Dee Light
Winter of 2003 to 2004
At our Home Port of Fort Myers Florida
NOTE .. for a larger version of the photos on this page .. just click on the photo .. NOTE
NOTE .. for a larger version of the photos on this page .. just click on the photo .. NOTE
Winter – 2003 – 2004 - Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers, FL - (239) 461-0775 – Mile 136 .. after doing the Great Loop Trip in 2003 we were happy to just spend some time at our ‘Home Port’ of Centennial Harbour Marina in Fort Myers Florida .. we enjoy getting together with friends, relatives, and numerous visitors .. in January we did make a ‘road trip’ to Orlando Florida to spend a few days at Disney World with some of Betty’s relatives from Indianapolis .. for a few weeks Dee Light also enjoyed the break from being on the go every day .. she got her bottom painted and she had much overdue work done in her Engine Room .. the work was done by CCM – Calusa Certified Marine LLC ( Cape Coral FL ) .. we met a number of ‘new to the Marina’ Boaters that were spending their first Winter at Fort Myers and developed a number of new friendships ..
Bernie and Barb ( SITTING DUCK – Sun Prairie WI ) were harbored at Centennial when we made it to the Marina in late November .. they had just completed their trip from Wabasha Minnesota to Fort Myers and will be spending the Winter months at Fort Myers .. we crossed ‘wakes’ with them last Fall when we were both at the Green Turtle Bay Resort and Marina ( Grand Rivers KY ) heading South ..
Pete and Pat ( SYNERGY – Plano TX ) .. Dee Light was docked at Centennial in the Slip right next to SYNERGY .. the first two years that we wintered at Centennial we were docked on B-Dock together and we have stayed in touch for the past number of years .. this Winter Season we are again right next to each other .. Pete helped us immensely getting setup with our Wireless High Speed Internet Access .. and Pete also helped us with much ‘local’ information on the Bahamas ..
Paul and Sue ( ODYSSEY – Solomons MD) spent a number of days in our Marina on their way to completing The Loop and then heading to the Bahamas .. they will be at Marsh Harbour in the Bahamas until early April ..
Henry and Sue (SERENITY - Sylvania, Ohio – 60 foot Viking ) are doing The Loop .. they spent a few days in Centennial on their way to Key West and then they headed up the East Coast ..
Gabriele and Klaus ( AEOLA – Wilhelmshaven Germany ) have traveled on their 32 foot Sailboat from Germany .. and when they made it to Centennial they took a well deserved break before heading on the next part of their adventure on the waters .. check out their Website listed under our ‘Link to Other Websites’ .. Betty and Gabriele became the best of friends spending a lot of time together exploring the Beaches in the Fort Myers area ..
Bill and Paula ( TINMAN – Punta Gorda FL ) stopped at Fort Myers as they were heading out to the Bahamas for a number of weeks .. we had a deelightfull dinner with them at the Royal Palm Yacht Club ..
Charles and Dawn ( TRABIN – Guernsey Germany and Key West FL ) made their way back from Key West again for a over a Month to get some work done on TRABIN a 58 foot Hatteras .. they used both of our cars when they were in Fort Myers .. they headed back to Key West the second week of March ..
Bernie and Barb ( SITTING DUCK – Sun Prairie WI ) were harbored at Centennial when we made it to the Marina in late November .. they had just completed their trip from Wabasha Minnesota to Fort Myers and will be spending the Winter months at Fort Myers .. we crossed ‘wakes’ with them last Fall when we were both at the Green Turtle Bay Resort and Marina ( Grand Rivers KY ) heading South ..
Pete and Pat ( SYNERGY – Plano TX ) .. Dee Light was docked at Centennial in the Slip right next to SYNERGY .. the first two years that we wintered at Centennial we were docked on B-Dock together and we have stayed in touch for the past number of years .. this Winter Season we are again right next to each other .. Pete helped us immensely getting setup with our Wireless High Speed Internet Access .. and Pete also helped us with much ‘local’ information on the Bahamas ..
Paul and Sue ( ODYSSEY – Solomons MD) spent a number of days in our Marina on their way to completing The Loop and then heading to the Bahamas .. they will be at Marsh Harbour in the Bahamas until early April ..
Henry and Sue (SERENITY - Sylvania, Ohio – 60 foot Viking ) are doing The Loop .. they spent a few days in Centennial on their way to Key West and then they headed up the East Coast ..
