tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51618505716946673042024-02-06T18:55:54.844-08:00The On Board LifeDarrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-28956281984339227042019-03-29T06:30:00.001-07:002019-03-29T06:33:22.619-07:00<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">#skipperdarrell #trawlercruising</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Let's Get Reacquainted</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Greetings! I'm Darrell Grob and I want to welcome you back to The </span>On Board<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Life and Why Knot Great Lakes Grand Tour blogs, two different blogs about our boating life. And since you had at one time subscribed to one of these two blogs, you actually had subscribed to both. Ain't life grand? The purpose of this entry is to reacquaint you with them and fill in the spaces about how I want to share our trawler cruising lifestyle with you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The On Board Life (TOBL) <a href="http://www.theonboardlife.com/">www.theonboardlife.com</a> is dedicated to the trawler cruising lifestyle in general. We're living the dream and loving the lifestyle. Posts can be about anything having to do with big boats (sail and power), marinas, destinations, opinions, reviews, or any other subject having to do with trawler cruising.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Why Knot Great Lakes Grand Tour (WKGLGT) <a href="http://www.whyknotgreatlakesgrandtour.com/">www.whyknotgreatlakesgrandtour.com</a> is the log, chronicle and record of our current boating adventure, a 5+ year exploration of The Great Lakes, North America's fresh water treasure. It's our greatest adventure yet, and you're on the crew.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJut9UbRgwnqXhLfUWJ5lc1VXnx79vwj4_3t8ZySRIkZtWl5Jz_P-GP2WEtfbOYxQT-VMPxdvhwAFxopP2dd2lV07M_eTwKg1OGFNqtVnX5petNM6qOoKKo0r2n3ebtmcicMFxwnSg5GU/s1600/subscribe+panel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJut9UbRgwnqXhLfUWJ5lc1VXnx79vwj4_3t8ZySRIkZtWl5Jz_P-GP2WEtfbOYxQT-VMPxdvhwAFxopP2dd2lV07M_eTwKg1OGFNqtVnX5petNM6qOoKKo0r2n3ebtmcicMFxwnSg5GU/s320/subscribe+panel.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With these two blogs, you'll be able to keep track of not only our routes and destinations, with a plethora of pictures and videos to boot, but also stay abreast of boating issues and interests. It's a fun combination.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, on top of all that, there is also the TOBL/WKGLGT YouTube channel that has dozens of videos about every aspect of our trawler cruising life. You need to subscribe to that. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/c/TheOnBoardLife">http://www.youtube.com/c/TheOnBoardLife</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm a Pinterest fanatic too. I'm also on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram. Here are the links.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Website and blog - <a href="http://www.whyknotgreatlakesgrandtour.com/">http://www.whyknotgreatlakesgrandtour.com/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.theonboardlife.com/">http://www.theonboardlife.com/</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Facebook - Skipper Darrell <a href="https://goo.gl/5D2cqu">https://goo.gl/5D2cqu</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Twitter - @skipperdarrell <a href="https://twitter.com/SkipperDarrell">https://twitter.com/SkipperDarrell</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Instagram <a href="https://goo.gl/SqLsx7">https://goo.gl/SqLsx7</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Pinterest <a href="https://goo.gl/BBxjQa">https://goo.gl/BBxjQa</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Also, just to go totally overboard, you can also search #skipperdarrell on any of the platforms and find my content. #skipperdarrell</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“But Skipper Darrell,” you ask, “why are you doing all this?”</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPaRC42pNUqzCAXYDM8viAjvNllvWbQ4jV3PtWNBZ8_hxCn10Tv-7erUVFf35uIPMakDCqwr5PWKteyb_6GMSkr70UXWbft2lPp0uAhlIbEkrRyn4Y-FoJFOZaZE793TC89bcwhDzV6Yo/s1600/OVERDRESSED.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="485" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPaRC42pNUqzCAXYDM8viAjvNllvWbQ4jV3PtWNBZ8_hxCn10Tv-7erUVFf35uIPMakDCqwr5PWKteyb_6GMSkr70UXWbft2lPp0uAhlIbEkrRyn4Y-FoJFOZaZE793TC89bcwhDzV6Yo/s200/OVERDRESSED.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Simple. It's because I'm crazy. But Admiral Lisa and I want to share our experiences with everyone. And after several years of emphasizing make videos, I decided I liked writing the blogs more. But there will still be videos, but not as complex as they have been recently. (They're hard work!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, if you'd like to remain a subscriber to the blogs, you don't have to do anything else. You're in. If you want to unsubscribe, click the unsubscribe link in the subscription reminder you received. But do subscribe to the YouTube channel and friend me on Facebook. (I'm very sensitive, and if you don't like me or subscribe, I'll be crushed. Really. My eyes are tearing up already.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Here's a bunch of keywords.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">great loop, great loop map, live aboard a boat, live aboard boats, liveaboard, liveaboard boater, liveaboard boats, liveaboard cruising stories, liveaboard marina florida, liveaboard sailboat, liveaboard trawler, skipper darrell, the great loop, the great loop boats, trawler, trawler cruising, trawler for sale, trawler liveaboard, trawler yachts</span></div>
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Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-74825779080209401442018-05-26T02:44:00.001-07:002018-05-26T02:44:15.078-07:00Marina Review – Port Royal Landing Marina (SC) 2018 New<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans, Arial, sans-serif;">This is another marina review on the On Board Life. Using the </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">N D S, A A, P P marina analysis model, I'll fill you in on what my experience was. </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>The views expressed are strictly my own.</u></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans, Arial, sans-serif;">Let's be clear on two things that do not influence what I think about a marina.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans, Arial, sans-serif;">1 - I don't consider if a marina has nice people working at it, or how special they are. It's not that I don't think it's important; it very much is. To be frank, I built my entire working career out of developing successful people as part of working teams in corporate environments. Damn straight it's important. But most people are predisposed to do a good job, thus most marinas now have nice people working at them. It's expected. It's the norm. It's unremarkable. What is news is the marina that has crusty, mean-spirited, non-caring, incompetent, ineffective people working there. They're the ones that influence what I think of someplace.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans, Arial, sans-serif;">2 - Dock condition, especially things like cleats and the docks that face the boats. Again, most marinas are in good enough shape that you don't have to worry about what the condition of the docks and cleats are. It's expected. It's the norm. It's unremarkable. What is important to report is when a dock is in bad repair, the planks are falling apart, the electrical power is bad, and there are exposed pieces of hardware that may damage fiberglass. </span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;">So, what about Port Royal Landing Marina? We only stayed there one full day other than the days we arrived and departed. What's the deal with them?</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lovely clubhouse</td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;">N: Navigability</b><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;"> – Along the ICW magenta line a mile south of Beaufort; we can see it from our deck. Watch the currents. Very competent dock hands ready to help you get tied up.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans, Arial, sans-serif;"><b>D: Dockage</b> <b>–</b> Big, long, transient facing dock. Plenty of depth. Like I said above, watch the currents when pulling in or out. It is noteworthy that they have had to make extensive repairs after Hurricane Irma, and the results of their efforts are very good indeed. It does all kind of stick out in the open and gets blown around some. There's wave and wake exposure too.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans, Arial, sans-serif;"><b>S: Services –</b> Gasoline, diesel, pump-out at the fuel dock as well as along the facing dock. I can't speak about the availability of technical service at the marina or elsewhere in the area, but I'm guessing if you need to get something fixed on your boat, there's someone in the area who can fix it.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big center pier</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans, Arial, sans-serif;"><b>A: Amenities –</b> The clubhouse and office are in a park-like setting with lots of outdoor seating. It's pleasant. They have a nicely stocked little store at the office. Full boater shower and bathrooms that were clean and serviceable. Beaufort is a lovely town with everything you need. There's a West Marine 0.7 miles away. Wifi was variable; sometimes it was white-hot, sometimes not so much.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans, Arial, sans-serif;"><b>A: Accessibility –</b> They have a FREE LOANER CAR! It's a four-door Dodge pickup truck with a sort-of covered bed. (It's got a cover, but I don't think it works.) The truck is in good condition, but you do have to pull on the driver's door smartly to open or close it. Bike riding is also an option. There are stores, especially a West Marine, less than a mile from the marina.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans, Arial, sans-serif;"><b>P: Provisioning –</b> Plenty of grocery stores to choose from: Publix, Piggly-Wiggly, Walmart, more. Beaufort is a large community with all the usual accouterments. Piggly-Wiggly is the closest.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's our boat down at the end.</td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;">P: Price – </b><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;">There's a conflict of information. Their published transient rate on Active Captain is $2.25 per foot. Their website says $2.25 per foot also, but they also say it's $2.00 per foot with discounts for MTOA, AC, AGLCA, Boat US, etc. Electricity is extra. Confused? They charged us $1.75 per foot.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans, Arial, sans-serif;">They get my recommendation, but they do miss out of my highest acclamation because they don't have a swimming pool. (Remember the Big Three: New, near-new, or like-new condition, pump-out at the slip, a pool.) There is pump-out along the transient dock, and they have obviously taken advantage of Hurricane Irma to make significant improvements to their facility. Everything is freshly painted and clean. The boater bathrooms are clean and well-kept. They have a nice little lounge in the office. There's a full-service restaurant right there. When we walked up the massive aluminum center-pier, the flowers that were all around the well-groomed lot were in full bloom. I was told that they are starting some kind of renovation to the entire facility in September, 2018. Everything is up-to-date and inviting. Beaufort is a bustling town with lots to see. The downtown area is quaint. It feels Southern, and that makes perfect sense since, you know, it's in the lowcountry of South Carolina. </span></span>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans, Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Verdict – </b>Good marina in a good location. Lovely in all regards. Not a resort but nice enough. It's a good stop.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Random Thoughts</b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;">Damn, their center aluminum pier is massive.</span></div>
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Did you<span style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;"> know Beaufort is the kazoo capital of America?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;">Seriously, the variable wifi connectivity was a mystery. Sometimes we got a big, fat nothin', and other times we could connect and stream easily.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans, Arial, sans-serif;">I've stopped giving out stars. Too many people got their noses out of joint. But I'm not giving up on not giving into the hype about some marinas that are not top tier facilities! If it deserves my raves I won't hesitate to say so. But if a marina is just a convenient place to tie up, I'll tell you that too.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Please, make sure you CONNECT WITH ME!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">You can get more information about our On Board Life at these links:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Website and blog - <a href="https://goo.gl/abkRx8%20">https://goo.gl/abkRx8 </a></span></span>
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Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-32725296530191484412018-05-20T04:52:00.002-07:002018-05-20T05:00:39.613-07:00Marina Review – Harbour Town Yacht Basin (Hilton Head Island, SC) 2018 New<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Welcome to another marina review on the On Board Life. Using the </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">N D S, A A, P P marina analysis model, I'll break down what you can expect when you make the marinas I'll be reviewing this season your destinations also. </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>The views expressed are strictly my own.</u></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">In my opinion, a five-star marina must have, at least, these three characteristics: </span></span>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">1) It must be in new, near-new, or like-new condition. It doesn't have to be new, but there must be an obvious effort and investment in maintenance, upkeep, and upgrading.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">2) It must have pump-out at the slip either by a direct installed, marine sanitation system or by some other accommodation such as a pump-out boat. </span></span> </div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">3) It must have a swimming pool – that's just my thing. I like to swim. </span></span> </div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">A five-star marina must be exceptional. Harbour Town Yacht Basin at the Sea Pines resort at Hilton Head Island in South Carolina checks those things off very nicely. But what about the rest of it? </span></span>
