We arrived in Stuart Florida along the Inter-coastal Waterway on April 6th. We decided on the ICW due to high seas and winds from the SE impeding our travel plans. Along the way we saw a Canadian vessel(one of many heading north) which hailed from the LeHavre River in Nova Scotia. They hailed us on the VHF and wandering were we were from since we are flagged with an unusal flag( St. Vincent and the Grenadines). Through the conversation we found that this gentleman new Nancy's Dad and had owned a sporting goods store not far from their home in Bedford. Small world.
At present we are tied to a mooring ball at Sunset Marina waiting for the weather to settle down along the Gulfstream. Winds N-gusts 30kts with seas- 7-10ft, not good for sailing. We will stay here for approx. 4 days and enjoy this quaint little village around the marina. Great pubs and restaurants.

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A few days prior to us leaving Port Canaveral the US Air Force delivered a boat into the marina that we were staying at that was a very different design. I commented to Nancy that I had seen this particular vessel on a documentary aired on Discovery Channel. After speaking with members of the USCG and the USAF, I found out that this particular boat was captured off the northern coast of South America loaded with illegal drugs. The boat is classified as a "Semi-submersible" and is therefore extremely difficult to detect in the open seas especially when the seas are rough. This vessel only sits aprox. 18" out of the water and is completely covered in fiberglass with no metal showing. I thought I would add this to the blog since it is a very unique experience.

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Well we were hoping to leave for our trip south into the islands but there were some safety issues that we needed to address so we lifted Laila Rose onto the hard at Scorpion Marina in Cape Canaveral, Florida. We were on the hard for 3 weeks and in that time we removed and checked thru hull, installed a new transducer to provide us data for depth, water temperature and speed in the water. We also found that the old bottom paint was not adhereing well to the hull, so we ended up sand blasting the hull back to the gelcoat and painted on 3 coats of expoxy barrier coat. We had the guys at the marina do this work as well as paint on 2 coats of hard bottom paint. She really looks good now and I hope the paint holds up well for our trip. While we were waiting for all the different coatings to cure or dry, we buffed and waxed the hull because it is much easier out of the water, than in.
We are now back in the water and it is a wonderful feeling to be afloat again. The marina that we are staying at is called Ocean Club Marina which beside the marina where we had the work done. Excellent facilities.

Note: While all this was going on, the weather here in Florida is very cold. There was a number of days the temperature was in the 40's and we were not able to paint. Today, Wednesday February 17, the temperature rose to 58 degrees. Wow.

We hope to install our new hot water heater this week and do a sea trial on the weekend, weather permitting.

I will write in advance before we acually cut the lines to land.

We wish all clear skies and fair winds

Bob & Nancy

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