Gabriele and Klaus ( AEOLA – Wilhelmshaven Germany ) have traveled on their 32 foot Sailboat from Germany .. and when they made it to Centennial they took a well deserved break before heading on the next part of their adventure on the waters .. check out their Website listed under our ‘Link to Other Websites’ .. Betty and Gabriele became the best of friends spending a lot of time together exploring the Beaches in the Fort Myers area ..
Bill and Paula ( TINMAN – Punta Gorda FL ) stopped at Fort Myers as they were heading out to the Bahamas for a number of weeks .. we had a deelightfull dinner with them at the Royal Palm Yacht Club ..
Charles and Dawn ( TRABIN – Guernsey Germany and Key West FL ) made their way back from Key West again for a over a Month to get some work done on TRABIN a 58 foot Hatteras .. they used both of our cars when they were in Fort Myers .. they headed back to Key West the second week of March ..
.. in mid February we drove to the Miami International Boat Show and spent a few days walking the Docks and looking over what’s new in the ‘boating world’ .. we spent some time exploring a few things that we have been looking for and we picked up a lot of information on the Bahamas .. we crossed ‘wakes’ with a number of boating friends that we have not seen for quite awhile .. and we did not buy a new boat so we had a successful trip .. right after the Boat Show CCM completed their work on Dee Light’s Engine Room and we had a very successful Sea Trial ..
Jim and Carol ( LEGACY- Solomons MD ) came back to Centennial aboard their new Boat ( 42 foot Grand Banks ) for two nights .. upon their arrival Carol greeted Autumn with a bag of Homemade Dog Cookies .. they will be doing The Loop this year so we gave Jim and Carol all of our Charts and Water Way Guides for The Loop to use as they are doing The Loop ..
Gene and Kathy ( FRONT PAGE – White Bear Lake MN ) spent part of the Winter at Centennial putting the finishing touches on their new Boat before they also headed to the Bahamas .. they have made a number of trips to the Bahamas and are planning to spend a month there again this year .. after their Bahamas trip they will be stopping back at Centennial before heading up the River System to their Home Port in Stillwater Minnesota for the Summer of 2004 ..
Jim and Carol ( LEGACY- Solomons MD ) came back to Centennial aboard their new Boat ( 42 foot Grand Banks ) for two nights .. upon their arrival Carol greeted Autumn with a bag of Homemade Dog Cookies .. they will be doing The Loop this year so we gave Jim and Carol all of our Charts and Water Way Guides for The Loop to use as they are doing The Loop ..
Gene and Kathy ( FRONT PAGE – White Bear Lake MN ) spent part of the Winter at Centennial putting the finishing touches on their new Boat before they also headed to the Bahamas .. they have made a number of trips to the Bahamas and are planning to spend a month there again this year .. after their Bahamas trip they will be stopping back at Centennial before heading up the River System to their Home Port in Stillwater Minnesota for the Summer of 2004 ..
… on February 26th we headed out to Key West Florida to attend a wedding there .. Mike and Carol ( Pepin WI ) joined us for the trip . we ended up getting ‘Weathered in at Margaritaville’ for a number of days .. our Log of this trip is on our Website ..
http://www.deelightwebsite.com/PageFive/Log_2004-02-KWTrip.html .. we returned to Fort Myers on March 07th .. after we returned to our Home Port we did get together with the parents of the Groom ( Lowell and Ellie ) .. they have a place right across the Caloosahatchee River from the Centennial Harbour Marina ..
HEADLINES - Water Taxi Flips In Baltimore
Baltimore (AP) A water taxi with 25 people aboard capsized Saturday ( 03-06-2004 ) in Baltimore's Inner Harbor during a fierce wind storm, killing one and leaving three others missing and presumed dead, authorities said .. Rescuers saw up to a dozen passengers climbing across the bottom of the 36-foot pontoon after winds gusting up to 50 mph flipped the boat over .. Petty Officer Edward Mendez of the Navy reserves said he watched violent winds toss the vessel "like a little toy boat getting blown out of control." .. when we were ‘doing The Loop’ last Summer we spent a number of days at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore .. sooo when we saw this story / accident it really hit home ..
