Spring 2013 FL Chapter Aquasport Gathering

[slvrlng]

I think that is Dave's 250 Explorer.

[wingtime]

Thats what I was wondering.... as in the delta conic 250 explorer

[pzart]

Stopped by the  8)  8) GATHERING 8)  8) , wish I could have spent more time, but the girls wanted to see all the springs and other sites, they had never been there before. They did see their first up close manatee at the  8)  8) GATHERING 8)  8) ....here is the Pic



Had a great time meeting everyone, next time maybe I will leave a few people home

That Manatee fell in love with the Twin Mercs there, hope he didn't do any damage to them after we left  

[pzart]

Come on with the pics, it doesn't take that long to photo shop a smile onto CB's face

I think rode hard look what the cat dragged in mermaids fits better with this group  :flower:

No need to Photoshop a smile on an ol' drunk.



This guy's a hoot and I thought Bloody Marys were just for breakfast.
Dave with RTM in the background.

   

[Capt. Bob]

Yep,
A good time seemed to be had by all. My expression speaks for itself. Met with Craig (ol' cut and paste)  and Paul and counting Rick and Dave, that brings the "met member" count to seven. Weather was great for sleeping but not real nice to go in the Gulf. Craig's 205 is a deep gunnel boat for sure and Paul's brought back some old memories. Paul had a full crew so 8 attendees in 5 Aquas at the peak.

Got the straight skinny on the Crystal River nuke plant and watched sea cows act like dogs in heat.

Had pizza on the grill, corn in the husk on the grill, chilled Captain Morgan and Moosehead beer.

Pleasant weather for the return trip and a gut fillin' breakfast at a place called Grannies. The menu shows they make four 3 egg omelets but two are the same . Never figured that one out, still.........

Thanks to everyone for a very nice three days.

[RickK]

We arrived at Pete's Pier around 3pm on Thursday and after paying and launching and finding a good place to tie up, CB arrived and after the initial greeting, he launched and away we went. Daves's 250 and CB taking up the rear.


We idled out to a place out of the wind, dropped the hook and started settling in.


We started getting to know each other immediately, talking, joking and laughing from the beginning and throughout the whole trip - very therapeutic.
We even took a break to try to rid crystal river of ther catfish - CB won that prize


Over the next few days we probably saw a majority of the pontoon boats in the area and at the very least , all the "Dive with the manatees" boats for hire.


We took a little detour Friday, piled into CB's boat and took a cruise to the main spring - it was then that I realized I forgot my camera. Sorry.

We had partly cloudy skies and strong breezes pretty much the whole trip - which was fine with us - cool and keeps the bugs away.  Wind was out of the E-NE and about 20mph steady. Friday night we got some rain and it turned cold and we huddled in my boat with most of the eisenglass up and again we sat there laughing and partying into the wee hours. Friday nights sunset - a little blurry (maybe it was me   ).


The next day the wind started to shift and then swung out of the NW and kicked up a bit slowly over the day - again great for sleeping and keeping the bugs away.
Craig (clm65) was the first boat to arrive and I must admit that his boat has some very deep gunnels - pretty safe looking.



Craig stayed with us for quite a few hours and we talked about everything under the sun too - great guy.  I learned a lot about his industry. Pleasure meeting you Craig.

Then Paul (pzart) arrived with his boat full of fun and while I forgot to take pics, we hung out for a while and talked aquasport 170 "stuff", which is right up my alley.  His crew stayed with us about an hour and Julie wanted to go ride a manatee or something - wait - that was on the list of DO NOTS - no riding manatees  :(  but anyway, off they went to 3 sisters springs.  Paul, it was great meeting you, your missus, and friends.

We had a visitor after Paul left and before Craig did - made you think how great it is to have good friends and a great country to live in.








So it was back to shooting the breeze among the dastardly crew of the 3 amigos. We woke up early Sunday to this beautiful sunrise.


Packed up and was eating breakfast at Grannies by 930a.  A perfect end to another great gathering.

[Capt. Bob]

Friday nights sunset - a little blurry (maybe it was me   ).

Ya think?


Dave and yet another Bloody Mary.


Come to think about it, most of that evening was somewhat out of focus.

[Circle Hooked]

Looks like you guys had a time for sure, Rick how does the wee hours and Dave fit together  

[RickK]

For us if the hour has a 1 in it, it's the wee hours

[CH Jr]

Were you guys in fresh water?

For us if the hour has a 1 in it, it's the wee hours

I thought you normally ritire to your cabin around 10:30-11:00, all the interesting things happen when I'm not there.  

[Capt. Bob]

Were you guys in fresh water?

Fresh in the sense that manatees (and some humans) use it as a septic discharge and it is influenced by the Gulf tidal change by a couple/3 feet. Brackish would be a good description.

Which leads to the question... Is the City of Crystal River on a centralized sewer system/

[CH Jr]

Which leads to the question... Is the City of Crystal River on a centralized sewer system/

I think the bottom of the river probably is for manatees, all that doody has to go somewhere.  

[CLM65]

... Is the City of Crystal River on a centralized sewer system/

Yes, since the mid-90's I believe.

There was an interesting article in the local Sunday paper regarding the salinity of the bay...
http://www.chronicleonline.com/content/salt-bay

Anyway, thanks again for a great time Saturday!

And Paul...how was 3 sisters?  Cold?

[pzart]

And Paul...how was 3 sisters?  Cold?

It was great, bikinis galore Cold?....... still trying to coax my manhood back out

[Capt. Bob]

There was an interesting article in the local Sunday paper regarding the salinity of the bay...
http://www.chronicleonline.com/content/salt-bay

Looks like I'll flush the motor tonight.