January 2015

It’s Saturday morning and it’s shaping up to be a cloudy day in nearly southern Florida.  We are still in North Palm Beach and were treated to lovely sunrise a moment ago.   Yes, I know it looks like any other sunrise.  I guess you had to be there and we are.

We’ll be here for another day but will likely mosey on down the short distance to Boca Raton on Sunday.  We have been pretty vague about making decisions on what our plans for the next few months will be but I think that we have a pretty good feel for things now.   Well, it’s only been a month since we left our “land home” and headed south.  But hey, we haven’t been aboard even a full three weeks.  These things take time.  It’s hard to make decisions fast on a boat that only goes about 7kts, right?

A key determination on what’s next for us is that the Axel, the son of our good friend’s Kari and Gerhardt is getting married in Columbia SC in later April so we will surely have to be back in FL early enough to make that event.  Between now and then, our plans are to continue heading south to Miami and the Miami Boat Show, where we will be volunteering to help out at the booth of the Seven Seas Cruising Association, a group that we have become pretty active in.  This is the group that we do the spring Gam in Essex, the three day SSCA, Summer Solstice Gam each June.

Anyway, we will help out at the Miami show.  An added benefit of working the booth is that we tickets to the show for the day and yet only have to work for part of the day.  So, you have to ask yourself if it’s altruism or the free show tickets.  You decide…  I have wanted to see that show for years as it’s where the “big boys” buy their toys.   Tickets or not, we will have a nice day.

After that we will continue to head down to the keys and will probably make our first major stop Key Largo.  After that, I can’t say that I know enough to say but probably Marathon, a spot that is the winter home of many cruisers.  We’d also love to head to Key West but have heard that the anchorages are pretty exposed and the marinas very expensive.  Not sure how to handle that but perhaps we’ll splurge in a marina for a few days.

We are also looking forward to a visit from our son Rob and perhaps his fiancé Kandice in late February as they will likely visit us for a few days in the Keys.  And Chris, who knows, as he’s pretty busy these days meeting with investors and potential business partners in New York on a new business that he’s trying to launch.   We’d love to see him to but he’s pretty pressed for time.

So, all of that will take us to March when we will likely head up to the northern Bahamas for a month or so.  After that, back to the states.

One thing I haven’t written about much in the last month is our quest to purchase the Aerodyne 47 and sell Pandora.  We did have the survey of Ariel a few weeks ago and while a few “issues” came up, as is so often the case when a boat is surveyed, they seem to have been sorted out and we are planning to move forward with the purchase in the spring.   Pandora will soon be listed with a broker in North Carolina so I guess that we’ll be showing the boat a bit while we are in Florida.   It’s a bit weird to be selling Pandora as she’s such a great boat.  I have to say that I have mixed emotions but the Aerodyne is even more amazing.  Oh yeah, I have written about names for the new boat and we’ve decided to keep Pandora as so many know us by that name.  Besides, we have monogrammed towels, cocktail glasses, fenders and even an entrance rug.  Besides, the name is memorable. Wasn’t that easy?

As you can imagine, moving Pandora to NC, closing on the new boat, attending our friend’s son’s wedding and getting that boat up to New England in the spring will certainly pose some interesting logistics in the coming months.   Hey, after more than 30 years of moving boats around I am, somewhat, used to all of that.  Can you say “want to crew with me in the spring, on two boats?”

Yikes, I am getting a “logistics” headache.  I won’t think about that right now…  For now, I’ll just focus on the next few days heading to Boca.

Oh yeah, yesterday we had a lovely lunch out with our friends Linda and Richard.  Years ago, in a different lifetime I worked with Linda.  It was so nice to catch up and talk about “old times”.   How is it that I am now old enough to have “old times”?  Hmm…

The restaurant was a terrific seafood place that also had a retail fish operation.   The fresh fish was beautifully presented.  How about some stone crab claws?  They are only $65 a pound.  What a deal.  Interestingly, these claws are “harvested” without killing the crab.   When the crab is caught fisherman only take one of the claws and toss the crab back.  And, in about another year they grow their claw back.  “Hello little crab.  Good news, I am going to let you go.  The bad news is that I am going to rip your left arm off first.”

