pks1702

That is sad news. As others have said I hope a Phoenix cab rise.

Indeed not to be messed with but he was "totally awesome" well it appeared to be his pet phrase I had a personal interview with the charter owner the previous November who is hugely experienced. As David alluded he was not interested in anything RYA but more interested in chatting about your boating experience. His attitude was over the years he has become a good judge of who has experience and who has not. They also reserve the right on the extensive hand over to refuse charter if you cannot demonstrate experience and good boat handling. This hand over was almost 3 hours including manoeuvring, mooring, close quarters boat handling so quite intense.

The next day saw us heading down to Boca Grande Tarpon capital of the world! US boaters are very friendly and love to get close to wave……. Click the picture There is certainly no doubt apart from the good VHF Communications that the bridges open as you will see (and hear) in this clip. Click the picture Once through the swing bridge we crossed through were the old railway line used to run. Clicky Boca Grande is a mix of old money (JP Morgan died here while Tarpon fishing) and wealthy film & music stars Clip shows some of the beach side properties The pass is where the Tarpon boats head it was thick with them http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Boca+Gr ... s&t=h&z=14 Moored in Boca Grande Marina The entrance to the marina entailed heading down the channel and a 90 degree turn to port when very close to the shore, there is a large drying shoal ready to catch you if you stray. Clicky Waiting for traffic to clear Clicky Clicky Also berthed in Boca Grande was this beauty http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-out ... -boat.html His fish dinner Mine!

One that did not display in the first post.

Not sure quite where to put this but I guess as offshore here is as good a place as any! Apologies but the site won't allow me to embed Video's (that I can see) so please excuse these are just links. Having been to the Gulf Coast of Florida a number of times and seen what a great location it is for boating and fishing an idea evolved during late 2011 that it might be good to try chartering in this varied cruising ground. After some research around various charter companies we found one with the sort of craft we were after. SWMBO and I called into to see them last November and were very impressed with the quality of the boat and the laid back style of the charter company. We came back and over a drink one night in The Shipwreck at Shotley relayed to David & Rachel what we had found. They were very keen and by mid December we had booked a Nordic Tug 42. http://www.nordictugs.com/models/nt42_photos.aspx Our ship was a 2004 model but the layout was identical to the one in the link. Powered by a White Lump (Cummins 450). This trip was to be a holiday with relatively small hops down to the area around Charlotte Harbour given access to some beautiful spots. The area we cruised was roughly: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=sarasot ... s&t=m&z=10 As we were arriving on flights a day apart SWMBO and I had a night in a hotel which overlooked the marina and would meet David & Rachel the next day. From our room we could see our charge! We spent the next day provisioning up and finding our way around the boat. Sea Gypsy Master Cabin Galley One craft berthing in the marina was very unusual! http://perrysaunders.smugmug.com/galler ... PvRsm-A-LB David & Rachel arrived the next evening and must have wondered what they had arrived to…. The Gulf Pro Angling Tournament was based at the marina and as they arrived the weigh in was happening, complete with Country & Western Band and the bar in full swing. These guys really take there angling seriously the boats are custom built and quite amazing, on this day they were fishing between 85 & 130 miles out into the Gulf of Mexico. First prize for this day was $9,000 and the winners certainly enjoyed a drink or two. We were soon getting used to the ethos that pervaded and captured succinctly by Jimmy Buffett the local music legend “it must be five o clock somewhere†The words go: Pour me something tall and strong Make it a hurricane Before I go insane It's only half past 12 But, I don't care It's 5 o'clock somewhere We headed off to West Marine before they shut and stocked up on deck shoes, clothing etc if only we had outlets like these in the UK. The next morning we were taken through a comprehensive hand over of the boat including all systems and manoeuvring. Handling a single craft of this size was new but having single engines ourselves we soon got to grips with it. The only slight issue was that the wheel and all controls were centrally positioned with limited rear vision. Docking necessitated quick dashed to each side door to view your position. A reversing camera would have been a real bonus. We completed our hand over and headed south bound for Venice some 23 miles away. We had decided to go down via the Inter Coastal route which was much more interesting. We had an air draft we were told of almost 24 feet we soon found however it was nearer 22! We found the bridge operators to really helpful and where possible would prioritise for boat traffic. It was quite strange to be constantly referred to as ‘captain’. David at the helm Bridges We entered Venice and had pre booked a berth at The Crows Nest. We were stunned by the amount of boats of all sizes and shapes in use folks around these parts certainly love their boating. Our mooring necessitated turning in the pass to sea, there was a very strong ebb out from Roberts Bay and David had to use almost all the 450 horses on tap to turn us across the ebb, it was then just a case of ferry gliding onto our berth at the dockside. http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=venice+ ... s&t=h&z=16 http://www.crowsnest-venice.com/ Venice looking back toward the Crows Nest http://perrysaunders.smugmug.com/galler ... QH33f-A-LB Moored in Venice Enjoying the weather http://perrysaunders.smugmug.com/galler ... SfNqm-A-LB BBQ Boat! The Venice Police and Sheriff patrolled the area and fined anyone either swimming in the navigation or breaking the speed limit in from sea once in the shelter of Venice itself. On the way out of the pass once they pass the speed exempt sign the hammer goes down!! http://perrysaunders.smugmug.com/galler ... vbQhR-A-LB Beats a Ford Mondeo! They were kept busy rescuing folks from the navigation http://perrysaunders.smugmug.com/galler ... XZLQz-A-LB http://perrysaunders.smugmug.com/galler ... d8p5f-A-LB We saw some terrific wildlife on the trip including many Dolphins. Venice is home to Beggar a Dolphin that has learnt to take tit bits from boaters, his name lately has been changed to Biter for his tendency to nip people as they feed him. http://perrysaunders.smugmug.com/galler ... QH33f-A-LB Under tow We had a great meal in the Crow’s Nest and wandered back to the ship, a boat had moored behind us and had the brightest Blue lights I have seen on a boat, sunglasses were almost required! [img}http://perrysaunders.smugmug.com/Boating/Florida-2012/i-6PtK7D8/0/XL/IMG3701-XL.jpg I will continue in a while

