01/10/2010, St. Augstine
...but everyone between Hudson Bay and the equator knows that already.
I take back everything I said about Algore (well, not everything). The ice caps are moving. Problem is, they've landed on the beach in Florida. The high yesterday was in the 30's and today we have to winterize Prim because overnight temps are heading for the teens. Winterize, in Florida??? We're thinking class action suit vs. the Chamber of Commerce for false advertising. Friends of ours are heading home to Canada to get warm. Iguanas are falling out of trees like cartoon characters. Birds are thinking, "We flew 2,000 miles for this???" Margaritaville is one big frozen daiquiri. Disney World has bought the rights for Santa's new North Pole and it actually snowed in Miami! Stick that in your Copenhagen, boys and girls. The only positive I can think of is if this keeps up, Hell might actually freeze over, too. That ought to please my grandfather. He thought there was a shortage of help in Heaven but he only had devastating world wars and massive depressions to contend with, long before the bar was lowered by do-good politicians.
On a grateful note, we are settled into a third floor condo for the time being, overlooking the Royal St. Augustine golf course. The course is turning brown from the frost and lack of rain, but it still beats living on the hard, freezing in the boatyard. I haven't seen anybody out there with big fluffy snow bunny boots yet. Do they come with golf spikes? I don't think so. Having a washer/dryer in the unit is a big plus because we're going through sox like crazy, both pairs. It's funny, at home when a blizzard is forecast, the stores empty out of toilet paper and bread. Here, it's Campbell's soup and sox. The only scarves around here came in the bottom of some snowbird's last resort suitcase. Good thing we have doxie heaters to snuggle with.
I suppose these weather conditions should be considered minor to a northerner, certainly compared to what is actually happening across most of the country. However, there can be serious side effects in the sunshine state. Central heating units in many Florida homes are just not intended for extended cold, so there has been an increase in fires from faulty or overtaxed space heaters. The citrus crops are taking a beating as you all hear on the news so expect the cost of mixed drinks to go up. Maybe they can forego the umbrellas as a hedge against inflation. Besides, those tiny umbrellas are sort of stupid when you're sitting there bundled up in sweaters, hoodies, jackets, gloves and fur ear flaps.
As you've probably noticed, Pokey started this post with all good intention, but my anti-cold cynicism crept into the mix somewhere around Copenhagen. That's what she gets for asking me to type this. For several years while planning this adventure, I never expected to be looking out over a frozen golf course waiting for the frost to clear off our Buick below while the boatyard awaits warmer weather to begin repairs and my only other pair of sox are still in the dryer.
It is 87 in Rio de Janiero today. Hmmmmm.
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Comments [9]
CC
Stay warm!
No snickers, please. Priim was hauled yesterday for repairs and we moved off to a condo for the month. Not bad timing I suppose - it will be below freezing here every night for the next millenium. Daytime temps will struggle to get out of the 40's if at all. The other night, it was warmer in Alaska. Who'da thunk you'd have to winterize a boat in Forida?!
Gotta get to Walmart for more sox....and some ear muffs, and a scarf, and snow pants, fluffier gloves, and, and... !@$%^&*/ ...Then back to the recliner in the living room(!) and a pile of cheap paperbacks.
Nelleke, good luck offshore today. You might have to make Brazil before you can ditch the woolies.
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01/02/2010, New Smryna
Drat, I had to rummage through some drawers this morning to find my sox. It's nippy here, but yesterday's rain and boomers have stopped and there is none of that white stuff on the ground. We are so happy (snigger, snigger) for our kids in Upstate NY and Massachusetts who have forecasts of blizzard conditions, snow, and more snow. Enjoy.
We are leaving New Smyrna this morning, returning to Palm Coast for an overnight and a visit with Peter and Sandy on Knot So Swift. On Sunday, we will be back in St. Augustine for our month on the hard for repairs and condo living. A bed that can't rock me to sleep - that'll be different.
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Sorry to hear that you probably won't be in Marathon before we leave. Are you planning on heading to the Bahamas?
Good luck with the repairs, Vicky
12/24/2009
A very Merry Christmas to our family and friends in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, California, North and South
Carolina, Georgia, Vancouver and London, and all of our new friends, bloggers and readers on Sailblogs. We wish you all the very best.
