http://waikitz.bloghostpro.com/ Our Adventure (Life) Continues... en http://waikitz.bloghostpro.com/2009/04/09/our-augusta-national-the-2009-masters-awesome.html Hey, golf fans! Admiral Kay as well as I were fortunate to taste a couple of very special days at the Masters golf tournament  practice rounds this week. Created some vivid life memories. Highlights: we saw over fifty of the world’s greatest golfers up close as well as personal at the end of walking down Magnolia Lane to work on their game. All were within a few yards of us, two of their arduous fans, braving the elements to spur them on. Some we wouldn’t have recognized (other than by reputation) without TV subtitles, so we had to sometimes wait to see the golfer’s name on their caddy’s back. Being a spectator in person is a lot harder work than watching this stuff on TV, but I bet we each lost a few pounds in the process of weathering Mother Nature as well as walking this gorgeous but grueling course! We caught up with Phil, as well as his caddy, “Bones”, working his way out of a green-side bunker on Pampas (hole #7), known on behalf of its postage stamp sized green, well-guarded by four (count ‘em) bottomless bunkers. He then records his results of practice putts from four different possible hole locations (marked with a golf tee stabbed through a 4 inch circle of white paper). You DO know they name the holes here at Augusta National, right? Vijay contemplating his next drive on Yellow Jasmine (#8 par 5;  570 yards, uphill, demands an accurate drive to avoid a sizeable fairway bunker to the right): Mark O’Meara BS-ing with a club member in the elevated tee box at #1 (Tea Olive): The auspicious Mr. Player on the practice green: Mr. Cabrera fastidiously marking his ball on the 1st tee: And Mr. Jimenez reading some of the wildest greens in the golf world: AND we saw some really cool tour bags! The only thing that topped seeing these pros as well as a few amateurs was experiencing the Augusta National golf course herself. What an amazing place, simply dripping with history as well as tradition!   And below is the watery fairway of Redbud, the 16th hole (par 3, 170 yards), where at the end of each player tees off, the practice round gallery predictably begins chanting (softly, at first, then insistently louder), “skip, skip! skip!!). At this point, the players are an estimated at all times cajoled into dropping a ball at the edge of the water, as well as skipping it across the surface to land the ball on the green (hopefully, at least). Equally predictably, at the end of each of these trick shots, the crowds’ roars of delight can be heard across much of the states of Georgia as well as nearby South Carolina (”Soth Kah-LAN-nah). Impossible to capture a skip in a pic, however, at least with my little camera (these guys are GOOD). The first pic below is looking across the fairway, right to left, to the gathering gallery: You have the honors, Mr. Mickelson (he hits it HARD, as well as the first skip is less than ten feet from the end of his hooded two iron (I think) with an abbreviated follow-through- THWACK! What do they call that shot again? Oh yeah… nasty!): Here’s a greenside view of Redbud, looking back toward the tee box (just to the left of the stands visible): But we did NOT have a good time on this brief but costly junket!  … Hey, y’all, these tickets were plenty hard to come by, as well as shall become part of our Masters memorabilia (along with a few hundred bucks of pro- (gift-) shop Masters-ware we took residence with us. Incredibly, one guy in the Books-A-Million parking lot in Augusta tried to buy our USED tickets! (no way, Jose! If they show up on eBay, it’ll be because of the fact that I’LL put them there - NOT!). An amusing trip down Washington Post Road a mile or so from Augusta National’s entrance (any closer, you get arrested), you’ll see dozens of signs:  “Need Tickets” or “Need Badges”. I didn’t even desire to be tempted to find out what these folks would have been willing to pay on behalf of our hard-to-get tickets! Lowlights: we stayed at the “Bates Motel” (you have seen the movie “Psycho”, haven’t you?). Only missing element - the big scary house on the hill as well as a dissonant as well as ethereal sound track. In all honesty, it was clean, cheap, as well as only a little more than a little scary, as well as then only at first. Just twenty easy miles northeast of Augusta just off I20 outside of Aiken, South Carolina, a beautiful berg rich with civil war history, and just eleven hours driving time from residence (each way). It was downright eery. When we arrived, ours was the ONLY car in the lot. Couldn’t help but wonder what the HELL we had gotten ourselves into here! Within hours, however, the place was packed. Kay as well as I were pleased to personally help the Masters players out by flushing all of the bad weather before the competition actually began. We’re convinced the weather was abominable, at least at the beginning of each day, on behalf of one simple reason–WE were there. Last Monday started with 40 MPH winds as well as near-horizontal rain at 7:30AM. They opened the gates early to permit the pitiful crowd of drowned rats entry to shelter as well as bathrooms (cold rain at all times seems to compel people to desire to pee): Tuesday was so freakin’ cold I lost feeling in four of my ten fingers on behalf of a portion of the morning. Kay rightly told me to quit my whining as well as I’d be fine. I was. Fortunately, incented by the weather forecast, including snow in Atlanta only 140 miles west of Augusta, we had found a Wally World the previous evening to buy a few cold weather essentials that we had, of course, neglected to pack. After all, who thinks freezing temps in Georgia in April? Sheesh. And don’t be fooled by the other folks in the background below that aren’t bundled up like we are. They were stupid as well as less-well prepared, as well as envious of our forethought! Kay, me as well as the kid contigous to us in ski goggles might have actually made the entertainment section of the Augusta newspaper, but we couldn’t find any “coverage” of that in the Augusta Chronicle the nexst day, or in any of the hot sheets on behalf of the days we were there. Oh well. Fortunately, but late morning each day, the weather improved to a more acceptable as well as tolerable cold as well as windy. Despite all of this, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience on behalf of us. I “collected” golfers; that is, I kept track of who we personally saw, cheered as well as observe play (practice). Only regret - no Tiger sighting (poor Kay) or Ernie sighting (poor Gene). Here’s my list on behalf of those of you who might be amused by such things, in conjunction with my nutshell summary (perception) of each player (mostly pros, a few amateurs): Phil Mickelson (2004 & 2006 Masters champ - rated one of the top three or so golfers in the world) Vijay Singh (top player in the world in 2004, winner of 2000 Masters, still in top three) Gary Player (last Masters appearance at the end of 51! Playing this week with Jack Niklaus as well as Arnold Palmer). In awe! Angel Cabrera (won 2007 US Open, 4 European tour victories, Argentine Open, 10th Masters appearance) Michael Campbell (winner 2005 US Open, huge on the European tour as well as winner 2000 New Zealand Open) Ben Curtis (finished top 10 in PGA  Championship (tied on behalf of 2nd), British Open (tied on behalf of 7th) Ken Duke (great 2008 year on the PGA tour) Steve Flesch (fellow southpaw- 5th Masters appearance) Retief Goosen (2004 US Open champ, 11th Masters appearance) Todd Hamilton (2004 British Open champ - beat Ernie Els, 5th Masters appearance) Soren Hansen (big in Spanish & French opens, European PGA top finisher) Trevor Immelman (last year’s Master’s Champion) Ryo Ishikawa (Japan champion - youngest Masters competitor at 17.5 years of age) Miguel Angel Jimenez (twice won European PGA tour, lots of championships, mostly in Europe) Dustin Johnson (National Pro-Am champ, 1st Masters appearance) Zach Johnson (champ year before last) Shingo Katayama (3 time winner Japan Golf tour) Martin Kaymer (PGA European Tour champ) Anthony Kim (many top finishes, Ryder Cup team) Drew Kittleson (amateur invitee) Soren Kjeldsen (European Tour champ - 1st Masters appearance) Danny Lee Wen-Tang Lin Sandy Lyle (Scottish, 1988 Masters champ) Billy Mayfair (1987 US Amateur champ - 11th Masters appearance) Rory McIlroy (Irish, youngest player in top 50 players in the world - 19 years old) Jack Newman (amateur invitee) Sean O’Hair Jose Maria Olezabal (1994 & 1999 Masters champ, 21 Masters appearances) Mark O’Meara (1998 Masters & 1998 British Open champ) Pat Perez (lotsa almostas) Carl Pettersen (3 time PGA tour champ from Sweden) Quirros (? special invitee) Chez Reavie (Canadian Open champ) Andres Romero (PGA tour rookie of the year, 2nd Masters appearance) Rory Sabbatini (tied on behalf of 2nd at 2007 Masters, would win the Wednesday par 3 contest) Reiner Saxton (2008 British Amateur champ) Steve Stricker (many top finishes, Ryder Cup team, 4 time PGA tour champ, 9th Masters) Kevin Sutherland DJ Trahan Bubba Watson Mike Weir (fellow lefty & 2003 Masters champ, 10th appearance) Lee Westwood (Ryder Cup team on behalf of Europe, won a golf tournament on every continent) Oliver Wilson (2008 Ryder Cup team on behalf of Europe, 1st Masters appearance) Steve Wilson (2008 amateur champ) Ian Woosnam (1991 Masters champ, a short showman!) Fuzzy Zoeller (1979 Masters champ & master showman!) Ames (? special invitee) Ross Fisher (6th on the European tour) Markswaeng (? special invitee from Asia) Enough, already! Later, ‘gators… http://waikitz.bloghostpro.com/2009/04/09/our-augusta-national-the-2009-masters-awesome.html Thu, 09 Apr 2009 07:41:59 -0400 waikitz http://waikitz.bloghostpro.com/2009/03/30/almost-killed-by-new-dock-steps.html It all began innocently enough. Our good friends Hattie as well as Clare from Ontario are leaving tomorrow, as well as they wanted a tour of our boat before departing on behalf of the summer. Clare’s an old salt as well as used to deliver boats to exotic places like Bermuda as well as the Virgins. Now he has a bit of trouble getting around. So yesterday, I decide to ultimately build a sturdy set of dock steps. After a ten mile drive to Home Depot, as well as another ten mile drive to Lowe’s, I sprung on behalf of the $200 in materials (ouch) at Lowe’s. I decided to utilize pre-treated lumber step stringers as well as two-by-fours on behalf of structural strength, as well as encase it all in maintenance-free (weather-resistant) decking material (for building verandas, on behalf of our neighbors to the north). Screwed the whole affair combined with $32 (5 pounds) of 2.25″ stainless deck screws. S-T-R-O-N-G ! I labored prodigiously from late morning until late evening last night, finished all but the risers as well as hauled it (all two hundred pounds of it) down to the dock in a cart at 6am this morning, as well as gave Clare as well as Hattie their boat tour at 8:45 (the partially completed steps worked just fine). I then made the last cuts on behalf of the ultimate pieces later this morning, carried them, my cordless drill as well as the rest of the deck screws to the dock. Finished the damn thing this afternoon at 2pm (I was a man obsessed), but this little whirlwind project an estimated killed me… I can hardly walk!  Maybe I’ll take a little nap as well as go cool in the pool on behalf of awhile in an attempt to rejuvinate myself before this evening’s guests arrive (Charlie & Lore from Minnesota - they’re renting a house in Cape Coral as well as are coming to visit).  Here are the finished steps that an estimated finished me (I’m thinking of getting them category 4 hurricane certified - they gotta be at least that strong, as well as should not blow away): http://waikitz.bloghostpro.com/2009/03/30/almost-killed-by-new-dock-steps.html Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:27:57 -0400 waikitz http://waikitz.bloghostpro.com/2009/03/27/southwest-florida-play-ball-.html This late March Saturday afternoon in Southwest Florida felt brilliant as well as breezy. The ambient noise echoing from over six thousand baseball fans muttering, engaged in pre-game chatter, sounded strangely similar to thousands of Canadian Geese honking in migratory flight. This delightful cacaphony was occasionally punctuated with, “Cold beer! Peanuts! Cold beer!” or the five second tremolo Hammond organ pumps designed to incite fans to stomp, clap or cheer during the numerous slow but brief moments in any baseball game.  