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<b style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></b> <b style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;">N: Navigability</b><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> – On Hilton Head Island a short cruise from either Savannah or Beaufort. </span>Its<span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> entrance is on the side facing Calibogue Sound. You pretty much pass it when you pass through the sound on the ICW. The entrance to the marina has a large lighthouse at it. You can't miss it. Plenty of water around the entrance. Pay attention to the current that sweeps past the entrance.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We were tucked in at the back of the marina. Less foot traffic.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><b>D: Dockage</b> <b>–</b> This is a big-boat marina with large slips and facing docks. (There are only a couple of runabouts tied up here.) The odd thing is that the basin and dockage are circular in shape which makes for some interesting-shaped basins to maneuver in. We're all used to docks and thoroughfares that are configured at 90-degree angles. This will make your brain twitch for a moment when you first arrive. The staff, though, is johnny-on-the-spot to help get you tied up. There are a couple of tour boats that pull out of the marina's entrance but are not a factor back in the dockage area. This marina is a great storm hole – we were there when each day's forecast was for winds and thunderstorms. The thunderstorms never materialized, but the winds were out there. We never felt a thing. </span></span>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The public pier at the entrance.</td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;">S: Services –</b><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> Gasoline, diesel, pump-out at the fuel dock as well as a free pump-out boat to service your vessel in its slip. They do allow technicians on the premises, but they would prefer you use one of their preferred technicians. I was told they want any work done to “be contained in the vessel.” Their preferred technicians know this as well as the marina's other restrictions. Fyi, there is a West Marine on the island, but it's at the opposite end of the island from the marina. See accessibility below.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from our sun deck.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><b>A: Amenities –</b> It's Sea Pines Resort, fer-cry-yi-yi! Remember at the beginning when I said that a marina must be in new, near-new, or like-new condition to be considered as a 5-star marina, IMHO? As you would expect for Sea Pines, the marina is in great condition. The lighthouse area of the resort is busy, busy, busy with tourists visiting the shops and restaurants, but most of the boat slips are on the opposite end of the marina from there, where there is less foot traffic. It has a secured laundry and bathroom/shower facility. Wifi is excellent. There is a pump-out boat service that is free for those staying at the marina. Marina guests have access to all of the resort's amenities too: golf, tennis, swimming pool (Yay!) restaurants, nature trails, concerts, stores (lots of them), and everything else there is to enjoy at this world-class resort. There are a couple of small food markets but no grocery store; they want you to eat in their restaurants, which, by the way, are reasonably priced. No pickleball, dang it. And all that's just in Sea Pines resort; the rest of Hilton Head Island is jammed packed with other attractions. However, I think it's fair to say that the rest of the island is just like any other modern American suburb with all the stores, restaurants, and services you'd find anywhere else. It's pretty though.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the resort's destinations. On the beach.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><b>A: Accessibility –</b> Okay, this is a mixed bag. In the resort, your transportation needs are pretty much covered. There are free trolleys (the Blue and Green lines) that connect the major resort areas. The extensive bike path system is crazy-good, and there are bikes available to rent (we used our own). But things get more difficult once you're outside of the resort gates. There are taxis, Uber, and Lyft, but I couldn't find anything like a local bus service. Keep this in mind; the resort and marina are, as far as it matters, at one end of the island. Everything else is towards the middle or the other end of the island. So, the basic rule to remember about accessibility is this: Inside the resort – no problem. Outside the resort – problem.</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;">P: Provisioning –</b><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> It's a challenge … or maybe not. There are a dozen or so full-service grocery stores outside the resort. Plenty of choices – Piggly Wiggly to Bi-Lo to Wholefoods. As noted above, accessibility outside of the resort is a challenge: Inside the resort – no problem. Outside the resort – problem. Uber seems to be the best option, but that's pricey. The nearest full-service grocery store to the marina is a Harris Teeter store 3.5 miles away from the marina just outside of the resort gate. Do you want to ride your bike that far? Now, there is a partial but pretty much unsatisfactory solution to this that is provided by the resort. Only during the summer there is a Red trolley line up and running. It goes from the lighthouse almost all the way to the gate, and the Harris Teeter store is near the gate. But the Red trolley line only runs from 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm. What the …? Like I said, it's an unsatisfactory solution.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">In my opinion, there is an easier solution, but it requires some forethought and preplanning. It's a workaround, but it fixes everything up nice and tidy. Don't provision at Hilton Head Island. Instead of that, provision big-time at either Savannah at Isle of Hope Marina (TWO FREE LOANER CARS) coming from the south, or at Beaufort or Port Royal (the town near Beaufort, not the resort on HH island) coming from the north. Lay in groceries and supplies that you'll need during your stay at Harbour Town. If you run out of something, or you want something different than what you've provisioned for, you at least know what the deal is going in. Also, there are small food and alcohol shops around the lighthouse and elsewhere in the resort to fill in the gaps that come up. Boom. Fixed. Done. How's that for creative problem-solving? </span></span>
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"Yo, dude, I'm a goat."</div>
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<b style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;">P: Price – </b><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">This is a relatively expensive marina for the area but not as expensive as some marinas up north. The daily rate for a boat up to 49' long is $2.75 per foot. (We've paid more at times in the past, and we're certainly going to be paying more further on this summer.) The weekly rate is $2.25 per foot. Bigger boats pay higher rates. Utilities (water, electricity, pump out) is extra and expensive. They do have a monthly rate too. (For a goof we checked what the monthly rate for our boat would be: $1,500.00 per month. Yikes.) There is also a $7.00 per day Sea Pines resort access fee.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">There are lots of marinas that tout themselves as a luxury destination at even higher price points than Harbour Town that fall short of the mark. There seems to be a huge hole of some kind in their offering that negatively affects the value relationship they're projecting. The end result is you feel like you're getting gouged. Not so at Harbour Town. Let there be no doubt, it's expensive. We knew this pulling in. This was a vacation stop for us. But they delivered quality and service in abundance at every turn. The facilities are world-class and living a hoity-toity resort lifestyle is a hoot. The only drawback is accessibility outside of the resort. </span></span>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">This is not a transient destination; it's a special occasion. If you want to visit Harbour Town Yacht Basin you need to plan on spending a few days there. So, provision ahead of time, pull in, tie up, get your credit card warmed up and ready, and once you're all settled in, don't leave the resort. You don't need to.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">We enjoyed our time there. To me, Harbour Town Yacht Basin checks every box to rate this as a 5-star marina. </span></span>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Harbour Town Yacht Basin rates 5 out of 5 stars.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Note to all marina operators who might be reading this review: Do you want to be a superstar in the eyes of your marina guests? Have a map made up with all of the grocery, big-box superstores, and hardware stores on it with distances to them as per Google Maps. (Not your vehicle's odometer or how long you think it would take to get there.) Figure out this provisioning accessibility thing for us. You don't have to drive us around, but at least have a solution figured out, even if we have to walk. There was one instance where a local grocery store had a free shuttle service to and from the marina, but the marina operator didn't tell us that. We walked a mile or so to the store only to find out from a service clerk that they would have been glad to come and get us. There's an old adage in business: “Don't tell us what you can't do – tell us what you CAN do, even if it's not much.” </span></span>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">tags: marina, liveaboard boat, liveaboard boating, liveaboard sailboat, boating as a couple, living aboard a trawler, liveaboard cruiser, liveaboard boater, trawler, liveaboard, the on board life, s<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">omeday's here, boating adventures, boating websites</span></span></span></span></div>
Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-59350199437981721002018-05-13T09:15:00.000-07:002018-05-14T12:33:37.798-07:00Marina Review – Isle of Hope (2018) Brand New!<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Welcome to another marina review on the On Board Life. Using the </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">N D S, A A, P P marina analysis model, I'll break down what you can expect when you make the marinas I'll be reviewing this season your destinations also. </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">The views expressed are strictly my own.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Isle of Hope Marina is the epitome of the phrase “Location, location, location!” Just a short distance from Savannah, Georgia, it is smack dab on the ICW. It's a bit out of the way, but they have a couple of assets that make them a very good stay: TWO FREE LOANER CARS!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><b>N: Navigability</b> – On the ICW. Ya' can't miss it. Watch the tides and currents. </span></span>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><b>D: Dockage</b> <b>–</b> Big, long facing dock for transients. Very capable dock hands to help. Good power. Some of the tide swings are almost comical to watch.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><b>S: Services –</b> Gasoline, diesel, pump-out. Local technicians and divers available for repairs. If you need a boatyard, you'd probably want to go to Thunderbolt a little way further north.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><b>A: Amenities –</b> It's rustic but maintained. As my father would have said, “It needs a bucket of paint.” The gravel parking lot is dusty. There are two shower/toilets open 24 hours with a pass card. This same pass card is also used for dock gate security. It's all clean, as well as it can be. The entire facility is aged but hasn't quite reached that tipping point where you would say it's “old”. There's one clothes washer and dryer: cost is $2.00 each. There is a laundromat, drug store, coffee shop, and convenience store 1.25 miles away. The wifi is so-so at best, at least where we were at the north end of the dock. There's a covered, outdoor pavilion. The marina staff is young, enthusiastic, and very helpful. You have to go to downtown Savannah at least once while you're there. There are also some decent restaurants nearby; try Driftaways seafood restaurant especially. Jalapenos is good too. About the cars: They are older Hondas, but they work, that's all; don't expect anything fancy. No pool or lounge. If you like to take walks, Isle of Hope (the community) is a lovely area to see with beautiful homes and vistas. Wormsloe Plantation is a bike ride away.</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;">A: Accessibility –</b><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> Other than the above mentioned lovely walks around Isle of Hope you need a car. TWO FREE LOANER CARS available for 2-hours at a time. </span>Enterprise<span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> may or may not pick you up here. It depends on how busy they are at their office at the time. There are Uber and Lyft. No public transportation to the marina.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><b>P: Provisioning –</b> There are several grocery stores in the area. There's also a Walmart Super Center 2.0 miles away (the closest grocery store to the marina). Plenty of choices. And with you being able to borrow one of the TWO FREE LOANER CARS for up to two hours, you can go grocery shopping and run errands without feeling under pressure. As with any borrowed loaner car from anywhere, always get it back on time. There is always a waiting list. There is also a West Marine in Savannah 4.8-ish miles away. All the big box stores are there also. Savannah is a “city”, not a “town”, and you can likely find what you need. The road system is confusing; have your driving navigator app on and warmed up. Skidaway Road is the large road that goes to and from the marina and connects with just about every other main road.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><b>P: Price – </b>Their published transient price is $1.98 per foot. They also have weekly and monthly rates. Is that high? Hard to say. I think what you're paying for at IOH is access to their location, location, location and the two free loaner cars. Seriously, they're that good of a feature. </span></span>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">The bottom line is that you stop at Isle of Hope Marina because you very likely have to. It's 95-ish miles or so from Brunswick, St. Simons Island, or Jekyll Island south, and things get fairly scarce north of there until Charleston. Savannah is cool, but the marina is hardly a destination unto itself other than as a pit stop. You probably need a break, need to pump out, and probably need to provision. Isle of Hope is at the right place at the right time for that. It's like a handful of other marinas on the AICW (Coinjock and Barefoot come to mind off the top of my head.) that are in a perfect location. Isle of Hope is not a 5-star marina, or even a 4-star. It's a good, reliable, perfectly located 3-star marina. I'm going to resist the temptation of using the TWO FREE LOANER CARS to push it to a 4-star, though the case could be made to do so. It's such a unique feature and benefit that it kind of exists on its own. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">By the way, did I mention they have TWO FREE LOANER CARS!? </span></span>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Isle of Hope Marina gets three out of five stars. </span></span>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">tags: marina, liveaboard boat, liveaboard boating, liveaboard sailboat, boating as a couple, living aboard a trawler, liveaboard cruiser, liveaboard boater, trawler, liveaboard, the on board life, s<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">omeday's here, boating adventures, boating websites</span></span></span></span></div>
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Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-36767018905784351512018-05-10T11:11:00.000-07:002018-05-10T11:11:14.836-07:00Marina Review – Brunswick Landing Marina (2018) Brand New!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Welcome to another marina review on the On Board Life. Using the N D S, A A, P P marina analysis model, I'll break down what you can expect when you make the marinas I'll be reviewing this season your destinations also. The views expressed are strictly my own. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm not sure what my expectations of Brunswick Landing Marina were exactly, but I feel like they haven't been met. I guess I expected the marina to be good, and it certainly was. But I didn't expect the town itself to be such a dud. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX2e2ORbNBNoZjBPdjjZhQA2uaLGu-UcoUOCUun96jYcsWRU6AawlzFH0p-XsUGsaOb9wo8L0ZK0HaJbysoFKOXzdLI39DoGUQTx7JUxQHr1Nwzss3XENm-6dowPFh179WpDrk6dbKxbE/s1600/IMG_20180507_092222.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX2e2ORbNBNoZjBPdjjZhQA2uaLGu-UcoUOCUun96jYcsWRU6AawlzFH0p-XsUGsaOb9wo8L0ZK0HaJbysoFKOXzdLI39DoGUQTx7JUxQHr1Nwzss3XENm-6dowPFh179WpDrk6dbKxbE/s400/IMG_20180507_092222.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>N: Navigability –</b> Just follow the well-marked channel in St. Simons Sound. You can't miss it. Plenty of water all around.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">D: Dockage –</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> No problem at all. The marina is made up of 16 docks with a total of 347 slips. Some of the slips, like the one we were in, are huge! If you have a big power or sail cat this is the marina for you.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">S: Services –</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Gasoline, diesel, pump-out, a full-service </span>boatyard<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. There's a West Marine on the other side of the peninsula.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><b>A: Amenities –</b> </span>Everything is very clean and all-together. It's a bit rustic but well maintained. There are several out-buildings with toilets, sinks, and showers. There are also free laundry machines adjoining the lounges. Once you get a very short distance onto land from the shore, though, everything kind of ends. The downtown itself is struggling. There are a few restaurants, a couple of resale shops, and that's about it. The downtown grocery stores they talk about are not much. The wifi at our slip was good. No pool. The operators of the marina produce several events in The Yacht Club (the clubhouse) every week. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A: Accessibility –</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> You need a car. Quite a few people are very generous with their cars and will either drive you or let you use their car, apparently. There is an Enterprise Rent-a-car. There </span>is<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Uber and Lyft, and according to my apps, it's the same three cars.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>P: Provisioning –</b> There's a Winn-Dixie 1.8 miles on the other side of the peninsula in the same shopping center as the West Marine. There are a Walmart and other big-box stores 5.1 miles north of downtown according to Google Map. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>P: Price –</b> Their published transient price is $1.75 per foot with some pricing plans for stays of other durations. Rates also depend on which dock you're on. Also, make sure you understand their add-on fees. There were several. For instance, there is an up-charge to pay with a credit card. They say it's a discount for cash, but, ya' know, it's an up-charge.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's hard to put my finger on how we feel about this marina. It is large with good accommodations, and the management goes out of their way to make things cozy. But the town of Brunswick was a huge let down; the action is on St. Simons Island or even back at Jekyll Island. Provisioning is difficult, there isn't any nearby shopping, and there's no readily available transportation. It reminded us more of an RV park instead of a marina: everyone seemed to be sitting around biding their time until it was time for happy hour again, or time to leave. There's nothing wrong with that, I guess, but it's not our thing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are destination boaters; we look for cool, fun, and interesting places to go to. Brunswick ain't one of them. There are a few isolated marinas by themselves that we like going to, such as Whitaker Pointe in Oriental, NC. But for the most part, there has to be more to draw us someplace. For us the Brunswick marina mantra of “It's a social place, it's pet-friendly, and there's free beer,” isn't enough. We're not anti-social but not big-time partiers either, we don't have a pet, and I'm not a big beer drinker. What's left?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Brunswick Landing Marina gets three out of five stars. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">tags: marina, liveaboard boat, liveaboard boating, liveaboard sailboat, boating as a couple, living aboard a trawler, liveaboard cruiser, liveaboard boater, trawler, liveaboard, the on board life, someday's here, boating adventures, boating websites</span><br />
