OK OK OK…. now if I left you thinking that we marched into Salty Sam’s, and they graciously accepted us with open arms, then that would be a major misrepresentation of what actually occurred.
If you follow me on instagram, then you know I posted about possibly moving marinas on August 15th. Truth is, we were contemplating the move even before the surprise measurement, and we actually had to fight for weeks to get into our new marina.
Did He Just Say Houseboat??
When I reached out to the dock master at Salty Sam’s about moving the boat there, he asked me what kind of boat we had. I told him a Bluewater, and he said, “Oh, we don’t take houseboats.” I said, “Great, we don’t own a houseboat… So, which slip can we have?”
He requested a photo. I showed him, and he was still like, “Ehhh that’s a house…boat.” I said, “Ehh… but it’s… not.” So he told me to email him more close up photos so can make sure it’s clean and can get approval from the boss.
So, I cleaned the boat, and sent him an email with tons of photos and information from the manufacturer to show him that this boat was built as an entry-level luxury yacht, and not a houseboat.
Bluewater 101
Researching and summarizing the history of Bluewater Yachts took the better half of my afternoon to do. So, when I followed up and learned he hadn’t so much as opened the email, I made the decision that I’m not going to chase down, harass, and beg anyone to take $1,000+ a month from us.
And, the notion that our boat may not be clean or good enough for this marina was that much more ridiculous, considering we were currently docked at the one of the most high-end marinas in the area, and Salty Sam’s doesn’t make the short list for luxurious facilities.
But this isn’t a diss song for Salty Sam’s, just our experience. On the 30th I wen’t back and said look… let’s stop screwing around, we need to let our marina know if we are leaving or staying TODAY. And, guess what I saw docked at Salty Sam’s… A FREAKING HOUSE BOAT!
Anyways, the decision was made to accept us, and we were very appreciative, since in reality they are denying all liveaboard customers right now. They had told us that they have a long waiting list and that they don’t expect to accept liveaboards for a very long time.
The reason they accepted us is because my company’s office is on site. My commute is no longer measured in minutes or miles…. now it’s measured in footsteps.
Settling In
Getting settled in was almost flawless, except for the power issues. At Snook Bight, we used two 30amp shore power cables, but our slip at Salty Sam’s requires two 50amp cables. No biggy, we have two 50amp cables, which is what the boat is actually supposed to take, so that works out perfectly… or so we thought.
Apparently there are two different types of 50amp cables (there’s 125v, and there’s 125/250v) and they don’t have the same prong-set between the two. Of course the ones we had were not the ones we needed for the marina.
Spending $1500 on new cables wasn’t an option, so, we ended up borrowing a Y-connector from Kim and Randy who happened to have just the one we needed. This allowed us to hook up two 30amp cables into the shore power pedestal, while we ordered a new Y-connector that converted our 50amp cables to the proper one needed for the marina.
How do we like it?
As I mentioned, this isn’t a luxurious marina, and that’s exactly why we were drawn to it. The laid back atmosphere fits our lifestyle so much better, and the ambiance here just feels more “us”.
But, that doesn’t mean luxurious boats and yachts don’t make their way in. With the largest slips in Fort Myers Beach, it’s very common for us pirates to be mixed in with the billionaires.
FMB Pirate Fest 2017
Notice how I said us pirates? Well the time of year has come again where the town embraces us, and welcomes us villains as we truly are. Captain Willy Montego, and Madam Tiffy Tortuga, the Rebels of the Gulfstream, are heading out to rule the night with our parrot…. Ben.
As Pieces of Eight (the pirate ship next to us) took off, a passenger spotted Tiff, and shouted, “Look! A real pirate.” Tiff acknowledged by raising her mug, letting loose the sound of our people. (Arghh!)
We actually had to tone it down a bit, as it was far too natural for us to be degenerates among the crowd. After all, not everyone knew it was Pirate Fest. Some out-of-towners and locals were just out for the weekend and happened to stumble upon the beach being pillaged, rivals swashbuckling, and pirates dancing under the stars.
For the second year in a row, we just grabbed random things from the closet and threw them together, and behold! Although this time, we added a few little touches such as Ben, who’s now apart of the family. I cant wait to see how we step it up for next year’s Pirate Fest.
Maybe we wont wait, and we’ll make everyday a Pirate Fest. Yo Ho Yo Ho a pirates life for me!
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