Boating is...by boatguy Ed Fort Myers Beach is a satirical site!

Cracker Bob is so sensitive about being insensitive. "These bastards think they own the place. Well, just remember that summer is coming!" "Calm down, Bob. It's Christmas week and most of them will be gone next Thursday," said Texarkana Hannah as we stood outside Marti's Restaurant today. "Hardly any locals," said Bob dejectedly. "I ain't coming back here until May." "They need a better waiting area. That's for sure," said Cap'n Crunch as he stood on the sidewalk and pressed his nose against the window. "Being rude won't make them eat any faster, Crunchie," I admonished him but he doesn't listen to anyone. "There are single people sitting at 4 top tables. I hate Snowbirds," said Crunchie. Just then a really old woman being held up by two pretty old people came out the door. Behind them were two waitress' shouting the man's name carrying items. They we...

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ALL OF US AT THE 'DEAD END CANAL YACHT CLUB' Boatguy Ed ( boatguiEd@aol.com ) is the manufacturer of the worlds BEST anti-fouling bottom paint,  www.supershipbottom.com ....  Former Producer, Director, Co-Star and the guy who swept up on the "Boating Show" 1995 to 2000.  Producer/Director/Editor of "Dining out SWFL" and "Boater's Treasures TV." TWEET me @boatguyed and a corresponding web site is  http://www.boatingbyboatguyed.com/  ........ NEVER, EVER TRY TO BUY HIM A DRINK! This blog/column is meant for educational purposes only.  Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.  Void where prohibited. Some assembly required. Do not read while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Keep sending those great questions and comments to boatguiEd@aol.com.

http://blog.soundingsonline.com/loose-cannon/2013/12/18/the-other-handshake/ President Obama shook the hand of Cuban leader Raul Castro at Nelson Mandela’s funeral and set off a speculative gabfest among the taking heads. Meanwhile, another bit of Cuba news, which I would argue may be related to the handshake, was being slowly disseminated to the boating world — and receiving scant notice. Last month, Cuba issued Decree 314, which lengthened the amount of time that a foreigner can keep a boat in Cuba from one to five years, renewable if approved by the boat’s Cuban marina staff. In other words, an American boater can keep a vessel in Cuban waters for as long as 10 years without having to take it out and come back. The owner, meanwhile, could come and go by other means, keeping the boat at a marina. The Cuban government at the same time announced that the 5 percent import tax on foreign boats, formerly levied after 365 days, had been abandoned.

http://www.soundingsonline.com/dispatches/291482-video-look-out-below

Reducing Dock Anxiety https://www.quantumsails.com/news/index.php/archives/1918 Boatguy Ed ( boatguiEd@aol.com ) is the manufacturer of the worlds BEST anti-fouling bottom paint,  www.supershipbottom.com ....  Former Producer, Director, Co-Star and the guy who swept up on the "Boating Show" 1995 to 2000.  Producer/Director/Editor of "Dining out SWFL" and "Boater's Treasures TV." TWEET me @boatguyed and a corresponding web site is  http://www.boatingbyboatguyed.com/  ........ NEVER, EVER TRY TO BUY HIM A DRINK! This blog/column is meant for educational purposes only.  Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.  Void where prohibited. Some assembly required. Do not read while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Keep sending those great questions and comments to boatguiEd@aol.com.

Sunday morning was a very ugly start to a beautiful day. The Boat Parade and the football games were nearly beyond our endurance. The “Dead End Canal Yacht Club” passed on official entries in the parade but there were several individual entries. Boston Bob's sailboat, Erie Earl's pocket Trawler etc. None of our entries won any prizes. We think it was fixed. Since the boat parade started at the Big Game Waterfront Grill our 'DECDYC' members decided to forgo the 'Pukin Pelican' for the evening and watch the championship NCAA football games and the start and finish of the Christmas Parade there. The place is huger than the Pelican but it wasn't near big enough. We may have started to early but we knew it would be crowded. That was the understatement of the decade. We were able to get a couple tables to watch the second half of the #3 Auburn versus #5 Mizou for the SEC Championship. Then the really crowed sports bar got REALLY crowded when the Chri...

Coast Guard does it again with the help of Fish and Wildlife http://www.soundingsonline.com/dispatches/291422-video-adrift-with-5-kids-on-board

FOR THE VISUALLY  IMPAIRED http://youtu.be/NCI9I0NbHLA Boating Saturday November 30 th was a day that will live in infamy according to our “Dead End Canal Yacht Club” members from Alabama. So infamous that very few of our members have prepped their boats for the Fort Myers Beach Christmas Boat Parade. It takes a lot of work to ready a normally 'normal' boat to light up like a Christmas tree. In years past, club members joined together to do the work on the Saturday before. College football proved more powerful than Santa Claus even for most of our Grand Children. Possibly, it was the allure and the immediacy of the forward pass or the 109 yard missed field goal return by Auburn over Alabama. Or the other dozen College football games that had our eyes glued to the big screen TV's around the canal OR the 'Pukin' Pelican.' Seven 'DECYC' boats plan to participate in the parade, Erie Earl has returned just to pilot his 32 foot pocket Trawler...