And the winner is...

Not us. ;-) Well, as the lady from the Chamber of Commerce said, "Everyone who participates is a winner!" They had plenty of goodies for everyone who participated. Wild Blue took second place in our division, Power Boats 19 to 29 feet. We received several gift certificates (we're going to eat good for a while), a small charcoal BBQ grill, a bottle of champagne, a gift bag from the book store on the island (I had to check to see if they had a copy of my book in there... no), 6 t-shirts, and a framed plaque.

The wind howled; a couple boats had problems with their lights, likely due to the salt spray. But, everyone completed the route. They fed us at the awards ceremony. We sat with 6 Coast Guard guys at our table, and had a nice visit with them... and, yes, their boat was decorated, too.

Huge crowds along the parade route.

On the way home, Wild Blue found a skinny spot in the water, but we didn't have to spend the night aground. We were rockin' and rollin' as we came across the Laguna Madre. Other than the wind, it was a fun evening; didn't get home until 11:00 - late for us old folks.

I'll get some photos posted tomorrow.

Timing...

Better images - doesn't matter if it's before sunrise or after sunset...


And, a finished image...


It's a gray ol' day, occasionally spitting rain, windy (24 mph, gusting higher), but warm, 76º at noon. Predicted to be more of the same for the parade tonight... this will probably affect the turnout, both participants and viewers.

The Santa copter is grounded...

Pretty sure the Santa-copter would come apart if we tried to "fly" it. When we first set up the copter, Joan said, "Oh, no, there's a hole in the rotor." Yep, that has to be there to make it go around. But, when the wind is blowing more than the force of air coming out of the hole, the rotor stands up... kinda reminds me of the arms on the robot on "Lost in Space"... warning, Will Robinson!!!

Twilight is best for photos, but I missed the op. A star, open to allow the wind to blow through it, is up in place of the helicopter. Wind is supposed to be 20+ at parade time... we'll see if it all holds together.

Are you happy being married?

It was a cold winter day many years ago, when a pretty young blonde walked down the aisle to marry a guy with a lot of hair and not much in the way of job prospects. Happy Anniversary to the woman who really does complete me... we've been together for so long... over 2/3 of our lives.

This morning at breakfast, I asked her, "Are you happy being married?"

We both chuckled... it's all we know.

It's all I want.

Artistic differences...

A beautiful sunrise out on the water this morning; no, no artistic differences with Mother Nature - I am always in awe. The following is the sequence as the sun rose above the horizon and behind the bit of a cloud layer that was also at the horizon...









Back to the house, and it was time... the lighted boat parade is Saturday night. Mother Nature has been predicted to be less than nice for it, with decent temps, but lots of wind. Wind, flying spray, a bunch of electric lights made in China that may or may not be UL approved - not a great combination. Nonetheless, we started the decorating process.

And now, the artistic differences...

One of us, and I'm not saying who she is, prefers "understated elegance"... pick a color scheme, and carry that through from front to back. The other of us, and I'm not saying who I am, is more the Clark Griswold type... pack that sucker with LOTS of lights - lights that dance and move, all colors, all styles, inflatable stuff, Jimmy Buffett Christmas carols blasting... it's a parade, for goodness sakes, tacky isn't just OK, it's the goal! As usual, we compromise: the bow and the sides are understated, the cockpit, stern, and top of the cabin have a bit more... pizazz.


She measures, I am a bit more serendipitous; her lights are in straight lines, mind kinda wander and flow.

We'll get an idea of how it comes together after dark tonight. In the meantime, it is around 80º and the wind is blowing 20+ mph (gusts to 35)... more work getting lights hung in that wind.

----------------------------

On edit:

The inflatable helicopter with Santa and a snowman didn't look as good as I had hoped...


Not enough light within it to make out what it is; and, the rotors couldn't stand up to the wind... well, they did kinda "stand up", as in: stuck up like a "V". Sure looked cute in the store, though. We took it off in the dark, with ideas for Plan B...


With the wind predicted to be over 20 mph on Saturday evening, an inflatable isn't going to cut it, so we'll fill that blank stop with more lights. That's why we start a couple days early.

More from the ICW...

Herb and Wilma's boat leaving Port Mansfield...


The water was so calm - a real change from what we've had most days since we've been back...


A dolphin swimming towards us in the calm water...


Fishing shacks...


This one had some "guests"...


The autopilot fix is holding together (no hands on the steering wheel)...


Later, on the Arroyo Colorado, I saw what looked to be a bald eagle (I saw plenty of them this summer in the Tetons). Well, from the back. As we came around, it was the biggest osprey I've ever seen...


Getting online while underway...

The busted part...

Joan likes to say, "It's a boat. It's always going to need something." I'm grateful I have an understanding spouse.

The part on the autopilot that failed is a little bracket called a linking arm...


It's the little metal bracket with the bolt and nut holding it together in the middle of the image. A small steel part with two holes. Here's the rub: you can't buy it. Well, you can't buy just that part... Raymarine (the autopilot mfg) only sells it as part of a "kit"... for $50... plus shipping and tax. The smart move is to take the part off and see if I can get a local welder to fix it and make me up another one. The reality is: it is holding together for right now, so I'm not looking to mess with it until I can get the replacement. You know that old saying, "If it's only broke a bit, don't fix it." LOL

I shopped around online, but no place that looked reputable said they had it in stock. So, my good friends at Raymarine happily took my money. One of the guys at a place I called said, "Manufacturers seem to be doing that more these days. They can't make anything on one small part, so they 'bundle' it, call it a kit, and force you to buy other stuff you don't really need just to get what you DO need."

Yep. It's a boat... ;-)