Captain's Log

Skinwalker Log February 8, 2007, Thursday, 1945 hrs

Turkey Creek, Ortona, Florida

We worked hard today, this beautiful, dry, warm sunny day in the 80’s and after freshening up late in the afternoon, we sat out with Mojito’s, washing down crisp crackers smothered with fresh salmon dip.

How was your day in Oswego? 84 inches of lake effect snow, you say? Pity. Call back in June, bubba. I put my tee shirt back on and tugged down on my shorts as I watched a Coast Guard icebreaker on TV going up the Hudson River crushing ice. Oswego, Kingston, Waterford, the Hudson. We were there only a few months ago cruising.

We don’t do cold, folks, that’s why we are here, watching our favorite gator cruise by, the various herons, turtles and fish that keep us company and birds. There are like dozens of bird species that call this area home. I’m not much on bird watching, but hey, it beats working for that slave driver up in the pilothouse building cushions for the foredeck seat. They’re being built new especially for my sun worshipping sister who arrives March 31st with the oldest woman I know—my mother. Jeez, with the work left to do it seems like tomorrow, yikes, we’re out of time. We depart April 1st heading north. Hope our buddy boat, Freedom, will be ready. Do you copy that, John & Weiser?

The foredeck boxes are painted, installed and the hardware attached and ready to go. The foredeck seat and storage is nearly finished being re-built. We ferreted out some wood rot and made the repairs and painted. We added a second VHF radio so we can talk to other boats while scanning other channels for traffic. We grouped our radios, moved the compass back, the radar down to the console behind the engine instruments and the navigation laptop next to it. I feel good about these changes. But other than us, who really cares? Sorry gang, I just write what comes out.

One month from yesterday we will be subjected to an insurance survey on the boat. Guess I better start doing my own survey to protect us against the survey that the surveyor will survey. Crap, I hate inspections. It will probably take me all month to search and destroy all the little things needed cover our ass. But, it’s a good thing. The good thing is the survey is in Englewood. Yeah, we get to cruise.

We recently joined the Great Loop Cruising Association and the Turkey Creek Yacht Club and we renewed our Marine Trawler Owners Association and new pennants for all three. We got flags to fly.

That’s enough, now where is that last Mojito.

Wayne & Lynn Flatt