New Motivation....

Been a very slow weekend here at BeBop Around The World as the weather once again is just the pits. Saturday was rainy and windy, Sunday was very cold (for Florida) and very windy. Even my coworkers were complaining about the weekend weather recently as they have their own outdoor projects that are not getting completed. So needless to say nothing was accomplished on BeBop. Notes, my heavy weather day project, received a final sanding early on Saturday before the rain started and was moved into the garage. That afternoon I finished priming the inside of her as the wind and rain howled outside. She is coming along nicely and I expect to probably commission her in about a month. The oars that I purchased two weeks ago were lightly sanded and Rich is painting them for me to help out. They will be completed by the end of this week.

After priming Notes it was only about 3 in the afternoon and I was feeling pretty down about how the whole project seems to be running behind schedule. Not to mention how I feel it's not measuring up to my level of perfectionism. So I suggested that Rich and I head down to the St Pete Marina and see if we couldn't find anything that was there that looked worse than BeBop does right now.

Just so you know the Saint Petersburg Marina is THE place to be if you wanna be a liveaboard. It's so highly desired there is a 5 year waiting list for a slip. Prices start at about 900 bucks a month and go up, so I won't ever have a slip there. I'll be further up in Tampa Bay with the poor sailors not the yachties but hey, we both make Gin and Tonic's at sunset the same way. You just have to pass the Deet around at happy hour since they grow the mosquitoes awfully big were I'm looking to live. In the St Pete Marina they spray a lot because we all know the rich yachties can't handle it. ^_^

Getting back to the point, the trip was worth the effort imho. I couldn't believe the level of disrepair that most of the boats there showed. It was downright sad I tell ya. I was simply floored. If you took BeBop and sat her next to any ten sailboats we saw at the dock, she was easily better looking than 9 of them hands down, right now. Of course she was smaller than all of them too lol. Very nice little ego boost to see I'm only 3 months into the refit and she looks sooo much better than the rest. I consider it a point of pride even if she's not going to be perfect.

While I was pumping my ego a bit, the security guard drove up and Richard and I talked to him for probably a good 15 minutes. He was a liveaboard in the Marina for about 8 years now and I was surprised to learn he knew exactly what kind of boat BeBop is. (Westerly Nomad) He completely understood the concept of the twin keels and why they made them like that. He also seemed surprised when I told him I was building my own stitch and glue yacht tender, but he probably believed me since my shirt and pants had paint on them. I mentioned that I was going to move onboard this summer and he sat there and thought for a second and said sorry but you don't have the record lol. He said that goes to a old man with a long beard who a few years ago sailed in with a 19 footer and staying for a few months then sailed off to the Florida panhandle. That's a morale booster too since my boat is 3 1/3 feet longer and I'm sure the beam is easily another foot across. Who says you need a 40 or even a 30 footer to live onboard? Just have to find the right boat with the right design.

Sunday was a complete loss, the high was about 50 degrees with 20 to 30 mph hour winds so I didn't even sand on Notes. I just ran some errands around town since I had the time. Next weekend is supposed to be nice if the long range forecast can be trusted. I'm hoping to do the 2nd coat of pain on her sides from the waterline up to the deck. If I get two nice days it's certainly possible. I have all the paint in the garage just waiting for the right sunny day.

That's it for this update, Perhaps the weather gods will give all the sailors of Tampa Bay a break and we'll have better weather next weekend. Then we can get some real work done. Until then. Fair Winds....