We’re at Bob’s brother Leo’s this weekend, so I decided to experiment with a new technique called HDR (or High Dynamic Range). You take several different exposures of the same scene and then combine them with a special software program.
This is my first attempt. What do you think?
No, not really. I took it yesterday for an online course I’m doing on Photoshop photography.
Bob shops the largest marine electronics department in the world.
No matter how well equipped a new sailboat is, there’s always something it needs…
So off we went to Fort Lauderdale — boating capital of the world — to the new West Marine megastore and Sailorman. On our list were two new anchors, anchor chain and rode, electronic charts for the GPS, a pelican hook to replace a broken one, a new cowling for a dorade and a couple of pet life jackets.
At 50,000 square feet, the West Marine superstore is the largest boating supply store in the United States and possibly the world — five times the size of its standard retail outlets. The superstore carries 35,000 products and you can order many thousands more from its catalogue.
It was a little overwhelming. Think Ottawa’s new Ikea store. After asking for some help, we were directed to the office of cruising specialist Pam Wall, a feisty little woman single-hander with several circumnavigations “under her keel.” Based on our needs, Pam made some helpful suggestions and offered us a nice discount on anything we buy for the boat this month.
The anchor we wanted (a 35 pound Manson Supreme) is very popular and out of stock in most stores. We were able to snag the last one they had thanks to Pam. We also picked up a Fortress as our secondary anchor and we have 120 feet of 5/16″ chain on order. They had the electronic charts we required for Florida and the Bahamas too.
A block away from West Marine is Sailorman, a well-known marine store specializing in new and used boat equipment. We got great service at Sailorman too. They were able to repair a broken pelican hook, which saved us some cash. Both stores welcome dogs.
On the road from Miami to Fort Lauderdale…
I have no idea what kind of flower this is, but it called out to me…it seemed almost architectural…
Thanks to Google, this is no longer a mystery flower, it’s a spider lily.
I just love the vivid colour and naïve style of this piece, which I spotted outside the office of our documentation specialist. Oh yes, and I’m a sucker for anything with a seahorse in it…
When you drop a bunch of eggs on the floor, don’t fret, just make scrambled eggs…after taking a picture, of course!
Today was the day we had been waiting for — for a long time! Taormina, our new sailboat— soon to be renamed — sailed from Fort Lauderdale to Dinner Key in Miami with Bob and a captain on board. It took eight hours due to strong headwinds (25 to 28 knots) and the strong Gulf Stream current. Beating into the wind was tiring, but Bob and Captain Gray arrived at 6:30 p.m. to be met by Pat, Alex, Sherry, Angus and Charles. After a celebratory glass of champers and an exchange of sailing stories, Bob and Sherry drove back to Fort Lauderdale with Gray.
Alex and Pat have been staying on their boat, R Pelican, in the mooring field at Dinner Key for the last week and are heading out tomorrow to start up the ICW to North Carolina and then on back home to Ottawa. They’ve been sailing the Caribbean since November hence the healthy brown skin tones. It was great to share our excitement with good friends and fellow sailors, and Pat and Alex have provided lots of good advice based on their seven years of crusing experience, not to mention practical help! We will miss them and wish them well. See slideshow below for more pics…
Passing by, I happened to catch a glimpse of this sad little face…
Sherrygaley.com 