<br />Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-56518315519112580912018-05-06T03:18:00.001-07:002018-05-06T03:33:30.203-07:00Marina Review – Jekyll Harbor Marina (2018) Brand New!<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Welcome to another marina review on the On Board Life. Using the </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">N D S, A A, P P marina analysis model, I'll break down what you can expect when you make the marinas I'll be reviewing this season your destinations also. </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">The views expressed are strictly my own.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">There's always been one very good reason to stop at Jekyll Harbor Marina at Jekyll Island, Georgia, and that was to stop for the night and get the right tide to pass through the very shallow Jekyll Creek the next day. That is certainly still true, but there's a lot more happening that will attract you to the area, and it all starts with the marina itself.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the marina office</td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;">N: Navigability</b><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> – The marina is located on Jekyll Creek at mile marker 684 of the ICW. It's smack dab on the magenta line. We came from the south and getting through St. Andrew Sound was a little tricky. As we made the near-hairpin turn at R-32 we couldn't find R-30. The depth of the southern half of Jekyll Creek (where the marina is) is a non-issue. If you're coming from the north, you have to negotiate through the shallow part of Jekyll Creek, the north end, before you get to the marina. The tide swing is typically around 7.5 feet. The north end of the creek's reputation for being stupid-shallow at anything approaching low tide is well-earned. Plan ahead.</span><a aria-label="Photo - Landscape - May 3, 2018, 1:01:15 PM" class="p137Zd" href="https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMzKollt_f37AB_P91vQUXFI7WUC6nNxaU7KxWj" jsaction="click:eQuaEb;focus:AHmuwe; blur:O22p3e;" tabindex="0"></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;">D: Dockage</b><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;">–</b><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> No problem at all. The marina is an 850-foot long facing dock along the channel for transients with plenty of depth. It's an easy on-and-off. There are also slips on the shoreside that has a liveaboard community, and nothing adds “character” to a marina than liveaboard boats. The one thing that did seem to be in short supply were fresh water spigots.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;">S: Services –</b><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> Gasoline, diesel, pump out, local technicians, haul-out for smaller boaters are all available at the marina. There is a West Marine in Brunswick, GA 11 miles away.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The property is well shaded, cool and comfortable.</td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;">A: Amenities –</b><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> The property has a southern charm with lots of moss-covered trees and green areas. There is a swimming pool, shower/bathrooms for the marina guests, and there's a lounge-around vibe to the place. It's shady, comfortable, and pretty. (The dock itself is very exposed to heavy sunlight.) They also have bicycles and two electric golf carts available to use FOR FREE. The staff seems to work very hard to make sure guests are looked after well. Zachry's Riverhouse Restaurant is on the property. There are, however, some blemishes that are hard to ignore. While the shower/bathrooms were clean and quite serviceable, the cabinetry in a couple of them was delaminating and/or falling apart, and there was some rust on the inside door frames. It's not quite “rustic” yet, but the place certainly has character.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;">A: Accessibility –</b><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> The last time we were at Jekyll Island was in 2013, and things are a whole lot different now than it was then. There are now a lot more services, stores, and restaurants on the island including what you could call a grocery store at the island's new central village. (We thought full provisioning would be out of the question, but you could certainly fill in things you are short of.) There are more restaurant choices, shopping is a real thing now, and there's a Westin Hotel on the beach. The main draw is the historic area that has faithfully maintained the old-world charm of the island's early development. It's beautiful, and it's all within an easy bike ride from the marina. And make sure you visit the Georgia Sea Turtle Center.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;">P: Provisioning –</b><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> As said above, the grocery store at the island's central village is really a tourist market though it does have a deli counter with a fair selection of meats and cheeses. There's milk, bread, butter, beer, wine, and some canned goods. If you really need to do full-on provisioning, you need to figure out a way to get a ride to the regular grocery stores in Brunswick or just take your boat there. There is also a very nice Flash Foods gasoline-convenience store a couple minutes bike ride from the marina. (It has a Dairy Queen attached to it and is the only fast-food kind of place on the island.)</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;">P: Price – </b><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Their published transient price is $2.25 per foot, but they shell out all the typical discounts. They're the only game in town if you need to wait for the right tide to come along, but if you actually invest a day or two to explore the island and what it has to offer, it's a good value.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">In my opinion, passing through Jekyll Creek with its crazy-shallow waters is, if you play your cards right, not that big a deal. Do your homework and plan ahead to get to it during at least mid-tide going up. Go slow and respect the potential for trouble. Or pull over at Jekyll Harbor Marina and let the staff fawn over you for a couple of days until the tides are exactly how you want them. And certainly get your butt on a bicycle and have fun exploring Jekyll Island. The marina has a few blemishes, but you really won't care as the island's natural beauty and relaxation radiation envelopes you.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Jekyll Harbor Marina gets FOUR out of five stars.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">tags: marina, liveaboard boat, liveaboard boating, liveaboard sailboat, boating as a couple, living aboard a trawler, liveaboard cruiser, liveaboard boater, trawler, liveaboard, the on board life, s<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">omeday's here, boating adventures, boating websites</span></span></span></span></div>
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Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-73775394521190907952018-04-30T02:38:00.000-07:002018-04-30T03:06:39.952-07:00Marina Review - The Marina At Ortega Landing<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Welcome to the first On Board Life Marina Review. In the months to come, I'll be publishing these reviews about all the marinas we will be staying at during the cruising season using my </span><span style="color: black;">N D S, A A, P P marina analysis model. </span><span style="color: black;">The views expressed are strictly my own. </span></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Here's the On Board Life video </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><b>Liveaboard Boating Cruise Planning: How to pick the perfect marina (Part 2) 2018 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrt-B3iy52w&t=4s" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">We're starting off with a good one, maybe the best, <b>The Marina At Ortega Landing</b> in Jacksonville, Florida</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">. And if you've watched any of my On Board Life videos, you'll already know we think very highly of this place. But why?</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQwVGNRmlna5PRChAhoW43XqWxm03B0isJ1GIG5hdGhq7n8Oi1wN8JT4YIrwLrOtWkuFwOt5boxr5kr8wCh5oATbKyMJyhx4Gp93g6TiVUCRbCDcYg32LUN_1A8a2sXwe6AFQDZF_tB8M/s1600/IMG_20180427_170231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQwVGNRmlna5PRChAhoW43XqWxm03B0isJ1GIG5hdGhq7n8Oi1wN8JT4YIrwLrOtWkuFwOt5boxr5kr8wCh5oATbKyMJyhx4Gp93g6TiVUCRbCDcYg32LUN_1A8a2sXwe6AFQDZF_tB8M/s400/IMG_20180427_170231.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We've called The Marina at Ortega Landing our home away from home for 2+ years.<br />
Unfortunately, it's time for us to leave.</td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: "open sans", arial, sans-serif;">N: Navigability</b><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> – Downtown Jacksonville itself is inland on the St. Johns River. The Ortega River, where the marina is located, is a short distance further west than downtown. It's 24 statute miles from where the ICW crosses the St. Johns River to the drawbridge that crosses the mouth of the Ortega River. The marina is just past the bridge on the north shore. There's plenty of depth the entire way from the mouth of the St. Johns River to the Ortega River, but the approach of the river off of the main channel of the St. Johns River can get shallow for the deepest draft vessels. Watch it. But for almost any other boat there's plenty of water. Watch out for Red 2 and go on around that, then back toward the drawbridge. Don't cut that corner. Once you're past the drawbridge, you're in the clear.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plenty of room to maneuver.</td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;">D: Dockage</b><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">–</span><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> No problem at all. The fairways between the concrete floating docks are wide, and the pilings are very substantial. The slips are of different sizes to accommodate different size boats. Our finger dock was 32' feet long. Security at the docks is very good.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT28xQFK-sSEFyjnvSGdzq_Znuz7ZeDSirTUan7y0VPjsEZvr8FaHT_nyVO7N6VjDCKIH5JBvTIzREloG8XtCSMkVocEzOIZDuu1ZjT6Nz348V-MbIiYYJDOxXSvVCp-oN5s95vMgEqrU/s1600/IMG_20180427_170207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT28xQFK-sSEFyjnvSGdzq_Znuz7ZeDSirTUan7y0VPjsEZvr8FaHT_nyVO7N6VjDCKIH5JBvTIzREloG8XtCSMkVocEzOIZDuu1ZjT6Nz348V-MbIiYYJDOxXSvVCp-oN5s95vMgEqrU/s400/IMG_20180427_170207.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Casual luxury</td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">S: Services </b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">– There is no fuel. According to </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ActiveCaptain,</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> there is fuel available at Lambs Yacht Center a bit further on in the Ortega River. There is pump out at the slips. Thursday seems to be the regular weekly scheduled pump-out day, but you can get a pump out anytime when you make an appointment. You get one free pump out a month. There's a </span>fee<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> other times. You have to sign up ahead of time. If you need technical support, there is not only a plethora of freelance technicians in the area but two full-service boatyards nearby as well.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoU7omaZ0RQI2Wp6Iwz__-AvxaanxG7PnUqtITVTn1bG8Fl8uW7AuBGkC13UuyyklVoIP9Y71ebZteIGk6SMjQXrGySGyMAvyY7FzyGN0MOrCwKOYFiILEWkwct4DbSvdTCnWjmuRxF7I/s1600/IMG_20180427_180322.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoU7omaZ0RQI2Wp6Iwz__-AvxaanxG7PnUqtITVTn1bG8Fl8uW7AuBGkC13UuyyklVoIP9Y71ebZteIGk6SMjQXrGySGyMAvyY7FzyGN0MOrCwKOYFiILEWkwct4DbSvdTCnWjmuRxF7I/s400/IMG_20180427_180322.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A party on the patio.</td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A: Amenities</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> – Let me describe Ortega Landing's amenities this way: In our opinion, they are the best. Period. The clubhouse is beautiful, the swimming pool is great, the staff is top-notch, the grounds are gorgeous, the bathrooms and showers are not only roomy and modern but cleaned every day, and the laundry is free. If there is to be any criticism at all it would be that the laundry room is cramped. Big fat hairy deal. There's also plenty of parking if you have a car.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrtAK3pYHgciV5IlJZ7KLR3PgqO-lLiJeQTtosZXPO817GAY96aU9y6tha5_3lDj5MvtbsUri_dWpUpIXoI0rcDBdXBBUOb8tcCmVDdeZ1jef9TctCspqRk0bkqGSKCtHm_N-lFVhH9VA/s1600/IMG_20180427_170130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrtAK3pYHgciV5IlJZ7KLR3PgqO-lLiJeQTtosZXPO817GAY96aU9y6tha5_3lDj5MvtbsUri_dWpUpIXoI0rcDBdXBBUOb8tcCmVDdeZ1jef9TctCspqRk0bkqGSKCtHm_N-lFVhH9VA/s400/IMG_20180427_170130.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spacious and sophisticated.</td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;">A: Accessibility –</b><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> Pretty much everything you need is within walking distance. There's a Publix Supermarket, a Chick Fil A, a Panera Bread, a UPS Store, a CVS drugstore, locally owned restaurants, and, get this, a West Marine, all within a hair more than a half a mile of the marina. And, by the way, that distance is confirmed on Google maps. It's usually a shorter distance than that, but there's a construction project blocking part of the way.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8SiwOyNf022TY-nkJBf3Rda5N5OuPHm-TDPUh_4FPaSlTwketSoe5yqGx7gMYDPYbtGE2cvSddHy1AG8WkNScL8H3_pqE0ieGweLONclwyrcjmXgYKTnVYHiRAmuzm5Fphy9X7S5r020/s1600/Publication1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="623" data-original-width="949" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8SiwOyNf022TY-nkJBf3Rda5N5OuPHm-TDPUh_4FPaSlTwketSoe5yqGx7gMYDPYbtGE2cvSddHy1AG8WkNScL8H3_pqE0ieGweLONclwyrcjmXgYKTnVYHiRAmuzm5Fphy9X7S5r020/s400/Publication1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everything you need is nearby, and you can walk to them.</td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;">P: Provisioning –</b><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> See Accessibility.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgynOWOouSHxCegLlsbkp9mqtfphnLLNxfrieTKP5htr10yvOh1CBC7UW6KKl-yAyixFobhPfaE2thWf5LXOKwOndyBe_M_BLjWLcBz0WTu6C3AuqT7F4UQH0R4N3AMncRpM7Gde_MQYk/s1600/IMG_20180427_165942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgynOWOouSHxCegLlsbkp9mqtfphnLLNxfrieTKP5htr10yvOh1CBC7UW6KKl-yAyixFobhPfaE2thWf5LXOKwOndyBe_M_BLjWLcBz0WTu6C3AuqT7F4UQH0R4N3AMncRpM7Gde_MQYk/s400/IMG_20180427_165942.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: "open sans", arial, sans-serif;">P: Price – </b><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">All this luxury and convenience is at a price point that you should like. Our monthly rate was $15 a foot. For our 45 foot boat, that came out to $675. Electricity is extra. We've stayed at marinas that cost twice as much but deliver half the value.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">All in all, the Marina at Ortega Landing, an IGY property, is an incredible destination. Jacksonville is a great town with plenty to see and do. Add in all the conveniences that are all around the marina and you get what we think is the best marina experience in Florida. Yes, in the entire state.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">The Marina at Ortega Landing gets five out of five stars.</span></span><br />
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Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-65524716352525654012018-04-17T03:46:00.000-07:002018-04-17T03:48:51.243-07:00Ahhhhhhhh. Everything Is Better Now.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's 6:30 am on Tuesday, April 17, and I'm feeling much, much better. Not that I was doing terrible before we landed in Jacksonville on Sunday. On the contrary, life has been sweet. Oh sure, Lisa and I have had some challenges, some of them quite sizable, but we're back on Why Knot and everything is good. Our universe is back in order.<br />
