I was going to post the same picture as last time, but then figured that one shot of a South Florida personal injury lawyer was enough There is even a firm with advertisements encouraging clients to "Call 1-800-HIT BY CAR" Shades of "Call Saul".
It has been a long process, but we are scheduled to load Eos tomorrow. As the last several weeks have progressed, I have gained a better understanding of how tramp steamers operate, including the unpredictability of schedules. I stopped by the Seven Star Florida office and met Lauren and Monique, our two primary contacts. I think they are hard working people who are very good at dealing with cranky boat owners, specially since they have no control over ship arrival and departure dates.
We have been assigned below deck placement. I had to remove the masthead instruments and anchor light to make the clearance, but this is great since Eos will not be exposed to wind, sun, or salt spray. I cancelled the shrink wrap appointment which saved some of the cost of this adventure.
We will fly home on April 22, allowing extra time for schedule changes.. If all goes well we will have extra days to visit in West Palm Beach where there are several interesting museums, and of course major shopping.

We remain stuck in Florida. I had expected that Seven Star Yacht Transport would be more reliable than our prior experience with Yacht Path, but this is proving to be untrue. We have been given 9 different load dates on 3 different ships, ranging from 3/24 to 4/19, so we remain in Ft. Pierce waiting to see if something will actually happen. Meanwhile professional, financial, and household issues need to be dealt with and commitments for April and May need to change. I have faith that we will eventually be back in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, I just don't know when.
For the short term, we are trying to deal with Florida, the land of pawnshops, payday loans, and personal injury attorneys. We spent 3 days in the Keys where we stayed at Skip and Linda Shipman's place in Marathon. The break was much appreciated since, thankfully, the middle Keys are very different from the rest of Florida. Today we booked an airboat ride through the swamps near the Kissimmee River. It was a great trip, personally guided for just the two of us. Lots of birds and a few small alligators, and a new appreciation for how a dragonfly in the face feels at 30 mph.
We had hoped to try and show Eos at Trawler Fest in Anacortes in mid May, but that seems unlikely since I don't think the ship will be there by then. This entire process is turning into such an ordeal that we are seriously considering keeping Eos for another year and once again cruising the fjords of British Columbia. The economics of such a decision would be difficult, but returning to part time work could make it happen. I guess no one said retirement was forever.

It's been several months since the last posting on this blog, and another holiday season has come and gone. We have remained at home in Santa Barbara, but have made many trips to LA and Santa Cruz. Tyler and Juliette are growing and changing so rapidly, and we are glad that we can be here to be part of their lives. Christmas through the eyes of children at ages 3 and 9 was truly special.
Our continuing frustration at the lack of any offers on the boat finally reached the point of hard decisions. We will take the boat off the market and move it back to the Pacific northwest We plan to enjoy cruising once again in this stunningly beautiful area, and hopefully Tyler can join us this summer.
The process of getting the boat from Palm Beach Florida to Victoria Canada is complex. Our prior experience with Yacht Path (now appropriately defunct) taught us a multitude of lessons that will be helpful this time. We will use Seven Star Yacht Transport and have already signed the shipping contracts. Our tentative load date, subject to change, is March 24. The ship will stop in Golfito, La Paz, Ensenada and then will arrive in Victoria around the third week in April. We are hoping to get a slip in Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes, Washington, where we will have easy access to the San Juans and the Canadian Gulf Islands.
Lynel and I will travel to Ft. Pierce about a week before the load date, move Eos to Palm Beach and then spend several days getting everything ready for the 8,000 mile sea journey. We plan to be in Victoria when the ship carrying Eos arrives, and if all goes well, we hope to spend a few days cruising before settling into Anacortes.

Fortunately we had a good weather window for an offshore passage. Bypassing Georgia is necessary because of the shallow water on the ICW, so we did an overnight passage from Charleston, coming in at Jacksonville, then running on down the ICW to just below St. Augustine. By the time the anchor was down we had covered over 220 miles and were ready for a good rest.
The next day was an easy run down the ICW past Daytona, to the city marina at New Smyrna Beach. We stayed two nights in New Smyrna to enjoy this friendly little town. The farmers market provided some fresh vegetables, lunch at the "Cork and Bottle" was very good, and the local history museum was most interesting.
From New Smyrna we came down the inside to a most comfortable anchorage near Melbourne and enjoyed a great dinner aboard as well as a beautiful sunset.
The next morning, November 17, we made the last segment of our journey south to Ft Pierce. We were fortunate enough to get a month to month lease for a slip at the Harbour Isle Marina, a very secure location in a condo development.
Eos is now securely moored at Harbour Isle and we have returned to Santa Barbara. Several additional showings of the boat are in the works, but even with a $50,000 reduction in price, it remains unclear if we will find a buyer. Actually, Lynel and I both agree that if nothing turns up, we will not be too disappointed since it would give us the opportunity to enjoy Eos in the Bahamas and maybe in the Pacific Northwest.