Gone Fishin'!

Hello dear family and friends from Master Plan!  I write from RLC Events' floating headquarters looking out at a dreary day - lots of clouds and rain today, but Florida really needs the rain - and it is still mild and supposed to clear soon.  The weekend weather was beautiful - sunny and mid-70's - we've been really blessed.  There was a small boat show in Stuart this past weekend, which we attended for a few days - some cool boats, interesting vendors, and classes - pretty low key, but it was worthwhile. 

Yesterday, we went out on our friends' boat for a fishing adventure.  Rick, Linda, and Kirby the wonder dog are cruisers on MakeItSo and these are the friends that we docked next to in Charleston.  They're great people and Linda's cousin Sharon and husband Gary joined us - also great and fun people.  It was a beautiful day - they have a 42' catamaran sail boat and we really enjoyed the afternoon.  We didn't catch many fish, but we had a great time.  We anchored near where the InterCoastal Waterway meets the Port Lucie River near some cool mangroves.  Sharon caught two - one got away and she also managed to catch a stingray (see photos below).  Rick also caught a small fish.  I don't have the patience for fishing so I hung out, read my book, and took photos.  At one point, Rick dropped his fishing rod in the water, so Paul went in and "caught" that!


Today, Paul decides to throw a line off the bow of Master Plan at the dock and he caught three fish!  They were small, but it was good fun to watch! 

Enjoy the Photos:

The mast of MakeItSo is just under 65', so going under the bridges can be a little hairy . . .  We are lucky - our height is about 25', so we don't have that challenge! 

Kirby the Wonder Dog - enjoying the cruise . . .

Captain Rick with Kirby supervising . . .

Sharon Fishing with her pink "Barbie" fishing pole and matching shirt - we teased her about this, but she is the one who actually caught the fish - it's not only pink, but lucky too!

Gary - enjoying a frosty one en route . . .

MakeItSo from the bow - she is very wide - 23'!  For comparison, Master Plan is 15' wide.

Sharon and Linda waiting for the big one to hit the line while Kirby once again supervises.

The Sting Ray Sharon Caught and Rick brought in - we unhooked it and set him free . . .  They're pretty cool to see up close.

Paul "catching" Rick's fishing rode while Kirby again supervises.

Sharon, Kirby, Gary, and Rick watching Paul "catch" the rod.

A beautiful day ended with another beautiful Florida sunset.

We wish all of our family and friends - near and far - the very best - Lots of love, Jen & Paul

Today's Quote:
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day.  Teach him how to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.  ~Author Unknown

Dolphin Videos

We finally got some good video of the dolphin playing in our wake.  This was shot yesterday in the St. Lucie Inlet.

Our friend Keith Shot this video on his I-phone and posted to YouTube. 

In the first clip the Dolphins are in our Bow Wave.  They love being pushed along by the wave.  This is very natural behavior for them and is not dangerous to them in any way.  We were only going about 10 MPH in these clips.  The dolphins have the ability to sprint to 35 MPH.       

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qC_LLq4CeA

The next video show them playing off of the side wake of the boat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSvfYSvkc3Y

And a little more action

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MznBctXzd58

We are really glad to post these videos as it is hard to explain how really beautiful it is to watch these great animals with still pictures alone.

Hope you enjoy the videos

Paul

Jack & Keith Visit!

Greetings to all our family and friends - Before I begin - we wish Paul's Dad Peter a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY - the big 7-oh!  We send lots of love and best wishes to you Peter!  

Well, another beautiful day here in Stuart and for the first time in almost three weeks, we took Master Plan out for a little cruise.  Our dear friend Jack Burks ("Florida Jack") visited with his friend Keith and we had a lovely afternoon.  We started by having lunch at the restaurant here at the marina - then headed out to the ICW for a little spin.  We found a great place to anchor - took the dinghy in and then took a very short walk to the beach - it was delightful! 