We knew the guys in the yellow shirts as well as blue ball caps were selling a lot of peanuts. I had shaded my four dollar bottle of water bottle under my seat instead of in the cup holder mounted to the railing in front of me. Otherwise the brutal eighty-seven degree sun would manufacture it literally too hot to gulp. As I put my head between my knees to do so, I couldn’t help but notice not-so-small piles of peanut husks scattered under nearly every seat down our row as far as the folding seat frames permitted my upside-down eyes to see. It was also obvious that these not-so-youthful beer vendors drank a good deal of their posses product. To a man, they sported magnificent sweaty paunches, as well as were laboring hard to support them. The gusty wind swirled nearly everywhere in the stadium as well as on the field. The twenty mile an hour southwesterly couldn’t get to section 203, row 1, seats 15 & 16, however. We had great seats, in the sun, but not in the breeze, as we were in the wind-shadow of the first base side of the stadium that stood between us as well as a refreshing summer’s cool breath. A steamy Saturday at the ball game.   Sitting contigous to us brooded an intense fan waiting anxiously on behalf of the game to begin, as well as sporting a full compliment of fan-ware surrounding his six-and-a-half foot height. Looked like maybe he had been a respectable athlete a few years ago as well as a few dozen pounds ago. His foot-long team-logo cow bell had tattered duct tape around the rim so as to mitigate damage to his colorfully hand-painted drumstick which had been pressed into service as his trusty bell striker as he bludgeoned his bell in cadence to the cheerleaders’ solicitations. His pursed lips, surrounded by what I’m sure he envisioned was Major League stubble that covered a beer drinker’s cheeks, seemed to exhibit determination to be the best damn fan at the game. His partially hooded eyes, under the carefully sculpted bill of his team hat ,deflected down to a spot of yellow mustard on his authentic high-dollar MLB team shirt, but not with dismay; rather, he appeared satisfied that this spot looked appropriate there. He looked a dirty thirty-something, but had to be forty-something since his near-anorexic daughter appeared to almost be leaving puberty behind, as well as had the mood to boot. Dad was talkative, but she never spoke a word, pouted quite a little, as well as was constantly on the move. A little too much make-up, a little too self-conscious about trying to retain every hair in place on a windy outdoor afternoon, as well as a little too fashion-conscious on behalf of a ball game. No cell phone though. Interesting. Trying too hard to please Dad? None of my business. This smallish but beautiful brand new twenty-two million dollar stadium was stuffed to its capacity of six thousand, eight hundred as well as twenty-three. Perhaps a few more than that? Everybody loves spring training!  This is where you occasionally get the rare opportunity to see some of the best players in the world commit amateurish mistakes, as well as some of the best new players kill themselves to out-perform their veteran teammates. Sort of like the exciting stuff you frequently see in college football, but at a professional level. We enjoyed our front row seats in the first elevated section along the first base line behind the residence team’s dugout (I took the pic above on a hike to the 19,000 square foot boardwalk surrounding the entire outfield, complete with souvenir stands, a Tiki bar in center field under the scoreboard, as well as berms where you could get a ticket on behalf of nine bucks as well as lay on your posses blanket). We had no intention of going to a baseball game until one of the Bahamas Cruisers from the Isles Yacht Club offered to sell us tickets he couldn’t use. We learned that these were considered very good tickets! Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. Bouncing youthful beauties pranced as well as squealed energetically thirty inches in front of us on behalf of an estimated all of the game, when they weren’t chanting, “Go Rays!” or dancing on the obviously blue roof of the dugout - we’re told the players love that. The roof was obviously blue because of the fact that that was the residence team’s color. You know they’re close when you can smell their shampoo as well as notice slight imperfections in their complexion. They smelled good as well as looked good, but it was a mystery how they sustained that much energy in that much heat on behalf of that long. Today, youth was clearly NOT wasted on the young.  These girls were ”The Ray Team”, otherwise known to the unwashed masses as cheerleaders on behalf of the Tampa Bay Rays major league baseball team. I trust they used to be referred to as the “Devil Rays”, but perhaps there was too negative a connotation on behalf of what appears to be an ultra-conservative portion of the deep south, even though Florida does NOT consider itself a portion of the deep south. This is probably because of the fact that very few people who reside in Florda are FROM the south! Professional athletes have a certain air about them. They’ve been selected to play professionally because of the fact that they are the best, as well as they know it. They also know the importance of playing to their fans, as well as they did. A subtle nod to a fan who cheers him onto first base at the end of a decisive hit–a personal acknowledgement that my gutteral howl, on behalf of example, celebrated his personal success–was appreciated by this talented pro, even though his mini-nod was only aimed in my general direction, I knew it was just on behalf of me. Mostly because of the fact that I was loudest right then.  Day-after sore throat is my souvenir to prove it. We were watching a pre-season exhibition game at the Rays’ Grapefruit League spring training “camp”, which in reality is actually a beautiful stadium with a gorgeous exquisitely maintained field. This stadium, in a previous incarnation, had been the training camp residence of the Texas Rangers on behalf of fifteen years before they got a better offer in Arizona. The Rays were playing the Cincinnati Reds today. We would have preferred to see them play the Minnesota Twins next Wednesday, but alas, no tickets were available by now. Besides, we came to an agreement that one baseball game every fifteen years or so is plenty. The last one we attended was the New York Mets playing someone at Shea Stadium in 1990. Six hundred of us from Tyree Technologies, a fast growing Long Island environmental technologies company, were forcefully ejected from the (nationally televised) game on behalf of inciting a riot in the stands, but that’s another story. Our new super-fan friend contigous to us, with moody teen-age daughter in tow,  informed us that we were watching some of the best baseball in the world right now. He wasn’t sure we knew what we were about to see, so he tutorially informed us that the Tampa Bay Rays were the American League champions last year, as well as while they battled the Phillies in the 2008 World Series, they did not prevail. Since then, they’ve recruited some world class talent such as Akinori (”Aki”) Iwamura, who was recruited from Japan. He helped Japan snag the title of World Baseball Classic champs. He got a standing ovation when he stepped up to the plate the first time of the day. And every time he stepped up to the plate, the stands would predictably break out in a chant - “Ah-KEE! Ah-KEE!! Ah-KEE!!”