ive seen terry's 21' I though this is 21'too?

One thing there was not a shortage of was great food! The mixer at Bill's was a bounty of fresh seafood and homemade salsas, dips and sides. Rusty's fresh grilled tuna steaks and Blue Heron's black beans and rice were the choicest of offerings that could not been replecated at any of the local "fine dining" establishments.

The beach menu on the following day only raised the bar with GFS's Beef Wellington served hot beachside at sunset! If you missed this one you really should be kicking yourself indeed. Despite the dismal weather outlook, we ended up blessed with stunning sunsets and mild temperatures. Some of us even made it offshore for some grouper and hog snapper to add to the beachside buffet making it a true "surf and turf".

Terry's masterpiece really is a huge 21 and probably has more boat in at the waterline than even the 25's. I got to see it in action from alongside at speed and have to say it is truly a graceful thing of beauty. I devoted quite a bit of time snapping pics of her and got some great HD video as well. Hopefully I get a few minutes this week to do some editing and will post a YouTube link with some of the highlights.

That is what CSC is all about. As Todd told me long ago, what good is knowledge if you can`t share it. The beauty of our crowd is we all have passion and understanding.
It`s the sharing part that makes it special.

Got some action photos of Blue Heron's Seafari. Another beautiful specimen that is just as stunning rocketing through the slop as it is up close at the marina.

Conner's Seafari is as equally nimble and looks surprisingly well groomed for such a well equipped daily driver. I would take that boat anywhere and if he ever let me I probably wouldn't come back... :D

Better weather prevailed and some choose to camp out on the bar.

Agreed.

I finally got to see her bottom. Wow. The best part was feeling her heel over.
Really fun.

When I was on that other boat smoking` a following sea into Sebastian...well, you just tip your hat. The 25 Seafari is a dancer. I would not be confused with Arthur Fiedler. Yet.

Grabbed up the wife's cell and dug these gems out.....

Great pics! Looked like everyone was having a great time.

Our 23' Sceptre spent 31 years of it's life in Clearwater, Fla. Would have been nice to be there and participate...maybe next year.

Thanks, everyone, for a great time and great food. Special Thanks to Bill and Carla for hosting Friday night, RUSTYNTABITHA for the tuna steaks and the laughs, KMoose, Melissa and Connor for risking life and limb to catch grouper and then share with all, and to GoSlowSandman for the wellington of beef. Awsome, all.

Hard to believe, but IslandTrader's 21 looks better in person than it does in the pictures.

Fortunately, Kmoose was able to rescue the stranded campers so they didn't have to wait for the high tide.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps4a88f581.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps324c0875.jpg

Dave

A great time, thanks to all and the weather was just fine.


Friday night? What a food blowout! Fresh tuna, fresh clams, somebody had some fabulous smoked fish dip. Thank you Bill and Carla for hosting. Carla, you make outstanding salsa.

Saturday: beach food blowout plus. Moose brought the cooker, clams and some fresh grouper, cooked to perfection. No way you could get as good a meal in the best of restaurants, and the cooker even warmed thin blooded me up. To top it off, Sandy shows up with beef Wellington, with CSC carved into it.. Now, I'd heard the name, but never experienced such a fancy dish. On the beach? You got to be puling my leg. . . . Truly fine.

Could not talk Terry into taking the 21 offshore. I was very curious to see how it rides when it is bumpy. Heck, it was only 6 ft plus Sunday morning. Can't figure what the problem was. Anyway, had an opportunity to watch as the 21 ran in chop, across Moose's wake, etc. Very sweet, wait till you see the video. I was trying to take pics, so couldn't really watch the boat, but did see it cross the wake once. Very interesting. Most boats lift up and over a wake. The 21 pretty much goes straight through it. Next gathering, I think I'll steal the 21, get Melissa to drive and take it offshore.

