They came by sea.

They came by land.

Free overnight ‘parking’ by land or by sea.

Jacksonville’s South Side Riverwalk includes this fantastic fountain…

Spears 854-030 3” PVC Van Stone Flange SOC CL150. Available at commercial plumbing supply vendors.

3” PVC Locking Waste fittings by Valterra. Available at RV vendors.

Not shown:

Valterra Master Blaster Tank Wand A01-0184VP. This 27” wand hooks up to a charged garden hose on one end and has a 90° pressure nozzle to lower into the tank.

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Shelly and I discovered this great Greek restaurant a few weeks ago. So Becky and Jordan of “Mental Floss” joined us Friday night.

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We assured her, “We’ll be back!”

13-3/4” is the critical number.

The fitting I found on the cold water supply to this tank had a check valve installed; reportedly this is common on boats and RV-s. The hot fitting was not a check valve.

No brass or bronze fittings should come in contact with aluminum as galvanic corrosion is likely.

(The factory-installed pressure relief valve must have some type of barrier to prevent the disimmilar metals from contacting each other…teflon tape = adequate?)

The atypical type of plastic water supply fittings on the Mainships depend on a ferrule to fit into these fittings. So care to be able to reuse everything is called for.

Blue LED is wired to the 1500w heating element; it gives its status. Thermometer shows water temp in the tank, whether from engine running or electric power. (These will be permanently mounted in the galley.)

This lets us know if it is ready to take a shower or do the dishes!

Final mounting for display & status indicator.

The crews of Galene & Shellerina love to hang out together!

These are some of the detected bird songs recorded [automatically] this morning!

For more info or to find Birdweather stations near you:

https://app.birdweather.com

Unfortunately, no photo credit was in this online article on MSN.com. So, I can’t give credit where credit is due.

The above pic has to be a few years old though, as the Wells Fargo name was removed from the landmark in July of 2024.

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Even older!

Below, this 2003 pic shows the Jacksonville icon with yet another prominent tenant’s name advertised.

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Shelly and I looked into the possibility of having “Shellerina.com” put up on this building for a five year stint. Alas, it was determined that our lettering would not fit with a font to our satisfaction.

Rather than changing our domain name, we are now looking for a larger building.

Historically, this building reportedly has had four different names:

1974-1995 “Independent Life Building”

1995-2002 “AccuStaff Building”

2002-2011 “Modis Tower”

2011-2024 “Well Fargo Center”

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Unrelated cool thing in JAX:

I-295 & Butler Blvd. (Rte 202)

30°15’10.6”N

81°30’58.4”W

Near Town Center Mall area… housing, most notably, a very large West Marine store!

Ray and Bob, of M/V Always R Summer Place, enjoy the Port 32 Marina amenities on a balmy afternoon in February!

Taxes are done.

Projects are done.

Weather is fine!

SO:

Time to get some ‘winter’ pool time in!

They get two or three shipments direct from Maine every week, all year long.

It looks like there is a respectable Antenna Farm here in “4-land” = a HAM Radio Station on the south side of Rte 40.

The most common pine tree species near Lake George, FL, is the Slash Pine (Pinus elliottii), which thrives in the area’s flatwoods and wet, sandy soils.

University Ave + I-95 in JAX

On the “Marina Mile”…

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Nancy was especially impressed with all the amenities here at Port 32 Marina – Ortega Landing – Jacksonville FL.

January 6 is the “Twelfth Day of Christmas!” This was the best finish to our best Christmas Season ever!

When my “non-invasive” water pressure strategy stopped working, (after months or years), I determined the more aggressive project was necessary. Pictures of the larger project follow:

A 4-1/2” round inspection/access port was cut through the inside of the starboard midship bulwark. Once cut, I could remove the thru-hull fitting and hose.

“Why is this vent hose important?”

A clogged vent hose inhibits the aerobic digestion process AND it forces methane “sewer gas” to bubble up through the sanitary hose to head itself… inside our living space. Not a good thing.

A street fitting enables a smooth maintainable 90° turn so a snake can be used to clear this vent hose.

Thanks for a great lunch at Longhorn, Gabby.

