As we pulled into Vero Beach on Wednesday, voices hailed us from both the VHF radio, and a nearby boat. Ken and Connie (Oz) whom we last saw 4 years ago were waving and welcoming us. We first met them at Mile 0 on the ICW on our second trip down, and shared some fine times in the Bahamas. And that was just the start.

The next day, a dinghy with Valerie and Ed (Windswept) aboard pulled alongside – and I think it is even longer since we have seen them. We remembered Ed from his sports broadcasts in Marsh Harbour. At happy hour, we caught up with Phyllis and Tom (Cocoon Too), also from Bahama days. John and Catherine (Rivendell) arrived and the next day Christian and Mireille (Nomades) cruised up to the North end to raft with us. These last two were especially fun because we were all members of Trident Yacht Club in Gananoque, Ontario; we left there in 2007 and they set off on their adventures a couple of years later. We had an impromptu happy hour in our cockpit, sharing our sailing adventures, and if we had just had Mary and Blair (Strathspey) with us, our little circle would have been complete.

We shared a reunion lunch with Nancy Aadland (formerly on Solitaire) with whom we had many great times in the Bahamas, met her lovely mother, and caught up on more sailing and life news. Since her Jim’s passing last fall, she has been building a “new normal” life and we are excited to see her again on Wednesday to catch up on some more plans.

But it can’t be all socializing, because we have work to do. We got the sails down on Friday, and Ken (bless his heart) volunteered his van and chauffeur service as he and Jim delivered them in rush hour traffic to Mack sails in Stuart. They also took a drive by Riverside Marina in Ft. Pierce, because that is where we are hauling out. Yes – we actually have a place and a date!

After weeks of indecision about where and when we would end our season, we finally made a decision. It feels like we have gone far enough for now. We have come over 1000 nautical miles from Rio Dulce to Vero Beach, and despite our initial plans to go farther north, it is time to stop. We will be here until Wednesday morning, doing all those end of season jobs like cleaning, sorting out the contents of lockers into “take home”, “leave here”, “toss” piles, changing engine oil, washing lines, wiping down all the interior surfaces and the insides of cabinets and lockers. Then we’ll take one last 2-hour motor trip back down to Riverside marina, go in on the high tide and get hauled out. Other than one 2-week period a year ago, Madcap has been in the water for 4 years and it is time to let her dry out a little.

We’ll fly home to Nova Scotia from Fort Lauderdale on Friday – Good Friday – to reunite with more friends and family. In the meantime, back to work for me!

This picture is of a barge easing between Madcap and the mangroves the other evening. I’m glad he knew where his edges were!