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To make everything even better is that a check of the boat's systems has all been a-okay. The engine started and ran smooth and strong. The air conditioning and heater have worked without flaw. That's been particularly a good thing since we've experienced some interesting weather mood swings, both in temperature and temperament. I load tested the batteries, and they checked out fine. (Thanks to Eric Weatherly for walking me through that procedure … again.) All the electrical stuff seems to be functioning optimally, though I still have to do a plugs-out test on the generator and inverter.<br />
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Today is going to be an interesting day. I'm seeing a doctor down here to get my medical exam for my captain's license. As I've described before, I was unable to find a doctor in Denver that would perform the test for me. And as I've had to describe several times to some readers, I tried four different doctors to get the test done while we were still there, and they all declined. Screw it. Lot's of 'em here in Jacksonville. We're going to see if we can get some pictures and a video or two about the experience.<br />
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So, we're doing great. The boat's in good shape. We feel terrific.<br />
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It's good to be back home.Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-25557234021022727502018-04-11T02:15:00.000-07:002018-04-11T02:15:32.484-07:00Goboat!<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We've been on this most recent shore leave since late January 2017. I wasn't supposed to be this long. The way it was supposed to play out was that Lisa, an accountant, would, as she did every other year, work her ass off taking care of her tax clients during February and March, then get everything finished and submitted during the first week of April. We'd then dive head first into prepping things for us to head to the boat to start our season.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdGNTnark_XTesW_40VnGNmVnVDuTU_eH7xxmff4feIguGxeHDhiobIfKsx_MfN1yQyXXFfJbZphIu-jTjrcQ6j65j5GBzbAWUjntBAmk1OU7ZN74YM-DdfyJwdNKysWPN2QRxXdtKHRk/s1600/IMAG0770.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1600" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdGNTnark_XTesW_40VnGNmVnVDuTU_eH7xxmff4feIguGxeHDhiobIfKsx_MfN1yQyXXFfJbZphIu-jTjrcQ6j65j5GBzbAWUjntBAmk1OU7ZN74YM-DdfyJwdNKysWPN2QRxXdtKHRk/s320/IMAG0770.jpg" width="320" /></a>It didn't happen that way. As I've said already, perhaps ad nauseam, a hail storm hit our house just a few days before our departure date. In retrospect, it was better that it happened that way. We were able to shift gears and take care of our house's extensive repairs.</div>
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But, that was then; this is now. As I write this (4/11/2018) I'm sitting at my desk in our emergency backup home in St. Louis, not Denver. We flew out of the Mile High City to the Gateway City very early on the morning of 4/10, rented a car here, and were taking naps in our own bed by noon. It's good to be back in my hometown. The biggest reason we're here is to connect with son #1, Bryan, and son #2, Kevin. Son #1 is having some challenges these days but nothing that he won't overcome in time. Son #2 is doing fine.</div>
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These transition trips in and out of St. Louis are always odd things. Most of the time we are here going to or coming from the boat. Sometimes it feels like I'm cheating my relationship with my sons. But I hope they understand that what Lisa and I are doing on Why Knot is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do something that is unique. While it does not singularly define us, it certainly is part of our life's definition.</div>
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I think when my time to go has come, I want people to remember me first as a man: flawed, hard-working, but hopefully wise and intelligent. Then I want to be remembered equally as a husband to Lisa and a father to Bryan and Kevin. They are the most important entities in my life, more than any accomplishment, past, present or future. Only after that do I want to be remembered for anything I've ever done.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWR15Fw4KFFuTTSJJWptyyEMhioAytoAUIyZY6UYx_UDWVjWGgrbcrfUsZ0gDTUcBoS32vDiP6nBMqK2vK2_a5IRxwhHBM-3LNi4VQXDJlX6jcBdm2Z60SQlduelE5r180k4jAlHl923c/s1600/0410131735.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWR15Fw4KFFuTTSJJWptyyEMhioAytoAUIyZY6UYx_UDWVjWGgrbcrfUsZ0gDTUcBoS32vDiP6nBMqK2vK2_a5IRxwhHBM-3LNi4VQXDJlX6jcBdm2Z60SQlduelE5r180k4jAlHl923c/s320/0410131735.jpg" width="240" /></a>I've accomplished some significant things in my work life, but nothing I've done compares to my boating life. I can honestly and sincerely say that I'm good at this. Being a skipper and shipmate suits me better than any executive or management thing. I love this.</div>
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What I love even more is to share this with Lisa. My god, she's amazing. From zero boating experience, she has grown and matured to phenomenal levels of achievement. She is a wonder to behold, and she does it all with earnestness, skill, aplomb, and just for fun, a dash of panache.</div>
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So, it's been fifteen months since we've been on board Why Knot. That's way too long a time, but it couldn't be helped. But all that's behind us.</div>
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I'm a romantic by nature, but I'm not going to heap any personifications on our boat. It hasn't missed us. It's a machine. It's our spirit that embodies what our on board life is. We've missed it. It's important to us. We want to be back on board. We want to get underway again. We need it.</div>
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We're on our way. Our 2018 cruise season has begun. </div>
Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-75610308604728398022018-04-06T05:16:00.000-07:002018-04-06T06:46:51.581-07:00Denise Boathook Has Returned In Triumph!<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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In the history of literature, one of the most popular and enduring genres is the classic “Boat Romance” books of the late 19<sup>th</sup> through the early 21<sup>st</sup> century. The names of the most popular authors flow off of one's tongue like sweet, thick pancake syrup: Duchene, Michelletti, Drummond, and Phlegm. But no author in this genre is more famous, more influential, or more popular than Denise Boathook. The author of no less than 140 novels, novellas, and short stories about romantic life on sailboats and trawlers, more than anyone else, she captured not only the lifestyle but also the romantic essence of the pastime.</div>
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Some called her works tawdry, pulp fiction, filled with soft-porn innuendos and double-entendres. One critic said, “There's enough cheese in her books to cover the world's largest plate of nachos.” Mildred Plankton of the New England Journal of Literature said, “Denise Boathook's stories are almost a parody of themselves and the entire romance genre.” Others called them light, escapist adventures with ample amounts of sex and danger mixed in to satisfy the tackiest tastes. There were even those who called them literary masterpieces. Whatever they were stylistically, they were immensely popular. Everyone enjoyed their romance and intrigue mixed with copious amounts of obvious first-hand knowledge of boating and cruising.</div>
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The first novel was published in 1991. <u>Throw That Damn Line and Tie It Around My Heart</u>, was a surprise smash hit. Boathook's most critically acclaimed work, published in 2006, <u>Dinghy Fantasies</u> was made into a major motion picture that starred Reese Witherspoon and George Clooney. No one was surprised when it won the best picture Oscar that year. Its source material was so great, so beautiful and so profoundly touching, it had to win.</div>
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To say Boathook was prolific is an understatement. New works appeared on bookseller shelves every other month or so, each one more entertaining and titillating than the one before. However, that all changed in 2015 with the release of <u>Torrid Teak Turn-on</u>. Critics panned it; one called it “a ponderous exercise of dribble, not fit for consumption by anyone with more than a third-grade education … not that a third grader should ever be allowed to read it.” After an initial surge in sales to her most devoted fans, online and shelf sales tanked. It was such a bust that the publisher, Sludge House, took back all the remaining hard copies, loaded them into seventeen tractor-trailer trucks, transported them to a deserted field in western Nebraska, and blew them up. It was a disaster. No new works from Boathook appeared after that.</div>
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And what about Denise Boathook? She disappeared. Her publisher never heard from her again. Rumors about her being a manufactured identity surfaced. One name, Margarette von Shnicklepussgeshitemeyer, a marina manager in Maryland, surfaced as the identity of the actual, real Denise Boathook. There was a frenzy to find her and discover the truth. Who doesn't remember when Wolf Blitzer tackled the dazed woman in the parking lot of a Giant Supermarket in Annapolis. Her vehement screeches of denial were heard all the way at a nearby West Marine store. Since then, nothing from Boathook, nor Shnicklepussgeshitemeyer for that matter, were ever heard from again.</div>
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That was until Ground Hog Day 2018. We here at the world headquarters of The On Board Life media empire received a small, plain, nondescript box. There was no return address, no identification of any kind on the package. Of course, we assumed it was a bomb; no surprise there. We have the ATF on speed-dial. After they declared an all-clear, we opened the package, and much to our surprise, it contained a manuscript from none other than … Denise Boathook. In our hands was the first chapter of a new work from the recluse author.</div>
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There was also a handwritten note. “Dear Darrell, I have been through a terrible time. Since the disaster of <u>Torrid Teak Turn-on</u>, I have been unable to pull myself together to produce any more literature. It has been a trial unlike anything I have ever experienced before. But I have to pull myself together. My heart has ached for my fans and I must, for them, persevere. I have also been deeply depressed by the inability to express myself in my chosen art form. Oh sure, I tried to set it aside and pretend I didn't care. But the yearning in my bosom to write more was too great for me. I had to write. And here it is, my new work entitled <u>Hot On The Magenta Line</u>. I have sent it to you to distribute free to the world. Because of your great integrity and artistic discernment, you are the only person in the world I can trust with my gem. Please, be kind. Through you and your facilities, my heart sings with billowy joy once again.” Then in larger, ostentatious calligraphy, she signed the letter, “Love, Denise Boathook.”</div>
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The package also contained a tentative piece of cover artwork that Denise cobbled together, as she did for many of her published works.</div>
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And so, we here at The On Board Life consider it not only an honor but also a solemn duty to present to you the first chapter of a new story from Denise Boathook, the greatest boat romance author of all time, in her triumphant return to top form.</div>
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Here is chapter 1 of … <u>Hot On The Magenta Line</u>.</div>
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<b>Chapter 1 English Muffins, My Love?</b></div>
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The Magenta Line – the printed pink line on NOAA marine charts. Surrounded by mystery and mythology, it shows the preferred sailing line of the Atlantic and Gulf Intracoastal Waterways, all the way from mile marker zero in Norfolk, Virginia, down the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, around or through the peninsula of Florida, up to the north to the Panhandle of the state, then on around the coast to Texas, all the way to Brownsville. Fraught with danger and intrigue, a challenge of the greatest magnitude, sailors, and power boaters have endeavored to conquer it for generations. For those that succeeded, great acclaim was heaped upon them with songs and poems about their exploits composed and presented throughout the land. But for those that failed, doom and despair at the hands of Poseidon, the god of the seas, with his cavalier, intrinsically unjust rule, befell them. But yet, every day of every month of every year, more and more unwitting, unfortunate souls venture out of their safe marinas, anchorages, and mooring fields to challenge the ICW on The Magenta Line.</div>
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It was a perfect May morning. Clear, warm, with only a hint of a breeze, with a few, puffy-white fair-weather clouds in the sky, one could say the conditions were nearly idyllic. The Caterpillar diesel engine of the good ship La Donna Facile hummed happily, and the ship's wake flowed out from the transom in an uninterrupted ribbon of frothiness.</div>
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With the words and melody of “You Were Meant For Me” coming from her red lipsticked lips, Nancy Cosgrove bounced up the narrow stairs from the galley to the salon. La Donna Facile, her and her husband's forty foot long diesel powered trawler, was comfortable, if not slightly cramped. But Nancy was small, slim and spry, and the layout of the boat didn't impede her progress at all. But La Donna Facile was more than just a boat. It was a pleasure vessel, the venue for Nancy and her husband's sexual pleasure, with its large aft cabin and queen sized bed.</div>
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She had a tray in her hand with breakfast for them both. With little effort, she sprung out of the salon cabin door and walked aft on the main deck. The deck under her feet suddenly rolled due to the unexpected wake of a passing sport fisher that had ignored the many “idle speed zone” signs on that particular reach. A grape bounced off the sumptuous feast's plate, bounced on the rail, and plopped into the water below. Nancy gasped to herself, grateful that more of the tasty morsels weren't lost. It was a carefully planned and prepared treat, and she wanted to present it to her lover whole and complete. She corrected her balance and stepped up the three rungs to the sundeck, then climbed the last five rungs of another ladder to the flybridge deck. That was where Jack, her husband, her friend, and her most wonderful lover piloted the boat.</div>
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Just like she did almost every time they were separated even for a few moments, Nancy's heart jumped for joy when she saw Jack. He was very handsome. Sure, he had a few more years on him since they first met. He had a slight paunch that covered what used to be rock hard abs. His blonde hair had thinned a little, and he had to get a new pair of glasses every other year that seemed to get thicker and thicker. But she loved him with every molecule in her body, and every thought of him that she mustered was colored with joy, happiness, contentment, and admiration. But there was more to her feelings for him than those kinds of innocent attractions. She also lusted for him in ways that could only be categorized as hot, hotty-hotness of explosive proportions.</div>
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For just a moment, Nancy slid into her memory and recalled their first encounter. It was like it was yesterday. It was at an indoor boat show at the convention center in Indianapolis in the middle of the winter. She attended on a whim, looking for some new diversion to fill her dull life. Born Nancy Bluecker on a sorghum farm in southern Missouri, she had moved east of the Mississippi to escape the drudgery of Ozark life. She had grown tired of all the country music, pickup trucks, and rednecks. She had a bigger vision for her life than all that. She wanted adventure and excitement, so she moved to Indianapolis where she got a job as an attendant at a laundromat. She thought she had it made, but there was a void in her heart. She needed love, and she needed it badly.</div>
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Jack was an anchor salesman, the best in the country, and manned a booth there. His display amounted to a shallow trough filled with wet sand with two small replica anchors with light chains. His demonstration was to place the anchor on the sand and let the prospect pull the chain and let the anchor dig in. And he was very good at his job. He had charisma to spare, and their mutual attraction was instant. She thought he looked sophisticated in his khaki slacks and a logoed sport shirt. Nancy looked mega-sexy in a pair of cling-wrap-tight jeans and an Indianapolis Colts polyester/wool blend poncho she bought at Target.</div>
