So … a new transmission. That’s what we were debating anyway. There was the option to rebuild the old one. Mechan-Eric told us he could take it apart and look at it to see what condition it was in, but we knew we had put that thing under some serious strain, I mean — enough heat to make her lock up, fracture and ultimately fail. That’s a lot of heat, right George?
Oh yeeaahhh.
For a small price bump and a lot of peace of mind, we decided to just go ahead and replace it. Eric found one on Ebay for us but the stupid seller wouldn’t let him buy it and get it shipped out until the auction ended (15-20 days) and there is no way we could wait that long for the boat. We were jonesing to get back out there. So, enter our broker, Kevin, super-sailor and (on this day) solver of all problems. Kevin found us a transmission on Craigslist that was just right. Some sailboat guru down in Jacksonville had a brand new one he had bought a year ago for a project boat that he never got around to.
Can’t imagine why …
Regardless, it was just sitting on his shelf so he was nice enough to sell it to us for a smooth $2,300. Ouch! Boats hurt the bank! But, our boat was parked in Carrabelle and the only way to get her home was to slap a new transmission in there, so we clicked and bought baby! Our new transmission was on its way.
In the meantime, we couldn’t just leave her sitting there all alone in a strange place, weird barnacles growing on her and fish nipping at her, and no one to wipe her deck and tell her how “purdy” she is. Uh-huh. Not our boat! So, we headed down to the ole’ Apalach area to pay her a visit (it was the first of many we would make down there) and give her a little TLC. We had several things we wanted to do – inspect the bilge to make sure we didn’t have any significant leaks, get the propane tank to have it re-filled, make sure the stuff in the fridge was still cold and take down the head sail (the “Genny,”) so we could have the UV cover re-sewn as the surveyor noted in his survey it was starting to rip and it really started fraying and flapping during The Crossing. You know, real interesting boat stuff. (Remember, I told you sailing is hard work – don’t you forget it!).
But, we really fell in love with the sleepy little downtown area in Apalachicola. We had a great time piddling around in all the little shops, sipping some local brew and booze and mixing in with the regulars. We particularly enjoyed the Owl Café (http://www.owlcafeflorida.com/). Phillip had been there before (seriously – there’s nowhere the man hasn’t been) and he was impressed with the gourmet grub, so this time we decided to check out their more casual Tap Room around the corner:
I loved that old rickety bar,
with the ‘helm’ they made out of quirky beer taps.
Creaking floors and clinking beer mugs. That place was great. We strolled right in and asked for a drink!
Phillip’s got some serious ‘swag.’
We scarfed some phenomenal crab cake burgers and washed them down with beer and bright, fruity cocktails.
Yum!
To sum it up:
But, we were eager to get to the boat to see how she was doing and get started on our projects. So, it was on to Carrabelle to check her out. We were thrilled to find she was still tied up, plugged in and seemingly chipper. I swear she wagged her stern a little bit when we walked up.
Phillip couldn’t wait to get to her and give her a little pat on the head.
Hey there girl!
We got the head sail down and started mopping up the bilge with sponges:
A lovely job that left my mits looking very lady-like. Emily Post would not approve!
We also visited with our “boat neighbor” who was tied up next to us at the dock and who claimed to be ‘piddling around on the boat’ to avoid the ‘nagging Misses.’ Can’t blame him there. But, he took a real liking to Phillip (can’t blame him there either) and followed him around like a lost puppy, curious to get into whatever he was getting into. “What ya doing now?” He would say, every couple-a-minutes. But he was quite the character, with a hot bod.
That’s right ladies, take it in:
And, a rockin’ 70’s bowl haircut. Like Captain & Tennille:
But far more Tennille than Captain. (And just in case anyone felt the same – Captain sure was giving me a creepy serial killer vibe in this pic … Staring at me with those beady eyes … *shiver* )
Our neighbor was a lot of fun, though, and he offered us up some great wine (real easy way to win us over – works every time!). We shared a glass with him, toasted the sunset and shut her down for the night.
Snore… oh, are you done? Hey, they can’t all be about last minute anchor saves when the engine dies can they? Tour of downtown Apalachicola. I think that is on the list of the top 250,000 things to do before you die. Alrighty then he said conjuring up his best Jim Carey Ace Ventura voice and look. Since I’m in the mood to be obnoxious (which is kinda my general nature), nextly, I would call that a ship’s wheel that’s hanging in the pub rather than a helm just to be most correct, and really stoke your coals. Now look at me picking a semantics battle with a lawyer. I just aint ben lernt no better. This should be fun, so, bring your case counselor! So, how’s that for an opener? Love the shot of the old broken down relic. I mean the boat, not George what’s his face. You know though, I really liked him (George, not the boat) in Zoro, the Gay Blade (always with the giving my money to the peoples). I don’t know why, but I always want to know the back story on all the old abandoned vessels I see that are slowly decaying into the swamp, bayou, along the river bank or even right in the middle of the marina where they are moored. In most cases, they aren’t even any longer moored, but have long escaped the worn mooring lines and settled on the bottom to become the lair of some marine creatures, while slowly leaking the remnants of their vital fluids into the water with each tidal cycle like the tears of a dying marine mammal (too much??). They await the next major storm to give them a last breath of life and push them or some of their parts into the middle of the channel in an attempt to snare some other unsuspecting vessel in a game of death tag to follow it in its ignominious fate. You just know there were some grand times on that old cruiser (sigh) (the boat, and George). It’s amazing how many abandoned vessels there are out there. Left behind like a small child’s beach toys strewn haphazardly on the strand after the day’s fun. Alright, enough sentimental clap trap. How ’bout some trivia? Did you know that Toni Tennille sang the background vocals on Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album? Man, that brings back some beer fogged memories (sigh again). As for the creepy serial killer look, I think that was just the look of the 70’s. Love, Love will keep us together, think of me babe whenever….. Now try to get that out of your head. hahahahah. When you wet yourself, I’ll stop.
Snore … are YOU done? I’m going to have to put a word limit on your currently unfettered comment “approval” status. (I can you know). I think you need your own blog for this lovely “obnoxious” banter. I did love the Tennille trivia, though. Very interesting (and telling of your age). Ha!
Me, boring? We know that isn’t true. Okay, so self-imposed restriction to keep comments to less than 250 words? But it’s a direct reflection on you. the better you write, the better I write. Maybe in this case it was the inverse (just kidding, it was good. Sparked my writing engine.) You wouldn’t put a limit on the new Harper Lee, or Faulkner, or Winston Groom would you? Yeah, I’m old(er). If I’d been in Apalachicola, I’d have been the one following Phillip around (it’s kind of what I’m doing in the blog isn’t it?) Maybe I do need my own blog… See you on the dark side of the moon. Ooooh. appox. 140 word count…it’s going to be tough.
When are you going to start your own blog so I can leave perfectly-crafted, 140-word-count comments?