As an interesting side note, when Brenda and I were dating in high school, back in the early 70s, we bought a small banana plant in Westport CT and over the years kept it in our homes and later in a greenhouse that had for over 20 years.  While Linda and I were working together in NJ I gave her an offshoot of the plant which she still has in her yard in West Palm Beach.  So here’s “Bob” the banana bearing fruit in Linda’s garden.  Wow, that is one happy banana 42 years later.  Actually, I think that “Bob” looks pretty good, given his age.  So, how old is he in “banana years” now?

It was so nice to see Linda again.  Here’s a shot of us last year when we met on our last trip south as I forgot to take one yesterday.   You will have to trust me when I say we haven’t aged a bit.   Don’t we look marvelous?  Almost as good good as Banana Bob.It’s fun to think about the “good old days” however, I’d say that these days are pretty darn good and both “Bobs” are doing fine.  I am hopeful that the good times will continue to roll for us.   So far, so good.  Fingers crossed.  

It’s Thursday morning and we are anchored in North Lake Worth, a long open part of the ICW that spans the “Beaches”.  That would be West Palm Beach, Palm Beach etc.    The anchorage, unlike so many others in FL is quite open with room for many boats.  Lake Worth inlet is about 3.5mi south of here and it’s a very popular jumping off spot for folks heading over to the Abacos, the northern Bahamas.

Yesterday we headed out of the Ft Pierce inlet and ran down the 50 miles from there to the Lake Worth inlet on the ocean side.  We had a bit more wind than we wanted, topping out at over 20kts, and the seas were pretty big, although on our stern.   Pandora handled it very well but Brenda was less than enthusiastic about the rough ride, as you can imagine.   And, it was also pretty cool, in the low 60s. Before you Northerners get all uppity with comments like,  “Bob, you don’t know cold!  How about 30” of snow and 20 degrees?”, don’t forget that it’s supposed to be WARM here and to sit out in the wind all day in the low 60s can get a bit chilly.

OK, OK, so I am getting soft.   However, don’t go feeling too sorry for us as today it’s supposed to be in the low 70s and warmer than that in the next few days.

Our plan is to hang out here for a few days and then to head further down, likely on the ICW, not outside, to Boca Raton and then on to Ft Lauderdale.  This part of the ICW is very pretty, if jammed with bridges, sometimes every mile that only open on their schedule.  And, don’t be even a minute late or you have to wait another half hour or hour for the next opening.    If you can keep up a steady 7kts between bridges, the openings are supposed to be timed so you can make all of them with a minimum of delays.  Well, that’s the theory anyway.

The homes along this part of the ICW, known as “The Gold Coast” are huge with each one bigger than the last.  I always wonder if some, or most, are paid for with “Ill gotten gains”.   As most of these are probably second homes, I can only imagine with their “real house” looks like.The simple way to avoid the delays of all the bridges is to head back out of the Lake Worth inlet and make a short 30 mile run down to Lauderdale in the ocean.  However, we really enjoy Boca Raton, which is about half way from Lake Worth to Ft Lauderdale,  as there is a particularly good anchorage and would like to spend a few days there.  Alas, life is full of compromises when you are Snow Birds.

Anyway, today I am planning to do a bit of exploring ashore and Brenda’s going to catch up on her weaving.  She’s working on a small, if challenging, piece that has an early March deadline and she hasn’t made much progress so far.  Weaving involves a lot of trial and error to get the image right.  As a result, she weaves and then un-weaves often which makes for sloooow progress.

Friday we will be meeting up with old friends Linda and Richard who live in West Palm Beach.   In a previous life I worked with Linda and it’s always nice to see them when we are on our way through the area.

Yesterday’s run was quite a romp and a few times our speed, as we surfed down the face of a wave, topped out at a bit over 9kts.  That’s pretty fast.   Brenda spent much of the day down below as it was pretty cold up on deck.  I saw a couple of dolphins near the bow and at one point I saw an enormous sea turtle.  Unfortunately, my camera was down below and as we were going so fast, he was gone in the blink of an eye.   I would estimate that he was about 4.5’ long and his head was as large as a cantaloupe.  A pretty amazing sight.

It’s going to be a beautiful if somewhat overcast day here with temperatures to be in the low 70s.  What a dramatic sunrise we enjoyed a short time ago.A great way to get the day started for a couple of aging snowbirds hanging out at the “Beaches” here in sort of sunny Florida. 

