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Moved the dive boat, and it is so big on a trailer. As typical, they always seem much larger out of the water than in…
I borrowed the truck from my friend Neal at Transmission Power in Jacksonville. He sold and rebuilt the transmission that is in it.
Getting closer to Panama by the day…
Capn Scott
It was time to move the boat a little closer to Panama. I had it stored in Green Cove Springs. I purchased a trailer and modified it to fit the boat. The morning of the move, I got up a little early and got some great sunrise shots.
This is an interesting old ship that has been there forever. Eventually, I’d like to pick up something like this and do some liveaboard dive trips. Or, just have it for my own personal use. It would be a giant project, but the end result would be more than worth it. What an amazing expedition vessel it would be…
Such interesting lines, and blends of subtle pastel colors…
Sunrise and sunset are some of the best chances to get those special colors. And, using the water almost doubles the effect…
Capn Scott
It’s hard to believe that it’s been over 30 years since the Blackthorn sank. They had just arrived at their new home across the dock from the Valiant in Galveston. And, immediately they were off to the yards in Florida for an update. I hadn’t seen SNGM Barnaby since we were in boot camp together. He had the locker next to me. I was happy to finally have someone that had spent 13 weeks of hell with me in boot camp to hang with. We were all devastated when we learned that, as they were returning from the yards, they were hit by a freighter and sank instantly with most hands…
One evening, we were all sitting around in boot camp, and the question of “why did you join” came up. His answer was, “I’ve got a wife and a couple of kids, I got tired of washing dishes to support my family and joined”. Little did he know that his real job would kill him.
I remember the burial at sea, the 13 gun salute, and the casket, dropping into the deep. I saw his pregnant wife crying, along with her two children, as they watched it slip into the sea also…
I passed the memorial in Florida, and stopped to see it. It brought back old memories…
Via con Dios Randy…
“Mourn not for him, He sails with one more divine”…
Capn Scott
To start with, I finally had to move from the marina again… Another incident, but the final one… A friend came to my aid and I stayed behind his home on the river for a few weeks to finish up the boat.
He has an amazing view…
Just finishing up…
Starting to look like a real dive boat.
I moved the boat down to a place with dry storage and set it there for long term storage. After driving the boat for 7 hours, when I get back, I will rebuild the motor and pump up the horsepower from 160 hp to 225 hp. I think it needs it to achieve better speed. I also need to replace the propeller…
Now, I’m off to Philadelphia, where I will be eating macaroni and cheese and writing code till the late hours of the morning. I need to finish up the online booking software. I also need to write a couple of other programs, so that I have a second income source and don’t have to depend entirely upon the dive boat. That way, I can use the dive boat for myself and get some underwater photos and video.
Capn Scott
Starting to work on the online charter software to run the dive charters. Started up a new website for the software. I’m just beginning to program the web server to accept charters online. It is server based and platform independent. It will run on your smart phone or any browser.
http://charterboatsoftware.com
I looked for the software and it just doesn’t exist. A possible income opportunity. I know that I’m not the only one that needs this. I searched google and google says that almost 1,000 persons per day search for chartering software.
On a side note, we seem to have picked up a baby gator in the marina. As long as he stays small, I don’t have a problem swimming around, and working on the boat. He is very friendly, which means, someone is feeding him. Bad, Bad, Bad… Hopefully, I don’t have to be the designated jerk to hit him with the paddle to frighten him of humans…
Capn Scott
I do enjoy shooting with others… Got an invite to shoot with the J’ville photographers of the Saint Augustine Lighthouse.
Myself and one other decided to get there before sunrise and before the others to get some great night/sunrise shots as well…
stunning at night…
This was shot from in front of the Castillo San Marco, with the lighthouse in the distance.
Another shot of the bay in front of the Castillo San Marco and the entrance to the Atlantic.
Using a polarizer, I bring out the very blue sky.
From the boat ramp a short distance away.
You know me… had to shoot the flowers as well…
Some people made a statement about climbing the stairs. I can’t image what they would have said about the stairway to La Piedra in Colombia.
The fresnel lens. Now this is a serious piece of glass…
Another shot of the lens bending light and exposing the hidden colors.
Looking back down the stairs. This was shot f16, handheld and a quarter of a second exposure.
You can actually see the lighthouse from miles at sea. I’ve used it as a reference before when I had the dive op here in Saint Augustine.
From a distance at sea, this is a navigational aid. It doesn’t mark the present channel, but it does mark the town. From up close, it’s just a wonderful historical work of art.
The top…
Had to shoot the screaming kids… with a camera, of course…
This was a great outing with a great group of happy shooters. This was also my first time to see this close-up. Like the lighthouse (faro) en Colonia, Uruguay, this is a great photographic opportunity. I need to add “aids to navigation” to my repertoire of photography…
Capn Scott
More progress on the new dive boat…
I have the engine and transmission over at the transmission shop.
We have the transmission torn down into all of it’s pieces. We’ve checked the bearings…
And, we’ve changed the gearing ratio from being a 2 to 1 to a 1.5 to 1. This will give me better power and a more reasonable propellor pitch.
We found 2 plates that needed to be replaced, but everything else was in pretty good shape.
Doesn’t look like much, when you break it down into it’s little pieces. But a good transmission is as important as a good diesel. This is a commercial grade Twin Disc 502-1.
Though, there are alot of tiny pieces involved inside of the box.
The engine is a Cummins 6BT. I’m reconditioning it and marinizing it. More on it later. Time to button up the transmission and finish painting it…
Capn Scott
We’ve had a great deal of rain, but even better, a great deal of wildflowers…
These little dudes are about as big as your thumbnail. You cannot see the blue hair or that the yellow tips of the stamins look like miniature flowers themselves. Definitely some macro work…
The trick was not in getting the shots, but in waiting for the wind to die down.
The macros were shot on a cloudy day and the shutter exposure was fairly long for the lens.
These shots are amazing printed at 13″ x 19″ …
I really enjoy shooting flowers, and the local wildflowers are just spectacular. I hope to get out a bit more often on no-wind days and get some more shots…
Capn Scott
Got a chance to shoot with a great group of photographers.
I’ve lived in Jacksonville for many years and this is my first time at the zoo. The zoo is across the river from me and daily I hear the train and the monkeys at feeding time.
They also have a great exhibition of many flowering trees and shrubs.
Pink Flamingos… This is Florida…
Some kind of ritual…
The coy in the Japanese Garden…
Stunning Iris in the Japanese Garden.
The new Komodo Dragon exhibition. Now that’s a big lizard…
More beautiful flowers…
Did I say how much I like shooting flowers?
Stunning Japanese Plum…
More and more… there were so many flowers in bloom…
This was a fun group of shooters. Everyone enjoyed themselves and got some great shots.
Capn Scott
Finally got a chance to run down to Saint Augustine early in the morning and get some shots of the old fort that guards the north side of the town.
This is another HDR shot.
Another HDR shot. I used the high dynamic range to pick up a bit of the texture of the walls.
Of course, the sunrise had some pretty spectacular color as well.
Lots of color… This structure is very similar to the fort down in Colonia, Uruguay…
And, the obligatory seascape/marinescape shot from the front…
Capn Scott