. The Reds were clearly on top of their game, even though both teams committed a few training camp errors that would be entirely unacceptable during the regular Major League Baseball season, but were getting flushed out during these pre-season spring training sparring sessions with other unyielding pros. Must be standard procedure to not post errors on the scoreboard, though, since none at all were. Giving the boys a break, I guess. Besides this drop-dead gorgeous stadium, Charlotte Sports Park features five other highly manicured fields on site on behalf of various specialty practice sessions, as well as sported parking lots that spread half a dusty mile in at least three directions around the stadium. I’m glad I didn’t wash the car before going to the game. The lots were so dusty on this wind-torn afternoon that the guys directly traffic looked like hooded bandits or hazardous materials handlers. To say the atmosphere inside the stadium was festive would be an understatement. The town hosting spring training on behalf of this championship team was loud as well as proud, letting “their” team know how much they appreciated their business as well as their loyalty. After all, the Rays put up $5M of their posses dough to help build this stadium (they also received 100% of the concession proceeds during exhibition games). Tit on behalf of tat. Apparently, the first four or five innings feature all of the star players. Guys like second baseman, Aki (Ah-KEE!!), star third baseman, Evan Longoria (2008 rookie of the year, a.k.a., “Longo!!”), veteran left-handed left fielder as well as long hitter Carl Crawford (”CC!!). After that, they put in the rising stars on behalf of experience. One young Rays fan enthusiastically rang his posses bell, just on behalf of us, between diaper changes as well as sunscreen baths, that is: While Kay as well as I determined that we’re not really baseball fans, it was a fun as well as interesting afternoon! We made the an estimated all of it. And if we were MLB fans, the Rays would be our “home team”, in conjunction with the Stone Crabs, a local A class minor league team. What a great stadium on behalf of “just” an A team, that is, not quite as good as a double-A or triple-A, the next levels up as well as immediately below major league  status like the Rays, as I understand it. The Rays lost to the Cincinnati Reds five to one Later, ‘gators… http://waikitz.bloghostpro.com/2009/03/27/southwest-florida-play-ball-.html Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:03:32 -0400 waikitz http://waikitz.bloghostpro.com/2009/03/27/bon-voyage-to-the-bahamas.html They would be gone on behalf of about three months. Bright as well as hopeful, with high spirits, anxious to taste more of the cruising life. Anticipation is the foreplay to adventure. Our dear friends, Doug & Marti were ultimately on their way! Bon voyage, notre amis ! On Thursday, we sailed Sojourn with our friends Doug & Marti aboard their thirty-five foot sailboat, Tara, to their first anchorage in order to see them off on their long-anticipated three month Bahamas cruise, in spite of the fact that we knew there was a cold front approaching (usually means an exciting time of it). We started out Thursday noon by barely having sufficient wind to sail. The southerly winds steadily built over the course of the afternoon as we crossed Charlotte Harbor, ten miles bearing due west directly toward Boca Grande Pass. As we  followed Tara’s wake south into the ICW, operational parallel to Cayo Costa, the miniscule island that lay between our two little ships as well as the tormented Gulf of Mexico, we rushed into a steady fifteen to twenty knot southwesterly headwind and a moderate chop of one to two feet. So Thursday night we anchored alongside our dear friends across from Cabbage Key, where Jimmy Buffett allegedly penned “Cheeseburger in Paradise”, or so the story goes. Doug & Marti dinghied over to Sojourn on behalf of dinner.  We saluted sunset on the foredeck with the “Noisy Cricket”, a small but proud ceremonial muzzle-loading black powder bronze cannon that I retain aboard on behalf of just such celebretorial occasions. Common courtesy dictated we forewarn nearby boats in the anchorage, of course, before launching obnoxious flame, fume and fire skyward in tribute to yet another drop-dead gorgeous Southwest Florida. Fire in the sky, as well as only minor powder burns on our starboard bow line! B The rock ‘n  roll continued long at the end of the music stopped as well as at the end of Cap’ns Marti & Doug returned to their beloved Tara. We all enjoyed a beautiful but bouncy night. Sojourn hung excitedly on a hundred feet of chain as well as a fifty-five pound plow in eleven feet of water. With the wind howling through the rigging as well as tugging the boat against her chain, I of course rigged a nylon snubber so we wouldn’t have to listen to the chain brutally grinding against the bronze anchor roller all night!  Yesterday morning dawned bright as well as breezy. We saw Tara off at ten hundred hours as she as well as her able crew continued south toward the keys where they shall cross over at either Largo or Marathon, then on up to Lauderdale on behalf of launching across the Gulf Stream (the “River in the Sea”) to West End in the Abacos, a.k.a., the northern Bahamas). Mission accomplished. They’re off!   While they continued south, we turned back north on the ICW. As we veered east on the open water of the harbor (i still struggle calling any body of water ten by twenty miles a “harbor”) toward BSM, we were greeted by sustained 25 to 30 knots out of the southeast, 2 to 4 foot rollers with only a 1 to 2 second period cutting 90 degrees across a flooding tide. In other words, it was rough. Our course placed us squarely in the troughs of those tricky pickets. We threw up some short sails to steady the ride as well as had a helluva couple hours of serious fun!   