We spent a wonderful Christmas Eve with another of Pokey's sisters, Suzanne, and her husband Bob. Christmas Day will no doubt include numerous phone calls with the kids and grandkids, sisters, brother, cousins and friends. Somehow we will work in lunch at the Riverview with Sue and Bob and a walk down Flagler Avenue, the historic district of New Smyrna Beach. For all of you northies giving your snow shovel a short break for the holiday, we have to say, Christmas isn't quite the same without snow - it's fantastic.
The Admiral offers this to one and all:
Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the marina
We were grateful for not facing a hurricane Katrina
The stockings were hung on the lifelines with care
Hoping Santa and his jet ski would soon be there
We settled down to an evening below
Grateful we were not surrounded by snow
Blackie and Red snuggled in for the night
The water was calm, the stars were bright
All of a sudden the boat started to rock
Back and forth coming close to the dock
We flew from the cabin and got out on deck
We took Blackie and Red and thought, "What the heck?"
When what to our wondering eyes would appear
Christmas dolphins and Santa with fishing gear
The dolphins were laughing and jumping with glee
And Blackie and Red were looking for a tree
Santa was smiling and gave us a nod
He'd hooked lots of presents on his fishing rod
You've been very good sailors all this year
So I thought I'd stop by to wish you good cheer!
In a twinkling he finished and then he drove off
We thought to ourselves, "Who are we to scoff?"
He turned round as he left and said, "One moment please.
I wish you fair winds and following seas!"
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exterior paint and put N/E FL in your rear view
mirror' (attainable from above decks) Enjoyed
the 'Night before Christmas Poem--Good Show.
12/15/2009
We finally got the nod from the insurance company to forge ahead with PRIM's nose job. We assembled the requisite estimates, then visited the yards to see their facilities and work. I was most impressed with St. Augustine Marine Center and their estimate was complete and very competitive. Boats is familiar with their work and said they agreed with my choice. They will get the paperwork done ASAP so we can start Jan 1 and hopefully be back in the water by Feb 1.
Now all I have to do is find a place for Pokey, the boyz and I to rent for the month that is reasonably close enough to the yard. Six months of living aboard plus 1100 miles of ICW travel, marinas and anchorages are beginning to show on our beautiful PRIM. This a good opportunity to get the brightwork back in line, apply lots of elbow grease to the topsides and generally spruce things up while Pokey works on taxes (believe me, I got the better part of that deal).
Of course, high season for snowbird rentals starts Jan 1. My usual good timing... great.
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Well, we finally made it to our December location, the Riverview Hotel & Marina, on time, Dec 1. The marina is small, only six slips or so and we are currently one of two boats here for the duration. It was a little dicey coming in because the current wasn't cooperating with the tide chart but that's nothing new. Lots of following current coming into the pier but we made it without adding another ding to the bow. It's interesting how quickly people step up to help with lines when they see that big bandage on our nose! I wish I could find some of that white duct tape. Grey is so obvious.
On the way here, Pokey got to see her friendly dolphin up close. He/she jumped several times right next to the cockpit, scaring the tar out of the boyz but thrilling us no end. What beautiful animals they are. Powerful, sleek and graceful.
The hotel is a beautiful Victorian building that was originally the bridge tender's house dating to the pre-1900s. Today, it stands in its near-original form but all spruced up as a small, class-act hotel. The staff is very accommodating and the restaurant is fabulous. The location couldn't be better either - we're right in the middle of the historic district of New Smyrna with lots of cool little shops around and we're only four blocks from the beach. Dolphins play in the channel and around the docks and there is a manatee rolling around the marina. If it ever stops raining here, I'll get out there and have a chat with her (him?).
