Dock doggies and finally.....a fond farewell

Phoebe the Queen

Frank---a playful charter boat resident

This blog would not be complete without mentioning all my favorite dogs that live on the boats at Regatta Point Marina.  Being "dogless" (not to mention dog-tired and missing our dog Rusty) it always made my day to see one of these happier-than-shit-furry cuties playing and running down the docks....either going or coming from the green grass in front of the marina.  

Bailey---named after one of my fav coffee additives

Candy---the Vogue model

Candy--the teacup Princess

Abby--waiting for Mom and Dad to come home

The other interesting occurrence I keep forgetting to mention is the "Pistol Shrimp".  Our first night on the docks 3 months ago, we thought something was eating the bottom of our boat.  Could it be barnacles already munching away on the algae and is this a good or bad thing?  It sounded like we were sitting in a bowl of Rice Krispies....or a crackling fire....and our new dock mates assured us newbies it was little fish with human-like-teeth gnawing away at the gelcoat....oh brother.  So a little research on the internet where all the answers in the world lie....revealed Pistol Shrimp.  Yep, little shrimp with an oversized claw that has the ability to produce a large snapping sound stunning their prey.  Reminds me of some spicy Cajun shrimp I once ate.  Check it out....and may you sleep better than we did the first month on our boat.

Anyway, all dock comics aside, we have managed to persevere through more upgrades with new running lines (halyards and sheets), repacking the stuffing box and tuning the standing rigging....always another lesson to cram into our overloaded brains. We also bought and registered a PLB (Personal Locater Beacon)---essential emergency beacon devices for coastal/offshore cruisers.  The orange EPIRB below is an older model next our to our new one.

Rigging tension monitor

Old EPIRB and new PLB

Tampa Bay Sunshine Skyway Bridge

But rest assured we have had fun in between....like our trial overnight run up to St Petersburg with our friend and rum-lover Mike Fauser *wink----can't keep up with this jammin' man.  

Jammin' mon

In the beautiful downtown St Pete's we also met up once again with my old college roommate & beau, Alison & Al.....bon voyage my dear old friend.

 One night 5 of our boats took off to a State Park for a beach picnic and overnight.  But the best part was the pea-soup fog that engulfed us before the sun was to set and lasted until noon the next day...errie and peacefully beautiful.

C dock making way too much noise....again.

And then there was another tequila night on the dock.....oh dear.  

Final score----Robert & Leslie 0    Patron 1  (Butterfingers dead)

To good friends wherever we end up in this small world

And so dear readers......the time had finally come.  We sold our Roadtrek van---our blessed home for an unforgettable journey of 4 months across the US.  We provisioned our boat cabinets and lockers with non-perishable food and water.  A window of good weather and a renewed boat with it's lovers on board that were begging to be set free to the vast wild blue horizons ...we bid farewell, but know that it's a small world and our paths shall cross again.  On March 1st, we finally set off for our next big adventure to the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas.....and then?

Fair winds and following seas for Fiesta---Adios!

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.       Mark Twain