Blowin' Around
2009 New Year For Sailing
As the fog of fatty foods, late nights and rum fades away from my brain, I realize that the end of the holidays has arrived and it’s time to get back to sailing. With all the parties, shopping and visitors these past two weeks, I’ve barely found enough time to hose the bird duke off Mariola, let [...]
PyratSail Gets Snubbed In The Dissing
I’m so bummed. The owner or some author on another sailing website got a bee in their bonnet the other day and summarily dissed almost every other sailing website in existence. Except us. That hurt. We’re not good enough to get slammed - but maybe we fall into the group ”blogosphuck” - at least I think. Below [...]
A Sailboat Left To Die
About a month ago, there was a new arrival to the small fleet of sailboats anchored in Boca Ciega Bay. From a distance she looked like a beauty - as we sailed closer, it was obvious this boat was destined to become the next premier derelict in the bay. I assume, and with a nod to the “make an ass [...]
Going Up The Mast - It’s Scary
I was born a poor Ohio flat-lander. Just outside of Toledo in the quiet (read BORING) town of Swanton. This area is so flat - not a hill or slope for 50 miles - that I was denied any kind of winter sledding as a child, destroying my chances of becoming a world-class luger. I used to cry when [...]
Towing Insurance - Better Get It.
There is a lot of safety and backup gear that I won’t leave the dock without - fire extinguishers, all the spare rope I can jam in the lazzarette, emergency rum, etc. Above all (o.k. not the rum) is my BoatUS towing membership card. I’m not pimping for BoatUS here. I have it for peace of mind and because I’m a cheapskate. A tow without insurance [...]
Poker Run Is All Fun
This Saturday the Sarasota Sailing Squadron hosted the Sailmonster 2008 Poker Run - A Wind Only Deal. Eight sailboats sailed (no motors) a course of five stations to pick up one card at each station. Some boats had more than one “player” aboard, so they picked up more than one card. The event had perfect weather with a lot of wind [...]
Party In Your Stomach
Gets good after the first minute of “goat guy” stuff.
Solar Power Game-Changer
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have discovered and demonstrated a new method for overcoming two major hurdles facing solar energy. By developing a new antireflective coating that boosts the amount of sunlight captured by solar panels and allows those panels to absorb the entire solar spectrum from nearly any angle, the research team has moved [...]
Yanmar 2QM20 Diesel Maintenance
We aquired our 1980 Morgan 323 Mariola (then El Caribe) in June of this year. Among some of the many discoveries during the last few months, one was that our salt water cooled Yanmar 2QM20 diesel engine had anti-corrosion zincs that require replacing. When we purchased the boat it was in decent shape but you [...]
Gecko Fest 2008, Gulfport Florida
Gecko Fest 2008, two words - humid & wet. It rained, sprinkled, the breeze stopped and all the street partiers were treated to a steam bath Pinellas County style. Considering the tsunami conditions, the turnout was decent and the attendees sucked it up and had fun. Our crew arrived by car (just too miserably rainy [...]
Course Correction
After a little bit of thinkin’ and drinkin’, I’ve decided to change the course of this website from sailing and exploring the Tampa Bay area to sailing in all parts of the country (or even world). After all, why would somebody in Maine want to only read about Tampa Bay? Yes, according to web stats there’s a reader [...]
Whew???
It may still be too close to call, but the word is that Tampa Bay will be spared any bad stuff from Tropical Storm Fay. Hope all others further south are spared as well and there will be minimal damage if any. These storms are nerve-wrackers.
I spent 3-4 hours Sunday and another 3 Monday morning [...]
A Mooring Field in Boca Ciega Bay?
Does Boca Ciega need a mooring field? While talking to one of the guys at the Gulfport Marina a few weeks ago, he commented that they need a mooring field in the bay, but that it didn’t look like it would happen. Today, in a post on Sailmonster, someone commented about a possible mooring field [...]
Back to “Work”
The Fourth of July holiday week is over and it’s back to work and boat repairs. In between all the thunderstorms/downpours that have been hitting the Gulfport area, there have been a few completed boat projects with many more stacked up in the que. But first, a quick recap of the Fourth!
Based on a clear weather window, a [...]
Lats & Atts Jumped The Shark?
I’m sort of bummed out. My favorite monthly mailbox arrival used to be Latitudes and Attitudes magazine. I would start flipping through it before I even made it back into house, and usually have the entire mag read within a few days. Now when it arrives, I sort of breeze through it and then consign [...]
Morgan Repairs - Stove, Fuel Fill & New Head
Completed a few repairs on the new Boat. First was the fuel fill. There was a PVC elbow (not legal) coming out of the tank to some conglomeration of bronze unio and pvc. It seemed to have pulled out or not been put together properly. This all happens under the sink so it’s not too difficult to work on. I discovered [...]
Farewell and Adieu Nola
Our great little Nola sailed out of Gulfport Marina May 31st, bound for Marathon FL. At the helm was Emil, an experienced sailor, taking her away to his friend in the Keys who had bought her. We had unmeasureable amounts of fun and memories on that boat and we’ll miss her a lot. The crew and [...]
My Dinghy Don’t Work
Ug - I got this used dinghy for $100 and was told it had a slow leak in one of the pontoons. So far I’m up to 9 patched pinholes, scrapes and abrasions. I quickly ran out of the six inch square rubber patch material and gummy sticky stuff from a $40 patch repair kit [...]
All Systems Go For The Morgan
The sea trial/survey went well on Saturday. Surveyor found no big surprises, just minor “normal” boat repairs. Boat seemed sound and motor ran o.k. Passengers aboard were the Broker, Surveyor, Owner, Cannonball, Rumhead and the Admiral. The actual sea trial took place out in the Gulf for about 20 minutes or so. Wind was only about [...]
Parker-Dawson 26 Center Cockpit SOLD!
Great shallow draft island hopping weekend boat! This 26′ center cockpit boat is in good sailing condition and has given us hours of pleasure over the last three years. It’s just time to move up to something that can hold more gear and people for a week or longer.
Attack of The Maintenance Monster
IT happened again. It, being an incredible day of sailing tarnished by a mechanical breakdown. These breakdowns don’t bother me too much, but each one decreases my chances of coaxing the crew back out on the water. The day was Thursday April 3rd, one day before my 39th birthday and impending mid-life crisis. As a [...]
Out Of Zone Experiences
Every so often I need to remind myself that sailing is forever bound to one of the strongest, most unpredictable forces of nature and that yes, it causes trouble most of the time. A rocking boat, waves, getting blown across the marina when the motor stalls - all of these things don’t happen to me [...]
All For Me Blog
Welcome. This blog is all things sail, with the main focus of providing first hand information about sailing in the Tampa Bay area, using my two boats. One, a 1974 Parker-Dawson Center Cockpit and a smaller, Penobscot 14 that I’m currently building. Supporting cast will include pictures, video and just a little bit about rum. Cheers and enjoy!
