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Dover and Eva Kayaking in Dana Point Harbor, Memorial Day
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No big Labor Day weekend for us this year. Craig is working on the last part of a now 8 week boatyard project and was only able to take off one day over the Labor Day weekend. We made the most of it, and joined our friends George, Patti, Mike and Marvin up at Marvin’s cabin in Camp Shydack (SP?) in the Los Padres National Forest to celebrate Patti’s Birthday. It has been foggy, damp and cool all summer in Ventura Harbor and it was a nice change to get up to the mountains where it was 90+ degrees and sunny. This was Dover’s first time in the mountains and he enjoyed all the new sights and smells the day had to offer. He did not though like the winding hour and a half drive to and from! It was a great day of great food and friends. Just what the Boat Doctor needed!
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| Transom Before Modification |
The aforementioned boatyard project is a structural re-do of a 1980 Nordic 40 sailboat, s/v Seaquel. The owner, and our dock neighbor in Ventura West, wanted to have a walk-thru transom rather than the fixed transom this production boat came with. He is blind, with an aging German Shepard Seeing Eye Dog, who will benefit from being able to simply walk on the boat from the dock. Also, in the unlikely event that this experienced sailor falls off into the water, he will more easily be able to get back aboard his vessel. Craig has done a fantastic job first demolishing the old transom and rebuilding it using fiberglass.
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| Transom Modification in Process |
Prior to the transom project, Craig took out an old sailboat engine on s/v Freedom and re-powered it with a new diesel engine; completed a blister job on s/v Slow Ride; did an insurance job on s/v Althea and worked on various boat projects for our friend Patrick’s boat, s/v Kamikaze in both Dana Point and San Diego. We are still taking care of Dr. Neal’s Hunter 45, s/v Matt’s Dinghy. Eva does the week to week cleaning and detailing. Craig is taking care of all the engine and system’s maintenance and vessel upgrades. Wally, who is back in town this summer from cruising Mexico, is taking over skipper duties for Dr. Neal while Craig finishes his various other boat projects.
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Craig working up mast on s/v Kamikaze
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Eva is also back to work again for Beth and Skip in Oxnard Shores taking care of their beach home and cats Almond and Coconut (aka, Al and Cocopuff… “I’m Coo-coo for Cocopuff!”) while they do their work in L.A. during the week. I'm also doing some writing in addition to this blog on some ideas that have been kicking around in my head regarding our life on a boat in the harbor, and all the fabulous characters that we have had the pleasure of experiencing thus far.
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s/v Freedom gets shiny new red engine
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Our beautiful home, s/v South Trail, is resting after her long journey of 3000 nautical miles. We have not had a moment as of tying her off to her new berth on June 1st to get her out to the local Channel Islands. We plan to take her out on a couple of one to two week jaunts this coming winter as boat work slows. We also have a long list of boat projects that we hope to complete this winter including ripping out our cabin sole and re-tanking our old diesel tanks. Messy work. We will probably stay with Craig’s mom, Sue, for the duration of that project, as it will be impossible to live aboard while doing this work. We also need to take the mast out and re-rig the boat. Those are the biggies and there are about 2 dozen other small items we hope to address before next summer rolls around.
As if s/v South Trail is not enough work for us, we went into a partnership with Craig’s friend Johnny, a top notch automotive and helicopter mechanic, on two small fishing boats. A 25’, 1967 Luhrs Sportfisher and a 23’ Mako. They were great bargains needing the kind of work that Craig excels at, and Johnny has family property inland that will enable us to work on them and house them rent free. So, in addition to everything else, we will be working on these two boats as additional projects which we hope to sell eventually for a small profit… After we enjoy fishing off them locally first!
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| Our new/old baby: 1967 Luhrs Sportfisher |
Dover is happy to be back to his favorite, home harbor and regular routine. I walk him to the beach every morning (about a mile) and there he plays Chuck-It and frolicks in the surf. In the afternoons he goes to a big dirt lot by our marina and chases rabbits. There are tons of them there and he is very entertained. For you bunny lovers, never fear, he never actually catches them. He doesn’t even come close. The rabbits are way smarter and faster than he will ever be… I think I may have actually seen one of them give him a raspberry before darting across the field and down a hole!
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| Martha, Tamara, Eva and Kari wine tasting in Nashville |
I was thrilled to be able to attend a reunion with my best girlfriends from William Woods University, Fulton, Missouri, 1989-93: Kari, Tamara and Martha. The four of us converged at our friend Martha’s home outside of Nashville, TN in late July, early August. It had been six years since our last get together, and it was a blast to hang out with all of them again. Like putting on a favorite sweater, it was warm, comfortable and familiar. We went wine tasting, out for a night at a local bar with a live band, and into Nashville for some site seeing and dinner. Martha and her hubby, Rob, were fantastic hosts and pulled-out all the stops with a crab boil feast, homemade BBQ hotwings and Rob’s hangover smoothies. I hope we don’t wait another 6 years to do it again!
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| BBQ on South Trail with dock pals: George and Patti pictured |
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| Dover playing ball on "his beach" in Ventura... So happy to be home! |
Many other folks that I was able to see over the summer included my co-worker pals from Anacapa Isle Marina days, Julie and Gabi, my old L.A. waitress buddies from Café Tartine and Marmalade Café and Baccaro Designs Faux Finishing days, Celeste and Gina, and Joanne from Pasadena. It was also really great to reconnect with all our old dock buddy neighbors here in Ventura. We look forward to making many new friends on our new dock and new side of the harbor at Ventura West Marina. It is good to be home! Happy Fall everyone!
