The new mailboxes have been sitting around for a while. I have no idea where they will be installed. Our mailperson, Alma, probably won't think much of them. Usually she drives through the complex and if she sees no flags up, she just keeps going. This system appears that it will require her to stop and open at least four separate outgoing mail boxes with her key. Unless I'm missing something it also looks like she will have to unlock each box that receives mail. I'm sure some system will be worked out that will benefit everyone.

It was kind of an uneventful day for news so I will feature this picture of our grass trying to come back. The dead dry areas are really dead from the drought, but the St. Augustine is sending out runners to reestablish the lawn. If the sprinkler system is used regularly, the lawn may recover before the end of the year.
Pat(602) reported that he picked up four keeper trout today. Merlin(506) picked up a 20 inch trout in the mitigation site on a mullet.
I saw some folks who appeared to be surveying the pier damage today. Maybe they will give us bids and rebuild them.
For the second evening in a row the large door on the maintenance shed was not closed. When Pop came on duty he locked the door. He also responded to a big deck barbeque on the deck of 204. In the old days we always had big signs on each deck closet door that reminded guests as well as owners that there was to be no cooking on the deck. The remaining signs were all removed when the doors were painted and no new signs have been installed.

Here is a picture of Pat's(602) new 22 foot Ranger. Like everyone else he is having a problem tying it up to the new finger piers. The picture shows there is no way to tie off the port bow. Should the wind direction change during the night, the boat will beat itself into the pier. Even the cleats are too close together and do not work well with most all boats. It's a shame to spend all that money on a well constructed project that is so poorly designed.
Pat says the fishing is really poor. He went out two days and did not catch a keeper. Scott(702) and a friend went out most of the day yesterday and four hours this morning and also did not get a keeper. John went out early this morning with Mike, the roofing contractor, and Mike's brother in law. They came in pretty early, but I didn't see them cleaning any fish.
The blog had a busy week. There were visitors from 19 different states and 26 cities in Texas. There was a total of 233 visits by 115 different people. On Thursday there were 91 visits. I guess the storm was of interest to a lot of people.
The storm blew a lot of saltwater onto the decks of the bayside units. This has accelerated the deterioration of the rollers on the sliding glass doors. Mine locked up just over night. I replaced them today. They were $8 each at Ace Hardware. The grass that was flooded near the canal wall shows some damage. The large area between the 700 building and the pool is trying to come back, but we lost about 50 percent of the St. Augustine from the drought.
Jay(206) has placed his unit with a realtor. He says he needs a bigger place, probably a house.

Only about half of the Phase II pier is left. Three lights are left, but only two work. The rest of the pier is piled on the HEB beach. The Phase I pier is in shambles. Three lights work, but there is no way to get to them. That seems like a waste of energy! The end of the south breakwater is worse than it was and continuing to unravel. The whalers are failing and that lets the whole thing go. Two of the high dollar light fixtures still remain in place on the Phase I pier. Two are missing. Those were mounted with carriage bolts and, in the past, have been removed when a large storm threatened. I guess no one gave the directive to removed them this time.
Rebuilding a new and bigger pier in conjunction with Phase II may take a while. First a permit from the GLO must be obtained and that takes a while. Their board meets only a few times a year to review applications. After that is accomplished, an owners' meeting must be called to authorize the project, according to the Phase I declaration. Whatever the path, it will be a while until pier fishing is again an option.

John and Ron have the dump trailer loaded with storm debris. I still have not heard what the plans are for pier damage. This weekend's Rockport Pilot has some storm photos. There is a link on this blog site.

Pat and Sybil(602) rode out the storm and have been very helpful in supplying these photos for the blog. Pat said his new boat has arrived and I hope to get a picture soon.

There is still some work to be done on the buildings as a result of the roofing project. This photo shows the area of the roof where the old tile had been joined into the wall stucco. The new shingles don't match the same line. This area had always been prone to roof leaks.

There has been some residual damage from the hurricane. Of course, piers cannot be insured so there will be some rebuilding expense. I think, in this case, I agree with Chris. He said the next time we have significant storm damage to the piers he believes we should not rebuild them but build a bigger better pier together with Phase II.

These are pictures from today. The Phase II pier has taken a beating, but it still stands. The total increase in tide was only 1.5 feet above mean sea level. The wind has driven a lot of water over the bulkhead. There have been two inches of rain and the peak wind gust was 46 mph.