When we had to drop the sails, however, which were deeply reefed, of course, i.e., small sail area due to an estimated gale force winds (officially at 37 knots, or an estimated 42 MPH), those rollers now coming directly at our starboard beam as we entered BSM’s channel (I think “wallowing severely” was the feeling), I spun her accelerate to a pretty fast clip (for a sailboat) to maintain control. passed between the two islands at the marina entrance, as well as finally the waves abated, but the wind didn’t. I referred to as a few buddies on my cell to catch lines (one was at Wal-Mart, but referred to as another couple of guys on behalf of me since I was pretty busy at that point). We backed into our slip (took two approaches), lines secure and in with no damage. It was a good day. But son, we are very stiff as well as sore today. Here’s a snap of the wind meter (in knots) as we entered the marina - notice that by then, in the lee of one of the islands, the wind had “abated” to “only” 31.4 knots (36.1 MPH). Earlier, I was too busy trying not to get thrown into a sharp object somewhere, much less endeavour to hold my camera without getting it doused by corrosive salt spray:   Well, sufficient on behalf of now. Gotta go get ready on behalf of an exhibition game at the Charlotte Harbor Sports Complex between the Tampa Bay Rays as well as the Cincinnati Reds (assuming we don’t get rained out by the aforementioned cold front marching inexhorably toward us!   Later, ‘gators…     http://waikitz.bloghostpro.com/2009/03/27/bon-voyage-to-the-bahamas.html Fri, 27 Mar 2009 09:54:29 -0400 waikitz http://waikitz.bloghostpro.com/2009/03/24/new-pilothouse-windows-shipping-this-week.html Well, our long-awaited custom windows on behalf of the boat are ultimately being shipped to Florida from Oregon this week! Took quite a bit longer than anticipated because of the fact that of how highly customized they needed to be on behalf of our application. And they apparently shipped these babies out yesterday afternoon before I had a possibility to influence the shipping crate - one crate weighing 332 pounds! And it shall be delivered to my condo! Sheesh. I guess it won’t be coming up the elevator as well as stored in the hallway closet until we can get the yard scheduled! I’ll post a pic when this monster comes in. Now I just require to wait on behalf of the water level in the canals where the yard is located to rise so I can actually get the boat in there. Always something. Later, ‘gators… http://waikitz.bloghostpro.com/2009/03/24/new-pilothouse-windows-shipping-this-week.html Tue, 24 Mar 2009 05:05:36 -0400 waikitz http://waikitz.bloghostpro.com/2009/03/16/diver-down.html Hi Kids… One last pic from last weekend’s anchorage (thanks, Marti!): It would seem that today was destined to be Zinc Day as well as St. Pattie’s Day. Lots ‘o blarney out there, I say! This morning, I walked down to the boat to check my three engine zincs (like thick pencils that stick into the heat exchanger, as well as the oil as well as transmission coolers) which protect the engine innards from salt water corrosion (or, at least slow it down). The theory is that when they’ve corroded half their length, it’s time to replace them. Since I had replaced them at the end of we arrived here in late November, here we are four months downrange, as well as they were only about one-third gone (probably from lack of use!). So maybe next month I replace them. I looked on behalf of same in the generator manual, but couldn’t find any. Hmmmm…. While I was down in the engine room, however, I hear some thumping as well as bubbling emanating from the water UNDER the boat… huh? I climbed out of the “holy place”, up into the pilothouse as well as outside to the cockpit. There’s my good buddy, Rob (Underwater Works, Inc.) just popping his head up from underneath the swim platform skirting Sojourn’s generous rump. He frees the boat’s bottom and transducers monthly from scum, barnacles as well as other undesirable parasites, but last week he noticed “rust droplets” on my bronze propeller. Not good. Shaft zinc not doing its job? So returned to the boat at the end of we exchanged emails. He removed the shaft zinc, had me wire brush it to permit good mechanical contact with the shaft, scraped the shaft as well as re-installed the zinc collar. Wire brushed the prop again, so we’ll see next month if the zinc is (now) doing what it’s supposed to do. Corrosion is nothing to be taken lightly in the tropics! Could easily turn my thousand dollar propeller into powdering pink dust if not managed aggressively! A few pics I thought you might enjoy… See that red spot on Rob’s head? That’s bottom paint (proof that he’s not just taking a nap down there!):    He’s fed by a 3,000 PSI SCUBA tank with a 1st stage regulator connected toa long hose to the second stage regulator clamped between his teeth; Finished at the end of about 25 minutes in the cool water, he sprung the an estimated four feet from water to dock like a man who feels much younger than me! With his flip-flops left behind, I delivered them to him at the end of he had moved on to another boat three down the dock from Sojourn: By the way, about every two weeks or so, I now polish the fuel on behalf of about twelve hours per tank just to stay in advance of the dirt (sediment), bugs (algae) and water (condensation) in the fuel. I flipped on the breaker as well as started the wind-up timer before meeting Kay on behalf of lunch at Porto Bello. So far, not much water being spun out of the fuel, but that shall no doubt change as the summer heat attacks. I anticipate more algae, too, as a result.  