Visiting an Old Friend. Drift Away.

Friday was our buddy Gibb's birthday, so we treated him to a trip to St. Augustine.  That is where Drift Away now lives, now named Happy Ours.

Pamela was very apprehensive about seeing our old boat, but I wanted to see the progress the new owners have made, and Gibb (once a boater too) wanted to see it.  

Our friend Gibb is a big guy, 6'2".  So I let him sit in the front and I sat in the back behind Pamela in the car.

We were met in the parking lot by Vern.  He and his wife Ruth are the new owners.  The more observant of you will notice the new blue Sunbrella replaced the green we installed.  Also the windshield was installed, and the bowsprit has been removed to facilitate the repair of the foredeck.

Notice the brightwork, Ruth's handiwork.

Dust-catching blinds were removed, and curtains installed.

As Vern and I toured the boat, he mentioned that he uses the blog periodically as a resource when undertaking boat projects.  Yet another reason ya'all should write blogs.

The work left to be done was considerable, for sure, and they even ran into a few mechanical issues, which surprised me because when we had Drift Away hauled at Green Cove Springs it was running perfectly.  But such is boats.

Vern and Ruth are nice people and doing a great job with the boat, but Pamela didn't handle it well.  We had too many fond memories aboard that boat and it pained her to know those days are behind us, but she did say that the new owners seem to love that boat as much as we did.  To me, it is comforting to know that the boat is being lovingly cared for, and not sitting in a bone pile in some dingey marina.