Try this http://perrysaunders.smugmug.com/Other/ ... 2&lb=1&s=A

Sorry Jonny, the sound quality is not great but you get the idea Click the photo Oops that did not work will try again shortly

I guess you do... The forums boat equivalent of Whicker.

Sadly not John. We will have started a fortnights holiday by then. I hope to be sampling the wares of The Company Sheds on that day Hope the weather is kind.

Turning into quite a gathering John

The Horizons are nice looking ships Dan.

Nice image Dave.

The Swift Trawler on shakedown. http://vimeo.com/42286239 It has a single 450HP Cummins John so will burn a bit more fuel but is quite frugal at lower speeds.

Soon as I can sort and upload to a host site Jonny. I am on the case.

This looks very interesting I shall be keen to follow the progress. It is a heck of a trip but will take in some stunning scenery.

Very nice Andy with property prices over there as they are it was probably a good time to buy. The set up for boating over there is superb and the cruising area diverse and varied. If I had the chance I would move our ship there tomorrow, sadly without a Green Card 90 days is all I would get. I will post up some snaps in due course one I get chance to download the photo's.

Well spotted Andy yes it was. We were just heading out of Sarasota on our double decker

Especially for Dan Why not try hiring the new super size craft from Le Boat - Le Barge. Complete with upper deck, foliage, Parasols and sculpture........ I could not quite believe my eyes last week when this came past. As the saying goes "Only in America"

Pretty sure the rope in your link are Polyester based. Less stretch than nylon and softer to the feel but SWMBO is not keen on it. She says is is too soft and does not lend itself to good throwing/lassoing cleats. It certainly sinks well when wet. I have was instructed to buy some dock lines in the US last week so I guess we will be testing these out. Personally I prefer good quality supple nylon ropes which seem to tick all the boxes. The problem is with nylon is that some of the cheaper stuff is like baler twine!!

I think we paid 225 dollars for just over 50 gallons so circa 0.63p per litre! They still grumble about it.

You mean my idea is my own

Off to Woodbridge this weekend Wayne but due a visit to the Backwater's shortly. I will try to take a few images and post them when we get round there. When are you planning to be down?

Sounds like a good idea Paul great to use for drying out. Tow it to your required mooring let it sit on the bottom' at a convenient depth open the doors 'drive' in, shut the doors bingo a non drying drying mooring

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A real spot Mark. I have heard them on occasions when based up there but never saw one.