For those of you reading this in the Northeast - we are sorry to hear that there is a massive snow storm headed your way - so for you, I took a picture of this boat that is docked close to us:

Just say NO to SNOW!  Ugh . . .  If you need a break, come visit us!!

While on Master Plan today - we saw more dolphins and they played for a while in our wake - Keith took some video and we'll send that out in the next day or two once he sends it to me.  It never gets old and it was great to share it with others on the boat.  Here are some other photos:

Sweet Jack

Jen and Jack - dear old friends. . .

Jack, Paul and Keith - just after anchoring - preparing to take the dinghy to the beach.

T/T (Tender To) Master Plan on the beach of the ICW - from here a short walk to the beach.

Beautiful Beach on a beautiful day - sigh . . .

The short path from the ICW to the beach . .

Keith - our very new best friend - with my sweet Captain in the background.

So come join us here in sunny Florida - we send our love to all - Jen & Paul

Today's Quote (sent to me in a card from Shelley Finley):

"If it's not fun, why do it?"  - Jerry Greenfield

Exploring Stuart

Hello dear friends and family -

Greetings from Master Plan after a great sunny weekend in Stuart!  Paul and I decided to rent a car so we could explore the area a little more and get our bearings.  So - we picked it up on Saturday morning and will return it tomorrow morning.  It gave us a chance to run some errands, as well as really stock up on groceries (cases of water, etc.) while we had "wheels."  We also went down to West Palm Beach last night to visit our dear friend "Florida" Jack Burks - we had a lovely visit with him and he and his friend Keith will come up here on Tuesday and we'll take a little cruise out on boat and join us for lunch - we're excited to see him again so soon.

Our friends Rick, Linda, and Kirby the wonder dog arrived to the marina on Friday and it is so great to see them!  They were right in front of us in Charleston for almost a month - so it's so nice to see them again!  They docked very close to us on Friday - then today moved to a mooring.  Linda's cousin Sharon lives in the area, so she and her husband Gary joined us for dinner on Friday and brunch today - great people!  The weather was sunny all weekend, but yesterday was much more windy.  Today, Paul and I went out on the dinghy for a ride around the north fork of the Port Lucie River - beautiful area and we saw lots of birds and cool stuff.  We really are loving this area - it's great for boating and also just a fun place to live with a cool downtown area at our fingertips, yet all the conveniences close by.  Not to mention the weather! 

Sunday Brunch at Finz Waterfront Grille in Manatee Pocket - an area that is about a 10-minute drive from our marina.  It is also a wonderful area for boating (as you can tell by the background).  Pictured (L to R) - Paul, Jen, Gary, Sharon, Linda, and Rick.

The name of our marina is Sunset Bay Marina - appropriately named - we have been enjoying beautiful sunsets each evening - this one was taken at our new slip from the fly bridge.

And here is Kirby The Wonder Dog!  He and his Mom & Dad (Rick and Linda) came over for dinner tonight - he is the sweetest dog - beautifully behaved and just downright awesome.

We send our love and best wishes to all family and friends far and near - we carry you in our hearts every day.  Feel welcome to come visit - it's awfully nice here in Stuart!  Until next time - Lots of love, Jen & Paul

Today's Quote:
If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun - Katharine Hepburn

Enjoying Stuart

Greetings dear friends and family!  Well, this morning, for the first time in two weeks, we started Master Plan's engines and moved probably a total of 200 yards!  The nice people here at the marina found us a fabulous slip and we're definitely here for the winter!  We moved at about 7:30 AM - good thing - as thunderstorms and high winds came in about an hour later.  Today marks the end of our second week here in Stuart and overall, the weather has been great - today was really our first day of rain.  The forecast looks pretty promising in the days to come.

So we moved from the C dock to the B dock and so far, so good.  We really like the view and the location.  Speaking of view, I was working away today and suddenly looked up to see a huge feathered friend on our bow pulpit - a great blue heron - it was SO COOL - we took some photos -

It also captures the great view we have from my "office."