Saturday was also diving. I got to go with Moose, a real pleasure to dive with someone of that caliber. And something that most folks don't know. The most important person on a dive boat is the driver. Its a lot harder than it looks, even when it calm. When its rough, with the wind blowing like stink and the seas getting into the 5 ft range, its 100 times harder. Add two divers with completely different styles(freediving and scuba) and it is harder still. Didn't seem to bother Moose (he knew who was driving) but made me a bit nervous and I was checking the position of the boat regularly. Every time, Melissa had the boat in exactly the right place, close enough to get to a diver immediately but out of the way, not too close. You have no idea how comforting that is when you basicly alone in the water, twenty miles from shore and know from bad experience how easy it is to screw up. Thank you Melissa.

Looks like everyone had a great time!! The SeaCraft line-up pictures are legendary

Yo Sandy

I see you eyeing those water pigeons over your left shoulder. They would fit perfectly in that steama pot :p

Hey Denny

What did you do, take part in some of "Don's Lightning" and fall asleep at the wheel & forget the tide :eek:

All I can say is ditto to everyones remarks on what a great outing this was.

Thanks for all the kudos on the 21...Really without the help of the forum it would not of turned out as well as it did. Thanks guys!:D



Now to answer the question above...There is a reason(s), actually . The first is that we had a 60 mile ride by boat and then another 80 miles by car, so I really did not want to go back to the hotel and get Sharon after banging thru the waves (45 minute no wake zone for those who where not there) and there is no way in Hell she was going to go along. Plus we just wanted to get back in the daylight and not to navigate in the dark in unfamiliar waters. As it was the gps crapped out so I am glad we did what we did...So talk is cheap :D when your wife is at home.
There will be plenty more of these gatherings and when there is not such a premium on time we will let you have your fun :rolleyes:

Sorry I had to miss this one....:o
Duty called for a weekend of baby sitting a new customer
that opened up a new night club on a Friday night!
Rule #1 NEVER open a NEW business on a Friday night!
He did not listen to reason on my 38 years of being in the
POS industry...

The only solace was returning to Area 442 for my own
backyard SeaCraft gathering! :):D;)

There are 7 different models here alone...:eek:
2-23 Sceptre's, 23 Savage, 20MA, 2-20SF's, 20 Seafari, 27 FB, 27 MA....

Glad you guys had a good time!!
The food at our gatherings is becoming a draw on its own..:cool:

OK. lets focus on the Spring gathering! :)

What? You wouldn't go offshore when no intelligent person would consider such a thing, just to satisfy my idle curiosity? Whats wrong with you????

Just kidding folks. Terry was outside a couple of days before and I heard it was no picnic. I don't blame him a bit.


and my wife has better sense than me.

Here's a quick video of our romp offshore to bag some gags and hogs. It was a solid 3 to 5+ without exaggerating and very mixed up due to the wind shift. It had been quite a while since I have taken her out in anything bigger than 2 to 3s and I have to say it was enjoyable to catch a little spray in the face while out offshore doing the SeaCraft dance.... Working on more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqDlk...ature=youtu.be

Short clip of Terry's Moesly running up on us. Video is less than stellar due to low light and speed. We'll get some daylight footage next time.....
http://www.youtube.com/edit?video_id...ZmyrE&ns=1&o=U

Yo Chuckles,
Birds are best roasted, and yes I would. Just dumping many photos from my work mandated smart phone and doing some editing. I hit a button by mistake and they loaded to my puter.
Don`t ask...

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/g...ps7fa08651.jpg

Gillie came from across the dang country. No decoder ring needed. We just have that same generational understanding.
That is the secret. Understanding and Google Earth. I want to hit the west coast and be confused while looking north.
Ocean on my port???

Rusty, I am a bit critical when it comes to food, but damn Son, that was the best fish dip I have evah had by far! Yes I want the recipe. No, Hell yes I want that. I can`t think of the last time my puny mind could not steal what was in a dish! All of the food was yummy and your pride and understanding shone through. Well done folks! Even Dave`s beans n rice were yummy.

I had my doubts. He makes molds and breathes VOC`s.

Cheers,
GFS

Here is Sundays 40 knot run to the bar. I mounted my GoPro to the windshield and ended up with a super cool 10 minute ride in my boat from the helm. On the way you'll get a good look a Blue Heron's 25 slicing through the slop and we end up at the bar to see if Denny needs a hand. If you have a little time to kill, take a look.
http://youtu.be/wlOxxoA3rLg

Wow!! Supper cool video, didn't get sick watching it either. Nice run.