My cousin, Travis, sent this story and picture about their fishing success last weekend. Travis is the one on the right.

Here's some pictures of the Texas Saltwater Series Tournament and TV show. The TV shows will air sometime after November, the producer said he had enough footage for three shows. We shot the show at Hog Island Friday. Most of the fish were caught using a Extrude Dart soft plastic and Lucky Craft SSR Crankbait. All fish were caught on the drop-offs along the flats. I did manage to catch a big horse Mullet 17in. in the mouth on the crankbait along with a few nice fat Redfish. For the Tournament Sunday we fished Rattlesnake Point, a lot of big fish in there. Had two fish straighten the treble hooks on the Lucky Craft. (for a $15.99 lure you'd think it'd have better hooks). I replace the hooks for Hayabusa size 2 live bait singles and first cast caught a 22 1/2in red. The winners of the tournament said they were using Scumfrogs in the back marsh. We saw a lot of fish tailing but had trouble getting our lure to them (thick grass mat). I'll try the Scumfrog next time!!!

Alan(108) told me about a sailboat accident that happened near us. I had not noticed this article in the Pilot.

Coast Guard rescues boaters caught in storm in local bay
Tragedy was averted Saturday, July 5, when Coast Guard officials were able to rescue three women in a sailboat in Aransas Bay which began taking on water after the storm.
Aransas County Public Safety Center dispatchers Rickey McLester and Jodi Duncan were on duty and received the 911 call about 5:06 p.m. McLester said the first call came from someone on the beach who said the boat appeared to be sinking.
The second call was from one of the women on the boat who said they were in a sailboat between Long Reef and Goose Island. They reportedly got caught in the storm and the boat was beginning to take on water. Duncan stayed on the line with the female caller while McLester radioed the Coast Guard for assistance.
He said the boat was sinking, but had an air bubble which was keeping the bow from sinking. The women, who were wearing life jackets, were told to tie themselves together and stay on the bow.
Coast Guard officials were notified about 5:11 p.m. and launched from Port Aransas, McLester said.
The Rockport Police Department's vessel was in the water and officials attempted to get to the sailboat. They made it out to the bay, but due to the large swells, had to turn around and return for their own safety.
They were able to obtain GPS coordinates from the woman's cellular phone.
At about 5:45 p.m., another boat spotted the three women, and was able to get in the general area, but could not get close enough to rescue them. The occupants of that vessel did send up a flare to aid the Coast Guard in finding them.
The Coast Guard platoon boat was able to get right up to the sinking sailboat and rescue the passengers.
The women, who suffered no injuries, were taken to their vehicles. No further information about the women was available at press deadline.

Here is a fishing report from Randy(308).

My son Blake and three buddies spent the weekend in 308. About 2:30 Saturday afternoon a guest landed a huge black drum in the boat Channel, near the BBQ area. He was using cut bait on bottom.
Took pictures for 15 minutes and then tried to release the drum, Blake estimated nearly 50 inches long. Someone said it had been caught and released about a week ago or so. Can't prove that.
However, the big drum did not survive. Too much time out of water and the angler did not know to pierce his side and deflate the air bladder.
The boys went out Sunday morning with guide Terry Coufal. Took them to the surf. They were catching trout but it was very rough and two of the boys were already sea sick and a third was getting there.
They got out of the surf and tried various places with little luck. Their final stop was at Scotch Tom reef and they picked up nearly a dozen keepers there to save the trip. Also hood a couple of black tip sharks.
Ended up with 16 trout for the day. Used croaker and piggy perch free lined, which was new to the young fishermen.

I'm glad to see that they caught some at Scotch Tom. That reef had not been producing much for me. Pat(602) reported that he picked up eight trout last Monday and four on Tuesday. He usually fishes out of Cove Harbor.

David Williams(603) sent this article from the Wall Street Journal that explains why condo owners may see some outrageous electrical bills this summer.


