Boating with Sunset Delight: 2019: Vaca Cut Dinghy Ride

3/10/2019 - "Hen Party"

Yesterday I got a text message from Ann that contained a cartoon character doing a happy dance and mysteriously said, "If you know what's good for you, you will be here at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow." I understand that her message to Sandy said 9:00. After Sandy explained about the time change, Ann revised her start time to 10:00!

When I saw the spread she had out in front of her boat this morning, I could not believe my eyes. It looked like she had opened a mini bar next to her boat. Starting at 4:00 a.m., she did all the work to prepare for the event herself.

Mini bar and food goodies at Ann's boat

Gal's having fun

Kendra lives in a condo here.
She has a one-year-old boy and a dog that visit Ann regularly.

Another view of the women-only party goers

3/12/2019 - Dinghy ride to Vaca Cut

Mel, on "Morning Star II", came up with this great idea that, since the gals had a "hen party" two days ago, the guys should have a men-only dinghy trip to Vaca Cut. Clark was enthusiastic for joining this particular trip since we have never dinghied to Vaca Cut, and he was excited to go. The only things standing in his way were boat chores.

To be able to participate in the boat ride, Clark worked late into the night last night. Until he no longer had light to see by, he sanded the areas to be varnished, so they would be all prepped for their morning coat.

After dinner, Clark worked on the generator. A few days back, when he went to replace the impeller for the generator water pump, he found the pump covered in green corrosion. Figuring this was a clear sign of a leak, he decided to take the pump off and send it to Depco in Clearwater, Florida to be refurbished. When the fixed-up, looks-like-new pump came back so did the old parts they had replaced. One of those parts was the impellor which clearly had a number of missing blade parts.

Clark's work this evening involved taking off the end cap to dig around and find the missing pieces of rubber. He could feel the rubber pieces in there but had no way to extract them without removing the end cap. It turned out to be a fierce battle when one of several clamped areas decided it did not want to be disconnected from the unit. He finally got it off and found a tool that he could use to pull out the pieces. If left inside the generator plumbing, one would most likely find its way to a place to cause a lot more grief in the future.

Impeller (on right) and all the pieces of rubber
that broke off and waiting to gum up the works
of the generator water pump

We have used our generator for approximately 5 hours in the two years we have owned the boat. In other words, almost not at all. It's a very good thing Clark decided to do routine maintenance on it in preparation for our trip back to New Jersey.

By the time he completed the generator job, it was past midnight. Calculating that he had about 1.5 hours worth of varnishing to do before the dinghy ride, we set the alarm for 7:30 a.m. - an unheard of time for Clark to get up unless we are traveling.

Before getting busy on the varnishing, Clark uncovered and dropped the dinghy in the water to be all set to go at 10:00. He finished his varnishing on time and started provisioning the dinghy for the trip. At 9:45 Mel came over and said that some folks were deciding not to go due to rough water. Someone had seen "white caps" and then bowed out.

Clark checked with his passenger, Jim on "Hour Plan", and they decided it would be a go for the two of them. Alan planned to go with Lucas (from Sweden) as his buddy passenger. They dinghied over from his boat, "Chica", to see Mel and discuss travel plans. Next thing we know, Alan backs out and Mel does too. Now Clark's is the only boat going.

I could tell that Lucas was itching to go, and since we have a larger dinghy than most, I suggested Clark invite him along. Before Clark could change his mind, Lucas hopped out of Alan's dinghy and climbed into Clark's. Then, off they went!

From the palm tree, one can see they had a bit of wind to push into.
Jim in front ("Hour Plan")
Lucas in stern (Visitor from Sweden staying on "L'Attitude Adjustment")
Clark semi-standing as he adjusts something or other

Since the guys planned this big outing, that left us gals to entertain ourselves. Ann, who is our reliable planner of events, decided we should have another of what Mel called a "Hen Party" out by the lighthouse. I went all out for the party and, having gotten up early with Clark, baked a raspberry/peach cake to share. Given I bake in my toaster oven, this was a major endeavor on my part.

The guys that did not go on the dinghy ride mostly took the time to work on their boats. At one point Mel came over to the lighthouse to see what the gals were doing, and Ann chased him off with nary a bite of our food.

Here are pictures Clark took while on his dinghy ride ...

Jim in front as they approach a low bridge

Bait and Dive Shop in the Water

House (street-view shown in one of last year's entries)
built to look like a ship with smokestacks
(Sandy's favorite house)
with Huge Boat Garage on the water.

Closeup of "ship" styled house

Jim has the camera!
Clark and Lucas

Jim enjoying the ride

Mangroves

Boot Key Harbor full of boats

"Bridge to nowhere" at Boot Key

Future site of Faro Blanco Oceanside

Around 11:30, my "hen party" broke up and I texted Clark to make sure he remembered to eat lunch. I was not so worried about him, but I figured that Lucas and Jim might want / need to eat. I got a message back that they were going to eat at Lazy Days and Mel and some others would be joining them there. Clark did ask me, and Jim asked his wife, AC, if we wanted to come over, but we decided that the guys should enjoy their guy time, and together we decided to pass.