It’s Tuesday morning and we’ve been in Vero Beach for a week now.   We had hoped to spend a few more days here as it’s such a great spot.  However, the weather seems to suggest that either we head out early in the morning tomorrow or we will have to hang out until the middle of next week.  With that in mind, we’ll be heading down to anchor near the Ft Pierce inlet later this afternoon so we can jump out early on Wednesday to make the run down to the Ft Worth inlet, about 50 miles south.  I spoke to Chris Parker, the weather router, earlier today and he thinks we will get a good sail in if we leave as planned.  Let’s hope that he’s right. It will be nice to let Pandora stretch her legs for a bit.  Fingers crossed.

Well, here’s a shot of Pandora on her mooring just off of the fuel dock today in Vero.  A very nice day, if a bit cool.The other day I ran into a post on a blog about guests on board a small sailboat. It seems to me that she captures the point pretty well although I am not personally too big on pets aboard.  I am definitely too anal for the whole hair thing.  Last night we had a very nice couple, Bob and Connie of SV/Meredith aboard for a “sundowner” and during the conversation he mentioned the 6-4-2 rule.  Six for cocktails, four for dinner and two sleep over.  That about sums it up for me and Brenda.  Bob and Connie have been living aboard for years and have sailed extensively in the Med as well as the Caribbean, including Cuba.   It was great to compare notes with them.  

Anyway, speaking of guests on board and who sleeps over, this post on a site Where the Coconuts Grow, is pretty cute.  Check it out. It seems that the author , Jodi is sailing in the Caribbean and there are some really great photos to boot.   Here’s a link to her site, Where the coconuts Grow.  Fun.   

Perhaps we’ll be going where the coconuts grow next winter.  Yes, technically we are there now but not THERE, way south in the Caribbean.  For now, we are on our way, day by day.

 

It’s Monday morning with a bit of wind and rain, brief and intense, thrown in for good measure.   Today’s going to be a day of chores as we explore the Vero Shuttle System to do some errands.  We also need, need, to do some laundry.  I’d be happy to do the laundry and let Brenda focus on her weaving however, I am not “authorized” do handle such things as it seems I lack the ability to discern the difference between a shop towel and fine linens.  Ok, ok, perhaps I do not appreciate the subtle differences in the world of textiles but to ban me from the laundry?  Doesn’t it seem a bit harsh to you?  Common, support me on this.  I am a domestic guy and just want to help.

Well, this isn’t a “self help” column so I guess I’ll just accept my lot.

Anyway, there is much more to Vero Beach than laundry so I’ll focus on other things for now.

As members of the Essex Yacht Club Brenda and I enjoy  visiting other clubs in our travels with the hope that they will offer reciprocity and allow us to use their facilities and meet some of their members.   With this in mind, I contacted the Vero Beach Yacht Club the other day with the hope of visiting for brunch on Sunday with our friends Chuck and Sandy.   Unfortunately, I left my blue blazer at home so I kept my fingers crossed that we would still be welcome to visit, “dress down” or not.

As luck would have it, the club is very friendly and welcomed us in spite of my “wardrobe challenges”.  And, as an added bonus, it turned out that yesterday included a very formal “passing the flag” from the outgoing to the incoming Commodore, so the club was a-buzz with activity.

I introduced myself and met a number of officers and board members and I have to say that we really felt welcomed.  They even agreed to send me some of their “official” photos from the event as I mentioned that I’d like to write a short piece for the Essex Yacht Club newsletter about our visit.  Not to rub it in, but as we are enjoying the warmth of VBYC, the folks in Essex are getting ready for yet another snow and ice storm.

As with many yacht clubs, the VBYC takes their traditions, including a great buffet, very seriously.    There was cannon firing, the blessing of the fleet and a parade of member boats by the dock with each receiving their own “canon salute”.    Lots of noise and fun.

The officers paraded up the dock, looking very smart indeed.Don’t they look dapper all lined up just so?And, to cap off things they even had a bagpiper in his formal dress to make for a perfect experience.I promised that I would send a EYC burgee to hang in their burgee room.   Speaking of the burgee room, they have a “happy hour”, actually a “happy two hour”, on Wednesday so I think that we’ll have to visit again before we head further south later in the week. 