Deregulation Jolts Texas Electric Bills By REBECCA SMITH
July 17, 2008; Page A1

Texas had some of the cheapest power rates in the country when it zapped most of the state's electric regulations six years ago, convinced that rollicking competition would drive prices even lower.Power costs are rising in the rest of the U.S., but everything is bigger in Texas: On a hot day in May, wholesale prices rose briefly to more than $4 a kilowatt hour -- about 40 times the national average.
"We could end up doubling last year's power prices," says Dan Jones, who monitors the market for the Texas Public Utility Commission to make sure it functions efficiently and is free of manipulation. A Texan shopping for electricity today typically would be quoted a price between 13 and 27 cents a kilowatt hour; the national average is between nine and 10 cents.
Beset by a combination of soaring natural-gas prices for power generators and congested transmission lines that weren't designed to accommodate the new freewheeling market, officials are struggling to figure out what can be done to bring prices back down in a state that consumes more electricity than any other.
"Are my constituents going to be screaming bloody murder in August?" state Rep. Will Hartnett, whose district includes parts of North Dallas, asked at a recent legislative hearing on the electricity market. "I'm worried about what's about to hit us."
HIGH VOLTAGE • The Problem: Consumers are getting gored by high electricity prices caused by rising fuel costs and mysterious transmission bottlenecks.
• The Background: Texas deregulated its market in 2002, but now prices are higher than ever. • What's Next: Regulators are tweaking market rules and putting the finishing touches on a $325 million computer redesign to help bring relief.
Prices in Texas have risen since the industry was freed from regulation, but these recent increases have been quite a shock for America's most audacious experiment in deregulating electric power. Five retail companies that sell electricity to homeowners and small-businesspeople have failed. That has left customers facing unexpectedly high bills when they are quietly and seamlessly switched to other, more-expensive retailers.
Large corporations that buy electricity wholesale from power plants haven't fared any better. A state that once touted its plentiful power sources to energy-intensive industries such as chemical plants and refineries is now seeing "manufacturers look at Georgia and Alabama and see prices that are half what we're paying in Texas," says Tony Bennett, chairman of the Texas Association of Manufacturers.
Still, there is little momentum for big changes. Many Texas officials believe that their system -- lots of elbow room and few binding rules -- will work out best for consumers in the long run. "The system is working the way it is supposed to work," says state Rep. Phil King, the Republican from Weatherford who is chairman of the House Regulated Industries Committee.
As the nation grapples with the fallout from soaring energy prices, Texas's deregulation roller-coaster offers an example of how a well-intentioned policy can reap unintended consequences. Structuring electricity markets to guarantee both steady supplies and reasonable prices remains one of the biggest challenges for policy makers. Yet deregulation, which has worked with industries as diverse as telecommunications and airlines, hasn't worked as well for electricity.
Some economists argue that power markets pose a special challenge because electricity can't be stored and must be supplied at a moment's notice around the clock, which sometimes gives sellers more leverage than buyers. When California tried to deregulate its electricity market, it stumbled into an energy crisis that bankrupted its biggest utility.
Not long ago, Texas thought it had the answer. When then-Gov. George W. Bush signed the state's deregulation bill in 1999, he assured that "competition in the electric industry will benefit Texans by reducing monthly rates and offering consumers more choices." The law, which took effect in 2002, left few restrictions on what power generators could charge and what consumers could pay.
The utility commission gradually relinquished the authority to set electricity prices in about 75% of the state -- those areas not covered by municipal power departments, rural cooperatives or investor-owned companies that were better connected with neighboring states. Competition would govern them.
Break-Up As part of the plan, utilities couldn't continue to operate as a vertically integrated whole, generating, transmitting and selling power to captive customers. Divisions were spun off or organized into operating units of holding companies.
The specter of having competitors for the first time spurred power-plant owners to modernize. The newest plants are about a third more efficient than the ones they are replacing. What didn't change much is the mix of fuels used to make electricity: Gas still accounts for about half of the state's power generation, compared with about 20% for the U.S. as a whole.
That seemed like a good idea as Texas has plenty of gas and it burns more cleanly than coal. But gas prices are about five times the level they were in 2002, and about twice what they were a year ago. When natural gas rises, the bounce is felt instantly in power prices across the state because wholesale electricity prices are pegged to natural-gas costs. Even power generated from nuclear fission, wind or coal is priced as if it were coming from natural gas because of its dominant position in the Texas marketplace.
Another part of the deregulation plan was encouraging the creation of a slew of retailers that would buy power wholesale from generators and then sell it to businesses and homes. To promote choice, the state intentionally set low requirements, allowing retailers to open up shop with as little $100,000 in capital.
The state soon had nearly 100 retailers, giving Texans more choices than consumers anywhere else in the U.S. -- from plans that offered fixed prices to ones that fluctuated with the market. Some retailers tried to lure customers with gimmicks like free golf balls; others offered clean energy from wind turbines.
Bob Zlotnik, co-founder of StarTex Power, had a previous career as a promoter of tractor pulls and rock concerts. He says people came to the business from all walks of life, and not all were prepared. "I'm not sure people know how to assess all the risks" of a deregulated market, says Mr. Zlotnik, whose wife and partner has experience in deregulated power and telecommunications. It's hard for the public to know just how savvy a retailer is.
Things become especially hairy when retailers have to buy electricity on the state's daily spot market -- a daily exchange where power is bought and sold. Most retailers try to sign long-term deals with generators to get the power they need. But at times, demand jumps, and retailers need to buy extra power on the spot market.
Larry Kelly, chief operating officer for retailer Texas Power L.P., says that spot-market prices have spiked so much that he raised his prices to between 18 cents and 22 cents a kilowatt hour for electricity, up from about 12 cents last year.