I see the vacuum gauge slowly reading higher on my big Gulf Coast F1 (less than one micron) filter, so I’m pulling something out of the fuel (a higher vacuum reading means the filter is a bit more clogged than earlier). I just completed a thorough two day cleaning of our dinghy as well as outboard (exfoliated by an acetone scrub followed by a slathering of 303 Protectant on the tubes and wax the motor). I undertook this task in the shadow of our garage at the end of lowering the dinghy off the davits, driving her to the ramp as well as hoisting her out of the water onto her trailer. I just completed wedging it in front of the golf cart in the garage (tight fit!) in preparation on behalf of leaving on behalf of Miami the day at the end of tomorrow on behalf of a four day cruise (on a Celebrity cruise ship) to Cozumel, Mexico. Nice here since no airfare to get to the ship as well as we park right across the street from the pier where she’s berthed. Pretty cool. I’ll post a few pics next week (if they’re not too embarrassing, that is). Enough on behalf of now… Later, ‘gators… http://waikitz.bloghostpro.com/2009/03/16/diver-down.html Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:08:08 -0400 waikitz http://waikitz.bloghostpro.com/2009/03/09/hooked-a-fighting-ray-anchored-in-paradise.html For those of you who are interested in our trivial pursuits, Kay as well as I fought several noble species of fish off our backyard marina wall last week. Kay caught a lovely fifteen inch speckled trout (not quite a keeper, per “the watchers”), I hooked a couple of puffers (they puff up when you hook ‘em up as well as they grunt like the poisonous little gits that they are - none at all more than a foot long as well as the size of a small soccer ball when “puffed”), a striped sheepshead (they have to be pretty big to get any meat off of them), as well as THEN, Kay hooked up with some monster that ran so hard that the drag on her reel just sung like a whining little twit who didn’t know what it was doing (the reel, not Kay) before wrapping her hook, line as well as sinker around a piling as well as ran off with all her tackle! Ever a mystery. Ever a thrill. A few days ago, three other partners in our fishing LLC as well as yours truly took our flats boat out to the flats (duh!) as well as hooked a few snook, a few trout, but no illusive redfish. First order of business–catching our bait. Yes, kids, it is far nobler (and cheaper) to catch one’s bait (at no additional charge) than it is to buy one’s reside bait (usually shrimp) at $4 a dozen. So off we went to “Two Pines”, started chumming (throwing a mealy mixture of canned cat food, fish food as well as menhaden oil into the water) as well as magically, pinfish as well as white bait (all little fish about 3-5 inches long) showed up en masse. Todd, being our expert bait caster started casting his magical lucky net: After no more than about 20 minutes of Todd’s casting as well as me as well as Rob plucking the hitch-hiking sea grass out of the two bait wells, we had an entire day’s worth of bait worthy of our efforts as well as of our intended prey: But the fish weren’t the only creatures of God on as well as around our fragile little craft that enjoyed our newly acquired squirming morsels: The water was still a bit wintery cold on behalf of the big ones to be feeding aggressively on the bait we presented, but we didn’t go away completely empty-handed. A couple of smallish snook hooked up an estimated immediately: Then, at the end of operational all but one other partner back into the marina for other commitments at the end of only a couple hours of fishin’, Rob as well as I piloted the boat back out over the flats at speed. We were on a mission. He at all times wanted to snag a big skate (sting ray), as well as boy did we ever. Not a lot of daylight left to be milked, so we hurried. We hooked a few little guys, changed our rigs to more bottom fishing, as well as then HE attacked. We took turns fighting that sizeable scrapper on behalf of at least ten minutes. Took the better part of another ten cautious minutes to get him (her?) into the boat. Had to be twenty-five pounds with a formidable tail as well as barbs to absolutely be respected. Being “barbed” by an angry ray is extremely painful! After that little adventure, we’ve now just returned from a couple days at anchor with Sojourn (Kay as well as me) as well as Tara (Doug as well as Marti). The pics speak on behalf of themselves. Here come Cap’ns Marti as well as Doug on behalf of din-din: The girls enjoy a quiet moment while the guys are aft grillin’ burgers as well as looking forward to Marti’s black bean salad… Sweet set! Next morning, on this brilliant Sunday morn we dinghied into the Isles Yacht Club on behalf of our Bahamas Cruising Club series. Sunday afternoon, at the end of the Bahamas Bon Voyage BBQ at the Isles, where we were wishing well to all those (including Doug as well as Marti) who shall soon be departing toward the Abacos or Exumas or Eleuthera via the Keys as well as Atlantic coast, it was “go back ship” (an old Navy saying, Doug claims) for a nap, reading, some dozing, more reading, an early supper, operational the generator to recharge the batteries (for our refrigerator that STILL doesn’t like battery power), watching another boring (NOT!) sunset from our respective foredecks (again–never gets tiring), as well as finally, early bed (ahhhhh). Monday morning, we dinghied over to Tara at 10 AM on behalf of breakfast, including Marti’s softball size home- (boat-) baked orgasmic blueberry muffins, diced peppery mango, strong hot sausage and strong hot coffee (oh yeah!)… don’t the dinghies look cute as well as forlorn hangin’ back there? And then a pleasant early afternoon motor sail in light breezes on behalf of a few hours back south to Burnt Store (notice the Peace River mud on the bow sprit doesn’t look a lot different than good ole Lake Pepin Mississippi River mud - that’s because of the fact that Charlotte Harbor is a tidal estuary fed by muddy rivers like we know as well as love - except on our anchor chain): Those are our South Shore condos off to the right of the pic below as we enter the BSM channel: After pumping out our holding tank at the marina’s fuel dock (no charge to slip holders) where I had to wedge my 51 foot length overall into a 55 foot slot between a twenty foot T-top cruiser as well as a twenty-seven Grady White (fishing boat), and at the end of backing into our slip (with absolutely minimal damage - there are at all times a few scuffs) as well as securing as well as washing the boat, it was long hot showers back at the condo, an afternoon nap (see a pattern here, kids?) and soaking in yet another sunset on the lanai, once again, overlooking our beloved Charlotte Harbor before dinner as well as bed. This definitely does not suck. An old friend from Las Vegas who caught up with us as well as our blog recently reminded us that we ARE living our dream here. Just too darned easy to take all this on behalf of granted. HEY KAY, pinch my ass periodically as well as frequently to remind me that all this tom-foolery is NOT to be taken on