Well, looks like I finally have some time to work on a catch-up for the blog. Yes, we’re still here in Stuart. It’s so hard to leave this wonderful place and all the great people who hang out here. A couple of our friends did leave and have made it to the Bahamas. Another friend likes it here so much, he leased a condo for a year and moved off his boat.

We’ve been having a great time. Socializing with old and new friends, exploring, walking and bicycling to places nearby, fixing things on the boat and of course the usual shopping. What with all the socials, talent shows (see below), meet and greets, etc. we stay so busy, that blog updates are the last thing (?) we ever think about.

 

Right now we’re on the boat waiting for the 20 mph and gusting 25-30 wind to lay down a bit so we can take the dinghy to shore without getting drenched. We went ashore early this AM and caught the “short” bus to Wal-Mart for some much needed supplies. When we returned, conditions had deteriorated and it was a rather damp ride back to the boat with the groceries. Had it not been for items that needed to be placed in the fridge, we might have elected to remain ashore until things settled down. Let me be clear, the only condition we don’t like is getting wet. Actually, it’s mostly cloudy and 75F, not bad considering conditions further north or back home.

Speaking of conditions, yesterday we waited all afternoon for a rather nasty front and squall line to reach us. Like a lot of warm fronts, it moved rather slowly and arrived late afternoon We found ourselves smack dab in the middle of not one but two tornado warning zones. Folks further north/south of us seemed to get the worst of it, but things were lively in the mooring field.

 

 

By-the-way, is there anybody else coming down to visit? We keep getting visits from folks who reside in Hampton Roads. With the winter going on back there, I don't blame them for seeking the warmer climes. David B. and Hye-Yun were the latest visitors and they reluctantly departed northward today.

 

Well, the sun is shining brightly again, time to brave the wind and head to shore for more fun and adventure! Later, DnD



 

Dec 16, 2013 - Sunset Bay Anchorage

A big hello and apology for the lack of posts to all those following our journey. We are still here at Sunset Bay Anchorage in Stuart, FL. These mooring balls have Super Industrial Velcro on them. Once you get here, its very hard to leave.

We’ve been enjoying the weather for the most part. Temperatures are definitely warmer than those back home. We’ve had lots of totally overcast and some partly sunny days. Lots of fronts moving through, first a cold and then a warm one, actually the same cold front moving back north. Bottom line, lots of people are complaining about the lack of sunny days for solar power to keep their batteries fully charged. Us folks with generators are resorting to the backup method of charging.

The stragglers, Larry B, and the Roses, got here on Thanksgiving day, but they are staying in slips at the Loggerhead Marina across the river. We asked them to join us at Sunset Bay's Thanksgiving feast, but they attended a similar yacht club function at Loggerhead.

Speaking of the Sunset Bay Thanksgiving, it was a wonderful. The marina furnished the turkey, ham, dressing and potatoes. The boaters furnished side dishes, deserts and BYOB. About 100 boaters attended. We ate outside in the courtyard and were seated with old friends. The tables were nicely decorated with tablecloths and lovely centerpieces made by the marina employees. The food was terrific and we had a great time.

We’ve visited some of our old haunts like Publix, Harbor Freight, Home Depot, West Marine, Stein Mart, Wal-Mart, Ace Hardware, just to name a few. Thank goodness the marina has a courtesy bus that makes runs on Tuesday and Friday.

We were also introduced to a new bakery/coffee shop that has terrific goodies and great coffee. It is about a half mile away, so it’s a good excuse for a morning walk. Unfortunately, the walk doesn’t burn the calories consumed at the bakery.

We’ve also met some of our old friends from previous stays here at the anchorage. Donna has gone to lunch and shopping with several of the ladies. The guys meet for morning coffee and occasionally a brew or two in the courtyard. We even went to the Stuart Christmas Parade one evening.

I have been working on a few improvements and repairs on the boat. I now have an improved method of transferring water from our 7 gal jug into the boat’s water tank. The Wifi Access Point that I never finished before leaving Portsmouth is up and working. Our Alfa adapter is now housed in a homemade enclosure mounted on the stern rail. It communicates with the ALFA access point located in the main salon. That means no more dragging out the equipment, setting it up, and no more cables draped everywhere in the salon. It also means Donna can be on her Kindle, I can be on the computer and we both have internet access at the same time. Life is Good!

