Oh, Happy Day

entry by cw

We picked up 'The Belle' today from Tarpon Springs and everything is fixed!  The engine is smooth as silk and even runs a bit faster.  We picked her up this morning and bid our farewells to the have the guys at the boat yard.  They really were a great bunch and did a wonderful job. Here are some pictures

Doug Bruce  he fixed our broken strut and then did all the fiberglass work on the shaft replacement.

Doug's magic shop

Pitman Yacht Service

David-manager of the yard

We left Tarpon Springs at 9:30 am and wanted to get to the Hudson Channel by 12:17pm when the tide was highest.  Seas were 3-5 feet with a steady wind from the northeast.  The ride was great.  The whole boat is quieter and very smooth.  We made good time and I steered for a good portion of the passage.  Glad to say I'm getting the hang of it.  We arrived at Port Hudson Marina at high tide as we had hoped.

Kerm was anxious about docking in the heavy wind but he did very well.  Dan would have been proud!

Although the problems we encountered were unfortunate, we are pleased that we discovered them in a timely manner and in a place where we could get them tended to with people we trusted.


As often happens when you get lemons there are ways of making some lemonade out of the situation.  We have decided to get an extension of 90 days on our Florida sales tax exemption so we don't have to rush to get out of Florida waters.  Because of the extra time we have, we are going to explore the Florida Keys and Key West.  We are excited about this change in plans.  We will meander down the Gulf coast and take our time looking around. The Keys are supposed to be beautiful.  Kerm spent some time in Key West years ago but I have never been there.

We have to stock up 'the belle' and clean up the apartment.  Then we should be good to go.  Our landlord (and friend) Mike Parker says we can leave but we have to promise to come back.  Here's a picture of him pontificating at our kitchen table.  He's an old Special Forces veteran so he has some pretty good stories.

 
By the way, Dan is in Atlanta for a month of training in connection with his new job. He said all's well so far.

That's all for now.  Hope all is well with family and friends.

Christie
PS to Mari and Jim...we are going to leave.