I wandered westward in search of my boat on Saturday. I have been hearing her call my name day and night for a good month now so I had to go see what she wanted. I arrived at Dock 44 to find Linda hard at work getting ready to the upcoming season. She was surprised to see me and asked what I was doing there already. I told her I could wait no longer and brought my chainsaw to open up some water so I could splash my boat.

There is so much to do before I can actually sail this year that I am getting a little nervous. The first thing I did was climb into the boat and installed my batteries only to find both battery compartments holding water. It was not a lot but far more than I wanted to find in there. After a quick pump out, I set the batteries in place and rearranged everything that has been sitting in there for the winter about 12 times to get a good grasp on everything I needed to do.

I washed the hull with soapy water and after a good rinse, used a wax remover to get as much off as I could. It actually went much faster than I had anticipated so after the breezed dried my handiwork, I started in with a light sanding to prep the surface for some fresh paint. This whole process went so fast, I find myself wishing I had already ordered the paint.

I returned home to find that my newly ordered life line and clips have arrived so I still have no shortage of things to do. I will go back next weekend to see if I might have her ready when the ice is gone.

I hate winter plain and simple. I will admit, when I was a kid, there were times I actually enjoyed winter. I have since come to my senses. I am no longer capable of skiing, sledding or taking long walks in snowshoes but if I was still capable, I would still hate winter. I dislike the cold and sailing my boat on the ice is extremely difficult.

It sets in far too early around here although I do tend to fight it just a bit by sailing and fishing as late into the year as anyone possible dares to. My sailboat has been the first in and the last at Dock 44 out for several years now. I don’t look at it as a contest by any means but life is short and summer is even shorter so anytime I can be on the water, that is where you will find me.

The plan for getting the boat set up the way I want it to be keeps growing on the “to do” end of the list but with this cold, nothing seems to be getting crossed off as “done”. I do however have quite a stack of boats parts and accessories sitting here at my house and the pile continues to grow.

I have made plans to head out this weekend and get started on the boat no matter what the weather does as I just can’t take waiting any longer.

The view from my front porch in the summer warms my soul.

I will never miss snow or cold.

Craigslist is a great tool for both buying and selling but caution is required not only in making payment but also in meeting people you simply do not know. At this time, I am only advising on the payment part.

I have purchased things over Craigslist many times and sold many, many more items than I have bought. I have always made my payments in person except for one time. I used Paypal for an item in Plover Wisconsin. Paypal offers buyer protection so I see this as a safe form of payment. They do not offer buyer protection on digital downloads but that is another matter entirely.

People on Craigslist that ask for cash, wire transfers, and deposits, many times are looking for someone who is gullible enough to pay in such a way that they have no recourse whatsoever to get their money back. The following is a scam that is on Craigslist right now and someone who was almost a victim (who in fact, is out the money for an airline ticket) as listed the scam on eBay to warn as many people as they can. I tried to make this as easy to read as possible transferring this over from eBay.

With the coming of spring comes getting the boat ready. I have never been so overwhelmed with the task of preparing a boat as I feel I am this year. The worst part of this for me is the “hurry up and wait” part as winter still has a firm grip on us here.

You see, in the past, when I got my boat ready for spring, I was preparing a beautiful boat that I had worked on for the entire previous summer and in all honesty, did not need much done. This year, however, I am prepping my most recent purchase of a boat that was made in August last year. Her name is Krazzee Kora and while I did work hard last fall to make her nice, she is far from being exactly what I want. 

Hummingbird 858c GPS

The the free listings eBay has been offering and the endless supply of junk I have sitting around here that simply needs to go, I have managed to squirrel away enough money for a chart plotter this year so I am finally making the jump and have taken a step closer to electronic navigation. Having it in my possession does not really put me a whole lot closer because now I am in the process of laying out the installation in my brain. To me, this is worse than just getting it done.

I believe the time is at hand to be prepping the boat for the spring launch. I know it is just over 2 months away, in fact, as I write it is 69 days, 11 hours, 17 minutes and 45 seconds away. But who’s counting. I have no doubt that I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder and breathing recycled air just to stay warm in the winter only makes it worse.

I did order a new stainless 50 AMP 125 Volt twist lock shore power receptacle and a new dual bank battery charger so two of the things that were on my list for the new boat, are now on the way.

The list for this spring still includes a chart plotter with an updated chip for Lake Francis Case, an Engel cooler, and a bright yellow bimini top to get started changing the color scheme of the boat. I would also still like to get a 2-tone paint job on the hull and paint the bottom side as well as finding some kind of paint with some grip qualities for the textured surfaces on the top deck. With or without these items, I will be on the water early in pursuit of regaining some sanity.

The down side to all of this is that it costs money for all of this stuff. I will continue to eat from the dumpsters while I cash in pop cans in an attempt to get the boat ready by spring. I should be able to withstand the temperatures at the boat for overnights by late February so I can get the work done in time for another early launch.

I am not crazy, just obsessed.

Watch out for the Low life scammer e-mails trying to raise money for the Hurricane Sandy relief. I have seem them now in droves starting today. Please do help but contact the Red Cross or Salvation Army directly and do not let these e-mail make you think your money is going where it really needs to go. DON’T BE FOOLED BY THESE LOSERS!!!!

Here is one of many examples:

The ‘superstorm’ hit the East Coast late Monday and the record storm surge
flooded towns up and down the coast; millions are without power and dozens
of people have been killed.

Below are organizations that are mobilizing relief efforts in the region:

AMERICAN RED CROSS: The humanitarian organization led by volunteers and
guided by its Congressional Charter and the Fundamental Principles of the
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement will provide relief to
victims of disaster and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to
emergencies. Mobilizing disaster workers, emergency vehicles, shelters and
relief supplies to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states. BUT IT IS VERY
VITAL YOU SEND MONEY FOR VALUEABLE.’ DONATE MONEY PLEASE.