Thanks All for the great time.. Moose your a hell of clam cooker !!!!!!! and beach side grouper cooker !!!! Tabatha had a great time also with the other Ladies of CSC.. Food was SPECTACULAR !!!!! loaded a few pics from the weekend... was hard to leave on sunday... but Mickey Mouse called... Terry, Dave, Dave and Conner all had beautiful examples of our favorite brand and Moose has a well purposed boat set up for his purpose... DonV a special thank you for allowing Tab and i to tag along !!! And great to meet everyone !!!!!!! Thanks Bill for hosting on Fri !! Hope everyone and more are at the spring as we hope to make it !!!!!!! We will be staying in touch !!!

It was great to meet you guys Friday night, sorry I couldn't get out there sat and sun I had too many family obligations. We will see you all at the next one.

A hearty thanks to all the folks who made this gathering special.
Great grub, fine folks and classic SeaCraft camaraderie.

Great to see some of the group again and meet many more.

Special thanks to Bushwacker for putting up with me for a couple of nights.

kudos to Don and Rusty for helping the family stranded on the island to get back home and to Ken, Melissa and Conner for braving the wave and fetching the rest if us slackers some fresh grouper and hog fish for the pan - mighty tasty grub. that wrapped-up cow loin with the initials was pretty tasty, too. thanks gfs - nice galley work!

Thanks again, everyone. I know I'm not alone in saying what a great time I had meeting and reacquainting with you all!.

What a great line-up of fine folks and boats!

anclote on the bar
 

more pics if it works...

here are a few more

just a few more ... between Island trader's and Blue Herons great restorations you may note Rusty and Don helping out a stranded family. WTG, guys! And Thanks again BBH for having us over. Great way to start the weekend!

Those are some great looking boats.
I likes ESD's at the end of the rainbow shot great!

I have been at almost every one and I had more fun at this one than any I think. Special thanks to moose for all his work catching and cooking, Bills party Fri was awesome. Don moose put the rest of your apple pie on my boat, it will have a good home - damn I like that guy

The Ramada worked pretty darn good to - docks were really nice and right outside the room so allowed alot of informal dock parties. Quite a few new people too which was fun

Just to be clear, Melissa had me put the "apple pie" on you boat for assumed ownership based on the fact it was in your hand most of Saturday night. :D

thank her then, yes it grew on me over the evening

Sorry :-(
 

Folks,

It was great to meet many of you on Friday for Lunch - good time, nice people, great boats !

Sorry I couldn't get out Sat / Sunday as I was sick, suspect I picked it up on the way back from WI Thursday :-(


Looks like we missed a great time despite the weather !

Will need to be next time I guess !!

K

Ha! With a name like K Moose , I just knew you would fit
right in with this crew. Thanks for the yummy fish!

I'll post pics after work.
Cheers,
GFS

Skippertee and I, unfortunately had to miss this one ... And we know we missed a great time, great food and great people.

There were a lot of new people and new boats at this gathering. And now that you know how much fun they are, hopefully, you'll join in the next one and then I'll get to meet all of you!

Thanks for sharing all the pictures and videos!
Carla

VOCs, Yum

Do we still have an APB on the missing Blue Heron cup?

Alright let`s get started.

Here we find a wide smile from the proud Father.
Does she have a name?


http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/g...ps8e401065.jpg


http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/g...ps726d0d3f.jpg

I salute the Captain. She rides so gently. I really enjoyed driving her.
Thanks.

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/g...psea920f0b.jpg

Here comes the 502!


http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/g...psac6deb4c.jpg


To the rescue we shall go.

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/g...ps34afbb8b.jpg

Like fine wine.

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/g...ps1dcd6386.jpg

Need a bigger roasting pan.


http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/g...ps4c2de235.jpg

Mmmm, apple pie.


http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/g...ps7c016034.jpg

Was it 7 different models present?

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/g...ps0d5c9f65.jpg

What are the boots for...

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/g...ps724f00d8.jpg

This is our bleepin` site.

