Hmmm

Shortly after we arrived here at Legacy Pam was cleaning inside and noticed that one of our portlite windows was cracked from top to bottom. Hmmm! Strangely enough it's the one directly opposite the one that we just replaced which had the trim ring fall off last season. Bugger! What caused it to crack when the boat wasn't even in the water? Perhaps stress from being moved around the boatyard or the haulout process itself? Don't know for sure however a call to River Forest where we stored the boat resulted not in an admission of responsibility but at least a quick response and a promise to work with us on the problem.

John ordered the new replacement and promised to send a crew over to Legacy to install it once it arrived. I am happy to report that the River Forest guys showed up last week and we now have a new portlite which appears to be a much better design than the original.

River Forest crew.

We have a hole in the boat!

The old portlite with the crack. The stainless trim ring is glued to the plastic lens which is glued to the hull and on the inside of the boat another stainless ring is screwed into the plastic which doesn't hold up. The new port is stainless screwed into stainless as well as being glued to the boat. Should be better.

New portlite installed.

Other than appearance these things have no function. They do not open and are in the master stateroom covered by curtains 100% of the time. To me they are only a weak spot in the hull at a point that is more likely to feel the impact of the waves than anywhere else on the boat. Hmmm! Oh well. Only 2 more to go.

Our weather has been mid 60's to low 70's the past week with 3 days of rather heavy rain. Certainly not the miserable stuff that has been gripping everyone back home. Saturday dawned to a heavy blanket of fog over the marina as the temps are starting to rise. Forecast is for temps in the 80's the next several days so maybe we can get Tourist out of the slip and see what happens!

Foggy Saturday.

The Saturday fog burned off which made for better conditions to celebrate Pam's Dad's birthday. I'm sure our weather was better than what he experienced back home in Illinois.

Happy Birthday Frank.

Saturday just happened to be Rick from M/V Private Affair's birthday also which we celebrated with dinner at The Twisted Vine restaurant in downtown Ft. Myers.

Friends and Fun

So life at Legacy continues. Small items are being checked off the list of things to do while we wait for the weather to warm up a bit. I know that sounds like whining to everyone back home but for Florida, it's been cool.
We had a pleasant surprise last week when Marc & Michelle visited from back home. They were passing through the area and stopped by to say hello and reconnect with some of the boaters they met while doing the Loop a couple years ago. It was great to see them and catch up on some of the hometown happenings.

 Escapee's from the frozen North!

We've also been visited by the Metlife blimp a few times over the past week. Must be spying on us!

Big Brother's Watching!

The marina has been as full as it's ever been since we've been coming here. Somehow Eric the dockmaster squeezed 136 boats into 131 slips the other night including this pair of Krogen Express 52's.

Easy Waters and Joy.

As I stated earlier it has been on the cool side down here as evidenced by the long sleeves and insulated vest being modeled by Bill in the below photo.

 Must be happy hour!

Even the cool can't ruin a good sunset over the Caloosahatchie.

Always a pretty site.

In the line of something different we decided to drive down to Naples and get our Redneck On by checking out the swamp buggy races. It was great fun watching both the buggy's and the people. I'll let the pictures do the talking. Check out the video at the end.

Part of the crew.

Oooey!

Treats!

Spectator rides.

                                     

There was plenty of action in the swamp and behind the grandstands with food and souvenirs as well as one booth dedicated to a Pitbull rescue organization. They had a few nice dogs there who were looking for a new home.

Our day was topped off with dinner at Ichiban's and a visit to the Cigar Bar.

A good end to a fun day.

Tourist Floats Again!

Eight months of not being on the boat has come to an end. That's a longer time away than when we wintered Tourist back home! How'd that happen?

We managed to slip away from home on January 3rd secured in knowing we were making the right decision to head South by the outside temperature reading in the car. -16!

I don't care who you are. That's COLD!

A cold Illinois sunrise.

The cold followed us well into Georgia but then like magic it wasn't cold any longer. At least not by our standards. We arrived at Tourist the morning of the 5th and quickly loaded the contents of the car back onto the boat. That meant for me 5 pair of shorts, a pair of jeans, a few T-shirts, underwear, and a pair of flip-flops. The rest was Pam's and the car was full! I'll never understand why she needs 24 pair of shoes on a boat?

The plan was to head West along the Caloosahatchie to the park at Franklin Lock and get things organized before heading on to Ft. Myers and Legacy Harbour. A good plan almost thwarted by a starboard engine that would barely turn over. No problem. Just hit the cross over switch and start it from the same battery that starts the port engine. Success, and we were on our way!
It was a beautiful day on the waterway with a sunny sky and temps in the low 80's. We were both so thrilled by the weather that we forgot to take any pictures while we cruised along. It was good to be back floating again!
Once we arrived at the campground and got checked in we sat back and soaked in the warmth.