. I do have one project to get to. The muffin fan on the refrigeration unit is going bad. It’s one of those cheap, sleeve bearing muffin fans like you find in desktop computers. I’ve got a better one with ball bearings ordered (the easy part). The hard part will be getting it installed inside the refrigeration unit.

Donna is busy wrapping presents for the nieces and nephews. When she’s done it will mean a trip to the post office (groan!). Oh, but wait, the bakery is right on the way…maybe we will try their lunch menu.

On Saturday, we rode our bikes 3.5 miles against the wind to the local flea market. Unfortunately the place was dead. We didn’t find much of what we went looking for. On a positive note, the ride back was with the wind and a lot easier. After the ride back we walked over to the Pelican Café and Beach. Their “café” is seating on a deck with wonderful views of the river, Loggerhead Marina and the Roosevelt Bridge. Their “beach” is an oversized sandbox with table seating in the sand and the same views with the addition of Flagler Park. We obviously chose the “beach” seating. We enjoyed a pitcher of beer and an order of nachos while watching a wedding party take group pictures on the RiverWalk at the park.

Nice to see some part of Virginia has some notoriety here. Sorry, Donny, we didn’t try the “Big Daddy Dog”, maybe next visit.

This morning we dinghied ashore early, did the laundry, took showers and were back at the boat by 10AM. Well, enough rambling, it's time to go find something else NOT to do!

D&D
Location: Stuart, FL
Skies: Mostly Cloudy
Temp: 70F
Solar: Charging 13.5V @ 5.2A
 

Stuart - Nov 26, 2013

Well, if you have been following along and read yesterday's post, you know we are now in Stuart, FL. We are attached to mooring ball #19 and are enjoying a quiet morning aboard. The weather hasn't been especially welcoming. We have had on and off showers all morning. The sun is finally peeking through as we sit, sipping coffee and listening to the Coffeehouse channel on the Sirius radio.

I tried to get some sunrise photos this AM, but it wasn't to be. Here are some shots of our temporary home. We'll be unwinding and settling in for a while so more entries and photos will probably be on a less frequent basis.

DnD

Day 30 - Nov 25, 2013
It was a long night of listening to the wind howl and waves slapping against the stern of the boat. Donna and I were awake when the alarm clock went off at 0530. I made coffee and began looking at all the weather forecasts on the web. Mostly they agreed and the consensus wasn’t good. Winds were blowing from the east at 18 with gusts to 28 and were forecast to increase as the day progressed. The outlook for the next three days also looked like repeats.

After finishing two cups of coffee, I went topside and surveyed the situation, trying to see if there was a way we could safely get out of the slip. The boat was bow-in in a very large fixed pier slip. The wind was channeled down between two buildings and was hitting the boat almost dead on the stern. The channeled wind was almost constant at 25+ miles per hour. There was no way we were backing out of the slip without damaging the boat or the dinghy.

After about an hour of theorizing how it could be done, I replaced several dock lines about the boat with longer lines and ran the starboard aft spring line to the starboard winch. Back inside the boat, Donna and I discussed the possibility of leaving and the forecast weather for the next week. We decided that leaving today looked like the best option so we started making preparations.

It took about half and hour to extricate the boat from the slip. Working slowly and methodically, we winched the boat out to the outboard pilings, removed the lines and were able to back out without damaging the dinghy/davits or the boat. By 0945 we were headed back to the ICW.

After entering the ICW, we moved along past Vero Beach and headed toward Fort Pierce. I rolled the jib out to about 90% and our motoring speed increased. As we moved along it became a rough, wet and dreary day. Very low gray clouds and rain squalls kept rolling in from the east. Winds in the squalls increased to as high as 32. We did see sunshine twice for a few seconds and a rainbow. After passing Fort Pierce, the squalls became a little stronger and more frequent which forced us to reduce sail.

We reached the intersection of the ICW and the St Lucie River around 1500 hrs. We turned up river and found the usually shallow channel had evidently been dredged recently. A couple more rain showers occurred during the slow motoring cruise up the river to the last opening bridge of this trip. The bridge tender was very timely and we passed through and were adjacent to the mooring field that is to be our home for a while.

