Work at the Marina.

This is the big crane they use to lift the boats off the lot and into the water, or out of the water and into the lots, for winter storage.





Here is an example of the a boat they lifted and these boats are really big like over 40 feet.

They lifted this boat and placed it in the lot with the other boats they had lifted out before, They are ready to sale thise for the season. It was really interesting to watch them move these big boats.

Dingy Disaster

This is Sarg with ciggerette in his mouth with the gas tank by his feet trying to start the engines. He is a character that is for sure. He thinks the carburator needs cleaning.

Here comes the tugboat to our rescue pulling our dingy behind it, the motor stalled out, and Ross couldn't pull the cord it was like frozen. Apparently there is safety precaution to it so you have to undo it. Sarg who is one of the mechanics showed us how to undo it.





This is the cute little tug boat they used to get our dingy back to us.

Ross is helping the tug master get our dingy around, so we can hook it back to the boat.

Here is the little tugboat that came to rescue us. Ross and I took a dingy ride and the motor quit. We almost got sucked out to sea but Ross rowed us to safety. The current was pretty strong. We only had one oar at the time. Now I can laugh about it. The marina that we are in had a work tug, I thought it was pretty cute.

Dingy Motor

Ross is getting the dingy ready and the motor is set. However, now we have to go for a test ride and see if it works or not. The motor is a Yamaha 8 hp. The dingy is a West Marine. It can hold about 4 people. It is pretty cool how the dingy lifts up and out of the water for storage.

Looking at the motor to see how to secure it when we are

underway.

WiFi

Captain Ross and I on "Cool Change" we still have to put the name on her.



Ross is here putting up WiFi on the boat so we can keep in touch with our friends and family.












Ross is putting on the final touches to the WiFi.

Interior of Cool Change

Ross and I enjoying our first meal on the "Cool Change. I made spaggetti.

This is where the guests will sleep, we have two guests room that are the same with

bathrooms.

This is where I will be doing all my cooking. We have a nice stove, microwave the sink here is covered but it is a nice stainless steel sink.

We can eat outside right now the table is covered up and there is no cushions.

This is the upper helm where Ross will be driving on good weather days. We do have a cover so you can be out of the sun.

Here is the inside helm where on bad weather Ross will be driving the boat.

Here is the salon, it is all cleaned up right now, We have our maps, computers, etc on them right now.

Eva's Bike

Hi everyone here is my new toy, can you guess what it is?

Secure the seat.

I am unfolding the wheels and putting down the pedals.

Here I am with my bike all put together. Now I am ready to go and explore.

Rocna Anchor

Here is Ross's new Rocna anchor. He has tethered himself onto the boat so he won't fall into the ocean. The anchor weighs about 73 lbs or 33 k. That is why it is called Rocna 33.

March 25, 2010

Ross is installing his new Rocna anchor. It is suppose to be the best one from Austrailia. He is very excited about it, and it is a reassuring feeling to know you can be at an anchor and won't have to worry about floating away when you awake from your night sleep.

Let The Adventure Begin

Cool Change

March 22, 2010

We have arrived on the shores of Lindenhurst, NY to begin a new chapter of our life on our 43 ft. Lagoon, we have named her "Cool Change" after the song from the Little River Band. We are both a little nervous and excited about this new beginning. There are alot of things we have to do before we can begin our adventure. We have shipped most of our things to the marina before hand like beddings, kitchen ware, tools that Ross will need to maintain the boat in ship shape. Ross has been coming to New York from Texas on long weekends to get familiar with the electrical components, and the over all lay out, of how she works and runs. Cool Change is still winterized so we couldn't run any water in her but, we will begin the process of dewinterizing her and getting ready for her maiden voyage.

March 23, 2010

Ross and I spent our first night on the boat. We had the little heater on. It was very comfortable last night. That was one of the first things I did was make up the bed. Ross and I had been up since 3 a.m. traveling to New York. We then rented a car to come to the Surfside Mariana 3. It rained most of the day and night. www.boats.com/sites/marinemaxlindenhurst.

