Monday, March 30, 2009

Dinner with Bob and Carol Markunas

We had to update our blog with this event because of the wonderful dinner, great conversation, and the really cool wine labels that Bob and Carol created.

The main label included a photo of our boat "Monks Vineyard" (from the blog) and the label "Monk's Vineyard", Trawler Wine, 2009.

If that wasn't cool enough, the back label really speaks to their creativity and knowledge of the boating community (and wine).

"Monk varietals are chosen for snug harbors and quiet anchorages. Cask aged in the holds of merchantmen heading 'round the horn, these wines have "been there; and done that". If you've got the T-shirt; Monk's got the wine. With several styles to chose from -- whether you've just dropped the hook or just holed the dinghy-- Monk's is the perfect choice.

GOVERNMENT WARNING (with commentary):

It is an excellent practice to wait until the sun is over the yardarm (but as every sailor knows, the sun is always over some yardarm somewhere). Unlike the traditional "Grog" which can give you a head like a caulking mallet, after Monk you wake ready to holystone the decks, re-pay the seams, or just have a cup of joe.

(At the Vineyard, the cup of joe wins every time!) Enjoy! "

Is that cool or what?? Linda and I want to express our sincere appreciation to Bob and Carol for the wonderful dinner and gift. Next time it will be our treat (chili dogs in the cockpit).

The guy from Onan (Marty) was at the boat today to do a 1000 hour service on the generator. He replaced the heat exchanger, ordered a new water pump, and will be back to replace the bearing between the engine and the generator later this week. I sense that more than a few boat units will be invested in this project. It seems that running the generator in the shallow water that is at our dock, sucks in lots of sand and grinds down the water pump pretty quickly.

The Cummins guy will be here on Friday, so I am hoping that will be a bit less painful than the Onan service.

Look out Charleston - we will be heading for the America's Great Loop Association Rendezvous next week and looking for lots of advice on doing the "Loop".

Another reminder to check our itinerary under the "Links" section of this page to let us know when to expect you to visit. This will be update soon to reflect a much longer stay in the Bahamas.

Gerry and Linda Etzold
Monk's Vineyard

1 comment:

Tommy DJ said...

I'm just surprised that you've gone from sail to diesel... I was really expecting to see a 40 foot sloop.
Anyway ... great wine goes on any boat ... or anywhere.

Good luck on your trip.