Some retailers report they've had difficulty finding suppliers willing to sign long-term deals to sell them power, raising suspicions that generating companies may be intentionally forcing retailers to get supplies through the expensive daily auction. Generating companies deny this, and Mr. Jones, the utility commission's market monitor, says he's looking into the matter.
Already, high spot-market prices have pushed five electricity retailers, serving about 45,000 customers, into default. More defaults are possible because many retailers are small companies working on thin margins. When retailers go under, customers' lights stay on as their accounts are switched automatically to "providers of last resort" -- nearly always with higher rates. Many customers don't find out about it until their next bill.
'A Lot of Middlemen' John Dreese, an aeronautical engineer in Fort Worth, heard his power supplier, National Power Co., had gone bust in May and began shopping for a replacement. Before he could ink a deal, he was automatically switched to TXU Energy, a unit of Energy Future Holdings Corp. of Dallas, formerly TXU Corp. His price jumped 71% overnight, to 18.8 cents a kilowatt hour from 11 cents.
"No way was I going to pay that," says Mr. Dreese. He was able to shop the market and switch to another retailer for 13.3 cents a kilowatt hour.
Mr. Dreese says he lived in California during its energy crisis and has a sense of déjà vu. "I don't think the promise of deregulation can ever be reached," he says. "You just add a lot of middlemen."
Like homeowners unaware of the risks of an adjustable-rate mortgage, some consumers didn't realize how wildly their bills could vary if they chose plans tied to the market. Steve Schwantes, a Round Rock resident who was laid off last winter from his job as a finance manager at Dell Inc., just got his June utility bill and expected it to be similar to his May bill for $189. Instead, it was $488.
"I was completely shocked," he says. His electricity provider raised its prices twice in a single billing cycle, jacking up his cost by 47% to 18.7 cents a kilowatt hour. Hot weather meant he used more electricity to cool his two-story home. He's now closing off part of the house and has found a cheaper plan.
Large customers aren't immune to making bad bets in the deregulated marketplace. Alcoa Inc. got into trouble at its Rockdale aluminum smelter when a nearby power plant it had been relying on began breaking down. The provider, Luminant, a unit of Energy Future Holdings, offered power from other sources but at 16 cents a kilowatt hour instead of the 3.8 cents that Alcoa had been paying. Alcoa opted to take a chance and buy power off the spot market, instead.
It was the wrong move. It sometimes had to pay $2 to $4 a kilowatt hour for electricity. "There are days we've lost millions of dollars," says Alcoa spokesman Kevin Lowery in Pittsburgh. It estimates the toll from lower output and higher costs will top $44 million. "You can't run a business that way," Mr. Lowery says.
The company recently announced that it was cutting 250 of its 900 workers and halving its output in Rockdale. Luminant says it tried to help Alcoa, but "we told them we couldn't offer a below-market price," says Lisa Singleton, company spokeswoman.
Texas intentionally designed its system to allow for wide price swings. State officials believe that occasional spikes entice companies to build more power plants and transmission lines. Next year, the maximum price generators will be able to seek in the spot market will jump to $3,000 a megawatt hour, or $3 a kilowatt hour, from the current $2,250, or $2.25 per kilowatt hour. Most other deregulated markets in the U.S. have a maximum price of $1,000.
But one of the problems plaguing Texas is that it is still using an electricity grid that was designed to support the old regional power giants, not a dynamic statewide market.
Often, the cheapest power to produce -- say, from wind farms in West Texas -- can't reach the buyers that might need it most, such as office buildings in Houston. That's because the grid -- like a poorly designed freeway -- doesn't have enough capacity to move power easily around the state.
Each day, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or Ercot -- created by the state to operate the grid and the daily power auctions -- runs congestion-management software that helps it figure out which plants' electricity to buy. It pays extra money to some plants to run more than they'd proposed, and it pays others to run less.
Mysterious Origins For reasons that are still not well understood, the mismatch has worsened this summer. The incidence of congestion jumped 270% this May over May 2007. As a result, spot-market prices, at times, have gotten as high as $4,000 a megawatt hour, actually exceeding the price cap of $2,250 a megawatt hour because of the incentive payments.
Mr. Jones, the market monitor, says Ercot has tweaked its software to do a better job holding down prices. Some power companies have found ways to make a bundle off congestion. Suez Energy Marketing NA, a division of Paris-based Suez SA, owns a tiny 70-megawatt plant near Houston. On days of high demand, Suez says it offers 60 megawatts at $170 a megawatt hour, a price low enough to guarantee Ercot will ask it to run. Then it offers the final 10 megawatts at the maximum price allowed, $2,250 a megawatt hour.
In Texas's deregulated market, that means if Suez can sell more than 60 megawatts, it can charge the $2,250 rate not just for the last 10 megawatts, but for all the power from the plant.
At that rate, Suez collects $157,500 an hour to run the plant, versus the $12,000 an hour it would get if it priced everything at $170 a megawatt hour.
Feast or Famine John Henderson, senior vice president of generation for Suez, says the plant can make a decent return if it garners that $2,250 price at least 15 hours a year. "In this business," explains Mr. Henderson, "you have feast years and you have famine years." He acknowledges that 2008 is shaping up to be a feast year.
The practice is reminiscent of one that played a role in the meltdown of California's electricity market earlier this decade. Afterwards, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission prohibited "hockey-stick bidding," named because a graph of the bid structure makes it look like a hockey stick standing on its blade. The deregulated Texas market, because it has no major connection to other states' grids, is not subject to FERC rules.
Suez spokesman Rob Minter says his firm doesn't practice hockey-stick bidding but uses a rational strategy to operate the plant profitably under the law.
Texas plans to make improvements to its electricity market which officials say will help ease the recent transmission congestion and, hopefully, bring prices down. Early next year, Ercot plans to roll out a new $325 million computer system that will change the way it handles congestion. California has been working on a similar system for seven years and is still not done.
The grid operator also will add a new energy auction for power intended to be delivered the next day instead of on the current day like the spot market, something it hopes will bring more orderliness to the market.
State officials say Texas has gone too far to turn back now. "I don't think we can put the toothpaste back in the tube," says Mr. King, the state representative. "All we can do is go forward."

