Florida BEER Cruise

[Wayne Howard]

Dates June 6 - 10, 2025
Friday Little Sabine with Captains meeting at Shaggy's
Saturday Juana's Pagoda in Navarre
Sunday Sailboat Cove in Big Lagoon
Monday Knock about
Tuesday Blue Angels Practice

I apologize if this is a repeat but I did a search and did not find a posting showing this year's event.
Charles, you are running out of time. Sigh. I was hoping to see a new Scamp this year.

[Doug SC]

I will be on a SC beach with family that week. Would like to have joined y'all.

[Charles Brennan]

Wayne, I HEAR ya!   
It's certainly not for lack of trying. 
I even considered driving over on Friday to meet up with everyone at Shaggy's, like I've seen OTHER BEER Cruisers do, when they were in between boats and whatnot.
But I currently begrudge    any time, spent away from the actual build.

"Sigh. I was hoping to see a new Scamp this year."
I can only hope the wait, will be worth it.

BTW, Boats not ready in time for a BEER Cruise, is a BEER Cruise TRADITION!!  
I well remember hosting THIS guy, aboard Urchin one year:
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Because HIS boat wasn't ready until the NEXT year:
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And TWO Years, before THIS boat finally made it!! 
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   SO CUT ME SOME SLACK!!! 

Just know I am with you all, in spirit. 
Charles Brennan

[Riley Smith]

Ain't it the truth. I decided I was going to BEER ...well, now a couple of years ago. But first I'll need to do this and that. And a YEAR later, got the boat back in the water. This time we'll be in the area, although not particularly planning on the cruise, I hope to run up on some of y'all. Nowadays it's fitting the schedule, not to WORK, but to GRANDBABIES. You can't win.

[Spot]

Sorry Everyone, I will have to miss it. That is the same 'first full weekend of June' as the Pepin Messabout up here on the waters between Wisconsin and Minnesota at Lake City, MN.

https://sites.google.com/site/pepinmessabout/home

[Frank B.]

Not for me this year either.  I'm in Mexico Beach right now attending the annual exercise in chaotic behavior where about thirty family members attempt to be together for a week without anyone ending up in the hospital. Our record is about fifty/fifty on that. BEER used to be right after that event, so I could tow the boat to MB then directly over to BEER.  Think my attendance years were 2010 and 2011. I enjoyed it but can't make the trip south so soon and I have construction projects going at the house which require my attention.

And, of course, the boat is not ready. 

[Wayne Howard]

Charles,

I cut you a lot of slack. I've still got the big boat and let me tell you a project on it is always interesting. It seems you have to 4 or 5 other things to get to the thing you want to work on.

I saw this the other day. "You're just one broken bolt from a 30 minute job to a 3 day ordeal.

Like the other day when Connie says she hears the pressure water pump cycling. Really? we have a tight system usually. So I start tracking water lines under the floorboards. Then I hear the bilge pump come on. Hmm. Let's look there first. There is water flowing in from under the engine tub. Climb out of the cabin and dig out all the stuff in the starboard locker. Geesh, do we need all this stuff? Climb down into the locker now that I have room to maneuver. Look at the engine tub and notice water flowing under the tub here also. And lookie here. The water heater is leaking and not from any of the fittings. It's an old raritan heater with dual inputs, 110V and engine heat. Now I have to drain the engine antifreeze and shut off the potable water lines and haul this piece of junk out the locker hatch and I think it doesn't fit through there. Plus I've gotten older and I don't bend in ways that allow me to remove the water heater. So I'm going to do what David Furman does and throw "Cash Particles" at the problem. Bruise my wallet and not my body. 

[Doug SC]

CB calls at least one of those boat contortions the "Mangled Monkey Pose", but there are many other variations in boat yoga they haven't even found names for. I think I come up with new ones every time I work on a boat!

[Norm L.]

I have enjoyed the drive there on day one to meet, chat, and tell stories. Recently getting a (old) second I can now take days without spouse forbidding the car use.
Unfortunately, we will be arriving home at the end of June 5 after 3 weeks with our Dutch friends in Holland. Around water everyday but it is watching boats and not being in one.
Weather has been temps 45-55, high winds and on/off rain. Not the usual beautiful country. But local traffic that we watch daily are all Dutch and all decent power boats. No sailboats yet and no normal German, Belgium traffic with summer traffic growing from the UK and Scandinavia.

Missing our local traffic but later this week we will be making red beans and rice for the alien friends that love it

Enjoy the Pensacola finery.

[Ed]

I am sooooo tempted to tell Becky that she has the load, grandson/chickens/goats/dogs/cats/etc., and head out for Pensacola with our new-to-us 2014 Hobie Tandem Island.  Realistically or adultorily it's not going to happen this year.  Too many unknowns to try it this year, but next year we'll be on one or the other (FL 120) and camping on the beach.  I've been busy buying replacement crap for the TI, but it's a garage kept, cherry boat that didn't get sailed much at all, with a few niggling items that are easily replaceable (but not cheap).  The extensively overbuilt trailer is probably worth $2K, at least, and it's got a swing tongue!  No rust on anything, even on the hangars/leaf springs!  I'll be upgrading to the Charles Brennan Trailer Lights System tomorrow since I could only get one side of the lights working for the drive back from Knoxville today.  I had everything to do the upgrade, but I refuse to work in the rain for more than 10 minutes. I will also be exchanging the 11 year old trailer tires that made the 2.5 hour trip back without incident, for new Wally World balanced tires and rims, that I had with me but the rain influenced me to take the chance with them, (they put a bunch of weights on the rims when I bought them and the tire guy told me he had never had anyone ask for balancing them before but would recommend it from now on).  Just a few rubber items to replace/grease to make "Shark Bait" go!

[Roland of Macatawa]

Hi, Ed:
Congrats on your new toy!
Regards, Roland