Have a great holiday!

My new prop (and new haircut too!)

Can you imagine doubling the total net value of your pride and joy with only one ancillary addition?!

Perhaps someday!

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Lee & Mandee of Chasin’ Minutes arrive at C-Dock ready to stock up for their next voyage!

Addendum -Saturday Dec 13

Lee & Mandee meet Bob of Seguay II at the annual Dock Walk celebration.

Of course, deliveries still rule for lots of stuff!

Addendum – Saturday Dec 13

Have a great 2-day break for The Navidad, Rich!

A new statue of St Carlo Acutis is dedicated at St Matthew’s Church this morning.

School children raised the funds for this, and they each took turns reading faith-filled quotes posted online by this young man before he was called to his eternal reward at 15 years old; so early in his days.

Bishop Feilipe also told us that Carlo’s parents were not Catholics; the seeds of his faith were planted by his nanny from Poland who helped his parents raise him!

This a big week for Mary on the liturgical calendar. Today she learns that she has found favor with God and she has been chosen to become the mother of God incarnate!

Friday we celebrate her feast day of Guadeloupe.

One of the many miracles we celebrate on that day is how Our Lady of Guadeloupe effectively united all the indigenous peoples of Mexico with all the Europeans into One People.

The food was expertly catered. They did a great job. And music was by Vibe RW. (He’s gonna do a gig at the oldest bar in Florida tomorrow afternoon, The Palace Saloon, Fernandina Beach, 2:00 to 6:00pm.)

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This new sheath is made from Bolivian Rosewood and Wenge, crafted by Ray with some help by dock mate Peter Roach and his CNC Laser!

They were willing to pay our fee for the “Nickel Tour” aboard Shellerina this afternoon!

They have their eyes and hearts set on a Mainship 430 Sedan cruiser with twin Yanmars which is in a slip further up Ortega River’s “Marina Mile” here in Jacksonville FL. They are on the AGLCA Forum and appear to have a sound plan! We’ll watch for a boat named Traveller, and watch for all your news on the Forum.

We wish you well Jenn & Jon!!! Let us know if all goes well this week.

The weather and temps were great all day! But temps went down markedly later on with the sun.

Best Buy $65.

Insignia 0.7 cu microwave oven, 700 watts.

Next, we need to dispose of the old unit! That can cost more than buying a new one!

Fortunately, in Jacksonville FL, there is a municipal HHW (household hazardous waste) facility where residents can drop off old appliances for free!

Taylor Maid # 1840 90-pound, 20 inch Stainless Steel lift supports.

Note: 90° mounts were needed up top. FLAT mounts were used below. Screws were adequate… no need to bolt-through IMO.

You might ask, “Is 90 Pounds the recommended strength?” My short answer is, “Yes!”

It’ll take more lift strength than you think to hold up the bed+mattress.

The finished project will still require some beefy lifting to get it started. But, the weight load quickly gets easier as you lift the first few inches.

The admiral likes this. She can get in-and-out without calling me down each time to lift the foot of the bed.

“There’s no such thing as 50-Grid sandpaper, Gene.”

That’s what the salesman at West Marine and I told Gene yesterday.

Well.

We waz WRONG!

BBQ grillin’ with friends at the north edge of the Ortega River:

The normal rise ‘n’ fall of the tide here is only 18”.

So … in all, we are stacking the deck in our favor with regards to safe harboring in Florida.

Addendum – Sept 26

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Addendum: September 30, 2025

Addendum: October 6, 2025

Another North Atlantic threat models a track out to sea!

Fortunately, this marina has tall concrete pipings and concrete docks. Tall pilings have a characteristic of being more resilience to the high waters of big storms. Normally, the tide only rises and ebbs about 18” here. So the tall pilings are not usually necessary, rather they remind us of a sort of insurance that we may someday benefit from.

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Addendum – Tuesday 11:00pm

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Addendum January 7, 2026

Not Again?!?!

I estimate that due to the mechanical DIS-advantage of a lever, this “fulcrum” is likely exerting 3 or 4 times more load than the 120 pound outboard out on the end.