Tourist at Franklin Lock campground/marina.

Our plan was to stay a few days and get the boat cleaned up and take care of a few maintenance items before moving on. Of course as we all know plans change. What initially was a good weather forecast for the next few days changed into cooler temps and strong winds starting the next afternoon and hanging around for awhile. Once again Mother Nature made our travel plans for us. Oh sure we could have stayed put but with a limited amount of food and no place close by for provisions it became a no brainer. Off to Legacy we went getting in a couple of hours before the wind picked up.

Since our arrival Pam has been getting the inside back in order while I've been spending my time in the engine room taking care of the endless list of maintenance items. Some planned for and some not.

I changed the port side exhaust hose which had cracks inside it similar to the starboard side hose that I replaced last year.

Since I had to disassemble the exhaust it was an excellent time to change the sea water impellers.

My workspace between the port engine and fuel tank. The moving pad saves a few bruises.

If I ever go missing this may be a good place to start looking for me.

I've also changed pencil zincs, the A/C sea water pump which crapped out after our arrival at Legacy, new batteries to be installed, and a port hole window to replace which showed up cracked while Pam was cleaning. And the list goes on....

In spite of the project list it's good to be back on Tourist and at Legacy. It's much like coming home reuniting with friends we've made over the past few years and getting back into the "Docktail" routine. Hang on liver!
We were even treated to a great, "gangs all here" dinner at Bill & Mary's condo. Thanks for waiting for us!

We've already experienced Bike Night in downtown Ft. Myers and this week is Music Walk so it's not all work! Then of course there is the occasional stop at the Cigar Bar for people watching. Maybe one of these days we'll take the boat out and try out the anchor. I can't wait!

A couple of morning shots looking over Legacy.

Merry Christmas from the frozen North

Those of you who read this blog know that we have wintered on Tourist at Legacy Harbour Marina in Ft. Myers for the past few years. It's a great place to be in winter but I'm not sure the warm sunset photos or the views over the boats towards the river that they post on Facebook give a true image of Christmas. Don't get me wrong. I longingly look at each and every one of them wishing we were there. However...
As an alternative I thought I'd post a few pictures taken around our house showing what Christmas time should look like and what our friends in Florida are missing!

 Looking out our front door.

Our driveway.

Our house after the first snowfall.

Me clearing the driveway so Pam can go Christmas shopping!

No ice required!

Walks are cleared. Bring on Christmas!

Actually I enjoy all the Facebook postings and can't wait to be there! While our snow isn't much compared to other places across the country, our temps have been very cold for this time of year. As I write this it's minus 15 outside. Brrr! Florida is getting closer every day!

Pam and I wish everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS and CALM SEAS in the new year!

One more thing...

Christmas always brings out the candles. This is one of my new favorites. Supposedly it smells like a White Castle burger and can be ordered from the White Castle website. The proceeds go to help fight Autism.

Oops Continued

My last post reported on the154' towboat Stephen L. Colby sinking near LeClaire, Iowa after reportedly hitting a submerged object. Crews have been working through bitterly cold conditions for the past two weeks to cover the 30" x 12" hole in the hull plus two smaller holes and stabilize the boat. 88,000 gallons of oily water was pumped from the boat as well as nearly 40,000 gallons of oily water from the river. Nearly 6,800 cubic feet of oily waste was also collected.
While the oily mixture was being pumped from the boat the huge cranes slowly began to lift the Colby from the bottom. Once afloat the boat had to be decontaminated before the Coast Guard would allow it to move.
Another Marquette towboat, the Penny Eckstein Was dispatched to tow the Colby downriver to repair facilities at Wood River, Illinois (just above St. Louis) where it will undergo repairs before returning to service.

The day after the sinking.

Booms set up to catch the oil and fuel leaking from the boat.

Cranes in position.

Back afloat with the assist from the cranes.

The Colby being towed away from shore ready for the 350 mile journey to Wood River.

As of this posting the cause of the accident remains under investigation. One interview I saw with a USCG spokesman said that they had surveyed the area where the Colby supposedly struck the bottom and found no obstructions. Hmmmm?

Just a thought, and ONLY a thought.. The Colby was headed to Clinton. Iowa with no barges. If you've traveled that portion of the river between LeClaire and Lock 14 you know that there is a rock wall that runs parallel to and separates the main channel from backwaters and the Iowa shore. This wall is not always visible but is clearly marked on the charts. Could it be that the Colby ran into it? Only time will tell.
For me having grown up on the river and watching these professionals snake their way up and down the channel in high water and in low it's hard to imagine one of their own veering off channel unless something in the mechanics of the vessel failed. I personally have seen the Colby on the Upper River countless times so it certainly wasn't a first time trip in unfamiliar waters.