Multiple Topics from FL

[RicM]

Here I am back in Jensen Beach, scene of last winter's Southern Venture. I'm not shipping TaT down here this winter, it was a great experiment, and I proved to myself I could commute back and forth and still work and manage my business, but Miss K is not ready to get started down here, and I don't really have the cash in hand for a second boat down here. Along with that, the year round schedule is tough on the boat. The down time for projects and maintaining the little things is just not there, and my fishing gear is corroding away in front of my eyes because it did not get it's winter rest at Bucko's Bait and Tackle, the best reel repair in the NE.

The money spent on the Southern Venture last year will be applied to series of trips to climates with fishing. We are going to the Bahamas in Dec for 5 days, at least 2 trips to the Keys, etc. You can charter a lot of boats for what it cost to ship & store down here. Then why am I in Jensen Beach you ask? Business of all things! I had a shoot Wednesday in Orlando. My client, Taco, did a "name this product" contest, and the prize was a Smart Car. The winner was in the Orlando area so we came down here to present his car. I, of course was here to record the event for posterity (PR).

In any case, what a summer! The whole reason for the "Southern Venture" last year was the crappy summer of '09, and the fact that I did not get enough boating in (only about 125 hours on the clock). This season was the opposite. So many beautiful days, with many left to come. Even Labor Day weekend was gorgeous after the (non) hurricane blew by. We have spent more time on the hook than past years, with my new (14lb) Delta anchor providing much more positive set than the old fluke anchor I was using. I know that some on this forum think that the 22 lb version is required, but with 30 feet of 5/16 chain in the mud where we hang, the 14lb has been excellent. Could be that I'm just getting more confident in my anchoring skills.

Speaking of being "on the hook", I finally ponied up for one of those Honda generators. I got the 2000W Companion model. With the active hurricane season and all I figured it wouldn't hurt and a lot of photo and video guys use them on location for powering lights, teleprompters etc. They are so quiet you can put them behind a car or around the corner of any structure and they don't even pick up on the mics. This, of course, made it a business expense. It's also a great addition to an occasional cruising 28TE. I just stick on the swim platform in the morning, and run it for a half hour while I make coffee and microwave breakfast. The batteries are then topped off to about 12.8V and ready for another 24 hours. What a country! The Companion model has a 30A twist outlet that you can plug your shore power cable directly into and it powers the whole boat just like the dock power. Between that and the Solaire grill, TaT has become quite the cruiser. Just hope I don't start to turn into my Dad, he eventually gave up carrying the fishing rods at all!

Anyway, I fished with Justin last night from 8 to midnight. Caught a bunch of speckled trout, and a small snook. Great to be on the water in shorts and T-shirt at 11 at night! The water temp is in the 80's. I went to the beach for a swim yesterday and almost lost all physical control the water was so warm. Hutchinson Island was empty, 12 miles of beach in either direction and there was only one other party in sight, half a mile away!

[RobS]

.... while I make coffee and microwave breakfast....

She'll run the AC too but you need to switch off the Eco Throttle. Microwave breakfast? Did you run out of Butane?