Cruising is not all Sunsets, Beaches, and Cocktails!

October 22, 2017

We are in the St. Pete area and have been for the past week. The trip here from Tarpon Springs with a slight stop over in John's Pass was really uneventful. We stayed in John's Pass for a couple of days to see what all they had, which was mostly all tourist stuff.

So, let me tell you the story of the week.

We moved to an anchorage across from Gulfport, Florida, which is next to St. Petersburg. First day or so little to no issue. We meet up with some boating friends of Ladye Jane who moved here from Texas, Ellen and Bob. They ran us around for a few errands which was a big help. We then hooked up with some other friends, Jim and Cat, from Texas who were down looking at powerboats. We went out for some drinks and dinner, and enjoyed visiting with them. The next day we went to the Tampa Boat show with them, which was fun to do and look at some boats we could never afford. Ellen offered her washer and dryer so we went over to their house and did some laundry, Ken and Bob ran more errands. On the way in with the dinghy it was just not sounding right and I figured out the impeller was going bad. We located a spare at West Marine, and guess what/? Wrong one!!!!!!. So, at that point I just wanted a cold beer, turn the gen set on and make some water, and watch the Razorback football game. Just 10 minutes into the game I hear pop smack and we lose all AC power. Hmmm....breakers are good, look at the gen set and guess what a broken belt. Guess what? I do not have one! The next day Ken called locally and could not find the belt. So, I find some online shopping to buy 3, pay for overnight. Guess what, 5 days later it finally gets here. In the mean time, I find one in Tampa. I also have figured out our alternator is not putting out like it should to charge the batteries. So, while I waiting on this I order an alternator. I got the part number right out of the book that came with the boat. Guess what, Westerbeke quit making that one years ago. They have a retrofit part with a new alternator. Great! So, I order another one that will be here Tuesday. Carol makes it back with the belt, and really 10 minutes later the gen set is fixed. We move back out on the hook while we wait on the alternator to get here. That should be a fast change, and I will get the old one rebuilt at some point. Other positive notes I finished cleaning up the install of the water maker, got the dingy motor fixed and serviced.

Ellen and Bob have been life savers this week.....they offered to let us use their extra car, so very generous of them, we took them up on the offer. Can't tell you how many trips to West Marine the two of us made in the last 7 days......

On the fun side we have:
Ate dinner with friends form Texas.
Had a dinner with some old cruisers, future cruisers, and a boat broker/ musician.
Went to a cool dive bar with some awesome Bloody Mary's. (Bloody Mary, Beef Stick, Cheese, Bacon, Pickled Asparagus, Celery, Olives, and other items I am sure to be missing)
Went to Sunset Beach!
Hung out at a local Tiki Hut.
Living on the Hook.
Planning the next stop. (Sarasota Florida. Going to check out the Ringling Brothers Circus Museum)

I actually was so frustrated this last week, I was like sale this boat! I quit! Now that things are fixed, it is back to normal. Carol got some good advice from Ellen, they cruised for 4 years. Live on your boat on the HOOK! for a month prior to leaving. I AGREE!!!! I thought we used our boat often and living on her for 3 years she was ready. Wrong! The gen-set really had not been used often, a few times at Red Fish Island. The dinghy we used for very short periods instead of every day now. So is it worth it? Absolutely! I just have to realize stuff breaks, it can be fixed, it is just a bump in the road. The days sitting at anchor looking out at the water and sunsets makes it all worth it. Moving from place to place, seeing how each destination is different makes it all worth it.

Here are a few pictures from the week, the BAD and the good.