It seemed as if I had seen an encouraging number of flounder caught the last few weeks. I've seen them caught at the fish cleaning stand as well as from the channel and crossbridge. Now I see the following guide report that appears to confirm the flounder numbers this year.

7-15-08 The flounder gigging continues to be RED HOT. We have been getting 20-30 fish limits on every night for the last 3 weeks. Most of the fish are in the 2-3 pound range (16-18"). So far, we have been seeing more flounder this year than in any of the last 10 years. Anyone that thinks the flounder population is on the decline is WRONG, we are seeing more flounder in the local waters and having the best gigging success since the mid 90's. Even many local fisherman are reporting increased catches of flounder on rod and reel this year. With the abundance of flounder in the bays right now, the fall run should be phenomenal this year...Captains Rick Hammond and Red Van

There is one two bedroom condo on the bayside that is "For Sale" by the owner. I think it is priced right. If someone is looking to buy one right now, this might be a good opportunity.

My latest electric bill shows that I used 2106 KWH at a cost of $234.03 for June. That's $0.11 per KWH. If you research http://www.powertochoose.org/, you will find every provider now charging $0.158 and up to $0.271 per KWH. These rates change daily with the price of oil. Even at the lowest rate that would have increased my bill to $333. At the highest rate it would have been $571. My year with YEP is up in January. I can just imagine what the bills will be next summer.
The May balance sheet supplied by Johnson and Cate shows that the association has gone further into the red since the start of the year. We started the year with a negative equity of $4,598.57. We are now at a negative $13,459.39. This does not include all the painting and roofing of the buildings, but we were $101,711.11 over budget for "Capital Repairs & Maint-Building" for the month. On the plus side, we were $789.49 under budget for water for the month. It is difficult to determine how we are doing on only a one statement. I'm sure it will all work out at the end of the year. Justin has said that he will give owners an update on the savings that we have had on the roofing and painting.

