Early Wednesday morning on April 15,2009 the Summer Wind made her grand entrance at the Fisherman's Village marina at the end of Charlotte Harbor and in Punta Gorda, Fl. We were excited to be joining our many MTOA friends and fellow cruisers. This years theme was "Pirates in Punta Gorda" which was amazingly fun. For a bad economy, we had a great turn out of Turtles.
What an exciting rendezvous! Our first day we met some new and greeted some dear old friends. Each Turtle (cute name for trawler people) received a bag full of goodies, which included information on the area, schedule of events, discounts on marinas, our official Pirate flag, T shirts, bags, glasses,and many wonderful neat things. We also signed up for some of the seminars we might like to attend.
Our first day, we had a little 'free time' so a few necessary chores needed to be completed. First we needed to get a few provisions for the pot luck, hosting lunch aboard, and some social hour tidbits, so Publix (one of our friends had a car)here we come. Then we tended to do laundry because from our last rendezvous experience we learned there was going to be no free time during the event. Lastly, we cleaned the Summer Wind top to bottom because we volunteered to open our boat for 'green ribbon' visitations so other Turtles can come see our home away from home.
Everyday there is a 'social hour',where its time to catch up, mingle and get to know some new Turtles. This was also our first opportunity to meet our mentees the Beschers and make sure they felt welcomed and were having a good time and answer any questions they may have had about the event. Dick and I volunteered this year to be mentors. We've had wonderful and positive experiences at our 2 previous MTOA rendezvous and wanted to share our enthusiasm about this great organization. This picture below is Robin, our mentor from last year. 
Pot luck is usually the first nights dinner. There was a delicious array of dishes to sample and swap recipes. I (Elle) made chili and was pleased that it was a success, many compliments and an empty pot!
Each morning started out with a continental breakfast at Impac University which was a teaching school for businesses which had nothing going on so our group had it all to ourselves. They served coffee, orange juice, fruit, turtle eggs, and of course doughnuts, danish and coffee cakes. After breakfast, the days were filled with membership meetings, classes and seminars. I (Elle) attended beading, skin safety (yes I learned alot), cooking aboard, MOB (man overboard) rescue and safety. Some of the classes Dick attended were Engine room maintenance,safety and rescue aboard, and computer updating.Below is a short clip on our MOB safety demonstration.
Our first day, we had a little 'free time' so a few necessary chores needed to be completed. First we needed to get a few provisions for the pot luck, hosting lunch aboard, and some social hour tidbits, so Publix (one of our friends had a car)here we come. Then we tended to do laundry because from our last rendezvous experience we learned there was going to be no free time during the event. Lastly, we cleaned the Summer Wind top to bottom because we volunteered to open our boat for 'green ribbon' visitations so other Turtles can come see our home away from home.Everyday there is a 'social hour',where its time to catch up, mingle and get to know some new Turtles. This was also our first opportunity to meet our mentees the Beschers and make sure they felt welcomed and were having a good time and answer any questions they may have had about the event. Dick and I volunteered this year to be mentors. We've had wonderful and positive experiences at our 2 previous MTOA rendezvous and wanted to share our enthusiasm about this great organization. This picture below is Robin, our mentor from last year. Pot luck is usually the first nights dinner. There was a delicious array of dishes to sample and swap recipes. I (Elle) made chili and was pleased that it was a success, many compliments and an empty pot!Each morning started out with a continental breakfast at Impac University which was a teaching school for businesses which had nothing going on so our group had it all to ourselves. They served coffee, orange juice, fruit, turtle eggs, and of course doughnuts, danish and coffee cakes. After breakfast, the days were filled with membership meetings, classes and seminars. I (Elle) attended beading, skin safety (yes I learned alot), cooking aboard, MOB (man overboard) rescue and safety. Some of the classes Dick attended were Engine room maintenance,safety and rescue aboard, and computer updating.Below is a short clip on our MOB safety demonstration.
One evening there was a "Pirate Gala" where each Turtle were to dawn their pirate garb. "Arrrgh", Matey the Lassman's joined in with the scallywags and had a grand time. Like our garb????? Unfortunately we did not win the prize for best costume but we still had a wonderful time. 
By the way each evening there was a full dinner served and dancing to live music. Our last evening, Saturday,April 18 the town of Punta Gorda had a huge block party where they closed off many streets and had live music in several areas and ,of course many vendors on the streets. Thousands of people attending including us Turtles.
So the next day, Sunday we said our goodbyes and started our journey home.
To be continued:
So the next day, Sunday we said our goodbyes and started our journey home.To be continued:
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