Pre-Departure Preps & a Visit…

This weekend has largely been devoted to getting ready for our next trip….while we’ll only be gone for a week (or less), we’re anxious to get back out on the water and give Ghost Rider some much needed exercise.  Ultimate destination is St. Petersburg where we’ll hook up with some friends and family, including our kids & grandkids who will be visiting FLA for a much-needed break from the frigid weather up north.

Speaking of weather….Fort Myers got clobbered with severe thunderstorms Saturday night, and we got rocked at the marina with sustained winds of 50+ MPH that drove torrential rains horizontally.  Nearby Cape Coral, just across the river, got whacked by an EF2 tornado.  In January.  That’s pretty weird weather. 

We learned a couple of things – the way we tie up Ghost Rider at the dock is pretty secure, and that we have a at least two leaks that need to be addressed….one around the forward deck hatch, the other appears to be in the dry stack enclosure.  We made some adjustments / repairs to both today, but likely won’t know results until the next time we get rain driven by 50 MPH winds.  I can wait.

Blossom is an Absolute Beauty

But by far the most fun thing we did over the past week / weekend was to hook up (twice actually) with Martin and Stephanie about their gorgeous Nordhavn 60, Blossom.  They’ve had it parked at River Forest Yacht Center about 30 miles up-river for a few months, but are back (from SFO) to resume their winter cruising.  They were fantastic hosts and we’ve learned a LOT from them already.  Good people.

Coincidentally both Blossom and Ghost Rider are headed north to the Sarasota / St. Pete areas respectively, only a day apart, and then later this year up the east coast of the U.S. in roughly the same time frames….so we hope to cross paths again soon.