Mike
12/12/2007, Vero Beach, Florida

Vero Saturday.. December 8

We left the boat about 9am to get on the bus at the marina office. We got a tour of Vero Beach (no stores there) and then went west over the Indian River to the city proper. Rick, Linda, Kathy and I got off at a West Marine and made a few purchases then crossed the street and got on another bus to Walmart. After spending a couple of hours there we took yet another bus to the transfer station and switched again to the bus that returned us to the Marina. It sounds complicated but really isn't. All bus routes are ½ hour long (there are about 8) and all busses meet at the transfer station on the hour and the half hour.

By the time we made it back to the boat it was time to relax and think about making something for supper. However, someone had the bright idea that we should dinghy to a nearby restaurant/bar for dinner instead. So after listening to the miserable first half of the MSU/BYU game, we (Sapphire, Sojourner, and Shin Ay) were off. We had a nice time and great hamburgers...which were served with black beans and rice?????

Vero Sunday...December 9

After coffee we pulled the dinghy up to the foredeck and I worked on locating and patching leaks. Meanwhile Kathy worked on polishing the stainless trying to stay ahead of the rust. The dinghy had rubbed on some cement and worn a small hole through the pvc. It was not too hard to fix and I repatched a couple of older bad spots. We really need a new dinghy but are hoping to get through the winter with this old one.

Shin Ay left for Lake Worth this morning so we're down to two boats on our mooring.

In the afternoon, Rick and I went in to the club house and watched some football while Kathy and Linda cleaned boats and washed salt off our ports.

We marinated a port tenderloin, which Rick grilled, to accompany a salad, mashed potatoes, and broccoli.

Vero Monday ...December 10

Rick and Linda were off shopping early trying to fill their boat before heading south to Lake Worth to wait for a proper weather window for crossing to the Bahamas. I worked on getting some stuff out on eBay for sale since we're going to be here for 10 days or so. It rained on and off most of the day.

Sojourner left about noon and I finished up about 2pm. We took a dinghy ride to purchase some gasoline and to check the mail and later followed the channel into Vero Beach with its nice homes.

We planked some chicken on the grill along with fresh asparagus. The chicken was wonderful and we will be looking for more planks.

Vero Tuesday... December 11

Our main goal for the was to get some laundry done. We went to shore at abut 10am and found the place packed so we bailed. I replaced a Y valve that allows us now to pump sewage overboard ...it was one of those jobs that was done by feel. There were three 1 ½ hoses with clamps that I never saw...what a pain.

Our second try at laundry at about 2pm was more productive... although still busy, we managed to get three loads done. I am reasonably sure that we have way too many clothes on board.

Before leaving the Marina, I checked the mail and found that my new Bahamas electronic charts had arrived. We picked up some ice... (it was over 80 today) and headed back to spend the rest of the day reading.

For the second night there are no boats rafted with us... all of the other mooring balls have at least two boats, but as the furthest mooring from the marina I suppose we're in the cheap seats and used as overflow.

Sitting here in cockpit, looking to the west into a pink setting sun, we see only mangrove islands and no sign of civilization.

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Mike
12/10/2007, Vero Beach, Florida

Vero Beach...December 7

We left our anchorage with Sojourner at about 7:30 an had an uneventful drive down to Vero arriving around noon. The folks at the fuel dock were very pleasant as we filled up with fuel and water and pumped out our holding tank as well. Anchoring is not allowed here, but there is an extensive mooring field and most of the mooring balls have three boats rafted together.

Our mooring ball is located at the extreme far end of the field and is surrounded by mangroves. We rafted with Sojourner, and later in the afternoon Shin Ay pulled up to join us.

We spent the afternoon reading and relaxing in the sun. Tomorrow we'll start exploring our new surroundings.

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Mike
12/10/2007, South of Melbourne, FL

Fake launch day .. December 6

During the morning I worked on finished the replacement of the water witch and put the boat back in some compliance of order. Kathy spent the morning Christmas shopping on line. At about noon we went to shore to waste a little time before the 4:30 shuttle launch. We tried to find some fun stuff for our kids, but failed miserably. We did however find a great place for lunch. It was a sandwich shop that had the same oven as Abby's pizza place and they toasted the flat-bread for a short time before making the sandwich. Lunch was great and then more shopping. In one of the stores we learned that the launch was canceled for a day....On our way back to the boat we met Jean from Shin Ay who relayed the info that Sojourner had left the anchorage about an hour ago. We decided to follow and had the anchor up in about 20 minutes.

We moved on south about 15 miles and anchored in Indian River on the east side of the channel ..out in the middle of nowhere where we spent a very comfortable night.

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