun is very capable of traveling on the outside route, but we just enjoy boating at a leisurely pace. Rough seas make the trip really stressful and you feel exhausted when you finally arrive. Anyway, as we passed through channel 5, we were greeted with a surreal moment...The water and the sky were the exact same color making the horizon very difficult to see. It was absolutely beautiful and the water was as smooth as glass which truly validated our decision to take the inside route.

We passed through Biscayne Bay and made our way to the Miami Marina whereupon we refueled Wonderfun with 108 gallons of gas. We fueled the boat in record time and quickly go underway. We left the dock and decided to take the outside (ocean) route to Jupiter. Were we ever surprised to see one of the calmest seas we've witnessed. There was a slight roll in the ocean, however it was perfect for the four (4) hour trip to our home port. We made our way north along the Florida coast and everything was perfect except for a little annoying moment when the boatpix.com helicopter started buzzing our boat taking photos. They provide a great service, however I don't think this should be allowed since it truly breaks the serenity you feel when an aircraft is hovering within mere feet above your vessel.

We arrived at Jupiter Inlet @ 2:45 PM and proceeded to our dock. The weather was a little grey and the temperature was beginning to drop due to a massive cold front moving through the area. We packed our bags and unloaded what seemed to be a ton of luggage to haul back home. We thoroughly cleaned Wonderfun and left the dock via our SUV "Sharky" which was stuffed to the gills ....get it..."to the gills"...I crack myself up... We finally got home around 5:00 PM and began the post trip unpack/laundry/dive gear cleanup...etc..

Bottom line: What a "Wonderfun" trip and we can't wait to go again!!!!


Until next time,

M