Catalina Enee still for sale!

First of all...a contest! Write an "appropriate" caption for this picture! Look close. Click on the picture to make it bigger. Just put your entry in the comments. Enjoy!





Yes fans it's true. Good old Catalina Enee is still on the hard up near Baltimore. Let me just say that boat brokers are all pirates! The ones I left Enee with did nothing to try to sell her over the past several months. So, I've put her up on Ebay. Check it out and spread the word to anyone in the Chesapeak area who want a great first boat!

In other news...we finally got our wifi straightened out and we now have a signal right on the boat. Works a little better if we go in to the marina but still better than schlepping the computer to McDonald's! Note to anyone looking to start a business: Ft. Myers Beach needs an internet cafe desperately! Remember Plantation Coffee in Key West? That place was always jumping and the wifi was free!

I think I'll contract with a local diver to take care of the baranacles once a month. That's only $100 each dive and worth it. I want to make sure our bottom is nice and clean when we take off from here at the end of November. I'm also looking into SCUBA class for myself. Ultimately I'd like to just be able to keep the air tank in the dingy and use a long hose to go around and inspect and clean the boat myself. There is a two week class near here in September for about $275. We'll see.

In any event, breathing through a long hose with the snorkel mouthpiece attached doesn't work! It was a good idea in theory but once in the water captain snappy couldn't get a breath! No comments necessary on this pic, OK?

We are enjoying NOT having refrigeration for awhile. It is so hot here that I have to run a lot of engine to keep up with refrigeration. We have been toting ice every day or two and just not keeping a lot of perishables on board. When it's so hot we don't feel like eating a meat and potatoes dinner anyway. When you are on the go the engine tends to get run twice a day anyway getting off of and back onto the anchor. I should have bought the refrigerator that exchanges heat with seawater instead of air but it was more $$$ and required two more holes in the boat. I already have 9!...at last count.

We've retrieved our car again. I swear I should hang that Mazda from the dingy davitts! It was still up in Clearwater so we finally found a parking space for it, rented a car, and brought it down a couple of days ago. Now we can use it to shop if we want or get propane, explore downtown ft. Myers, etc.

Here's the story of getting the parking space.... I was asking our friendly bartender at the Parrot Bar if he knew of anyone in the neighborhood who might let us park a car. The lady next to me over heard and told me she might have a slot at a condo that she owns but she'd have to check with her partner. I told her I could pay $50 a month (the marina wanted $200!!). She got back to me a few days later and said that they had talked and thought $100 was better. I said well, than try zero on for size! I mean these people are not in the car parking business and the $50 came out of nowhere but suddenly they want $100. She is from New York.

Two days ago I was walking down the street by the marina and a lady was out working in her yard. I asked her if there might be a place to park our car nearby. She gave me her neighbor's number as he was in Tennessee until winter. I called him (his name is 'Baldy') and asked and told him I'd be willing to pay for the privlege. He said, "Hell you don't have to pay me partner. Just go ahead and put your car there". Tennessee - New York. Coincidence? Maybe not.

That's for now. Remember there's a boat out there for sale and Gracie is still available!