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She took the initiative and approached the booth. “Hi. So, you're an anchor salesman, huh?”</div>
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“Yes, ma'am. Jack Cosgrove, at your service. Are you a boater?”</div>
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“Except for being on a pontoon boat a couple of times, no, I'm not a boater. But these anchors look interesting.” She picked up one of the small demonstration anchors, wrapped her fingers around the shank and stroked it. “Well, it's certainly hard … and stiff … and solid. Does it come any larger than this?”</div>
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“Much, much larger,” he replied. “Would you like to see what I can do with it?”</div>
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Nancy licked her lips. “Oh, yes. I want to see all of it in action if you please.”</div>
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Jack took the small anchor and set it on the sand at the opposite end of the trough. He pulled the chain back to Nancy and handed it to her. He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her while he gently held her hands in his. “Are you ready?” he asked.</div>
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“Oh, you bet I am, What do I do?”</div>
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He closed his hands around hers more tightly and said, “When I tell you, pull on it nice and firm.”</div>
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Nancy shuttered. “Oh. My. God. I'm ready.”</div>
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Jack breathed into her ear. “Good. Me too. One. Two. Three. Now!”</div>
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Nancy pulled on the chain and gasped with pleasure. The replica anchor dug into the sand, and she almost fainted from the excitement. She said, “Wow, that's a helluva demonstration you have there, Mr. Cosgrove. May I call you 'Jack'?”</div>
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He handed his business card to her. “You can call me Millard Fillmore, as long as you call me. The show closes at 8:00 pm. I'm staying at the downtown Sheraton. After dinner and drinks, I'll show what I can do with my own anchor. How does that sound?”</div>
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Nancy's knees felt weak. “Oh, please, please do. I want to know all about your anchor that you can show me. Everything.”</div>
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Their rendezvous that night was torrid, and they were never apart again. She quit her job at the laundromat, sold everything, and traveled all around the nation with Jack. Together they amassed an anchor-selling fortune. After a few years, they got married, quit touring the boat shows, sold everything, bought a boat themselves, and lived the life of cruising boaters. It was magical.</div>
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Nancy shook her head and snapped herself back into present time up on the flybridge. She slid onto the padded bench seat next to her beloved lover and spouse. “English muffin, my love?” she asked. “I brought some more coffee too. And there are grapes, except for one I lost over the rail. And there's apple slices and peanut butter – all your favorites.”</div>
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“Thanks, baby. That sounds great.” Jack turned to her and winked in appreciation. “Ya' know, I love it when you bring breakfast up to the helm. It always starts the day out perfectly.”</div>
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“Yes, I know. And I enjoy doing it for you. I enjoy doing anything for you to show you how much I love and adore you. Anything. I'll do anything. And I mean anything at all. Anything.”</div>
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Jack took one bite of the pastry. “Ummmm. Strawberry Rhubarb jam. You know exactly what I like.”</div>
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Nancy placed a small dab of the jam on her tongue. She then spread it all around her mouth. “But the jam is not as sweet as my lips, my love. And I guess you could say that you're my jam.”</div>
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He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him. “I love you, Nancy.”</div>
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She buried her mouth onto his neck and kissed him. “Oh, darling, I love you too. Being with you has always been a dream come true, and it always will be. Tell me, where are we heading today? Some isolated anchorage, I hope. Someplace secluded and out of the way. You know how loud I can be. I have such a yearning for you. I want you. I need you.”</div>
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“Sorry, sweetheart. We're heading north to a marina. We need to do a pump out. Besides, there aren't too many places along this stretch on the magenta line where we can drop a hook.”</div>
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“That's okay,” she said. “What marina are we going to stop at then?”</div>
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Quite casually, Jack answered. “Barefoot.”</div>
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All of a sudden, Nancy's heart filled with dread. “Barefoot? You mean in Myrtle Beach?” She hoped it wasn't true.</div>
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“Mm-hm. Barefoot Marina in Myrtle Beach. I figure we'll stay a day or two, then we'll continue on north to Bald Head Island. You always like it when we go to Bald Head Island.”</div>
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Tears poured from her eyes. “But … darling, that means we'll have to go through … The Rockpile. Say it isn't so. It's so dangerous. The rocks and traffic. Oh, my love, you're joking with me. That's it. You're joking. Haha. You had me there for a moment.”</div>
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Jack tried to reassure her. “It will be fine. We only draft three feet and high tide is around 8:00 am for the next several days. Don't worry.”</div>
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Nancy tried her best to suppress her panic. She bit her knuckle. “Okay, my love. Whatever you say. I trust you.”</div>
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And that's it. That's all Denise Boathook sent to us here at The On Board Life. We don't know if there's more to come or not. I guess we'll have to just wait and see. The temperamental artist that she is, we may never hear from her again. But it's a great start, isn't it?</div>
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What do you think? Would you like to read more of <u>Hot On The Magenta Line</u>?</div>
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Let me know in the comments.</div>
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Darrell T. Grob</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">©</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> 2018 Darrell T. Grob</span></div>
Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-68949484697854892002018-03-25T06:51:00.001-07:002018-03-25T06:55:12.342-07:00PACKING AND SHIPPING – IN PREPARATION FOR THE UPCOMING SEASON<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Fifty pounds – that's all we get. Southwest Airlines only gives us two free pieces of luggage that can't weigh </span>any more<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> than fifty pounds each. That's one-hundred pounds per person, and that's a lot if you think about it. But that's nowhere close to enough capacity to replenish all our various needs for a cruising season if we want to have any degree of comfort and convenience. Besides, those stupid suitcases are full of clothes. Who needs clothes anyhow?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">But the reality is we need stuff, and we need new stuff every season.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">There are always new supplies, necessities, and knick-knacks that have to go on board. Cookware, tools, supplies, shoes (there's always a box of shoes), decorations, books, dvds, technology-thingies, pillows, blankets, sheets, toiletries and every kind of sundries we can think of. We find them here in Denver or online, buy them, and have to get them to the boat. So, prior to every season, we pack'em and ship'em to wherever Why Knot is. But why buy them in our hometown, either at a store or online, accumulate them in one place, then ship it all in one, big, grandiose shipping orgasm?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM87ZO8S9Du_k4AVmer_dof4w0rWNpEsCTIlnjs8a85JnSmfk057MY_W0O-5ujRiUsecUWkbsC6GahBwfLrgBejqUB2sO39lwX3Ipr5gm-cQudyF1DslxVzwGC6fSAVwwUdX0cNzRNyFY/s1600/IMG_20180325_052452.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM87ZO8S9Du_k4AVmer_dof4w0rWNpEsCTIlnjs8a85JnSmfk057MY_W0O-5ujRiUsecUWkbsC6GahBwfLrgBejqUB2sO39lwX3Ipr5gm-cQudyF1DslxVzwGC6fSAVwwUdX0cNzRNyFY/s400/IMG_20180325_052452.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">One reason is that when you leave your boat for any length of time, some things need to be shipped home and be replenished for the next season. Things wear out or break and need to be replaced or updated. Things need to be repaired. One example we had was a quilt we use on board. It needed to be patched in several places, and Lisa couldn't do it on the boat. She bodged it together until she could get it home and refurbish it completely. It had to be shipped home and will be shipped back to the boat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Another reason is that when you're out during a season, your buying options are not as good as when you are on shore leave. At home, you have the time and resources to find the right things for your on board life. Shipping certainly adds to the cost of each item, but sometimes having the right thing is a better choice. This is particularly true of food items. </span>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">But the main reason for this huge effort is purely logistical. It's a lot of work, but it's just plain easier to keep track of everything if you bring it all to one place then ship it all out from there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Here are our packing practices.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Pretty much the moment we get home to Denver, we prepare to leave again. There is a designated shipping staging area. Lisa sets up an empty box and announces that it is box numero-uno to go back. It stays empty for a day or two, but only for that long. We both soon find little things that we say, “Hm, I'd sure like to have that on the boat,” and we drop it in. One box becomes two, then three, four, five, six, however many it takes. </span>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">As the time for us to depart to the boat gets nearer, thirty days or so, we move the boxes to a convenient little area in our home we call the piano room. This is where we empty all the boxes and repack them better. It's also where we have little quibbles about the merits of shipping certain things. For instance, this year Lisa wanted to ship a bottle of dish soap. I assured her that dish soap was readily available for purchase in Jacksonville, Florida, and I'd be glad to buy her not one, but two bottles if she so desired. (There is certainly the risk that there will be some massive dish soap shortage when we get there, but I think I'm safe.) The other thing we do during this repacking, and this is important, is to redistribute the weight of all the contents more evenly and into smaller boxes. I've learned my lesson on having boxes that are too big and heavy. A few years ago, moving big, heavy boxes onto the boat at a marina put me in the hospital. Never again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Every season there are a handful of items to be shipped that are a little bit on the strange side. This season that award goes to my paint stirrer.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLPB4Fcd2C7zDe-GoIhHnbT4F11yHW_MFl1tSqRDxcY-IvaHhtK-FBAExWBurb-beF6FUq9-vQXsZln0n0Yi4Cbc-H3PuddZLmeE9D411jHcMwqq6yxtlW3j_FK63Az2b9zG4iEjkmxfY/s1600/IMG_20180319_112258.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLPB4Fcd2C7zDe-GoIhHnbT4F11yHW_MFl1tSqRDxcY-IvaHhtK-FBAExWBurb-beF6FUq9-vQXsZln0n0Yi4Cbc-H3PuddZLmeE9D411jHcMwqq6yxtlW3j_FK63Az2b9zG4iEjkmxfY/s400/IMG_20180319_112258.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">This crazy looking thing goes on a 3/8 inch drill and is used to stir paint. I'm going to stir up some shit with it … literally. The idea is that our holding tank has been emptied but just sitting for a year. I have to think that the poo/pee residue in there has settled some. This </span>bleck<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> needs to be cleaned out somehow, and this is where this stirrer comes into play. Ortega Landing marina has pump-out at each slip. What I intend to do is to fill the holding tank about a third the way with water. I'll then attach the stirrer to my drill, stir it up, hopefully getting all the excrement settlement re-emulsified with the water, then suck it all out. Sounds like a good idea to me, but we'll see how it goes in its execution. I may be a genius or full of shit. We'll see. (Sorry for the pun. There are some things I just can't resist.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Another interesting item is this lantern.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaQk87TTemeNJlgpN2re8mq4xs2hCqihHOBn2PIUniZ6MFWS1ufxg5_IYNkOTyPSFHAxBT1ani_kD44D9Q0mOkl7jTy3GkJjdYNdQrSbwG_eYvozvXqdNPK_FC164o4sI-JbDWQZ9CuKY/s1600/IMG_20180319_111904.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaQk87TTemeNJlgpN2re8mq4xs2hCqihHOBn2PIUniZ6MFWS1ufxg5_IYNkOTyPSFHAxBT1ani_kD44D9Q0mOkl7jTy3GkJjdYNdQrSbwG_eYvozvXqdNPK_FC164o4sI-JbDWQZ9CuKY/s400/IMG_20180319_111904.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Does it look familiar to you? If it does you might have seen it on an 'As-seen-on-TV' add. It's called the Tac Light and it was available on TV for a time near the end of 2017 – at least that's when I saw it advertised. I usually filter out those kinds of ads. They're usually pretty stupid, but for some reason, the Tac Light seemed like a good idea to me. My thinking was I could certainly use one or two on the boat, especially down in the engine room. I also could think of using it at our house. Against all my skepticism about buying an 'As-seen-on-TV' product, which was sizable, I picked up the phone and called the number. Purchasing the item itself was a bit of trial with their constant add-on and upgrade attempts. But with a little perseverance and stubbornness, I finally bought three Tac Lights. ($39.00 total with free shipping.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">And you know what? It's a damn fine little lantern. It is ruggedly made and bright as hell. One feature I particularly like is that you have to screw the bottom section of the lantern off to access the battery compartment rather than it having a lame, little flap to open. I'm taking two to the boat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Ukuleles! Ah, music! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Ha06-MLzo3BxtUXXTo27fg5F5286KvAM9HP9IPBnlC_HrrzrrbcnA-RQxRYK9xLNgn-Z_OwUnHZMk8kzBWvbRXnNnFTKNhYfCUCIWE9F7cEIGJX4Lt_4ficraHaFbKFkNqijXyb7QrQ/s1600/IMG_20180325_061816.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Ha06-MLzo3BxtUXXTo27fg5F5286KvAM9HP9IPBnlC_HrrzrrbcnA-RQxRYK9xLNgn-Z_OwUnHZMk8kzBWvbRXnNnFTKNhYfCUCIWE9F7cEIGJX4Lt_4ficraHaFbKFkNqijXyb7QrQ/s400/IMG_20180325_061816.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I already have one on the boat. It's a Fluke Flea soprano ukulele, and it's certainly a sweet little thing. But if there is one truth with ukulele players, it's this: You never have enough ukuleles. I'm taking two more. The uke at the top of the picture is my Outdoors Ukulele outdoor ukulele. It's made of polycarbonate and is not susceptible to changes in atmospheric conditions like a wooden uke is. It's a very good all-purpose ukulele. The other is my Fluke banjo ukulele. Lisa particularly likes this one, and so it goes to the boat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Now, the gun; what's up with that? </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJjnUdnnoC5m4dkb1zlwpa_AK0T4TuCOGTaM-E-CbRymk1Ptm1e9I5_zdY-ZNUX_-l-VVO1rN0mNku76NEn4g6kG6Jg13Hts9nwZygH7mLAsLYaj4t826Xank87oLe5m1jh4voh0qaUKA/s1600/IMG_20180319_111819.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJjnUdnnoC5m4dkb1zlwpa_AK0T4TuCOGTaM-E-CbRymk1Ptm1e9I5_zdY-ZNUX_-l-VVO1rN0mNku76NEn4g6kG6Jg13Hts9nwZygH7mLAsLYaj4t826Xank87oLe5m1jh4voh0qaUKA/s400/IMG_20180319_111819.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">It's a Bug-A-Salt bug shooter, and it's cool as all get out. It shoots a burst of table salt to zap a bug, and I can't wait to see how it does this summer. It was sort of an 'As-seen-on-TV' thing except I saw it on Facebook.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">It's going to be a great boating season, and our Why Knot Great Lakes Grand Tour is one of the most exciting things we've done during our On Board Life. In the end, it's not the stuff that makes it exciting. It's the people and places we get to visit. And, of course, it's Lisa and I being together. That's the best. But you have to admit that a Bug-A-Salt insect zapper is worth the shipping charges to get it to the boat. </span></div>
Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-74276530533698059072018-03-22T04:24:00.001-07:002018-03-22T04:24:39.715-07:00Social Media Update<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Social Media is digital exhibitionism. But, at least, you don't have to lug around a heavy, smelly overcoat.” – Darrell T. Grob</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Yes, it's a two-edged sword. Social media has opened channels of communication to degrees heretofore unseen in human history. We can reach out and touch every corner of the planet. Why just a week ago I had an interesting conversation with someone in New Zealand. Amazing! </span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">For the most part, I believe social media is a good thing. We could all do without the crackpots and the screamers and the trolls, but if we use a good measure of common sense to filter them out, social media has benefits. </span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And that brings me to the reason for this post. I want to update you on my social media presence. I'd like it if you would follow me, send comments and questions to me, criticism me (politely, please), enjoy the content I create, and otherwise, interact with me. I have always been a creative sort. I'm a writer and musician, and I've done broadcasting work. Expressing myself, whether I have an audience or not, is one of my favorite pastimes. So, social media is very attractive to me. Let's take them one at a time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>The Blogs</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The current blog about our upcoming adventures in the Great Lakes is at </span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://goo.gl/jV2mco">Why Knot Great Lakes Grand Tour dot Com</a>, Just click the link.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Fyi, my blog about our Great Loop adventure is there also as past content. Click on the year links in the right column to access all that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The blog for the On Board Life (liveaboard boating how-tos, news, and reviews) is here:</span></div>
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<a href="https://goo.gl/abkRx8"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The On Board Life Blog</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">If you'd like to subscribe to my email list and receive notifications whenever I post something new to the blogs, in the right column is an opt-in button. Click it and fill in the short form. </span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>YouTube</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Over the past couple of years, I have produced almost fifty different videos and posted them on YouTube. Some of them have been video records of where we've been, sort of a video scrapbook for our own enjoyment. Other people who stumbled on them seemed to like them too. That motivated me to create an entire channel of liveaboard boating how-to videos I call The On Board Life. They've been well received too, and I'm trying to build a bigger audience for them. But starting in 2018, as part of the Why Knot Great Lakes Grand Tour, I'm producing a series of videos just about that. It's still technically part of The On Board Life channel but will exist as a separate brand. </span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Here's the direct link to the channel:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://goo.gl/k8EpQS">TOBL and WKGLGT YouTube Channel(s)</a> </span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">If you need to search for the channel on YouTube enter 'The On Board Life Darrell Grob'.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>And now, some of the basics:</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Facebook - Skipper Darrell <a href="https://goo.gl/5D2cqu">https://goo.gl/5D2cqu</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Twitter - @skipperdarrell <a href="https://twitter.com/SkipperDarrell">https://twitter.com/SkipperDarrell</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Instagram - @skipper_darrell <a href="https://goo.gl/SqLsx7">https://goo.gl/SqLsx7</a></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">A note about Instragram – if you need to search for my Instagram profile DO NOT search my name, Darrell Grob. That may take you to an old, obsolete Instagram profile that was hacked and turned into a porn sight. The new profile is skipper_darrell or @skipper_darrell.</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Pinterest - <a href="https://goo.gl/BBxjQa">https://goo.gl/BBxjQa</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Email - <a href="mailto:darrell.grob@gmail.com">darrell.grob@gmail.com</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Well, I can't think of any others.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Oh, if you find my phone number and want to call, fine, but don't leave a message on my voicemail. As I say in the outgoing message, I don't pay attention to voicemail at all, ever, under any condition. Don't do it. Texting is okay.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Thanks a bunch in advance for paying attention to me and my ramblings. I put a lot of work into the content I produce, and I hope you're edified and entertained by it all.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or comments.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Thanks,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Skipper Darrell</span></span></div>
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Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-1247557291480026812018-03-08T09:34:00.000-08:002018-03-08T09:34:22.390-08:00Our Top 6 Favorite Marinas<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
is an accompanying piece to my latest On Board Life YouTube channel
video, <span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Cruise
Planning (part 2): How To Pick The Perfect Marina 2018</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">See
it here!</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In
reverse order …</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>#6
Charlevoix City Marina – Charlevoix, Michigan</b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Beautiful,
modern, clean marina. Beautiful shoreside facility. Fixed docks. The
town of Charlevoix is fun and interesting and right there! Grocery
store is a block away. It's a great stop. The only downside is no
pump out, but it is available at the marina next door.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<img alt="See the source image" data-reactid="21" src="https://images.marinas.com/med_res_id/115863" style="height: 410px; width: 615px;" width="615" /><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>#5
Bald Head Island Marina – Bald Head Island, South Carolina</b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Nice,
first class marina. Pump out at fuel dock. Big slips. Plenty of easy
ins and outs. But the main attraction is the island. Gorgeous. </span></span></span></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>#4
Vero Beach Municipal Marina – Vero Beach, Florida</b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Like
a lot of municipal marinas, it's rustic in need of a facelift. The
big selling point is its accessibility to the city of Vero Beach.
They have a FREE city bus system that will take you almost anywhere,
including a Publix and West Marine. It also takes you to the beach.</span></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>#3
Annapolis Landing Marina – Annapolis, Maryland</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It's
a great marina. It's in Annapolis! That's a winning combination.
Clean, modern restrooms and showers. Pump out at fuel dock. Loaner
car. Swimming pool. Water taxis to take you to downtown Annapolis. So
much to see and do. Gotta love A.L.M.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>#2
Whitaker Point Marina – Orieintal, North Carolina</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Beautiful,
beautiful, beautiful. Beautiful clubhouse with super-clean showers.
Loaner car to get you into Oriental. No pump out. Very interesting
fixed docks. First class all the way. Peaceful and restful.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>#1
Ortega Landing Marina – Jacksonville, Florida</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Everything
is perfect at Ortega Landing from the exquisite clubhouse and
facilities, to big slips with wide thoroughfares, to nearby shopping
(Publix, West Marine) to being in the cool city of Jacksonville. And
the price is right too. Luxury amenities (pool) at a very reasonable
price. The marina value meter is pinned all the way to 'awesome'.</span></span></div>
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Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-4307905185787298852018-02-11T04:29:00.000-08:002018-02-11T04:29:15.236-08:00Still Studying For My OUPVSeveral weeks ago (and in the post directly preceding this one) I told you about my experience taking my OUPV Captain's license exam. To quickly recap, it went fine, all things considered. I passed three of the four module tests easily, but I missed the Rules of the Road module by one stinking question. Well, I'm retaking the Rules of the Road exam Tuesday, February 13th. I'm also taking the Master's license upgrade.<br />
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The Rules of the Road exam consists of 30 multiple choice questions that one must get a 90% grade on. That means you can only get three questions wrong. Fair enough. The Rules of the Road are very important and deserve having a high passing grade.<br />
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I am working my ass off to be ready for my re-exam. The system I'm using is the Mariner's Learning System, and according to their own information, the questions that are in the book quizzes and online quizzes are the questions that appear in the test, so I'm cramming on all the questions that appear in the Rules of the Road module in their book and online system. (They can make that claim because they create the tests that are used for the exam.)<br />
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And how many questions are there? 315 in the Rules of the Road sections. And I've answered and re-answered them damn near every day for the last month, just like yesterday (2/10/2018). And how did I do on those questions? What was my score? I missed only three. THREE out of 315. For those of you keeping score at home, that's a grade of 99.36%. On the Master's upgrade, I scored a 98.43% -- 251 correct out of 255 questions. But the score for the Rules of the Road is the one that's important to me.<br />
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I need to pass the Rules of the Road module to earn my OUPV (Six Pack) license this time. That's the bottom line. That's the key. If I somehow muff it again, I basically have to go back and start over again, and that would suck. If I passed the Rules of the Road exam and failed the Master's upgrade, that's not quite as bad because the Master's exam is strictly multiple choice questions. To have to redo the entire OUPV exam would require that I do the entire damn thing over again from the very beginning. Quizzes, module exams, chart plotting, then take the whole exam again. It would be a lot more work, and I'm not exactly sure I have the gumption to go that route again.<br />
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But getting a 99.36% score on 315 questions ... that's good, isn't it? That sounds awesome. I should be able to go into this exam on Tuesday with full confidence I'm going to murder the damn thing. But I don't. I'm as nervous about this as anything I've done in the last ten years. Seriously! So, I'm going to cram and cram and cram as much as I can until the moment I have to climb in the car and drive to Boulder to take the exam on Tuesday.Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-63689413031217003442018-01-08T04:49:00.004-08:002018-01-08T04:49:56.291-08:00My First Shot At The USCG OUPV 6 Pack Captain's License Exam<div align="LEFT" style="border: none; line-height: 0.18in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-right: 0.04in; padding: 0in;">
Ever since we started our on board life, I've wanted to get my U.S. Coast Guard approved, bonafide Captain's license. I've never had any professional vessel operating aspirations, but I saw it as me earning a diploma of sorts. It would be a validation of the effort and diligence I always put into being the traditional, not-quite-so-bonafide captain of Why Knot.</div>
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Let me explain that last part. It's all about tradition and, I guess, a little bit of legalese.</div>
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At this moment (1/7/2018, after I took the OUPV exam) I am not a licensed Captain. I have to still pass the test. But I am a skipper; I've been the operator of a boat. I've also been a traditional captain; in my case, I've been the operator of my own vessel, Why Knot. I'm not sure if I were the operator of some other vessel not for hire if I'd be a traditional captain or not, but I'd still be a skipper. Regardless, I've been working towards getting my U.S. Coast Guard issued OUPV Captains License for most of 2017.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERVWkT-hucE_wj15hoqTYbLZvrNEqm2o6SMU_yYSLZ_VWzl-IHzfgZFnVGSo3yO2amMoP2ES2xTosXQvB0NRBp1H4-t4NPHMRhKoW_PmryGoAOv1GwwMZsje_AtXm0XivddVeFu-wFwg/s1600/Mariners-Learning-System-logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="84" data-original-width="269" height="99" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERVWkT-hucE_wj15hoqTYbLZvrNEqm2o6SMU_yYSLZ_VWzl-IHzfgZFnVGSo3yO2amMoP2ES2xTosXQvB0NRBp1H4-t4NPHMRhKoW_PmryGoAOv1GwwMZsje_AtXm0XivddVeFu-wFwg/s320/Mariners-Learning-System-logo.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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To do this I've used the study program by an outfit called Mariners Learning System. I was introduced to them at the Annapolis Powerboat Show a couple of years ago. It was mostly online study which is something that I do well with. It seemed like a good way to go. Now, I didn't have to start the course immediately. However, when I activated the account, I had twelve months to complete the curriculum and take the tests in their system. I could take each of the four license test modules up to three times for the original price. After that first twelve months, extensions can be purchased for a modest sum. But one could only take the module exams up to three times without having to start the whole process over again. I activated the system on March, 8, 2017 which meant I had until March 8, 2018 to do the curriculum and PASS the exam modules.</div>
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[Note: One of MLS's selling points is that they are the only U.S.C.G authorized testing company. This enables them to compose the tests and sanction exam dates and locations. In other words, they can do testing on behalf of the Coast Guard. MLS says they are the only organization like this. I guess other license schools prep you and then send you to take the Coast Guard proctored exams in one of their regional exam centers. But this is an important distinction.]</div>
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Before I go on further, let me ask the question everyone has – how hard is the exam? It's hard. There's a lot of material, it's very technical, and you have to be able to parse very nuanced choices to select the correct multiple choice answer. You can't go in there thinking that the correct answer will somehow stand out. The Coast Guard wants the exam to weed out pretenders more than validating winners. In other words, the exam is designed to get people to fail.</div>
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Anyway, my first test day came on January 7, 2018, in Denver. More precise, in my home community, Lakewood, Colorado. How convenient. I showed up and was surprised to see that there was only one other candidate there to take the test. So be it. The proctor is a local captain himself.</div>
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The exam itself is in four modules. They are Plotting [ten questions, actually working with a chart they supply.], Navigation [20 questions], Rules of the Road [30 questions], and Deck General [60 questions]. To pass the exam one has to get at least at 70% grade on Plotting, Navigation, and Deck General, which I did with some margin to spare. But on Rules of the Road, you have to get a score of 90% or better. That one was a challenge.</div>
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Shipmates, if you're thinking that any test on the Rules of the Road couldn't be more difficult than who the stand-on and give-way vessels are in a crossing situation, you would be sadly mistaken. You have to know all about the ships' lights [Are they a NUC, Constrained by Draft, or Pilot? What lights would different tows have according to their length?], you powerboaters need to know the rules for sailing vessels, and much more. It was hard.<br />
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<a href="https://youtu.be/bgAI5fuLQIo" target="_blank">CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO</a></div>
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The bottom line was that I did not pass that module the first time. I got an 80%.</div>
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I had two options what to do next. The next testing opportunity in Colorado is in February and that would be all there would be here for several months. I had only two more times to take the test for that last module before the March 8th expiration date. I did something MLS says is not such a good idea; I decided to take the test for that module a second time then and there. I figured if I failed I still had the test opportunity available to me in February. If I passed, all the better.</div>