We took the boyz to a local vet for their annuals and a nail trim, Pokey got her hair cut and we managed a quickie run through Publix for supplies, all via local cab. Actually, one of the vet assistants drove the boyz and me to meet Pokey at the store. She didn't want me to have to walk the boyz across the four-lane highway. I didn't have the heart to say "Walk? I'd have to carry them anyway." Carole, our mail forwarder and best gal friday, jumped at the chance to drive our car here (there's snow in the forecast for Maryland today). She should arrive late this evening. It will be nice to have wheels again, especially since we'll be here for up to two months, and that plus the repair calendar may change our cruising plans a bit. We can now drive to some places we would not get to by boat, not to mention frequent flyer runs to the hardware store ;-)
Yes, two months. One for the holidays and another for PRIM's nose job. It looks like we will haul out here in New Smyrna for that work to be done. Pokey and I will move ashore for January while they grind away, glass, patch, fill, grind some more and finally paint. Still not sure if the pulpit is salvageable or not but that will be done as well and we'll be in good shape again. We are gathering estimates and looking for a place. It's not a happy thought moving ashore for awhile but it's the sensible thing to do. I will also be able to take care of some other jobs I've been putting off, like varnish(!) and wax. The old girl is starting to look a little rough around the edges and needs a facial.
Mike Edwards, from Virginia, drove over from Wildwood where he is visiting his son and we had a great lunch at the Grille here and took a drive on the beach. It's always good to see Mike. Pokey's sister Sue and her husband Bob have arrived back in Florida for the winter so we'll be seeing them shortly.
So, we're coming into our favorite time of year. This time there won't be any snow in our forecast and the only ice I'll have to contend with will be in my tea. We'll be stringing lights and decorating a tree on deck in New Smyrna and I'll hang the stockings on the A/C vent.
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CC
SV Zephyr
This was a quickie overnight stop to set our arrival time at the Riverview at slack tide, roughly 1:40 pm. Seven Seas is a small DIY marina in Daytona that is a bit of a bear getting into with 45'. We were assigned an inside slip with very little room to swing to starboard. I have much more control to port using the prop draw in reverse. I aborted our first attempt when the dock hand missed the bowline toss and had to back out the narrow channel all the way to the main channel to recover and reset the lines. The second attempt went well and we were secure for the night. I checked with the office to see if they could haul us for the January repairs - no good, too big for their travel lift. Oh well, there are more yards ahead of us.
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We are in Palm Coast for a couple days and loving it. We happened on this place due to a couple of weather delays and wanting to catch either an ebb or full flood tide getting into New Smyrna (slack tide, no current). Our original plan was to be at the Riverview in time for their 5-course T-giving dinner but it just didn't happen so we backed off and stopped here. Stroke of luck. We got settled in at the dock around 2:30 and I asked in the office if a restaurant was open nearby. The gal said no but thought the yacht club might be serving until 4:00. She called the manager/maitre d' and he picked us up in his personal car. The buffet was fabulous. And we were warmly greeted by the commodore and his wife. Again, nice folks everywhere we stop.
We have lucked into and been welcomed by the most wonderful people and places all along our way. At Palm Coast we ran into another couple from Rochester that we'd met in Beaufort, SC - Red and Marilyn Grey on s/v Satori. They were business partners with an old friend of mine from 30 years ago, C.P.Maloney, in the Braddock Bay Marina. They also know my cousin Lynn who has been living in Sarasota for years. Lynn and her husband Mike are going to meet us in New Smyrna for a weekend. Another couple we crossed paths with a few times are from Sodus Point, an old stomping ground on Lake Ontario. Another on s/v Witchcraft from Kingston, Ontario, cruised occasionally to Fair Haven, NY where we had a family cottage and I first learned to sail. They also know Al and Jen on s/v Ruth. This cruising world gets very small at times.
Last night a couple on a trawler from Arnold, MD near our home invited us to join them for dinner at a terrific, family-run Italian restaurant in Crescent Beach, about 20 minutes away. The food was superb and the company, enlightening. Peter and Sandy are a very interesting couple: they left the winters of Massachusetts several years ago to open a machine shop in the West Indies, becoming the one and only provider of custom machined parts and tools in the Carib for awhile and a US Navy supplier. She taught in a school for the blind, grammar school and volunteered in a kindergarden. They eventually ended up in Maryland after a stint in North Carolina. This is their third year wintering on their Defever in Palm Coast. Nice folks we'd like to spend more time with.
Tomorrow: Daytona will put us in good shape to catch slack tide in New Smyrna.
