Nov 29 - a boating we will go

We did not rush out of the house. It was cool and we wanted to give the temperature a chance to rise. At 10am I called NCM and had them put the boat in the water for 11am.

It had been 11 days since we were last out. Hard to believe, but true. We've been busy. Even so, the boat was relatively clean -- dusty more than anything else. Since my boat is stored on the rack in the middle of three boats -- one below and one above, and up against the building, it gets shaded most of the time and saved from the heat, but high enough that it doesn't get leaves and other crap. It makes me wonder whether a cover is even necessary.

What's the definition of "stainless steel" -- it certainly cannot be that it won't stain. There are some screws etc. that exude a bit of a rusty stain. I'll have to pickup a rust remover product so that I can give those a workout. Then the stainless steel fittings are supposed to be sprayed with silicone. I guess that the only way that toys don't require maintenance is if you pay someone else to do the work !

We putted up to the inlet and went for a ride on the ocean. It was fairly calm, as it goes, but would have been uncomfortable riding in the Bayliner. We went south on the ocean as far as Matthews -- the street that goes by the Food Lion which is our walk to the beach. I guess that would be about 4 miles, maybe 5 miles ... and then headed back to the inlet. Cruising south along the beach I stayed out so that it was no shallower than 15-20 feet, keeping a close eye on the breakers so that we didn't get caught on some offshore sandbar. The rollers were large enough that we'd have seen that coming.

We made a broad arc out into the ocean towards the shrimp boats that were out there, cruising probably a mile or so offshore. There were pelicans and gulls everywhere. Scads and scads, entire flotillas, they lifted off the water to make room for us and then settled down again. I've never seen so many birds out there. As we got close to the inlet I thought I saw a diving sea bird off the bow -- NO -- a turtle. We stopped and hung out for a bit but it did not grace us with its presence again.

Later, when we were at the island with Abby, we had to keep a sharp eye out and call her back as we walked along the edge of the water because there were many small stingrays cruising along in 6-12 inches of water. An Abby / stingray encounter would not be a good thing for Abby.

It was on the verge of low tide when we moored and by the time we got back from our walk the water had deepened by about 6 inches. What was bearable, knee-depth 65F water when we got out of the boat was now almost bathing suit depth. If we had lived our life swimming at the Jersey Shore or Cape Cod, this would have been like bathwater, but to us it's cold. In fact, the water doesn't get much colder than this, which is a good thing ! I still think that a dingy would be neat, but probably silly ! Having said that, I managed to stay dry until I had to hoist Abby back into the boat. Had we still have been at knee depth, she could have gotten her front feet up but as it was I had to pick her up and soak myself. Oh well.

Before we went to the island we had lunch at Inlet Harbor. Sandy had the crab cake sandwich; Angelika had the prime rib sandwich; I had their salad. The salad was quite good ... but of course I ordered a "basket" of fries to go with the salad. Usually when you order fries separately you get a ton of fries -- more than would come as a side with your order, but this "basket" was a little plate and not many fries. That turned out to be a good thing ... I had fries for dinner as well ...

... and for dinner we went to the SYC. We sat at the Tiki and ate, but I was too cool to be really comfortable. Angelika had a salad; Sandy had a burger; I had battered cod and fries. That fish and chips is a light meal, other than the grease, of course. In comparison the burger & fixings & fries is a very filling meal. I was ok, had a snack when I got home :).

Today is going to be much like yesterday. Cool to start -- it's 54F right now -- and mid 70's later on. Like yesterday we'll probably go boating. I expect that the return from boating will not be like yesterday though -- when we got back there was a queue to get out of the water -- one on the forklift and two at the dock before us -- and then I had to wait for another guy to rinse my boat. For a change of pace I used the muffs to rinse the engine. The NCM mechanic maintains that running the engine allows the thermostat to open up and give it a more thorough rinse. I'll have to check on that. It isn't any more trouble, but it certainly is noisier.

After we got home and I showered, I went for a Harley ride. After a few minutes of "wind in your hair" riding I did some practicing -- up and down and up and down the sidestreets, working my way from 27th to 20th. Full stop, feet down, right turn, right turn, full stop, feet down, left turn into traffic, immediate left turn into next street -- you get the idea. Over and over and over. At some point there will be a quick stop required and I want my reactions to be automatic "in the clutch" (sorry, couldn't resist the pun). Cruising at 45-50 mph for an hour doesn't get you there. Perhaps today, if I go out, I'll do some parking lot work, practicing my 20 foot box turns. I did that a bit yesterday too at a couple of dead ends and was getting better. Look to where you're going -- not at the ground -- steady throttle, counterbalance, it does get automatic after a while.

I expect that I'll hear today or tomorrow that my passenger parts are in. I'm also on the verge of ordering a windshield. I'm torn between the "genuine Harley" parts and the less-than-half-price aftermarket. I think that in terms of the windshield I'll do the aftermarket. The windshield, even the Harley version, is not as expensive as many other parts. A good 5mm Lucite windshield is only $175, and that with free shipping and no tax. That is the full-sized windshield -- 22" from the headlight cutout to the top. It's not the wrap-around-the-handgrip style -- for that I would have to move the turn signals down to the fork, but I think that they're more visible up high at my hands. Down low and close together they cannot be as visible.

I'm a very cautious rider, so far ... and hopefully forever. Perhaps too cautious, I'm wary of slowing and turning left in front of traffic. I don't have much (no, take that back, any) protection if the car behind me doesn't see my signal or brake lights. I've ridden a bicycle too long -- or perhaps long enough -- to always make sure that the car behind me has seen my intention. With two mirrors and no roof pillars, there's no excuse for not seeing following or overtaking traffic. There aren't very many simple "fender benders" on a bike.

I'll probably go for a bicycle ride tomorrow, doing one of my usual 70 mile rides. I have to tie that into taking the X5 in for service. Hopefully no major repairs will be required, because Wednesday through Friday Sandy needs a car -- first to take Angelika to the airport; Thursday to go to Ormond Beach for a dermatologist checkup; Friday back to Orlando for a kidney stone followup. I guess that if required I could pickup the X5 with my bicycle and run minor errands with the Harley -- but if I have to carry anything it will be in a backpack. Isn't life tough ?

Onward !