AMERICARES: The non-profit global health and disaster relief organization
delivers medicines, medical supplies and aid to people in need around the
world and across the United States. AmeriCares provides immediate response
to emergency and ongoing medical needs and supports long-term humanitarian
assistance programs for people around the world, irrespective of race,
creed or political persuasion. The group is prepared to send emergency
kits to families in the hurricane’s path. BUT IT IS VERY VITAL YOU SEND
MONEY FOR VALUEABLE.’ DONATE MONEY PLEASE.

THE SALVATION ARMY USA: The Salvation Army is prepared for a long-term
disaster response and recovery operation following the mass destruction
and power outages left by Sandy. In New York City, officials from the
Office of Emergency Management have appointed The Salvation Army as the
lead agency for the City’s Food Access Plan, to coordinate feeding at city
shelters. Feeding has already begun in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
regions, and mobile canteen units will deploy to the areas of greatest
need as damage is assessed in the coming days. Designate your gift to
’2012 Hurricane Relief Efforts.’ BUT IT IS VERY VITAL YOU SEND MONEY FOR
VALUEABLE.’ DONATE MONEY PLEASE..

DONATE HERE TO ANY WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER OUTLET OR MONEY GRAM.

RECEIVER’S NAME: MONICA DHLADHLA
ADDRESS:  LANSING MICHIGAN USA
TEXT QUESTION: WHEN?
ANSWER: NOW
ANY AMOUNT IS ACCEPTABLE
SENDER’S NAME REQUIRED
SENDER’S ADDRESS REQUIRED

Pls send your donation details to us via email as thus

Thank you all and in God we trust.

ANGELA DELLI SANTI and GEOFF MULVIHILL
Chief Director Association Press and Humaniritians

I have been given a hard time by more than a few people about loafing on the fishing part of my blogging. A few have even wondered if I had quit fishing and I am so quick to slap them alongside the head they get me confused with a ninja. They are, however, glad that I set my coffee and fillet knife down before knocking their train of thought back onto the tracks of reality.

Me? Quit fishing? Not until you read my obit and even then do not be certain that I am not still fishing and sailing somewhere.

Lake Henry

This did get me to looking back at the blog though and I noticed that I have not done a very good job of keeping people informed as to what the heck we have been doing regarding the bothering of our scaly finned friends. The last entry on the blog was in May and up to that point we had really caught a ton of fish in a few places that we never thought were possible until this year.

I know my thoughts were overwhelmed in the sailboat we were looking for. Finding the right one and then after that, getting her set up to be what we really wanted so with fishing one day or more each week, and the effort going into our recent acquisition I simply was not finding time to get back in here and write. Even the sailing part of the blog suffered just a tad. I would really feel bad if I sold advertising on the blog and found I was not making any money because of my constant loafing. Wait…..I am not making money because of my constant loafing. I guess I do not feel bad about that at all. I did catch a huge pile of fish though. All in all, a fair trade.

Lake Alvin was the big surprise this year.

Lake Alvin and Lake Pahoja were both great fishing this year but Pahoja killed off late this summer so it will be a few years before we will try it again.

The fact of the matter is that we fished at least on day a week almost every week this summer and until the last four weeks, our average was about 25 fish a day. These are almost all bass and we never keep any of them. Some are small but we also have several fish this year well over five pounds and even a few over six pounds. Looking back, I can honestly say, I have never caught so many fish in a single summer. I tell people this but I think the only one who really believes me is Dad and he only believes me because I am his kid and he is obliged………….. oh yeah he was with every time and he caught all these fish too this summer.

This was from Alvin and cleared the 6 pound mark by a few ounces.

Lake Cochrane

I know many thought too that I just did not write because Dad kicked  my ass fishing. While it is true that he did whoop my butt fishing most of this summer, when you fish behind the “human seine” catching anything at all is truly an accomplishment. Today, I did get him by just a couple fish though. This is a rare event.

Yeah…..I dressed myself. The fish don’t care so neither do I.

We have still fished the last four weeks but it has been cold and the fishing has been slow. I think the fish just do not like biting when I am wearing long johns. I have no doubt the last four weeks has hurt our average considerably. The ice shacks are not out yet so we may just try to launch the boat again next week.

Spirit Lake Iowa

I put off acknowledging the onset of the cool weather as long as I can. I know this means getting caught barefoot in a tank top and shorts about a dozen times before I finally give in and start searching for something warmer to wear. I do have a heater on the sailboat so I have no doubt I could get away with sailing a few more weeks and perhaps another month but the US Army Corps Of Engineers seems to enjoy lowering the water level to the point where if I do not get my girl out of the water quickly, she may still be there in the spring.

I do have a very shallow draft on this new boat with water ballast and a dagger board but even at that, they are certain to give us a good look at the bottom of the bay here at Snake Creek and Dock 44. It will make for a good time to go out and find the clamp I dropped overboard late in the season this year. I would prefer to leave the water high, keep the boat in and just go buy a new clamp if I had my druthers.

There is to be no sympathy from the Corps for me though and without any thought to my wants or needs, the water will fall so my boat must come off the water. I do try to get one last good sail in whenever I am able and the Corps can find it in their hearts to hold water back for just a wee bit longer. After all the advice, badmouthing, and talking about them behind their backs as well as to their face; you would think that is the least they could do.

The simple fact is that I really need to just learn to go south at least for the winters. Then the Corps could do as they please and they would only have to tolerate my abuse for half the year instead of being forced to stomach me for the entire trip around the sun.

Yeah, that is my boat out there and as of the time I am posting this blog, the Marina is officially empty for the winter.