I remember docking at Ladd's in Sunday Tripper (our 1989 Bayliner Motoryacht 3870) for quite a few of the early years. The Ladd's used their barge to set the fireworks up. They fired them off so close to the marina, ashes would cover the boat the next morning. Have you ever lay under a Christmas tree and looked up at the lights and ornaments in a dark room? Lying on the bow of a boat under a huge firework display is way better!
One year, Chris Ladd got burned pretty bad from a shell that exploded early. I think that ended their management of the fireworks. The fireworks are still set up on a barge but the show is managed by a pyrotechnics company. There is no way to lay on the bow under the display anymore but seeing these huge shells burst over the water with the shadows of the boats in the moorings is nearly as impressive.
Watching the display makes you feel like a little kid again. The shell blasts go through your chest almost like being punched. Pictures just don't capture what the eye is seeing. And the boat's lazy movement back and forth in the water distorts the scene anyway. Now, the Boardwalk plays 'Proud to be an American' over their huge PA system right after the fireworks have ended. It really makes the moment!
We've been on the moorings for the 4th (and most other visits) since they were installed. The last five season's have been on Ocean Breeze. It is so hard to explain to anyone the quiet and the relaxing nature of the water and what it does to the boat as she lazily moves about bobbing back and forth.
(Still learning the Panorama on the camera but really wanted to catch the calm of the night before the fireworks)
So after relaxing and playing all weekend, we will go back to Bay Point today and trouble shoot a problem with the generator. We run it twice a day to charge the house battery bank, cook and do anything else that requires AC power. No different from any other 4th here at the Bay, yesterday was steamy and hot. By evening, we were ready to close up the boat, turn on the air conditioners and cook dinner. Little Genny has always taken the load well however, last night we heard a click and the power went down...but Genny was still running. It took us a while to reset the system. When we got it back up and producing AC, I kept the load below what we were using. We did manage to cool the boat down but Genny was steaming.
We used to call our maintenance folks and have them come out to troubleshoot any problems. That won't be possible on the trip, although they've volunteered to come along! So when we get back to Bay Point today, we'll start with the easiest possible point of a problem and take the sea strainer apart to check for a clog.
The generator picks up water from beneath the boat, cools itself and spits out hot water behind the boat with the exhaust. A strainer keeps seaweed and other debris from clogging up the cooling system within Genny. Of course, it gets clogged up instead.
It's going to be another hot day and that will compound the job. Every thing that needs to be checked is outside under the cockpit of the boat (the back deck) and not inside in the bilge where the air conditioners will be keeping us nice and cool. I think I'll pick vacuuming the boat while Todd checks the sea strainer out.
Left on the to-do list before departure:
The canvas folks still haven't paid us a visit. We've checked with them countless times and may need to employ someone else for the job.
The electronics installer is coming the week of July 17th to finish his job (install the Satellite TV).
Our maintenance team is coming the first week of August to work with Todd, changing impellers on the engines and the generator (the impeller on the generator may need to be changed NOW so that bit of education may come sooner than we think). They will be bringing a repair kit with all the things Todd will need for general maintenance of the engines and generator.
I'm ordering three more LED lights for our two heads (bathrooms) and buying an LED light from West Marine for our anchor light. These LED lights are working marvelously while we are off AC power.
Golly, the list is short and the beginning of the trip is SO CLOSE (38 days from today)! We really need to cast off...I'll feel so much better when we do. The last job on the list is for Todd the close the church books for the month of July with the stand in Treasurer and go to Vestry. The umbilical that is holding us will be severed...at least temporarily.
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