.. after getting back from Key West Marv took a ‘road trip’ up the Caloosahatchee River to visit the former staff from the Centennial Harbour Marina .. Pat, Kim and Bob all left the Marina last November just before Dee Light made it back to the Marina .. they are now heading up a new development including a new Marina .. it is called Leeward Yacht Club LLC and it is located on Palm Beach Boulevard .. after our trip to Key West we also relocated the location of the Fuel Vent for the Starboard Engine Fuel Tank and we had Allpure Filtration ‘polish’ our Starboard Fuel Tank .. we also CCM back to do a Post-Engine Work checkup .. we just had a few minor Fuel related things for them to take care of .. since our Home Port is in Fort Myers we decided to join the Royal Palm Yacht Club .. it is located just down the Caloosahatchee River from our Marina .. we took advantage of our membership and attended many different functions ..
.. on March 18th the largest boat to ever visit the Centennial Harbour Marina arrived for the night .. it is a 124 footer named DEFIANT .. the owner of the boat is the CEO of The McGraw-Hill Companies .. DEFIANT is a 124 foot Delta Motor Yacht .. it has a Beam of 26 feet and a Draft just over 6 foot .. our Harbour Master David really sweated it out both when the boat arrived as well as the next morning when it departed and headed East up the Caloosahatchee River .. the Centennial Park is just up the River from our Marina .. there are events taking place there every weekend and many during the week also .. they ranged from bands, ethic gatherings, Boat Shows, concerts, Craft Fairs, Art Fairs, etc .. we are just a block away sooo we took advantage of many of the events .. and many of the events that we did not attend we could clearly enjoy the music and aromas right at our boat in the Marina ..
http://www.deelightwebsite.com/PageFive/Log_2004-02-KWTrip.html .. we returned to Fort Myers on March 07th .. after we returned to our Home Port we did get together with the parents of the Groom ( Lowell and Ellie ) .. they have a place right across the Caloosahatchee River from the Centennial Harbour Marina ..
HEADLINES - Water Taxi Flips In Baltimore
Baltimore (AP) A water taxi with 25 people aboard capsized Saturday ( 03-06-2004 ) in Baltimore's Inner Harbor during a fierce wind storm, killing one and leaving three others missing and presumed dead, authorities said .. Rescuers saw up to a dozen passengers climbing across the bottom of the 36-foot pontoon after winds gusting up to 50 mph flipped the boat over .. Petty Officer Edward Mendez of the Navy reserves said he watched violent winds toss the vessel "like a little toy boat getting blown out of control." .. when we were ‘doing The Loop’ last Summer we spent a number of days at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore .. sooo when we saw this story / accident it really hit home ..
.. after getting back from Key West Marv took a ‘road trip’ up the Caloosahatchee River to visit the former staff from the Centennial Harbour Marina .. Pat, Kim and Bob all left the Marina last November just before Dee Light made it back to the Marina .. they are now heading up a new development including a new Marina .. it is called Leeward Yacht Club LLC and it is located on Palm Beach Boulevard .. after our trip to Key West we also relocated the location of the Fuel Vent for the Starboard Engine Fuel Tank and we had Allpure Filtration ‘polish’ our Starboard Fuel Tank .. we also CCM back to do a Post-Engine Work checkup .. we just had a few minor Fuel related things for them to take care of .. since our Home Port is in Fort Myers we decided to join the Royal Palm Yacht Club .. it is located just down the Caloosahatchee River from our Marina .. we took advantage of our membership and attended many different functions ..
.. on March 18th the largest boat to ever visit the Centennial Harbour Marina arrived for the night .. it is a 124 footer named DEFIANT .. the owner of the boat is the CEO of The McGraw-Hill Companies .. DEFIANT is a 124 foot Delta Motor Yacht .. it has a Beam of 26 feet and a Draft just over 6 foot .. our Harbour Master David really sweated it out both when the boat arrived as well as the next morning when it departed and headed East up the Caloosahatchee River .. the Centennial Park is just up the River from our Marina .. there are events taking place there every weekend and many during the week also .. they ranged from bands, ethic gatherings, Boat Shows, concerts, Craft Fairs, Art Fairs, etc .. we are just a block away sooo we took advantage of many of the events .. and many of the events that we did not attend we could clearly enjoy the music and aromas right at our boat in the Marina ..
