All Entries in the "Scuttlebutt" Category
Catalina sailing/BCYC
Greetings all, Last Tuesday evening we stopped by the Boca Ciega Yacht Club for a little bit. There were some folks getting the Catalina’s ready to go out into the bay. The boats are stored on trailers and need to be hoisted into the channel. The task takes several people to accomplish, but is fairly [...]
eMarine Systems, shipping issues
I wonder when it actually changed. I don’t believe it happened overnight but surreptitiously crept in while we were all sleeping and the Internet was being invented. For those of you not old enough to remember, we used to have something called “Customer Service.” This was a grand thing. You would walk into a store [...]
How to open a coconut
Okay, so there you are… marooned in the Florida Keys, adrift for endless hours among the mangrove islands upon your boat and enjoying a nice Rum Sundowner (cocktails for you landlubbers). Suddenly and without warning it happens — you run out of mixer. I know, very traumatic if you are not expecting it. You’ve [...]
The Great Bahamas trip: Part 5 / Nassau to Chub Cay
Two Years Before the Mast-Nassau to Chub Cay By: Nat Manning Leaving Nassau Harbor consists of a rapid transition from the quiet calm of the seaport to the deep ocean swells of the Tongue of the Ocean. From calm to six foot waves in just a few minutes. From the forty feet of the ship [...]
The pirate scourge of Land’s End Marina
It was a beautiful summer day anchored in the Manatee River last summer. My pal Nat aboard his boat, the SNAP ONE a Morgan 50′, was anchored nearby. While setting up my boat for the next few days of resting at anchor, I sent my small pirate flag up the starboard spreader. It was a [...]
State of Florida treasure hunter letter to the Governor
LETTER WRITTEN TO GOVERNOR CRIST ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 02, 2008: By: Mike Blanchard Good morning Governor Crist. I know that you are a very busy man with many important issues to oversee so I will try to maintain brevity in this letter. My name is Mike Blanchard and I currently reside in Vero Beach, Florida. [...]
A moment on the beach…
I was watching the news this morning and started to get depressed. The economy is falling apart, they want my tax dollars so they can hand them over to people who already have millions in off shore accounts, one stupid campaign ad after the next… Enough already! There is not much to this story, nothing [...]
