Dolphins Came to Visit the Marina
Saturday, March 8, 2008
The first time we saw dolphins from right here in our slip Deborah and I were very excited. Now, they seem to be here every time we come, but not like they were today. Today, a pair came into the marina (which is a dead end), went all the way to the end, came back half way, had some fun, they made their way out.
We filmed this a few weeks ago but I just now got the chance to upload the video to youtube.
Dolphins Playing (or Mating) in the Marina
It was so exciting to get to see them so close, and from right here in our slip. The dolphin boats here in the marina are always full (it seems) and I am sure they all have a great time, but we get to see them without having to go anywhere, what a treat.
Not only did they come in where we could see them, we ended up getting some great (to me) video and photos too.
You can see from the video that they came all the way up into the small marina cove here. They are really neat animals to see in the wild and not in some trained setting. When they get into a feeding frenzy it is really quite something to see as well.
Slipping Into a New Home
We have been at slip E-12 for about a year now and it was not the most comfortable place for our sailboat. It was a little small and we never could get the lines tied off correctly to keep her from smashing into a pier once in a while when the winds or wakes peaked.
So, we moved. We are now in E-13 and we are enjoying this new location. Yes, we moved one slip over, farther out towards the inter coastal. Doesn’t sound like much but we have a dock that comes all the way out, almost to the aft of the boat where we had almost no dock space before, and, we now have no pier for the anchor to bang up against.
That’s us, last one of the end (left side of photo). We still stick out quite a bit but it is a better slip for our sailboat.
Moving was not the easiest task in the world since our Perkins has a blown head gasket and once we were out in the channel it seems our prop or drive shaft or something was not giving me the power I know this thing has. It could just be lack of a cylinder or two (it only has four), but I am NOT a mechanic to know what the lack of power came from, but we muscled it into the slip and tied off without much issue.
I am sure we gave someone a good laugh and pure entertainment value for the 30 minutes or so it took us to move over one slip, but that is the fun of a marina. You watch everyone else screw up and vice-versa. We are now happily in E-13 and just in time, the wind is blowing just under gale force now.
Washing a Sailboat in a Gale Warning
There is a Time to Rest and A Time to Clean
Before we left from our other home, we had planned on using this weekend down at the boat as a cleaning weekend.
We were trying to beat the Spring breakers who were arriving soon, along with all the regulars for the summer. We were hoping to hit a slow time in between Spring break, snow birds, and regulars, and I think we managed to do that just fine. Of course, there was just one reason for that. GALE FORCE WINDS.
Temps that dropped down in the 40’s would generally keep most people away from a marina, but the winds were something else. Prior to this weekend it had been starting to get up in the 70’s so we thought winter was over. No such luck. When Deborah starting taking photos of me doing the pressure washing it was rather nice, but a little cool.
As the day went on, it got colder and colder and colder and the wind started blowing so hard that I turned on the weather radio to hear, “gale warning in effect” for the next two days. Oh well, this is when we were going to clean the boat.
There were two tasks to complete today, a complete pressure wash, and removing all the vinyl lettering.
Pressure Washing and a Little Wind
So, I started washing to boat from top to bottom, or as much of it as I could reach. I started off in shorts and a hat and put on more cloths as the day went on. Being able to pressure wash a boat in the slip is a great advantage to having to haul it out or use a scrub brush or something.
Each winter an unbelievable grind and gray matter clings to the fiberglass and finds a home that seems impenetrable. A pressure washer does a cleaning job like nothing else I can imagine. I would highly recommend one to anyone looking to clean anything that can withstand the power of a real, genuine gas powered, not available in California, pressure washer. They work great.
Time To Remove all Lettering
Deborah and I decided to re-christen our sailboat, named the s/v Laughalot, to the name of our company, motto, and a name we picked together about a year earlier, the s/v Island Zephyr. The first step of course would be to remove the lettering and measure for the new graphics.
From some of the photos you can see that this was far harder than the washing and I think I had a headache for two days after I finished with the transom graphics. We are planning on putting the name along with the registration numbers at the bow, port and starboard sides, then a larger graphic in the back that has the name of the boat, home port (that would be Auburn, AL), and the website address.
I will do another post with the actual graphic I have designed and hopefully we can get it made and put on the boat very quickly before someone gets upset with a boat that has no lettering. It won’t leave the slip at all so it shouldn’t be a problem.
As you can see from this last photo, the winds are now blowing quite hard, I am now in long sleeves, and all sane individuals are inside and warm. The photo of the tow boat at the top should have been an indication, they were pulling over and stopping along the inter coastal waterway because it was to dangerous to move the barges.
At least we are done. Cleaning and all this is just part of the fun of a sailboat. Everyone else around here will be doing this same thing when it is nice and warm outside and I will be done and up in the cockpit, watching.
When Batteries Explode, Remove Them
We came down to the boat this time to find that we had a little battery issue, one didn’t like being charged over the last few weeks and just blew its top (or side as it looks). Most boats and sailboats have a battery compartment and we have three batteries on board. One starting battery and two “house” batteries.
Much like an RV, the house batteries are supposed to be deep cycle batteries but when we bought the boat the person who “preped” the boat said they put in new batteries, and of course they were all starting batteries. This wasn’t really a bid deal since we weren’t going to use them much at first anyway, but one of them didn’t like being charged like a deep cycle does.
Batteries, Charging, and that Deep Cycle Thing
I removed the coverings to find that the side had completely blown off the side of the battery and of course all its contents were in a puddle underneath the battery. Thank goodness the plastic that lines the battery compartment kept the battery acid and all things wet, contained (also thankful it didn’t start a fire as well).
Since the lead plates were visible I was not real thrilled with getting in there and removing it, but someone had to do it, so while I prepared, Deborah took a few shots here. You can see from the battery shot, the yellow piece to the left is actually the side of the battery that blew out and up.
Disposal of Said Bad Battery
What to do… well, we put a box in a garbage bad, pulled the battery and put it in the bag, then mopped up all the remaining acid and water, sealed it all up and went outside for a breath of fresh air. What in the world do you do with a battery like this? Disposal needs to be done properly, so, Wal-Mart here we come.
The conversation with the automotive center guy went something like this.
wm - Do you want to return it for a refund?
me - Nope.
wm - Do you want to exchange it?
me - Nope.
wm - Do you want your money back?
me - Nope.
wm - What do you want?
me - Nothing, just take the darn thing and dispose of it for me
wm - (opening the bad to inspect)… ummmm
me - ahhh, don’t do that, it is pretty bad in there
wm - ok, anything else.
me - Nope. Thanks.
People are always dealing with power issues on a sailboat, nice to see some of the other posts about some of these issues, like House Battery Shelf, which looks like he shouldn’t have this problem, its great to do it yourself.
We now make sure the charger is turned off when we leave since the remaining battery is still a starting battery, but in very good shape.
A Cold Day on the Beach
Some days a cold day on the beach is better than a warm day inside. The beaches, in most parts of the country right now, are completely empty, but put a nice cool breeze and January into the mix and you get this (see beach image below). Not only is there a rare February thunderstorm in the distance but the only visible moving object on the beach is a tiny little bird in the very center of the image.
The sunsets at the marina are always so dynamic and each one is different. The thunderstorms here made just enough of a hole in the sky to give us a great sunset today.
This image was actually taken by my cell phone. I am really amazed at the quality of images that can be taken by a cell phone these days. Not that it is worthy of publication but for just sticking a phone up in the air, its not bad.
This weekend we did spend the day on the beach (see all the photos below) but we came down to be on Laughalot. We did enjoy the peace and quiet that the marina always has around this time of year, and of course on the beaches too.