Radar Saga & Party Time!

This all began when our radar stopped working as we left Ruskin going into Tampa Bay....with a heavy haze, we wanted to be aware of any ships coming our way. Everyone we called about fixing it said it would have to be shipped to Garmin for repair. Before we shipped it Walter had run all kinds of tests on it...checking all the wires and making sure power was getting to it.  It appeared shipping it off was the only answer. To do this we needed a return address so we picked Vero Beach where some very good friends of ours live.   Also, at this marina you get a great deal if you ask for a months stay...even if you leave after two weeks (which is all we thought this would take) you end up paying a lot less per night.

The snow in Kansas where the Garmin shop was located slowed down the shipping of our radar dome.....when it finally came back it was still not working...Garmin said they could find nothing wrong with it. They advised a radar tech check it out.   He came yesterday & found nothing wrong!.....but it still doesn't work!

Today marks THREE weeks here and I'm sure getting antsy to be moving on the water.....perhaps this is an answer to my question: could I live full time on a boat?...IF we were not moving on an adventure???

The radar tech suggested it might be the chart plotter that's not working...the radar displays on it.   So he offered to take it to his shop to hook it up to a working radar.

I think I could have guessed this outcome: He returned earlier today saying that he didn't have a working radar after all!!  But told Walter where to take the plotter where he was sure they had a test bench to check it out.

So Walter drove one hour to this shop which turned out to NOT have a radar unit either or a test bench but did have other electronics to hook the plotter up to for this test.  It worked just fine so now it is thought that the cable connecting the radar to the plotter is bad. Of course this is one of the first things the Captain checked but maybe the test cable he used was also bad. ???? He brought home a new cable and will hook it up tomorrow.  I

We have missed seeing other Looper boats which are probably stopping at the City dock across the waterway from us.  And we have not met many people here...didn't seem to be as friendly a dock as other ones we have visited. We actually didn't think there were many people living here on their boats.  But tonight someone had posted a sign about a gathering in the Captain's lounge....dock-tails at 5p!  People showed up from this dock and another one just out of sight of where Miss gg is located.  Lots of folks and all very friendly with interesting stories...only two Gold Loopers though and none doing Loop right now.  Here are a couple of photos from tonight.

There is always a table with lots of food and the Captains usually gather there since the First mates are not in their galleys cooking tonight. 

Here is the First Mates Club of Vero Beach.

I was so impressed with the gal, front row, small print shirt, long blonde hair.... slightly to the right of center and a glass in her hand (right in front of me).  She pilots, Captains, their 47 ft boat while her husband works the lines!  They completed the Loop a few years ago. 

And we are hoping to compete this amazing adventure this year so, if the radar cable works tomorrow, we will probably be leaving in a day or two...however,  SLOWLY as we really don't want to experience the record cold in North Carolina!