Anyway - life is good here.  Our friends Rick & Linda (who we docked next to for almost a month in Charleston) arrive tomorrow for the weekend so we look forward to reconnecting with them and Kirby the wonder dog!

Until next time - lots of love, Jen & Paul

Today's Quote:
A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song - Lou Holtz

Happy 2011!

Happy New Year dear friends and family!  I type this from my "office" on Master Plan and it's a beautiful day here in the 70's.  It was quite cold just after Christmas, but starting on Tuesday, it warmed up and we've had sunshine and warm temps all week and the next 10 days looks to be about the same.  How fabulous!

We are still in Stuart at Sunset Bay Marina.  As I've mentioned before, we were told we could not stay here when we initially arrived, but a few days ago, they told us that they would find room for us - so we have stayed here so we don't lose our space and so we're not "out of sight, out of mind."  We just love this marina and after doing some exploring and talking with a lot of people, it's obvious that this is the best marina in Stuart.  The staff are super friendly and accommodating and the facilities are great too.  It's also just a 10-minute walk along this pretty boardwalk on the water to downtown Stuart, which is so charming filled with lots of cute restaurants and shops.  We also are walking distance to a great grocery store and other conveniences.  They have bikes here at the marina that you can just take when you need them, but we're still contemplating buying bikes at Walmart to have on hand. 

Earlier this week, we brought our dinghy motor to a nearby mechanic who fixed it up beautifully - there were carburetor issues caused by the ethanol in the gasoline - so he cleaned it up and the dinghy is running perfectly once again!  For the rest of the week, we did other errands and explored the area and just plain relaxed - it was great!  It has been a very quiet week on the work front, so I've caught up on some sleep and I've also gotten back into reading - I just finished The Help and now am in the middle of Olive Kitteridge.  One of my New Year's resolutions is to read more and watch less TV.  So I'm off to a good start! 

Our friends Don and Sue are still here, but sadly, they are leaving tomorrow.  We've had a lot of fun with them and rung in 2011 with them too!  There is a very nice restaurant here at the marina and they have a huge NYE celebration with a great band, etc.  What's nice is that they're very inclusive so you can go to their bar and enjoy the band without needing a reservation - so we did a potluck HD cocktail hour with other boaters, then enjoyed the rest of the evening outdoors listening to the band.  Very fun! 

Our friends Rick & Linda (and Kirby the Wonder Dog) are headed this way - so we think we'll see them this coming week.  They were at the dock in front of us when we were in Charleston - we are really looking forward to seeing them again.

As I type this, Paul is working hard polishing the boat and I - well, I am hardly working.  Figured it's time I updated the blog (have been very remiss - sorry), then plan to get back to reading.  Another tough day . . .

Enjoy some photos -

Amy Roskilly visited us the day after Christmas with her Mom, her sister, brother-in-law, and niece - it was a great visit!

Cool - a vertical picture that is actually vertical!  I have no idea how I did this, but am psyched it worked!  I love this picture of me and Amy with our "action hair" on MP - it was a WINDY day!

Here we are on Christmas Day at the beach in Stuart with Don & Sue - a great day.

Here is my sweet captain taking the dinghy for a run after the motor got fixed - YAHOO!

This is the main street in downtown Stuart - really great area!

A cool fountain in one of Stuart's many rotaries - you can see the stores and shops in the background.

Sunset Bay Marina - "C" Dock where we are currently residing.  You can see MP's bow sticking out almost smack in the middle of the photo.

The captain strutting down the dock to the boat . . .

This is the marina office and facility - so lovely!  If you follow the boardwalk, the restaurant is on the right - the building looks very similar to the main marina office. 

So - we look forward to a great year ahead on Master Plan and sharing fun times with our dear family and friends, old and new!  We'll be in touch again soon - HAPPY NEW YEAR!  Lots of love, Jen & Paul

Today's Quote:
"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man." – Benjamin Franklin