Tuesday May 24, 2011

Today was our first day of standby, waiting for the service providers to attend to some of the things that have to be rectified on the boat before we head out. We took a trip to the marina to try to hook up with the marine diesel service guy but we did not have any luck in connecting with him. He had been at the boat earlier so we are assuming he has assessed what needs to be done. There are a number of routine spare parts that we wanted to purchase for the trip such as fuel and oil filters, water pump impellers etc. so we took a trip out to Anna Maria Island to what was supposed to be a large boat dealer. As it turned out, they did not stock any parts for Yanmar Marine Engines so we are going to have to look for another dealer in the area, or perhaps in Fort Myers.

This allowed us to spend the afternoon touring around Anna Maria Island. We had a great grouper and crab cake lunch at the pier. The temperatures were in the low 90's again.

Some followed it up with an ice cream cone...

We stopped for a short beach walk and wade in the water....

On the way back to the car we encountered a friendly gopher tortoise walking down the sidewalk.

We returned to the motel for a swim and relax in the shade. Brian had to return to the marina to meet up with the engine technicians who finally showed up. They were able to resolve all of the engine controls and instrumentation problems and have sorted out the problem with the bow thruster and will have to return to replace some parts. The main item that remains to be done is to replace the propellors and repair one of the rudders. We will be trying to get the boat hauled out tomorrow and have that work done ASAP. Looks like it will be at least a few days before we can get underway.

We didn't get out for supper until 9:00 pm and just went down the road to Applebee's for a casual dinner and a couple of drinks.