Viridian News & Views: Back in Business

Saturday, March 31, 2018

Back in Business

It was good to take a break from the Loop and reconnect with family and friends back in Alabama. We had some good visits, good eats, helped plant a garden and even attended a retirement luncheon for one of my office mates. Filed the ole income tax, mowed the lawn for the first time this year and burned a brush pile that I stacked up before leaving on the Loop. Our number 2 son is keeping the house in tip-top shape, and after spending 4 1/2 months onboard Viridian, the house seemed bigger than we remembered it being. It was good to hear the old screen door slam, a familiar sound that is missed when away, but we can also say we missed the feel of Viridian moving under us and the sights and sounds of life on the water. I guess we have two homes now and each one is a special place

Viridian is back to 96% after the repairs done at River Forest Yacht Center, and we were glad to see her back to her old self. The thruster is fixed, the generator leak is fixed and new water hoses installed on both the main engine and the gen-set. Five of the six batteries passed the load test at 100% and the 6th one passed at 80%. Provisions were purchased at the new Wal-Mart Super Center in LaBelle, FL and loaded onboard to keep us fed for the next week or so while heading east for the Atlantic ICWW. After settling up with the boat yard foreman, we felt truly back into the swing of things and started planning our next few days of cruising that will take us back to the east coast and north to Canada. It will take a week or so to get out of Florida, but we are in no hurry to get anywhere fast. Our first passage today was a short 2-hour cruise from River Forest to Moore Haven, FL, a small town on the west side of Lake Okeechobee, FL. We are docked at the Moore Haven City Docks for two days while the wind settles down across the lake before attempting a crossing. Since tomorrow is Easter Sunday, we will visit one of the local churches here and then do some exploring.

We arrived here at lunch time and had all afternoon to clean Viridian since she was pretty dirty after sitting out in a boat yard; she was dusted with a fine gray powder that is a by-product of hull grinding and wind. All the windows on the fly bridge had to be washed inside and out and treated with a special protective coating. The decks were scrubbed, the upper cabin washed and all surfaces facing skyward were waxed. Yes, the boatyard did wash her but they just took off the top layer. Now we feel like everything is back in good working order and ready for action.

Well that's the news and here are some views:

We are here