BSC Members: (Left to right) Carol and Doug Laurie, Judy and John Armes, Pat and Chuck Repkalvis, Ollie and Tom Foster, and Jackie and George Carson.
All boaters calls Vero Beach--Velcro Beach. It is a great support city and very friendly. We had a great stay but it is time to leave.
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We left Eau Gauille around 7:00 am. We had 43.3 miles to go. The wind and current were both with us. We pulled into Vero Beach around 1:00 pm. After fueling the boat with both water to drink and fuel to go some more-- we went to our mooring ball. Our newer boat is so much higher off the water compared to our old Cal 31. I had to about do a head stand to grab the pinnet from the mooring ball. I was able to retrieve it the first try! Then we got Doug and Carol attached to our boat and then John on Torzo II. Tom gave the guys the guiding tour of the marina. About two hours later they finally got back! Welcome to Velcro Beach!
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Tom at the Marine Flea Market at the GAM
We were a little disappointed that the rocket launch did not go off as planned --even if it did -- my eyes and body were sound asleep. So we decided to head to Melbourne for the Seven Seas Association GAM. Since they said the Melbourne Civic Center--we went to Melbourne. Well--it turned out to be at Eau Gaullie. Since we had to go a bridge back--the men jumped in the dinghy and went back to see if it was worth while. Everything was beginning to wrap up for the day--so they came back. The next morning we pulled up anchor and went back to Eau Gaullie. Everyone bought something at the marine sale. We also were able to get the paperwork done that is required to go to the Bahamas. We had lunch at Mustard's Last Stand--great hot dogs. After we got back to the boat, we called Lara--as it was her birthday. Happy Birthday, Lara. We also called Lowry's family and Tom's brother, Calvin. We had a small dinner as we were still full from lunch. Tomorrow we will be at Vero--our first destination.
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It is Friday the 13th--we are not superstitious. We started at 7:00 am so we could get through all the bridges in Daytona Beach before they shut down for the workers going to work. That was a piece of cake. The wind and current were with us. As we were cruising down to Titusville, we found out that they were going to launch the shuttle tonight instead of Sunday--due to weather. So we will have a perfect seat for the event.
We arrived at Titusville around 2:30 pm. We then took Carol and Doug into the small town to do some food shopping and show them what is available. We had hoped to see the manatees but they were not around. We had an early dinner and read. There was supposed to have been a rocket launch --it was a good thing I did not wait up as it was canceled. We will watch it in Vero Beach. Even though it was Friday the 13th--it was a great day.
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11 Nov--Again another 7:00 am start. We wanted to make sure we were in Daytona before dark. It was a warm day. No real problems on the water! It was a long day. We got in Daytona about 4:00pm. As we were pulling in, we heard Cathy on My Time Too call Lee on Sporting Lee. Tom called My Time Too. Cathy wanted to know where we were--he said about 50 yards on your starboard. After we anchored, we got ready to go to dinner with them at Carribbean Jacks across from the anchorage. The next day, we took Carol and Doug around Daytona Beach to give them the layout of the area. We met up with Pat and Chuck on Alamanda and also Don and Wilma on Agape at the Halifax River Yacht Club--they were staying there. We had lunch there--great food and reasonable prices. We finally dragged back to the boat about 4:00 pm--no dinner as we were still full from lunch. It was a very cold and windy day but good!
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Our Freedom at anchor--picture was taken from the sentry post at the fort.
We left Pine Island about 7:00 am--We had only one area that was a little tricky but we made it. Pretty day and no problems.
The next morning we left about 7:00 am in order to get a good run to St. Augustine. When we got to the Jacksonville area, the Naval Air Station was having an air show. Well, we saw it from our boat going down the ICW. That was fun! The current, tide and wind was with us and we made good time! We anchored on the north side of the Bridge of Lions--right next to the fort. That afternoon, we took the Ripley's Believe It Or Not train around the city. John and Jake met us at AlA Mini Brewery, where we had lunch--great food and beer. After lunch, we all walked the mini walking mall that led over to the fort. Since John had his dog, Jake, he could not go through. We had Happy Hour Acapulco Mexican Restaurant. Carol and I shared a large margarita--we still could feel all the alcohol--even though we shared the drink. The next day, we went to the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum. We walked to the A1A Mini Brewery for lunch again. After lunch we walked down King Street to the Sailor's Exchange, then back across the bridge to the San Sebastian Winery for their tour and wine tasting. We bought a bottle of their red vintage wine. We took the train back to the marina as it looked like it was going to start raining. The Tropical storm Ida was finally coming inland. We got mild rain storms and not too high winds. No problems for us but Virginia really received the worst part of the storm.
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