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This is Charlie, aka, Chuck. Charlie is First Mate and resident schmoozer on S/V Vixen. He and his Admiral and Captain were our gracious hosts last night in Jacksonville. Charlie may not hear much anymore but he sure knows how to wrangle an ear scratching and loves it - a really sweet little guy. Charlie introduced Blackie and Red to his very own fenced back yard, even his 'special spots' in his garden. The boyz were very appreciative. This is the first time they've been allowed off leash on shore since we left home so they ran circles around the yard until their tongues hung out. Charlie also let Blackie go for a swim in his pool. Blackie liked it - we think. He'd already covered every square foot of the back yard and had no idea what a pool was, so he jumped in! Red, on the other hand, took one look at that action and went the other way. You could almost hear Charlie chuckling to himself. Charlie also invited the boyz to dinner and shared his barbequed salmon. Charlie's stomach is not what it is used to be so he's on a special diet. Move over Charlie.
We had a wonderful time with Terri and Larry. On Sunday, we had lunch at a Japanese restaurant near the Naval Station. They encouraged us to dock PRIM next to Vixen at their home so we pulled in there Monday on our way back to the ICW. They have a gorgeous view of the St. Johns River and Jacksonville skyline, and a stunning house. We enjoyed a terrific BBQ dinner and sat on their deck talking boats, cruising, pets, harbors, lifestyles, and dreams in general. Larry gave me a tour of Vixen, their Beneteau 373. Nice boat. Hey, Beneteau, I really like that swivelling helm station. Good idea, great engineering. We couldn't have had a better evening. Thank you both again, very much. (At this moment, Red is sitting in my lap with his paws on the keyboard. He's thanking Charlie for his hospitaltiy. Blackie is still too pooped from his Ironman run/swim/jump and twirl to open his eyes.)
We cast off this morning at near low tide to catch the incoming on the ICW. We made St. Augustine about 2:30 in the afternoon, topped off the fuel, pumped out and settled in at Comachee Cove Yacht Harbor. Pokey and I just got back from dinner at the Kingfish Grill in the marina and I'm struggling to stay awake writing this post. A full tummy does that to me.
Tomorrow, we hope to get to Daytona. This evening, the weatherman is forecasting rain and scattered T-storms for tomorrow so we'll see what he comes up with in the morning. Maybe I'll tune to Wx 2 and the weatherlady will be kinder to us. If not, do they serve turkey at the Speedway?
Jacksonville has a very nice waterfront. The skyline stretches along the St. Johns, the Jaguar's stadium is prominent, freighters and car carriers abound and one of Carnival's liners was in town. I'm told it is one of the small ones, but it sure looked enormous to us. We thoroughly enjoyed the stopover and will be back. Even the Main Street Bridge operator is a good guy.
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Cheers - Vicky and Tom
11/21/2009, Jacksonville Naval Air Station
...we tagged some concrete this afternoon and put a ding in the bow. Nothing devasting, no water in the bilge, no blood in the streets, but it limits our anchoring possibilities for the time being. There is a boat yard in our future.
After our little mishap in Sister's Creek, our spirits were lifted when we contacted new friends in the area. We made a loop by Terri and Larry Howard's place on Clapboard Creek. Terri confessed to being our mysterious "Ponte Vedra". What a great spot they have right at the junction of the St. Johns. Their Beneteau VIXEN was an easy landmark in dock after dock of power boats. They greeted us from their pier and are picking us up at NavJax tomorrow for lunch. We are looking forward to it!
We continued on to Mulberry Cove Marina at Jacksonville Naval Air Station about twenty miles upstream on the St. Johns River. Members of the NavJax Yacht Club gave us another wonderful welcome and invited us to the clubhouse for an impromptu birthday party. What a nice bunch of people and a beautiful setting with a million dollar view. It is an all-volunteer club that is completely funded and maintained by its members. If you've been poked in the nose lately this is a good place to lick your wounds.
So, that corny little comment I made yesterday about getting younger and healthier every day on the water...yeah, it's still true, but today it took a little longer. To paraphrase John Cameron Swazye, we took a licking but keep on ticking. (and everyone under 50 says, Who?)
Today's run: 48 miles......less a couple inches.
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"Keep on ticking!" You guys have the greatest attitude. You're an inspiration!
CC
Good luck with the continuing experience!
yay.