.. on March 12th Jon headed to Miami by car .. he Captained a 72 foot Viking for the owner .. they cruised the waters of the Bahamas for two weeks .. it was VERY windy most all of the time that they were gone .. the waters in the Bahamas area were very rough and Jon said that he now knows what ‘Sea Cows’ are as they were in waves of over 40 foot in height .. they checked into the Bahamas at the West End ( Grand Bahama ) .. from there they went to Green Turtle Yacht Club ( Green Turtle Cay ) that is located on the North side of the Great Abaco Island .. after a couple of days there they headed for Marsh Harbour and stayed at the Boat Harbour Marina .. then they headed South to Nassau and stayed at the Marina at Atlantis .. then after a stop at Bimini they headed back to Miami .. two days later they were back at Fort Myers Florida .. it was a great experience for Jon .. after Jon got back we spent much time with him researching our anticipated trip to the Bahamas ..
.. at the end of March both of the Marinas in Fort Myers filled up .. the MTOA had their 2004 Southern Rendezvous at the two Marinas .. the Crews of about 70 Trawlers attended the event .. their meeting were held at the two Marinas, the Hall of 50 States Building and the Royal Palm Yacht Club .. it was great to spend time with so many boaters from all over the country that we had not crossed wakes with before ..
.. Spring Break arrived at Dee Light when one of Betty’s granddaughter Aimee and her ‘best friend’ Erin joined us at Dee Light .. the first day here Betty and Gabriele took them to the Beach at Fort Myers Beach and they had a great time checking out the ‘Guys’ .. they also made it to the Flee Market where they found many treasures including new Sunglasses .. they spent much ‘tanning’ time at the Marina’s Pool and the Pool at Betty’s place as well as on the area Beaches .. they met up with Erin’s brother and his friend ( also Erin’s friend ) .. the guys ended up spending a night on Dee Light’s Penthouse before they headed back North .. the gals even tried their skills at doing some ‘Dock’ fishing in the Marina .. they had a lot of help from a number of the ‘Guys’ on the Dock .. they got a 40 ‘pounder’ hooked three times but the lightweight fishing line gave way each time before they were able to get the ‘hunker’ out of the water .. good thing too as Marv would have been faced with having to clean it .. when we were at Fort Myers Beach for Beach Bread we met up with another friend of Aimee’s and Erin’s ( Rachel ) after spending a night with us aboard Dee Light Betty and all the gals spent a day at Betty’s place cannoning and sunbathing around the Pool at Betty’s place .. and of course they did some shopping at both the Edison and Bell Tower Malls ..
.. at the end of March both of the Marinas in Fort Myers filled up .. the MTOA had their 2004 Southern Rendezvous at the two Marinas .. the Crews of about 70 Trawlers attended the event .. their meeting were held at the two Marinas, the Hall of 50 States Building and the Royal Palm Yacht Club .. it was great to spend time with so many boaters from all over the country that we had not crossed wakes with before ..
.. Spring Break arrived at Dee Light when one of Betty’s granddaughter Aimee and her ‘best friend’ Erin joined us at Dee Light .. the first day here Betty and Gabriele took them to the Beach at Fort Myers Beach and they had a great time checking out the ‘Guys’ .. they also made it to the Flee Market where they found many treasures including new Sunglasses .. they spent much ‘tanning’ time at the Marina’s Pool and the Pool at Betty’s place as well as on the area Beaches .. they met up with Erin’s brother and his friend ( also Erin’s friend ) .. the guys ended up spending a night on Dee Light’s Penthouse before they headed back North .. the gals even tried their skills at doing some ‘Dock’ fishing in the Marina .. they had a lot of help from a number of the ‘Guys’ on the Dock .. they got a 40 ‘pounder’ hooked three times but the lightweight fishing line gave way each time before they were able to get the ‘hunker’ out of the water .. good thing too as Marv would have been faced with having to clean it .. when we were at Fort Myers Beach for Beach Bread we met up with another friend of Aimee’s and Erin’s ( Rachel ) after spending a night with us aboard Dee Light Betty and all the gals spent a day at Betty’s place cannoning and sunbathing around the Pool at Betty’s place .. and of course they did some shopping at both the Edison and Bell Tower Malls ..
.. this is the end of our Winter Log from November thru March .. 'click' the Link below to goto our Winter Log from April thru CURRENT ..
Winter Log - 2003 to 2004 - 03-31-04 thru CURRENT ..
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Winter Log - 2003 to 2004 - 03-31-04 thru CURRENT ..
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