How about a “visiting yachtsman” portrait of me and Brenda.  Not sure what the “compact” sign means? Are they making a statement about those of us that are “vertically challenged”?  My mother always told me that I was big.  Besides, I am taller than Brenda, well a little taller.  Hmm…Anyway, perhaps I should close with some lovely shots from yesterday morning of the early light.  What a great spot, Vero Beach.  No wonder they call it “Velcro Beach”, yes it will indeed be tough to leave such a great spot.  I guess that Vero is our newest favorite place to visit. 

It’s Sunday morning here in “Velcro” Beach.  No wait, I meant to say Vero Beach Florida.  However, it’s easy to lapse and call it by it’s “cruiser name, Velcro” as once you get here, you won’t want to leave.  Me, I have trouble sticking in one place for more than a few days but I have to say that Vero is a great spot to settle and NEVER MOVE AGAIN.   It’s chilly this morning and the heater is running but I am sure that it will warm up later in the day as it’s forecast to be a beautiful day.

The harbor has room for more than 100 boats on moorings and in the marina and we got a great spot on a mooring just off of the main dock.  It’s very pretty.  However, when the breeze drops at night, watch out for “no-see-ums” as they will find you.

The harbor and mornings are owned by the city and the staff at the marina office is very helpful and friendly.  The moorings, and there are a lot of them, are not expensive, at less than $20 per day and less than about $350 per month.  And, the city runs a shuttle bus system that is amazingly extensive so you can get most anywhere in the city with a minimum of fuss.  Of course, if you don’t know the schedule you can easily sit at a bus stop for nearly an hour waiting for the next bus.  However, you can’t beat the cost, “$0” per ride.

I had heard that Vero is a great spot to visit with it’s amazing bus system and terrific harbor, but on our last trip through here we had only spent a night or two so didn’t “do Vero” properly.   Well, not this time.  This time I expect that we will spend a week.

“A week Bob?  Are you kidding?  You’ve never stayed ANYWHERE for a week!?”   Yes, I know it sounds implausible but I am trying to SLOW DOWN as I enter my 4^th year of retirement.  Honest…

Well, Brenda is doubtful too, but we’ve already been here since Thursday and  it’s Sunday.  A week doesn’t sound that far off.  Really…  That’s of course, as long as there isn’t a weather window…  No, I must be strong.  A week…

Besides, the shuttle bus system is FREE.  I WILL BE STRONG.

Anyway, the last few days here have been very pleasant and shuttle or not, the beach is only about a 20 minute walk from the marina and the neighborhoods you walk through (yes, the shuttle does take you there too) are very scenic.

Along the way are modest homes shaded by massive live oaks.  Quite beautiful. I was struck by this huge staghorn fern.  What an amazing specimen.The last few days have been very pleasant with daytime temperatures in the 70s with cooler, but not too cool, nights.  Today is the first since we arrived in Vero when I turned on the heater.  Love those new batteries.  Yesterday it rained hard in the AM but cleared off to a beautiful, if windy, day. 

I believe that I mentioned that I had put a hole in our dink a few days ago and I have been consumed with fixing that hole.  First, I used some glue that I had aboard to affix the patch.  Alas, it didn’t hold as it wasn’t a good quality glue.  Well, it held long enough to pump up the boat but as soon as the sun hit it and expanded the air, the patch couldn’t handle the higher pressure air and gave way.  So, I had to laboriously remove the glue and try again with a two-part glue that I purchased at a marine supply place in town.  However, that glue has a 48 hour cure time which meant that we have been without out “family car” for two days.  If you think it’s hard for me to stay in an anchorage for a week, imagine me trying to stay aboard for TWO DAYS in port.  Not easy, I assure you.  Well, Chuck and Sandy, our friends aboard Summer Wind, came to our rescue and have been our “shore link” for the last two days, picking us up so we wouldn’t be stuck.  Well, today is the big day when I will once again, pump up the dink.  I so hope that it holds.  We are so dependent on the dink to get us around that if my patch doesn’t hold then I will have to find a place to take it for some professional help.  I would think that I should be in good shape though as I did follow the directions.  Fingers, and toes, crossed.

Anyway, we have enjoyed Vero and are looking forward a spending more time here prior to heading further south.

Today we hope to have brunch at the Vero  Beach Yacht Club and take another walk over to the beach.  Should be a nice sunny day.  Rumor has it that things aren’t so warm and sunny at home in CT.  Glad we’re here.   Have I mentioned that I like warm.  Yes, warm is good.