The Rally group is going separate ways
07 December 2017 | Vero (aka Velcro) Beach
Summer! 70s-80
The end of our southbound ICW trip is nearing the end. And so the boats in the 2017 Rally
To The Sun are beginning to peel off to their planned stops and destinations. We started with 12 boats. The first to leave was Lori and Jay on Why Not Go Slow - to their new home. The next to leave from the group was Michael on his Person 31, who was just with the rally until Charleston (his home). After this was Martin and Sari, at Jacksonville, where they are storing their boat until next spring.
Here is what the rest of the rally members have for plans (all plans subject to change!):
David on Alley Yukon - Dave is planning for a full year of cruising, which started in September. The Bahamas are his next destination, and then in the spring to the north, including Maine and possibly the Maritimes.
Jim and Rhonda on Morningside - they are taking their boat to Isla Mujeres Mexico, where they will stay through spring.
Rick and Cele on Carly - they are having their boat hauled, but will likely cross to the Bahamas in 2018.
Sabrina and Chuck, and their kids Maddie and Dan on Paradise Nine will spend Christmas in the Keys, then to Bahamas, and then in the spring back to Toronto, their home.
Jim and Jean on Bacchus - plans are a bit up in the air, but hoping to get to the Bahamas.
Curtis and Ericha on Mama Lee Two are spending Christmas in Palm Beach, then to the Bahamas, then to their new home in New Bern N.C.
Pete and Cathy on Gentle Persuasion - their plans are up in the air.
Nate and Heather on Moonshine will be guiding a charter cruise in Belize in the spring. Before that, their plans are in flux, but may include Cuba.
My plans are to spend Christmas at home, then cross to the Bahamas around the first of the year (weather permitting).
Update on my cruise:
While at Cocoa Beach, I went on a tour of the Kennedy Space Center. This tour is a cross between the Smithsonian - with lots of actual space exploration artifacts like an actual Saturn V rocket and moon landing vehicle, and the space shuttle Atlantis, and Disney World, with those types of exhibits and an admission cost in the same scale ($70!). The tour was interesting but under-whelming. We got to see the launch pads - from a bus, got to see the Vertical Assembly Building, but not the inside, and did not see Mission Control - because that was an extra cost tour. The Kennedy Space Center is also a nature preserve, and so we saw alligators (two) and a Rosette Spoonbill.
Tuesday I motored to Vero Beach, where I am now. Vero Beach is nicknamed 'Velcro Beach' because cruisers find it such a pleasant place to stay that they don't leave. The beach is a .7 mile walk and the swimming is fantastic. The mooring field is next to a series of winding channels through mangrove islands. There is a free shuttle to shops. I'm spending two days here (although some of the remaining group is departing to the next stop - Peck Lake, today). Last night we had dinner to say goodby to those who are leaving.
I have three more days of motoring ahead - to Peck Lake, then Latana and finally to Ft Lauderdale - and then my southbound ICW trip will be over!