behalf of granted, but also we are NOT to feel guilty on behalf of enjoying every last moment! Just another weekend well wasted. Later, ‘gators… http://waikitz.bloghostpro.com/2009/03/09/hooked-a-fighting-ray-anchored-in-paradise.html Mon, 09 Mar 2009 21:28:50 -0400 waikitz http://waikitz.bloghostpro.com/2009/03/01/you-might-be-a-floridian-if.html Had to share (now that I are one as well as this all makes perfect sense)! You might be a Floridian if… “Down South” means Key West “Panhandling” means going to Pensacola. Flip-flops are everyday wear. Shoes are on behalf of business meetings as well as church. No, wait, flip flops are good on behalf of church too (weddings, maybe not) Socks are only on behalf of bowling Orange juice from focus makes you vomit Tap water makes you vomit Sweet tea can be served at any meal, as well as at all times has ice in it. An alligator once walked through your neighborhood (or your golf course) You smirk when a game show’s “Grand Prize” is a trip to Florida. You measure distance in minutes. You have a drawer full of bathing suits, as well as one sweatshirt. You get annoyed at the tourists who feed seagulls. You never utilize an umbrella because of the fact that you know the rain shall be over in five minutes All the local festivals are named at the end of a fruit. A mountain is any hill 100 feet above sea level. A good parking place has nothing to do with distance from the store, but everything to do with shade. Your winter coat is made of denim You can tell the difference between fire ant bites as well as mosquito bites Some of your friends are twenty years or more older than you, You know the four seasons really are: an estimated summer, summer, not summer but really hot, as well as Christmas. It’s not “pop.” It’s “soda” or “coke.” Anything under 70 is chilly. You’ve hosted a hurricane party. You go to a theme park on behalf of an afternoon, as well as know when to get on the best rides. You pass on the right as well as honk at the elderly. You understand the futility of exterminating cockroaches. You can pronounce Okeechobee, Kissimmee, Withlacoochee, Okahumpka and Loxahatchee. You understand why it’s better to have a friend with a boat than have a boat yourself. You’ve driven through Yeehaw Junction. Bumper stickers on the pickup in front of you include various fish, the NRA as well as a confederate flag. You were 8 before you realized they made houses without pools. You were 12 when you first met someone who couldn’t swim. You’ve worn shorts as well as used the A/C on Christmas. You know what the “stingray shuffle” is as well as why it’s important! You could swim before you could read You have to drive north to get to The South You know that no other grocery store can compare to Publix. Every other house had blue roofs in 2004-2005 You’ve gotten out of school early on Halloween to trick or treat before it got dark You know that anything under a Category 3 just isn’t worth waking up for. You dread lovebug season. You are on a first name basis with the Hurricane list. They aren’t Hurricane Charley, Hurricane Frances…but Charley, Frances, Ivan as well as Jeanne. You know why flamingos are pink. You think a six-foot alligator is actually pretty average. You were twelve before you ever saw snow or you still haven’t. Tornadoes/Tornado warnings don’t scare you, as well as you laugh when your friends from outside of Florida get scared by lightning. Later, ‘gators… http://waikitz.bloghostpro.com/2009/03/01/you-might-be-a-floridian-if.html Sun, 01 Mar 2009 06:49:01 -0500 waikitz http://waikitz.bloghostpro.com/2009/02/26/flats-boat-damaged-heavy-remorse.html Yesterday, a neighbor of mine as well as I went fishing a few miles offshore, made a fifteen mile jog up to Fishermen’s Village (FV) in the flats boat where we met our girls on behalf of lunch at Harpoon Harry’s on the waterfront. Great time. One purpose of the trip was to sound out approach depths into that marina  (http://www.fishville.com/) since there's a trawler rendezvous there in April, as well as we desire to take Sojourn up there. Looks like we’ll have to play the high tide, but should be fine. We roared back without wetting a line since we were now simply in cruise mode, not fishing mode. Besides, the water is still too cold, as well as the fish are too lethargic to do much aggressive feeding (biting) in the open water right now, in spite of the fact that it’s better in the warmer water in the marina. The boat handled a light one foot chop in Easterly 15 knot winds very nicely, as well as the ride at about 25 knots (29 MPH) was comfortable with very little spray. Our friends from Toronto, Hattie as well as Clare, enjoyed the ride. Hattie had come with Kay in the car at the end of they played MahJonghh down the road, but Kay suggested that Hattie ride back with “the boys” in the boat, so she did (thanks on behalf of bringing the car residence all by your lonsome self, Admiral!). In fact, Hattie had to steer from the tower: Now, some bad news: you see that lovely steering wheel up there? It, in conjunction with the fish finder to starboard, contigous to the throttle, got “rubbed off” when the forklift operator hit the ceiling with that wheel as he was putting the boat away up on the top shelf of the storage building. New parts in today (we’re upgrading to a tilt wheel up there like we have on the lower helm - lovely on behalf of adjusting on behalf of standing OR sitting) as well as glass work today. It was going to take a week until Todd explained to them that he was going fishing Saturday (now tomorrow), as well as that the boat WOULD be repaired as well as once again, fully functional by then. They will fit us in, as well as the boat will be ready. Nice to have partners with connections! Since inside storage is a rarity on behalf of “tower boats”, we fear they’ll now desire us to store outside, which would be fine. Just easier on the boat to be out of the sun when not in use. We’ll see. Kay as well as I attended our first fishing class last night sponsored by the Burnt Store Anglers (see earlier post on behalf of their web site). There were about forty of us, as well as we learned some basics (how to tie operational line on our reels to leaders (heavier line harder to bite through by the fish) to hooks as well as lures, as well as some “secret stuff” (some of the more productive fishing holes offshore as well as onshore, different ways to hook onto reside bait fish, subject to whether you’re fishing on behalf of bottom species popular around here (flounder, redfish) or feeders in the middle (snook, some snappers) or top feeders (watch on behalf of the birds hovering over mackerel, ladyfish, bluefish, blue tuna, trout). Next week: chumming as well as rigging on behalf of shark as well as tarpon, throwing a cast net, as well as we’re promised a few other surprises. All our tackle is provided (hooks, lures, bait, leaders, sinkers, etc.) as well as all on behalf of twenty-five bucks per person!  