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/g...ps8dd79414.jpg


617 Strong indeed.

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/g...ps8c9cd7c7.jpg

I think it would be neat if names were put with the faces!!!...unless everyone wants to remain incognito!!!!
-Fred

Nobody wants to be Incognito in So.Fl. now.

Ouch!! You have to know in the electronic world we live in the news guys are on stuff like "stink on $hit" in two seconds and then they run with it like crazed dogs! Mr. Rich should have been more like his last name. :)

Chuck,
I had some of "Don's Lightning" at Long Point and knew enough to stay away from that stuff, as good as it is!

Actually I think the root cause was that I've just been cruising too long and got overconfident! Ever since my first Bahamas trips in the mid-late '70's, I have ALWAYS used the Bahamian moor whenever I anchor for the night, i.e., 2 anchors set 180 degrees apart, with both rodes leading to bow cleats. The current really rips off the Little Bahama Bank, and if you aren't ready for it, you'll either end up in the gulf stream or hard aground when the tide changes! With 300' of line on the bow anchor and 100' on the stern, it's easy to let out 100' off the bow, drop the stern anchor, and pull back 50' on the bow line.

I had spent 2 nights anchored off the N. end of Anclote in relatively deep water with plenty of swinging room, using 6:1 scope with 20' of chain with only one anchor and no problems. On Saturday night, it was blowing 20-25 kts from the NW and getting cold, so I anchored in a little closer to the beach than normal behind some trees to get out of the wind. Definitely should have put out the stern anchor! Obviously wasn't thinking too clearly after that all-afternoon feast at the sandbar! About 4 am Gillie woke up sliding off the bunk with the boat healed over about 30 degrees to stbd and me sound asleep on the stbd side of the hull! Said it reminded him of Gilligans Island, with "Gillie and the Professor" high & dry on the beach! We improvised by stuffing his back pack under the center cushion to raise it up to keep him in the bunk. Gillie then went back to sleep! He must be used to sleeping through earthquakes - I think he can sleep anywhere!

When daylight came, the anchor line was pointing SE out into the water, so I first thought we'd had a wind shift of 180 degrees during the night, which I’ve never experienced in Fl. with a slow moving cold front! However, I later concluded that we were simply a victim of the "pendulum effect", aggravated by all the line I had let out, where the boat was swinging much more than normal due to the turbulence coming off the clump of trees. High tide was about 11 pm, and I think it touched bottom sometime during the outgoing tide just long enough to hold it there, and the tide did the rest. Looked like we touched at about half tide; the boat was almost fully afloat on the incoming tide when Ken and Dave arrived, so a brief tug was all it took to get us off, but thanks Ken, you probably helped us get underway about a half hour sooner than if we'd waited for the tide! We were fortunate that it was a soft sand beach, so no damage done, but a good lesson learned!

Several years ago I discovered a good songwriter and singer named Eileen Quinn http://www.cruisingworld.com/people/eileen-quinn, a Canadian sailor who writes lots of song about the cruising lifestyle. The lyrics in her song “Cruising Too Long” totally explains how I got into that situation . . .

"Early in our cruising, we feared we'd run aground.
We never did, we took such care with each little new thing.
Over time we grew less timid, confidence we found.
NOW WE RUN AGROUND A LOT, BECAUSE WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING!
NOTHING LIKE EXPERIENCE TO HELP YOU GET IT WRONG!

These are the signs we've been cruising too long:
All the islands look the same!
West Marine knows our name!
We haven't cut our hair this year (haven’t cut mine in 10 years!)
All our T-shirts mention beer!
We've been cruising far too long!"

Despite my anchoring debacle, Gillie and I had some good laughs about it! I've been to most of the gatherings and overall it was the best one yet, thanks to folks like Dixon and Susan for getting the ball rolling, Bill & Carla for hosting the Friday night feast, Rusty & Tabatha, Kmoose and Connor for providing all the seafood, and Sandy for his special culinary talents! And thanks to guys like Terry and Dave for their outstanding craftsmanship and creativity in setting the standards that inspire the rest of us to keep these old boats shipshape and running better than ever! Denny