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The second test had different questions than the first, but they seemed more familiar to me. It flowed better. But I did do something I know for sure I shouldn't have done. I second guessed myself on the answer to one question and changed my answer.</div>
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And guess what my score was? 86.6% I got one question wrong. Damn it! And remember that question I changed my answer on? I had it right the first time. Damn it! Damn it! One stinking question!</div>
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So, It'll my last shot at getting at least a 90% on the Rules of the Road module test in February in Boulder, Colorado.</div>
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One stinking question.<br />
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<br />Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-7069377281981451332018-01-04T03:18:00.003-08:002018-01-04T03:18:31.713-08:00New Video! 5 Reasons Why Liveaboard Boating Is Awesome!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IdgPyFDNsJo/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IdgPyFDNsJo?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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I hope you enjoy this new On Board Life video.Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-68321672927129133232018-01-03T06:14:00.000-08:002018-01-03T06:14:24.530-08:002018 Is Going To Be a Great Year!<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yay! 2017 is over! The curse of the perpetual shore leave has been vanquished.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHa-Xq8HSaNgE2oP1Yb9TahDv0j3gY37TpHtDzg5Raw5aH462yd5Q3z8RbL204aBUM3Ds1gkIlUjy2Fa2JJyKSVRd-caEdos3t5hzPsZKxOwCgJhscKoQCeXRUqjQoC2d8_qrWtePLaKY/s1600/240_F_132566473_8s2PtemXBcMWUv81vZzBHZWIp3WYdJQb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="339" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHa-Xq8HSaNgE2oP1Yb9TahDv0j3gY37TpHtDzg5Raw5aH462yd5Q3z8RbL204aBUM3Ds1gkIlUjy2Fa2JJyKSVRd-caEdos3t5hzPsZKxOwCgJhscKoQCeXRUqjQoC2d8_qrWtePLaKY/s320/240_F_132566473_8s2PtemXBcMWUv81vZzBHZWIp3WYdJQb.jpg" width="320" /></a>We are so happy to have flipped the calendar page to 2018. What a pain in the butt it has been. First, our house out here in Denver was heavily damaged by a freak hailstorm with baseball size hail. We had to go through contractor hell to get it fixed. (FYI, our insurance company, American Family, performed well. No problems with them. But those damn contractors...) Lisa then needed medical attention, and that glued us to Denver for the last quarter of the year. (Everything went well with her. And for those in the know, this had nothing to do with what she went through in 2015.) To finish up the year, we drove back to St. Louis to see sons Bryan and Kevin and their assorted broods. It was nice but cold, cold, cold.</div>
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As I write this on 1/3/2018, we are back in Denver so that Lisa can start her tax preparation work. She'll wrap that up at the end of March. We'll then put on a full court press to get down to the boat mid-April-ish to start our 2018 boating season. And just like we had planned last year, we are heading up the coast to start our Why Knot Great Lakes Grand Tour. It's a four or five-year mission to explore the Great Lakes that we're very excited about. More details coming soon.</div>
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But there's a new layer of interest for this season. That's a new endeavor I'm starting. It's an expansion of the On Board Life Youtube channel that I've been posting to for several years. I've been making videos seriously, but they've never really found an audience. Part of that is because I neglected the search engine optimization aspects of Youtube publishing. But another point is that I hadn't focused on what I was producing. They were, for all intents, a video library of our adventures; they were our record of our accomplishments. They were fun, and I kept them short so people wouldn't have to sit through endless scenes of waves and gulls, or images of what we ate. People who watched them liked them. But I thought I could do more.</div>
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I did.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjglttrZA2rntOFJxjdwInUEF_BJdsJj67XoGyJgYgBovSHy0_GG9XmoktzLAw686OhMEgKcZsJIbkRFALtQuzeoiVYHxnYM2QT5DmPL3jlcWryNSFqdOLACYxpFmzTbjvR82V7KGflWl8/s1600/blog+banner+A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="212" data-original-width="1199" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjglttrZA2rntOFJxjdwInUEF_BJdsJj67XoGyJgYgBovSHy0_GG9XmoktzLAw686OhMEgKcZsJIbkRFALtQuzeoiVYHxnYM2QT5DmPL3jlcWryNSFqdOLACYxpFmzTbjvR82V7KGflWl8/s640/blog+banner+A.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The new The On Board Life Youtube channel is dedicated to newbie and wannabee boaters who dream of getting out on the water themselves. I think I have some things to say to them that will help them find their way onto the deck of their own boat and out onto the water. But the videos are going to be different than most of the videos on the subject. They're going to be shorter: four to five minutes max. And they're going to be formatted in a way that is popular and most effective on YouTube. You'll see what I mean as the videos come out. I know I can commit to publishing a video twice a month without breaking a sweat. I'll then publish more videos more frequently as we get underway.</div>
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I think they are going to be unique in the realm of liveaboard boating videos. And what kind of content will they have? Well, you're just going to have to subscribe to the channel to find out.</div>
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The first video, Liveaboard Boating – 5 Reasons Why Liveaboard Boating Is Awesome! is up and ready for you to watch. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;">CLICK HERE TO GO TO YOUTUBE>></span> <a href="https://goo.gl/k8EpQS"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">https://goo.gl/k8EpQS</span></a></span></div>
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Thank you in advance for your support. Please, like, share, subscribe and comment.</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Here are my contact links.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The On Board Life YouTube channel </span><a href="https://goo.gl/k8EpQS"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">https://goo.gl/k8EpQS</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Facebook – Skipper Darrell <a href="https://goo.gl/5D2cqu">https://goo.gl/5D2cqu</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The On Board Life Blog <a href="https://goo.gl/abkRx8">https://goo.gl/abkRx8</a> </span>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Twitter – @skipperdarrell </span>
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Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-58557868755277087632017-05-12T13:29:00.000-07:002017-05-12T13:29:08.838-07:00Well, Poopie!<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Remember the video of the hailstorm that I posted? The hailstorm that broke our skylights? The hailstorm that we were afraid was ushering in the apocalypse? We thought that only the skylights needed to be replaced. Their damage was obvious. We took the step of moving our departure to Florida from 5/15 to 5/23. We thought we could get those repairs taken care of on cruise control. Well, today the insurance adjuster showed up, and we were shocked at the extent of the damage that occurred. Our untrained eyes missed most of it.</div>
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The broken skylights were the tip of the iceberg. The entire roof needs to be replaced, both air conditioner units, chimneys, ducts, drywall in our covered porch, lights, and lots of other small detail pieces had the characteristic ding in their surfaces. But the biggest surprise were the windows. Almost all of the aluminum windows were damaged along the lower edge of the frames. And not just a few divots here and there. There are dozens and dozens of pips in them as if someone with a ball peen hammer had come along and meticulously popped the frames' surfaces. It was amazing.</div>
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The disappointing bottom-line is that the repairs are so involved, we have to cancel our summer cruising plans to oversee their completion. We have to postpone The Why Knot Great Lakes Grand Tour for 2017. It sucks big-time, and we're very disappointed about it, but it's what we must do. Lisa and I have never hesitated to invest time and resources into things of value so that we may enjoy the returns on those investments in the future. And so, again, we shall make such an investment.</div>
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But all is not lost! We are not going to be landbound. No, sirree. Jacksonville is only a 3½ hour plane ride from Denver. And there's still plenty of places to take short and fun cruises for a week or so. We can still easily jaunt up to Jekyll Island and Brunswick, GA. And maybe we'll even head down the St. Johns River and see what all the fuss about it is. Who knows!?</div>
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Anyway, we'll let ourselves be disappointed for a day or two. It will be sad to file this summer's float plan away until next year. But it's only for a year. I don't think the entire Eastern Seaboard is going anywhere.</div>
Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-52049332264789957362017-05-08T05:38:00.000-07:002017-05-08T05:38:47.888-07:00The Why Knot Great Lakes Grand Tour Float Plan <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sometimes you have to take baby steps. For us, recently, those baby steps included not going all out and spouting off about our upcoming plans. Truth is, we have had a situation (medical) hanging over our heads that could have put an immediate stop to everything. Fortunately, all is well. The doctors have given us the green light to forget about all that and GOBOAT.</div>
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Okie-dokie! We'll do that.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRe1-0OVTWTQr23U3lmLWw8i9JmGqxsgLc-uygVU_2PzbfcnRGK1HyzgCyAhcOq-Sv8Rjhyq_6Wgo5QNXmiRrHkTm5Z4AQoEtUAVhDqiN-ptN2dnPqgua2nhQ208gl8bfqsICGlPhp8W0/s1600/WKGLGT+logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRe1-0OVTWTQr23U3lmLWw8i9JmGqxsgLc-uygVU_2PzbfcnRGK1HyzgCyAhcOq-Sv8Rjhyq_6Wgo5QNXmiRrHkTm5Z4AQoEtUAVhDqiN-ptN2dnPqgua2nhQ208gl8bfqsICGlPhp8W0/s320/WKGLGT+logo.jpg" width="320" /></a>Now, it's no secret we are heading north to the Great Lakes for a four or five-year exhaustive exploration of this wonderful region. After all, this whole thing is called the Why Knot Great Lakes Grand Tour. It's right there in black and white. But Why Knot is currently in Jacksonville, FL. We have to get there first.</div>
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Our planned departure from the Marina at Ortega Landing in beautiful Jacksonville is on June 1. Here's the rough details by destination.</div>
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- Sister's Creek – can't pass up a free dock.</div>
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- The anchorage at Dungenese, just north of Cumberland Sound</div>
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- Jekyll Island – we'll stay there a couple of days. Lisa insists.</div>
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-Brunswick Landing Marina in Brunswick GA – Haven't been there yet. Besides, it's only 10 miles from Jekyll Island.</div>
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-Anchorage at Buttermilk Sound</div>
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-Anchorage at Wahlberg Creek</div>
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-Isle of Hope Marina in Savannah – We're going to stay here a few days and rent a car. We need to do some exploring.</div>
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-Shelter Cove Marina at Hilton Head – Haven't been to HH. Three days ought to do it.</div>
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-Anchorage at Patriot Lucy – this appears to be a somewhat dicey anchorage: strong current, kind of exposed. I'll be very flexible with this one.</div>
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-Charleston – We'll anchor the first night on the Stono River the first night, then go to Ashley Marina for two nights. This is a restaurant stop: SNOB – Slightly North On Broad. Their Shrimp and Grits is outstanding.</div>
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-Georgetown – at the marina</div>
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-Barefoot Marina – Myrtle Beach</div>
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-Bald Head Island – One of our favorite destinations. Gotta stay a couple of days.</div>
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-Wilmington NC – This is a new destination for us. Looking forward to it.</div>
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-Anchorage at Wrightsville Beach</div>
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-Anchorage at Mile Hammock</div>
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-Morehead City Yacht Basin – This is a big objective. Not to get to the marina, per se – been there, done that. But we're going to rent a car and head out for several days and explore the area. First, we'll head to the ferries that go to Ocracoke, head up the Outer Banks, take the ferry to Hatteras, then head up to Kill Devil Hill, Kitty Hawk, Nags Head and Manteo. (And for all of you familiar with the marina at Alligator River, we'll go there too, just to say we have.) We'll then swing back down to Bellhaven, Washington and New Bern, then back to Morehead City.</div>
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-Whitaker Pointe Marina in Oriental – as we've said many times, our favorite marina.</div>
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-Anchorage at Slade River.</div>
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-Then all the usual stops up to Annapolis: Alligator River, Coinjock, free dock at Dismal Swamp (at the ICW), Lynn Haven, Deltaville, Solomons, then Annapolis. We'll stay in Annapolis for a week.</div>
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-From Annapolis, we'll head up the bay to Delaware City, then down Delaware Bay to Cape May.</div>
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-From Cape May, we are going up through New Jersey on the ICW instead of going outside. Why? Because it will be a new challenge. There will be a mix of marinas and anchorages.</div>
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- Perhaps one of our biggest objectives is to get to New York City. From Mannesquan, NJ we'll anchor behind the Statue of Liberty for a night. From there—and we are stoked about this—we will go to the 015 Marina near the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, directly across from Manhattan. Five days in NYC.</div>
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-The next major stop is up the Hudson River at Troy, NY. We will be renting a car again so we can accomplish two goals. The first is to drive down to Albany and find the grave of Chester Arthur, the 21<sup>st</sup> President of the U.S. He's a fascinating historical figure and is buried in Albany. The second is to go the movies. I know that sounds dull, but this is a special movie. It's a live broadcast of a Rifftrax performance where they skewer one of the classic Doctor Who episodes from the classic series: The Five Doctors. Holy Crap!</div>
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-From Troy we will head west on the Erie Canal until we get to Sylvan Beach on the eastern end of Oneida Lake. We'll hang out there for the Labor Day weekend.</div>
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-Our last stop is on the western end of Lake Oneida: Winter Harbor Marina in Brewerton, NY. There the boat will be put up on the hard in one of their heated mega-sheds for the winter.</div>
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And what about the summer season in 2018? We'll head up to Lake Ontario, explore the Thousand Islands and Canadian Canals of Quebec.</div>
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And that is our On Board Life for the summer of 2017! We can't wait.</div>
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Would you like to come along? You can, indirectly. Just like last season, I'll be producing videos of all of our routes and reaches. I'll post them on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and here on the blog. I'll also make more of an effort to write more blog entries. Apparently I have a fan base for them, and they want more.</div>
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It's going to be a great season!</div>
Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-43838274380779096812017-04-06T06:42:00.001-07:002017-04-06T06:42:30.032-07:00Boater's New Best FriendSometimes one thing leads to another.<br />
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We have some modest stock investments, and one of the companies we have recently purchased stock in is West Marine. (WMAR -- Good evaluations. Probably not long term, but there is some money to be made.)<br />
