Nice day today....temps in the high 70s and sunny. I checked off a few things on my boat to-do list, got 2 divers to clean the bottom of the boat which had fuzzy green algae all over it after 4 months in warm salt water, ate another olive loaf from Paul bakery, and got a dinghy motor mount wedge order free from Nautica (our dinghy brand).

This last item, the dinghy motor mount wedge, was very interesting. Our dinghy came with the boat and has a large outboard motor. It has always "porpoised" bouncing up and down some when driven at higher speeds. When Kathy and I were at the Miami boat show, I stopped by the Nautica salesfloor and demo area. I spoke to a nice lady there and explained that our 1997 RIB 12 Nautica dinghy always porpoised. She took me over to that boat and pointed out a large metal wedge on the new boats, which changes the angle of the motor, and asked if mine had that. When I said "no", she gave me her card, said to call her this week, and she'd get me one. It turned out she was Debra Young, the president of Nautica International, Inc. I called her today and she had it set up so the parts people have one at their factory near here so I can go and pick it up. Pretty good service for a 10 year old boat! It's nice to have an American made product with that kind of customer service. It's nice to have an American company where the president makes that kind of effort to stay in touch with their customers and knows the product that well. If I buy another dinghy, I'll want a Nautica!

Then, Jim Grove (a Hatteras Owners Forum friend) called. He had heard that Nigel Calder, whom writes cruising books, was giving a lecture tonight at Bluewater Navigation on the subject of Cruising to the Bahamas. Bluewater Navigation is where I buy all my charts and GPS navigation chart chips, and also where I bought 2 books by Calder (Marine Diesel Engines and How to Read a Nautical Chart). So Jim and I went to the lecture, which was quite entertaining, and then we went to dinner at a very good, homey, BBQ restaurant nearby. Good pork BBQ sandwich, and much better than watching TV on Nonchalance and eating hot dogs. Thanks, Jim!