We picked up mooring ball #19 here at Sunset Bay Marina and ended this leg of our journey at 1625 hrs. Tired, safe and securely tied to the mooring ball, we breathed a great sigh of relief and declared it time for Happy Hour.

Location: Sunset Bay Mooring Field, Stuart, FL. MM 996
Distance traveled: 47 miles
Avg speed: 6.5 mph
Max speed: 8.8 mph

Total distance traveled since 10/27/13: 1049.2 statute miles.

Day 29 - Nov 24, 2013
We holed up here at the Loggerhead Vero Beach Marina to escape the predicted gale force winds last night, today and tonight. As of daybreak, the wind has not materialized. Temperature this morning was 70 and winds were less than 15, but they were out of the north. This is a medium sized marina surrounded by a condo complex. One little east/west channel out to the river. It's like being in a walled moat. We are feeling the boat heal every once in a while, but I don't think the winds outside the facility are up to gale force yet. More like 15-20.

It was nice and sunny by mid morning, however as the day progressed, clouds rolled in from the north and the wind increased to over 25. By 1300 hrs, there were rain showers rolling through and the wind shifted to the northeast and increased. Gusts were well over 30. We spent the afternoon, cleaning up the boat, doing laundry, taking on domestic water, getting fuel, and taking showers. As I write this, we are being heeled by the wind gusts. We’re trying to watch a little TV, but the digital signal keeps going out. Looks like we will have a sleepless evening if the wind does not lay down.

Actually, if the wind doesn’t lay down a little, we will have a tough time getting out of the slip and out into the river tomorrow morning. Oh well, nothing we can do about it. We’ll just have to see what the morning has in store for us. Good Night All.

Location: Vero Beach

Day 28 - Nov 23, 2013
Well, we finally did it. Up at 0530, coffee, yogurt and breakfast bar and we were leaving the mooring field at 0645 hrs. Today’s planned destination is Melbourne where we usually anchor.

The sky is only partly cloudy and we can see the sun peeking through the clouds on the horizon. Looking like a good day. We manage to get in some motor sailing with the jib.

Around noon, we were approaching our destination when we checked the weather forecast. NWS has now issued a small craft advisory and a gale wind warning. The coming cold front looks like it might pack a wallop. Anchoring in Melbourne was now out of the picture. We continued on as lots of daylight was left.

I selected a couple of potential marinas for the evening and continued southward. We motor sailed on and off as direction of travel and wind direction allowed. As we approached the location of the last marina on my list, we made the decision to shoot for Vero Beach, another 30 miles away.

It was a squeaker, but we manage to arrive at the Loggerhead Marina in Vero Beach about 20 minutes before sundown. Only one drawback, we timed our arrival with the swarming of the no-see-ums. Ouch!

We did a quick securing of the boat and equipment and then jumped down into the cabin to escape the bugs. We now had a new problem…80+ degree heat in the boat. Time to break out the electric fans.

Location: Vero Beach, FL. MM 949
Distance Traveled: 71 miles
Avg speed: 6.8 mph
Max speed: 7.7 mph

Day 27 - Nov 22, 2013
How is it we get up at 0530 and still can’t get underway before 0730. Another slow starting overcast day. We leave the marina and head south toward Ponce Inlet. Friday sure brings out the boating traffic. River is a busy with lots of fishing and power boats.

Tide coming in Ponce inlet keeps out speed down until we pass the inlet and then we get a boost. Past Ponce, we enter the Mosquito Lagoon. It’s a long, pretty boring stretch, but we do get to do a little motor sailing. We reach the haul over canal and enter the Indian River and motor sail some more. Winds are up a little and we move at a pretty good clip crossing the river. When we turn south we eventually lose the wind and it’s back to motoring.

I am beat, so when we approach Titusville, I contact the marina and secure us a mooring ball for the evening. We pick up the ball, secure the boat and call it a cruising day at 1500 hrs. I prepared the boat for a quick start in the morning while Donna prepared the all important happy hour accoutrements.
Later after dinner, Donna watched some TV and yours truly dosed off.

Location Titusville, FL
Distance Traveled: 48 miles
Avg speed: 6.3 mph
Max speed: 8.2 mph.