The continuing saga of the exploits of the famous sailing vessel, Walküre.
If you are new to this site, be sure to check the archives. There you will find posts with pictures of the boat and other useful information. Also, scroll to the bottom of the page for a link to my Yahoo group. Join the group and you can get emails of all updates to the blog, and access to more pictures.
and another one opens.
This will be the last update on this blog for a while. Walkure is presently enjoying a long overdue and well deserved rest. She is sitting "on the hard" in Driftwood Marina. Bev and I have moved aboard Queequeg, where we will be living for at least 6 months or so. Our current plans are to live and work on Queequeg until she is presentable and suitable for cruising. Walkure will remain in storage until we can afford to ship her north to serve as our "summer home" while we visit family. We are hoping that someone in the family will take an interest and help us maintain her in good shape. We have too much "sweat equity" invested in her to let her go.
For those of you who subscribe by way of Yahoo groups, you will no longer be getting automatic updates unless you sign up for the Yahoo group based on Queequeg's blog. To sign up, go to Queequeg's blog:
Scroll part way down the page and look on the right hand side for the Yahoo Groups button. Enter your email address, click the button and follow the instructions for joining. The group is moderated, so I will have to approve your membership before you start to receive automatic updates.
Bev and I hope you have enjoyed reading about our adventures in Walkure. We have certainly enjoyed our time on board this unique vessel. But the time has come to move on. Queequeg will take us places that Walkure cannot, and get there a lot faster. Once repairs to Queequeg are complete, look for more of our adventures as we cruise the Bahamas and beyond.
Well, not really, but he thinks he does. Actually, the cup is empty (parrots aren't supposed to drink coffee, but he always tries.)
It's been a busy few weeks since our return from KW. We've done a lot of cleaning and painting on Queequeg and we've rebuilt the subfloor and installed the new flooring in the aft stateroom, the galley and the nav station. We put down a temporary floor in the dining room pending other repairs. The bottom has been sanded, the prop polished and the new cutlass bearing installed. Once the bottom gets a fresh coat of paint, we'll be ready to launch.
It will be sad to leave Walkure, but it will be a joy to have the extra space. We definitely have mixed emotions about the move. But Queequeg will take us place Walkure could not (and vice versa.) We are hoping to keep both boats, but that decision will be dictated by finances.
For now, Walkure will take Queequeg's place "on the hard" in Driftwood Marina and Queequeg will take Walkure's place in the harbor. There's still a lot of work needed on Queequeg and it will be a pain in the a#* working on her while living aboard but again, finances dictate choices. Storing Walkure on the hard instead of Queequeg will save almost $100 a month, plus we won't have to take a cab back and forth every time we want to work on her. That alone saves $15 a day. So...working while living aboard is the only choice.
Our ultimate hope is that we can hold out until my Social Security kicks in. Then we will truck Walkure somewhere north to use in the summers, and keep Queequeg south for the winters. Again, money will tell the tale.
Be sure to check the Queequeg blog for the latest pictures of our progress.
We just got back from our little "vacation" in Key West.
The trip down was easy, no wind to sail with so we had to motor all the way, but it was pleasant anyway. We anchored out the first night in Newfound Harbor, then went to Key West the next day. Our usual anchoring spot in KW is now blocked off by the Navy so we anchored just north of Wisteria Island. The next morning, we found we had dragged about 100 feet, so rather than risk dragging while we were ashore, we went around Fleming Key to the mooring field. We should have known something was wrong when we saw that the mooring field was nearly empty!
We took a ball, then went ashore in the dinghy. We signed up for the ball for a week, then went to Casa Marina to register for the Meeting of the Minds, the annual Parrothead convention. We heard a great band "Latitude," enjoyed a free margarita and then listened to Eric Stone. After Eric was done, we went to Kelly's for wings. It was a good day.
The next day we went ashore again, got our "goody bags" and heard Brent Burns, Jim Morris and Sunny Jom White. We also had a chance to chat with Howard Livingston, but didn't get to hear him play.
The following morning a strong cold front came through and the wind picked up to 25 knots out of the north. Now we know why the mooring field is nearly empty! There is NO protection from a north wind and guess what? The strongest winds here are always from the north. We ended up not being able to get off the boat for four straight days. We missed the best parts of the MOTM convention and spent the four days in bed watching DVDs.
The trip back was OK, just enough wind to sail, but of course blowing the wrong way. We did sail parts of the trip and motor-sailed the rest. We were happy to get back to Boot Key with its 360 degree protection. This place certainly lives up to its reputation as one of the best harbors in the world.
Latitude
Eric Stone
Brent Burns & Mike
Sunny Jim (left) and Jim Morris
Now its back to work at the hospital for Bev, and for me, getting Queequeg ready for launch.
Boat builder, sailor, amateur musician and avid student of Austrian economics. Living aboard my homebuilt sailboat since May 2006. Sharing life with Bev, my "admiral."
Let's face facts, Bev and I are poor. We really can't afford to own, maintain and repair two boats. We hope that this blog and our other blog, Queequeg, have provided you with some pleasure or with some useful information. Perhaps we've helped you realize your dream of heading out on the water in your own boat. If so, won't you consider dropping a dollar or two (or more?) into our "Queequeg Rehab Fund?" We've made it easy with a Paypal button. Just click on the Donate button below.