The summer rentals stress all systems. We have an extra dumpster from Memorial Day until after Labor Day, but between Friday and Monday pickups, the trash piles up. Ron has been putting the extra bags, that he can move, into Phase II dumspters when possible.

The new boat slip piers are starting to get some use. There were about ten tied up last weekend. The grass here was not as dried out and is greening up after the recent rain.

There are always a lot of boats around this time of year, but never so many Suzukis. They are a quiet and smooth engine. I remember when I looking to buy an engine at Coastal Marine and Clark told me the Yamaha was cheaper, but if I bought a Suzuki I wouldn't have to see him again for a long time. I've heard nothing but good things about the Suzuki.

It is possible to see in this picture that there are a few patches of grass that are starting to come back after the recent rains.

Randy Schulte sent these notes about his weeekend.

Huge crowd this weekend. Fireworks everywhere on the night of the 4th. We got in Thursday night. Woke up to rain Friday morning, no fishing trip. About 2 in the morning a couple of kids decided to set off some fireworks between my unit and 401. Every time one went off the car in 307 had its alarm go off briefly. I should have gotten up and chased them off but did not.
We hit Estes Flats Saturday morning, very slow. Only 4 throwback trout on perch. We did pull a Larry Biggers on Saturday evening. I threw a line out on the beach in back of my place and a little later Dulice caught a trout on the perch, it was only 14 inches but I was surprised it could be done in the sand in off my porch.
Some guest caught a 27 inch red Saturday in the mitigation site. We had seen a huge fish cruise by last week and it must have been a bull red nearly 40 inches. The same guy that caught the 27 said it was eating chicken necks out of their crab traps. He put one on a hook and had it on briefly. Later in a boat slip about 10 yards south of the crosswalk, he caught it in a cast net. Took some pictures and let it go. The fish is not afraid of people for some reason. We had quite a storm blow in about 4 Saturday afternoon. It came in from the east with a tremendous amount of wind. Stuff was flying everywhere. Pretty good rain out of it.
Today we awoke to rain again. Finally about 11 it was calm and only slightly sprinkling. We ran out to the wells in front and managed one 15.5 trout on a gulp.My 8 year old grandson caught a 15 inch flounder Sunday at about 10 in the morning by dragging a 2 inch gulp on a bottom rig in the boat channel right where the south pier starts. Now he thinks he is superman!

The trash is piling up in the mitigation site. Ron has his hands full with all the surface trash that people leave behind this time of year, but sometimes the mitigation site needs to be cleaned too. We, at one time, had a policy outlining a plan to keep up with all the litter, but I believe it is now just do the best you can.

This plywood and pile of shingles are all that's left to be done on the roofing project. The gazebos have tile roofs with no sheathing underneath. The plywood will be placed there and the shingles installed. I don't know if the pumphouse is to be done.

I have to guess we are getting more channels from Charter Cable than I thought. I purchased a new digital TV from Walmart. When it went to the autoprogram mode it identified channels I had not seen on the analog sets. When going above channel 99 it switches to digital or there is a button on the remote to do it. There there are several new channels as well as 40 music channels. I hope we will soon go to high definition, but that will require a set top converter and converters have been known to disappear from rental units.
The new centralized mail box should arrive this week. Justin is trying to decide where to place it. I still think it would work best where the current mail box cluster is located next to 701. I know Karra has said she would like to see it near the maintenance shed. I think that would put it too close to the dumpster and in the summer that dumpster gets pretty smelly.
Justin also said he will be replacing all the numbers above the unit doors. They will be individual numbers that are four inches in height.
All the old posts have been removed from inside the channel on the pier side. It looks much better. The posts were there to protect the pier when we had the Bay Princess docked in the marina. The party boat was almost as wide as the channel. The barge that placed the finger pier posts was used to pull the old posts out.
I have removed my boat from the premises for the summer as directed by the vote last year. Richy has been trying to achieve that for several years. My sometimes critical analysis of board actions didn't help my case. I staved off the action three years ago with a handful of proxies that Chris and Karra thought were to oppose Karra being on the board, but by the time Karra made it known she wanted a board seat I had committed to Pack and Scott. My boat had stayed here for all of its 21 years, but I guess every parking space is valuable. This weekend will be the test to see how many spaces are really needed. I would guess all the construction trailers will be moved.