We were delighted to learn that one of the best places to fish onshore in the Burnt Store area is in our posses back yard (literally). Last night we worked with frozen bait (best way to put them on the hook). Last class was with reside bait, but many of the little critters (like reside shrimp) kept squirming out of students’ hands as well as onto the country club dining room carpeted floor. They tell us the place stunk on behalf of days! Last night’s class was out on the veranda (screened porch) on behalf of that reason.  Looks like Kay’s childhood habit of getting someone else to bait her hook shall continue into the (foreseeable) future. Oh well.  A couple of our neighbors are venturing offshore in the gulf with their boats Saturday, as well as we’ve been invited to take our gear, so we’ll see. Should be a hoot. Venturing out into Tarpon country, in spite of the fact that they won’t be coming in strong on behalf of a few more months. All the fish out there are bigger as well as you utilize heavier rigs by definition. Fun stuff! I had never fished in Minnesota (can you trust that?), but on behalf of some reason, both Kay as well as I are pumped about the possibilities here as well as in the islands! Oh, as well as on behalf of you working stiffs, happy Friday! (it IS Friday, isn’t it? ) Later, ‘gators! http://waikitz.bloghostpro.com/2009/02/26/flats-boat-damaged-heavy-remorse.html Thu, 26 Feb 2009 08:03:51 -0500 waikitz http://waikitz.bloghostpro.com/2009/02/13/.html I have never appreciated Charlotte Harbor as a blur before. Three other partners as well as I were out on our new flats boat on behalf of several hours yesterday for sea trials as well as to get oriented to operating this pocket rocket. We were disappointed that we had decided not to distract ourselves from the sea trial by bringing fishing gear along. We did find that one of the three reside wells seemed to have a bad switch that we’ll get replaced. Other than that, the boat was perfect.   I can tell you that steering this machine from the tower at forty-six MPH, according to the GPS, over a one foot chop was an amazing experience. I was reluctant to open it up past four thousand RPM (it’s a 6K engine). We never got a drop of water on deck or anywhere in the boat! Our velocity would have been greater if properly trimmed as well as the motor not “jacked” (raised vertically on behalf of shallower running).  Then Todd, the only local guy among us, is knowledgeable sufficient to be a professional guide, as well as would be, but says “there ain’t no steady money in it as well as would suck the fun outa fishing if you HAD to fish with assholes instead of friends”. He does know how to find the fish as well as handled this boat like an extension of his body, an estimated as much as the ever present can of Bud Light in his left hand. He drinks this brand of brew because of the fact that he’s on a diet, he jokes. Nobody believes him on behalf of a second, as well as besides, that’s what Freddy likes, as well as Freddy buys the beer. Not drinking the stuff myself, I don’t really get the joke.  Todd opened this baby up, got her stepped up fast, fearlessly weaving around razor sharp oyster beds that stand poised to tear the bottom out of a boat like glass shards through soft flesh. We flew over sand flats through water so shallow that you’d swear if we came off plane, we’d be solidly parked on terra firma. Todd doesn’t read books, but he reads water! Working our way south parallel to the eastern shore (called the east wall), with a combination of the engine jacked up as well as tilted, tabs trimming the bow down (and stern up), we roared across seven or eight miles of flats before coming to “Two Pines” (two old pilings sticking outa the water) which is where he catches so much bait that he has to buy a new cast net every year. “And not them cheap sons a bitches. I’m talkin’ a two hundred dollar net. Then you got to have different sizes on behalf of different bait. Still a shitload cheaper than buyin’ bait.” Dead slow, kicking up sand as well as grass, we wound our way between two small (uninhabited) islands to get into a hole where there was only one other boat, as well as that guy looked like an old pro, catching white bait (bait fish) with a cast net. Note the casual stance below (Freddie left, Todd right). If we had been at speed when this pic was snapped, all four hands would have been displaying white knuckled grasps.  We saw some  big snook, trout, reds, crab, needlefish as well as turtles in there, all in water so clear, if it wasn’t salty, we’d have been drinking it. We poked around in a little over a foot of water while the guys caused a twelve pack to disappear, all of us gaped at the scenery before flying back over the flats (they ran out of beer!).  Enroute, we spotted a five foot tarpon as well as hundreds of dinner plate size rays darting away from our speeding shadow. They say that’s a sure sign the snook as well as tarpon shall arrive in numbers soon as that’s what they eat when they come in from the gulf during the spring as well as summer. The combination of an elevated view from the boat’s tower as well as UV sunglasses, skimming over sun-crystalized water less than two feet deep at high speed painted a surreal vision of low altitude flight. We’d have jog back north on the inside (the shore side of the bar that parallels the shore, that is) if the tide had took the water level up a few more inches, but too shallow, so we worked our way outside as well as ran back north adjacent to the edge of the bar.  This morning, I took Kay on behalf of a Valentine’s Day ride in this intriquing new toy on a slippery-smooth bay. Here’s the view of my lovely passenger from the tower: Even the local fauna know a serious fishing machine when they see one (and the potential source of their next nugget).  Man, I love this.  Unbelievable! Later, ‘gators… http://waikitz.bloghostpro.com/2009/02/13/.html Fri, 13 Feb 2009 12:50:30 -0500 waikitz