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I exchanged some comments with another potential investor about WM in the comments section of an article about the investment opportunity. He asked if there were store locations near every marina. I told him that they did not. As a matter of fact, their intention is to consolidate stores into fewer, bigger stores that cater to not only boaters for parts, etc. but also the marine lifestyle market. (ex. I am currently wearing shoes I bought at WM.)<br />
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During this exchange, something occurred to me. It's this: Is it possible that the biggest advance in convenience for cruising boaters in years is Uber and Lyft?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi204a52ldjjlxeDAr8naOKCIxn7nC2o64v4Pvk63XHL1O5RvG2l3-L619MivRCfBwafPKjkAq-5IofNXCVbVPQXtGLyIApyNwku3PcgVzuq48C3dx10otPtSbVzYEon2wcGUan1_XnWY/s1600/uber-vs-lyft-1080x675.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi204a52ldjjlxeDAr8naOKCIxn7nC2o64v4Pvk63XHL1O5RvG2l3-L619MivRCfBwafPKjkAq-5IofNXCVbVPQXtGLyIApyNwku3PcgVzuq48C3dx10otPtSbVzYEon2wcGUan1_XnWY/s400/uber-vs-lyft-1080x675.png" width="400" /></a></div>
As far as getting around to places like West Marine, or grocery stores, or to hardware stores, or doctors, or whatever, hasn't ride sharing really freed us from many of the constraints we've had?<br />
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There is growing criticism about Uber and Lyft about the financial aspects of being a driver for them, and all that is a conversation for another time and place. But, boy, doesn't it make our lives easier when we are a thousand miles from home and got to get somewhere.Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-61037405594522749502017-04-05T12:25:00.002-07:002017-04-05T12:25:55.719-07:00A Scam Afloat?Perhaps you know this story already.<br />
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Like every good boat owner, we always keep our United States Coast Guard documentation up to date, and we always take care of it while we are back in Denver for our tax season shore leave. This year was no different. Or so we thought.<br />
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After searching Google for 'coast', 'guard', and 'documentation', we were directed to a new website: uscgdocumentation.us. Here's a screen shot.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiduLU_WdUTpl90p4zo_3-yzgkP7NSQFl3xLKEPEOEiyTaiB6WwmjlLq-A1XbPNgNiZ3pciPvNBcBRhjpbxatz4cJ5ZBSKADo1Xkd8esRkxLcL4i3gDr3vopUEMQDFWiP4j1InPfQYuhNU/s1600/scam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiduLU_WdUTpl90p4zo_3-yzgkP7NSQFl3xLKEPEOEiyTaiB6WwmjlLq-A1XbPNgNiZ3pciPvNBcBRhjpbxatz4cJ5ZBSKADo1Xkd8esRkxLcL4i3gDr3vopUEMQDFWiP4j1InPfQYuhNU/s400/scam.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Looks official, doesn't it?<br />
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It's not. Not in the slightest.<br />
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We thought this was the USCG website with a new interface, or at least someone they hired to process requests. It is neither of those things. This website is a processor that can, somehow, process requests for a boat owner, and their fee is $75.00 per request instead of the $26.00 we were used to paying. We figured they had to up the cost to cover increased costs and decreased budgets. Turns out that not only is this not in any way endorsed by the Coast Guard, it is, according to a representative from the real Coast Guard Documentation Center, not something they can do anything about.<br />
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To make it worse, they're sloppy at their job. How do we know this? They sent us the wrong documentation in the first place. We ended up with the docs for a 70 ton commercial boat in North Carolina.<br />
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Here's the kicker -- They are very unscrupulous in their behavior. When I communicated with them via their chat function, he/she got very pissy with me for bringing this up to them. They did end up fixing things (they sent me my correct doc via email) but it was a wholly unpleasant experience ... not to mention substantially more expensive.<br />
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Here's the gist of the matter.<br />
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uscgdocumentation.us is not affiliated with the USCG in any way. If you have a problem the USCG cannot help you. You have to deal with uscgdocumentation.us directly.<br />
Our experience was that they were sloppy and rude.<br />
They are 300% more expensive than going through the real USCG documentation online service: https://www.uscg.mil/nvdc/. Note: When you do renew through uscg.mil, you are redirected to pay.gov to actually pay for your request. This is legitimate.<br />
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So, a word to the wise is enough.<br />
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<br />Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-76268184882718009962017-02-08T11:41:00.000-08:002017-02-08T11:43:33.049-08:00Our TOP 5 SONGS FOR OUR ON BOARD LIFENothing goes along with our on board life like having some great music playing along with us. Whether we're piping some rowdy stuff through our flybridge stereo while we're underway, or we're enjoying some quieter music in the salon in the evening, we always like to fill the air with music. And Lisa and I have very broad and varied musical tastes. We both have a background in musical theater (she, in the chorus, me as a musician) and we both love to sing along with our CDs or digital music. We like classical, operas, folk, sea shanties, international, choirs, rock and roll, funk, R&B, country, techno-dance (That's me mostly), swamp rock, jam rock, top 40 and lots of jazz. I even have a collection of circus music that I like.<br />
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But what are our absolute favorites?<br />
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Here they are. Our TOP 5 SONGS FOR OUR ON BOARD LIFE.<br />
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#5 Strike The Bell from Steady as She Goes: Songs and Chanties from the Days of Commercial Sail<br />
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Who doesn't like a good 'ol sea shanty? We do, and Strike the Bell is our favorite. This is our favorite version.</div>
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#4 Erie Canal (traditional folk song) vers. by Bruce Springsteen</div>
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What do you get when you take an old-time folk song written in a major key and turn it over to Bruce Springsteen? You get a new arrangement written in a minor key that is soulful and evocative. And let's face it, if you're cruising on the real Erie Canal and you don't listen to this song at least every other day, you're not getting the full effect of the experience.</div>
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#3 Rock and Roll Doctor - Little Feat</div>
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I admit that this song has zip to do with anything boat-ish. Busted. But I don't care about that in this instance. This is one of the greatest swamp, boogie rockers ever. And there are times where that is the only vibe you need.</div>
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#2 Wagon Wheel - vers. by Darius Rucker</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hvKyBcCDOB4/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hvKyBcCDOB4?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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A great song by any measure. And, my God, can Darius Rucker sing. What a great voice. I've got the harmony on the chorus down pat. This is the version we prefer, but the version (below) from the Live From Daryl's House internet show is very good too. </div>
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Before I reveal the #1 song, here are a few honorable mentions.</div>
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Tishomingo Blues (trad. jazz) There are a zillion versions of this. Pick one. We prefer the Prairie Home Companion version with Garrison Keilor from the album "Shake it, Break it, Hang It On The Wall." You're welcome</div>
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Sailing To Philadelphia by Marc Knopfler, with Jame Taylor</div>
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You Won't Succeed On Broadway from Spamalot, the Broadway musical</div>
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You: Eh, Darrell? This really has nothing to do with boating.</div>
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Me: Yes it does! Sometimes, after several hours of cruising, when we're bored to tears, we need a change of pace. This does that nicely.</div>
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And now, our NUMBER 1 SONG FOR OUR ON BOARD LIFE</div>
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Knee Deep, by the Zac Brown Band, with Jimmy Buffett</div>
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The reasons that this is our #1 song are as many as beats in the song itself. It really did change our life. More than anything else, it affirmed our decision to set off on this on board life together. It's a great song, very singable, and having Jimmy Buffett in the song is its crowning glory. Of course, it has Jimmy Buffett as a singer. Who else would it be?</div>
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So, what do you think of our list? Leave your opinion in the comments below.</div>
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Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-75951047489542492162016-11-12T03:59:00.000-08:002016-11-12T03:59:24.157-08:00Our 2016 Winter Cruising Season In All Its Glory! At Least until Just South Of Miami ... Or Until We Change It.Yay! All my float planning is complete for our 2016 Winter Cruising Season. And its a great plan! It took me hours and hours to come up with this baby, and I know it's a winner. It's all about getting to the Florida Keys for awhile.<br />
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Here it is.<br />
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We'll cast off from Turtle Cove Marina on Monday, November 14th. Weather looks good to go outside south down to Tampa Bay and back to St. Petersburg Municipal Marina.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiMOW3GRIR40TWs8yIn4Jylu-388pcyoYSDFoO1pIuAwtbxDpvqJSiwgUNZYnVWe4DPY6kXS2_iVvIqvfDBqwH8qoeZF-lnwy87sVC3dOrfC2dIsZ4Lh5OZqwoOMMikpzuCewzw6lIPgk/s1600/route1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiMOW3GRIR40TWs8yIn4Jylu-388pcyoYSDFoO1pIuAwtbxDpvqJSiwgUNZYnVWe4DPY6kXS2_iVvIqvfDBqwH8qoeZF-lnwy87sVC3dOrfC2dIsZ4Lh5OZqwoOMMikpzuCewzw6lIPgk/s400/route1.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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We're going to stay there for two days, then start the push south to the Keys, making landfall at Marathon.<br />
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Out stops along the way are ...<br />
Blackburn Bay anchorage, between Sarasota and Venice Inlet<br />
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Cape Haze anchorage, north of Gasparilla and Charlotte Harbor<br />
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Salty Sam's Marina at Fort Myers Beach. We'll stay there three nights.<br />
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Rose Marina at Marco Island<br />
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West Pass Anchorage<br />
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Shark River anchorage. (The exact anchorage coordinates are not set in stone here.)<br />
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And finally, to Marathon for a week.<br />
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To Key West, but for only a couple of days.<br />
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Then, if the weather cooperates, The Dry Tortugas<br />
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From there we backtrack to Key West and Marathon. From there we go to ....<br />
Well, I fill you in on that later.<br />
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And by the way, before you all chide me along the lines of not being able to get<br />
reservations this late in my planning, I had no problems at all.Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-72614406564344093232016-10-16T05:31:00.000-07:002016-10-16T05:33:05.479-07:00Planning The Winter SeasonAs boaters Lisa and I have met some of the nicest, sweetest, funniest, and all-around swell-est people anywhere, that is other boaters. One such couple is Dick and Deanna of the vessel Sareanna. We've been fortunate to have spent some golden moments with them. Dick is also one of the funniest people we've met, with a dry sense of humor and a genuine sense of enjoyment for their on board life. We go out of our way to visit with them.<br />
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However, there is a problem with Dick's and my friendship; we are totally opposite types of skippers. He and Deanna are the types of cruising boaters who set out on a day with an idea of where they want to go, but no real details to the mission in place. If they make it, fine, if not, they figure it all out as they go along. And there's nothing wrong with that at all. We've known lots of boaters like that. However, that's not how we (or should I say, I) do things.<br />
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I am a planner. I thoroughly enjoy the detail work of our life. Even for a simple, short motoring down the ICW, my planning is extreme. I know the exact distance to be traveled, the speeds, the fuel consumption, the possible obstacles, all the bridges' names, everything; there is no detail too small for me not to have dissected it down to the molecular level. For me, getting into the minutia of the experience is half the fun. (You should see my log. It's an Excel spreadsheet monstrosity that is, for me, a joy to behold.)<br />
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Dick thinks my, as he once described it, "anal" tendencies about float planning is too much. It amuses him to no end. I'm glad that I can be a source of entertainment for him. But I am what I am. I'm going to go on and plan, plan, plan to my little heart's content. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.<br />
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All that brings me to this -- I'm planning our winter cruising season and I need HELP!!!!!! We're going to the Florida Keys and I'm stumped about certain aspects of the route there.<br />
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Why Knot is currently at Turtle Cove Marina in Tarpon Springs, and since we took our time getting up to there over the summer (short days, longer stays at each locale) we are going to go ahead and hustle down the coast to get to the keys. Here's the float plan so far.<br />
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Click images to enlarge.<br />
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Tarpon Springs to St. Petersburg - 58 sm, marina, outside route<br />
St. Petersburg to Blackburn Bay - 50 miles, anchorage, inside route<br />
Blackburn Bay to Cape Haze - 26 miles, anchorage, inside route<br />
Cape Haze to Snook Bite Marina (Ft. Myers Beach) - 44 miles, marina, inside route<br />
or<br />
Blackburn to Tween Waters - 51 miles, marina, inside route<br />
Tween Waters to Snook Bite - 24 miles, marina, inside route<br />
then<br />
Snook Bite to Rose Marina (Marco Island) - 43 miles, marina<br />
Here's where it starts to get tricky.<br />
Rose Marina to West Pass - 36 miles, an anchorage near Everglades City. (below)<br />
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West Pass to Shark River - 46 miles, anchorage<br />
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From Shark River, as I see it, I chart a course that first heads west some around Cape Sable, then back east a little until I meet up with the ICW line on the north side of Marathon. I then have to motor west along the magenta line to be able to cross under Seven Mile Bridge at Moser Channel. Once I've done that we cruise to Boot Key.<br />
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I'm planning a route to Key West on the south side of the Keys. Once we've drunk too much for a week or two in Key West, we'll motor around the peninsula up the East Coast and try to make it up to some place like Titusville or Ortega (Jacksonville) to leave the boat for our required Winter Tax Shore Leave (Feb. and March).<br />
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What do you think? And yes, I know I need to make our reservations today.<br />
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Dick would be proud ... or baffled.<br />
<br />Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161850571694667304.post-36150529401994631812016-07-12T10:58:00.000-07:002016-07-12T10:58:43.939-07:00Captain Cutie<span style="font-size: large;">Of all the marine memes that I have created (126 to date!) by far, the most popular have been the ones I call Captain Cutie memes. They are a picture of a very cute saluting captain and have a caption of some aspect of the on board life with the tagline, "You're a cruising boater," common traits that we all share. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here she is in all her glory, Captain Cutie.</span><br />
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<br />Darrell "Skipper Darrell" Grobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068244497704480709noreply@blogger.com0