Back to the Land of Plenty!!

We've arrived safe and sound in New Smyrna Beach - actually got here a week ago last Friday.  We had a good crossing from the Abacos on the previous Tuesday, spent a couple of days in Vero Beach to catch up on our lost night of sleep(during the crossing) as well as clear back through customs into the USA.  We caught no fish, NADA, NOTHING, ZIP coming back across and that did not sit too well with either of us so we decided to contribute to the local economy in Vero and bought another rod and reel and more tackle for the next trip.  Our logic was that two poles in the water would be much better than one and it was fresh on our minds and we would undoubtedly forget come next fall, plus we'd just been at the bar next door talking about how disappointed we were.  But I'm sure the alcohol consumption had nothing to with that purchase!

We are so spoiled living in the US (the land of plenty) - we so take it for granted that we can get whatever we want/need whenever we want to.  Went to Publix a couple of days ago and I normally hate grocery shopping, but I actually did not mind this trip.  It was quite pleasant to see everything marked with a price (instead of guessing how much it was going to cost) and the prices were so cheap compared with what we've been paying for the last 5 months.  The last loaf of bread I bought in the Bahamas was $4.75 and I paid $2.99 PLUS it was Buy One Get One Free!!!  Bought two porterhouse steaks for $7.99/lb instead of $14.99; crackers were $3.69/pkg instead of $5.99.  I'm sure it won't take long to get used to these prices and I'll be among those bellyaching about the high prices here, but right now I'm happy to pay them!!!

As I said we're back in NSB and feeling quite comfortable and at home here.  We made it here in time for the classic car show and have been to Maloney's (one of our favorite hang-outs) to guzzle down a few Blue Moon Drafts .............. and they were oh so good!!!  Been missing them!  Tuesday nights are another Maloney's night, as Jason and Matt play then and we only have so many opportunities to hear them.

  We do so love NSB - there are all kinds of places within a short walk and the beach itself is only a little farther and if we were really ambitious we could walk there, but we are slugs and drive when we want to go.

Jeff is already ordering new equipment and making plans for work to be done on the boat in the very near timeframe.  We are fortunate in that we know a couple of guys here in NSB that are very good at pretty much anything we need them to do.  One is a diesel mechanic and the other does everything else.  Jeff usually fixes/repairs/installs everything on the boat, but there are some things even he doesn't want to do so that is when we call TR or Diesel Rick.  The new stove/oven came in Thursday and Jeff helped TR install it on Friday.  The installation went very smooth - no name calling, no screaming.

Jeff had his semi-annual haircut a few days ago.

We don't know how long we're going to be in NSB or where we're going to leave the boat for the summer.  We're looking at Jacksonville, Fl. and Brunswick, Ga, but who knows what we will decide.  In the near term we are having the boat hauled in Cape Canaveral Tuesday for some work and will then bring it back to NSB.

Since it is so stinking hot here we naturally have the a/c on and that means we have two streams of water coming out of the side of the boat all the time.  Check out the picture below and see what that attracts.

That would be a Manatee

Till next time!

Bahamas Billfish Tournament

The billfish tournament went from Thursday through Saturday and we watched from the boat as they came right past our stern for the flags they fly (click on the picture below and you can see the flags) indicating the kind of billfish caught that day. The flags are colored to signify the particular kind of fish caught - white flag with a blue fish is a blue marlin; blue flag with a white fish is a white marlin; white flag with blue fish with large top fin is a sailfish; and don't know what the flag looks like for a spearfish because no one caught one.

 There were 36 boats in the tournament and there are five tournament segments in the Bahamas Billfish Championship with each 'week-long' segment/tournament in a different location and they all accumulate for the grand champion of the overall billfish tournament. It's all based on points and they get points for fish other than billfish, just not as many. Here's the website for this year's Championship  http://www.bahamasbillfish.com/bbc_results/2011_results/
in case you're interested in more info. It's pretty exciting just to walk the docks after they come in and see what else they've caught. 

We also like to check out the names of the boats as well as where they come in from.  The best name this year has to be 'Chasin Tail' out of Ft. Pierce, Fl.

This year's winner for this first segment of the tournament went to 'Bear Trap' out of none other than Lookout Mountain, Tn. 

We met the owner on Friday - John Stout.  Obviously this is a very rich man's sport.  We were told the big gold reels on the fishing poles cost about $10K each!!!!!! 

 Entry for each segment of the tournament is about $3K and if you are lucky enough to win the overall championship the prize money is $10K.  Sounds like a lot, but when you factor in that they use in the neighborhood of $2K diesel fuel each day it's not even enough to begin to cover your cost!  Some of these numbers can be verified on the tournament website, but the others were given to us by one of the boat owners.  When you figure that diesel fuel was $5.62/gal at the start of the tournament and they use several hundred gallons or more each day it's not hard to see it add up.  OUCH!!!!