March 26, 2010

Ross and I have been very busy getting to know Cool Change and how she works. There is alot of work to be done and sometimes I am too tired to post anything, but I will keep you updated.

March 29, 2010

Ross and I have been on the boat now for one week. It has been raining alot here and it is raining again today and probably tomorrow. We still have to put the name "Cool Change" on the boat, however we have to wait for a dry and not windy day. Today is a good day to do indoor things and we plan on checking the bilges. We need to make sure if there is intake of water the bilges work so she won't sink .

March 30, 2010

There is still so much to do, but we may have to come back another time. Both Kyle and Cody called to see how we are doing. That was really sweet of them, I wondering if they are worrying about their mom.

Ross and I are going to install the security system. Then we will be ready to set off. How exciting it will be here before we know it. We plan on leaving Thursday for sure. Our first night we plan on staying at Guy Lombardo's in Freeport, NY It is half way to Sandy Hook, Highlands, NJ.

March 31, 2010

The rain has finally quit and today is our final day to get all our ducks in a row and get ready to take off tomorrow. They brought the dingy yesterday and the dingy motor today. Ross is having trouble starting it so some of the men from the West Marine are helping him get it started. It has been winterized so maybe it isn't anything too serious. We are also going to put the name on her stern. Apparently when it is Coast Guard documented it is law to have a name, Ross picked "Cool Change" from the song by Little River Band it is about his dreams and they are finally coming true for him.

April 2

The past two days certainly has been an adventure. We left Lindenhurst, NY on schedule, during high tide. We had no trouble leaving the marina. Calm sailing ahead we went down the intercoastal. It is very shallow in some spots. We saw a sailboat being towed by the "Sea Tow" company which by the way we are members in case we run into trouble. It is a good thing to have in case you get into trouble. The only thing we really didn't like very much were the bridges we had trouble with. We had a bridge that we were not too sure about. We did make it under no trouble. We tried to hail the bridge keeper and no one answered. "What's up with that?" Alot of this area is off season. Alot of places are not open. Their season don't begin until like end of April beginning of May. We spent the night in Guy Lombardo Marina. They charge you by the size of your boat. This place was relatively cheap. It was $1.00 a foot. so $43.00. Usually it cost around $3.00 a foot in certain places. This was place was kind of far from the hotels. Ross and I walked about 4 miles round trip to go eat and back to the boat. It was called the Nautical Mile in Freeport, NY it was a cool tourist place. however., like I said it was off season and alot of the places were closed down. The houses there liked nautical design. One house had a whole anchor in the front yard. Well tomorrow we head back home and now Sandy Hook Marina will be home to Cool Change for a month. Next stop "Who Knows?" Wherever the winds take us.

April 28, 2010

Hello friends and family, another chapter of the Cool Change Adventure is about to begin. This time we will have family along. Ross's sister Carolyn and her husband Wally Thurston will be joining us on our journey southward. Once again we will begin our trip at Sandy Hook in Highlands, NJ where we will venture to Atlantic City, NJ where we plan on staying at Kammermans Marina (http://www.kammermansmarina.com/ ) We estimate this leg of our trip is approximately 86 NM (nautical miles) Atlantic City is famous for gambling and night life similar to Las Vegas except on a smaller scale. It should be fun. We plan on staying a couple nights at that marina. Then we motor on down to Cape May, NJ where we plan on staying in Utsch Marina ( http://www.capemayharbor.com/) . This leg of our trip should be approx. 39 NM where we will stay a couple of nights, check out the town and see the sites. The final leg of our journey will take us to Deleware Bay and Summit North Marina (http://www.summitnorthmarina.com/). They have a nice restaurant there called Aqua Sol (http://www.aquasolrestaurant.com/) From here we are approx.m 1 hour and 15 minutes from the Baltimore airport where we will head back home. Summit North Marina will be the home of Cool Change for the next month until we begin our next trip. Stayed tuned for pictures

April 30, 2010

We arrived at Sandy Hook Marina with no problems. The weather is certainly different than what it was last month. Around 72 maybe with the nights around 50 or so. Carolyn and Wally will be arriving tomorrow around noon, so we have alot we need to do to get ready. We want them to feel welcomed. I cleaned the bedroom and bathroom and made the bed. We shipped all the bedings up here in a couple of crates. Around 3:30 or 4:00 we took the fold out bikes and found an A & P grocery story about 3 miles away. and bought a couple of days rations of food. This will be another fun adventure with the Thurstons's. They will be coming on the Sea Streak Ferry too.

