Happy Holidays from SV Athena, Captain, and Crew

Happy Holidays Everyone!!
May they be filled with more love and light than you can imagine.

More dock Life

Yes, it's "season" in Florida and there's more life around the dock as Peppermint Patty and I continue to enjoy our dock life...
Walking down the dock the other night, I heard a breath... I looked over and saw the back of a manatee... not much more than maybe 15 or 20 feet from the dock. I instantly thought of my mom, who will be traveling south to visit soon. I hope she sees lots of manatee during her visit as they make their way inland for the winter season.
pictures, pictures, pictures...
Picturesque moon sets in the early morning...
We've also had some really foggy mornings... barely able to see five feet beyond the edge of the dock. These foggy morning usually resulted in very humid days, which the bromeliads, that I'm now growing on the boat, love.

Patty at Sunset

Now that the weather is nicer and the AC is off the sailboat, Peppermint Patty gets to spend more time top deck.
And, as soon as the sun drops below the horizon...
she is off the boat and onto the dock!
I just love these photos of her at sunset.
She has become such a love again since finding a new home for the kitten...

It's a sailing dinghy thingy dinghy

So, why not just wait until sailing season to start doing all the chores that should be done before sailing season...
It was one hot humid long summer in SWFL this year... that's why not!
okay, okay, no excuse...
But, alas, the weather has broken and I'm trying to get back into the swing.
Starting with, the sailing dinghy thingy inflatable tube.
Which, to much chagrin, has been nothing but a gluey ewy mess since almost day one of the now four years that I've owned it. See pictures of ewy gluey mess.
The cement like glue has cemented itself to the outside of the very piece (rub rail) it's suppose to be cementing to the inflatable tube! But, it's not quite like cement, because it's still gluey and still gets all over everything, including myself, however it's almost impossible to get the glue off of the dinghy if one tries!!!
The dinghy is an 8-foot Walker Bay sailing dinghy with inflatable and super duper sailing set-up. I've even been challenged to a duel by a dock mate...
But, before that fun begins, I was hoping to finally fix the gluey ewy mess, even if it meant replacing the very expensive tube...
So, knowing that West Marine has an incredible return policy.... knowing this because of the countless time and dollars I've spent in there...
I dismounted the inflatable tube from the dinghy and took it into West Marine.
They did not immediately offer to return it...
No big surprise there on this $700 item.
We did however, discover that Walker Bay has a FIVE year warranty on the inflatable tube!!
And, low and behold, I still had the now four year old very faded receipt!!
So began the contact with Walker Bay on November 24th, 2009... which seemed to be going so well...
I'm still hoping this story has a good ending...
Stay tuned...