May 1, 2010

The Thurston's have arrived on the "Sea Streak" around noon. Here on Sandy Hook Bay Marina we went to lunch at the "Beacon on the Hill" restaurant that opened up on April 30 for the season. Later on in the day we walked up the hill to the Twin Lighthouses. it was a nice view from up there. Now I know why the city we are in is called the Highlands, it was a straight up hill journey to the lighthouse. It was a beautiful view from up there. (Note entry on Twin Towers). The dogwood trees were in bloom and the lilac's great spring smells. As we made our way back down the hill we stopped in a grocery store and liqueur store and bought some wine. Later on that night I made a spaghetti dinner and red wine. Good night to another wonderful day.

May 2. 2010

We are doing a small detour before we head south. We are going to drive by the Statue of Liberty, what an awesome sight to see for sure. I have goosebumps as we drive around her. The torch you see is made of a golden metal so when the sun shines on it, it looks like it is lit up. I guess I never really noticed before, but the Statue of Liberty or Miss Freedom as people call her is really on the New Jersery side. You can see Ellis Island, and Manhantan all around. It is sad too because you can see where the Twin Towers should have been with a patch of green which I am sure is a Memorial for the people who were killed at 911 Terrorist attack, perhaps a park. There are cruise tour boats which are loaded with people to see her. We have lucked out it is a gorgeous day to see her. We had some fog as we came earlier, but it has broken up and now it is clear and sunny. The Hudson River is dirty and full of debris and big logs so we have to be careful and stear clear from all that. We have arrived at our new home for a couple of days The 79 West Boat Basin Marina. It was tricky going into this small marina but they had a slip big enough for us. There is a nice restaurant up the hill called the Boat Basin restaurant that overlooks the marina. It is a hot day today, we walk up the hill and we are very close to Central Park we spend the day there. It is almost 90 degrees today and very humid. We are hungry so we stopped at a small pizza place for a slice of New York pizza. I found a discount clothes store called Ilene's Basement right on Broadway where I ran in and buy a pair of white shorts, and navy capris and a summer top. Carolyn and Wally didn't bring too many warm weather clothes either, we were expecting cooler weather. Central Park was very nice with the horse and buggy riders, the azeala bushes were in full bloom with the pink, red, and white blooms. They had a group of people there playing bongo drums and a guy in full silver paint from head to toe dressed like the Statue of Liberty. This is a beautiful sunny humid day.

May 3, 2010

This will be our last in in the W. 79th Street Boat Basin and it is going to be rainy day, so we are going to spend the day at the American Museum of Natural History. This is one of the favorite places of the boys, they have a huge sperm whale on the ceiling, it is really neat. Lots of cool exhibits.

July 16, 2010

Once again the adventures of "Cool Change" will begin starting on or around July 20, I will keep you posted. We will be starting our trip from Portsmouth, VA with Pat and Shelley McKay and their nephew Reed. I am not sure however, where we will end up. We will just see where this adventure will take us.

Sept. 13 2010.

Ross and I will begin another part of our journey leaving Aurora, NC and hopefully end up in Charleston, SC. Hurrican Hermine, just missed Cool Change in NC the brunt of the storm moved off and away. Ross was pretty nervous about the whole thing, but things turned out well. Ross and his friend Mike who owns the dock and house where Cool Change sits went up last month to finish putting in the air conditioning. All works well in that department. Well we will see you soon on the next leg of our trip.