Life On A Mooring
09 December 2015
Thursday, December 3
It rained all day. I took advantage of staying "home" today. I defrosted the freezer and cleaned the refrigerator. Then, I straightened the "pantry" and made my grocery list. I am a little intimidated by the thought of provisioning for three or four months. How do you do that? Well ,it's not like you can't buy anything there. It's just that it is sometimes hard to find, expensive or just a matter of waiting for the boat to arrive in port with supplies. Michelle and Tim invited us, our neighbors on Anneteak and their neighbors on JilliQ for happy hour. The rain lets up as we climb into our dinghy. After we are all aboard their boat, Wayward Sun, the rain starts up again. We enjoyed our drinks with an array of appetizers. We listened to great tales of the Bahamas and talked about wind predictions.The rain let up a little, so we decided to make a run for it. After we were back on our boats the sky opened up and it poured all night long.
Friday December 4
It's still raining. It's a good thing we live on a boat! I am anxious to get out to explore the area but the weather has us socked in. Looks like we are in for more rain. It was kind of a lazy day. The bright spot was at the end of the day when the rain let up for the start of the lighted boat parade. We had a front row seat. As the boats approached the rain started again. There were only about a half dozen boats in the parade. A few decorated boats stayed at the dock. I'm sure the weather has put a damper on this years parade. Carl put on some Christmas music and we enjoyed the show. The lights were pretty, even in the rain.
Saturday December 5
It is cloudy but it is not raining when we head to the dinghy dock. Davido picked us up and took us to West Marine, Best Buy and Sams Club. We stopped at Subway for a late lunch on our way back to the marina. With Davido's help, we get everything into the dinghy with us and head back to the boat. There is a dark cloud and it starts to spit on us a little, but we made it back before the rain. We spent the afternoon taking things out of boxes, putting food into containers, reorganizing the "pantry", refrigerator and freezer. Carl set up the new printer. We spent a quiet evening at home.
Sunday December 6
Carl's cousin Brenda called and invited us to lunch. It is a gorgeous day. Sunny and not hardly a cloud in the sky. She picked us up about 11:30. Her husband Jay, their daughter Ryan and her son Magnus met us at the restaurant. It was great to see them again. We lingered over lunch quite a while. Magnus is three. He is so cute and so smart. He kept calling Carl "Grandpa". He loves star wars and was intrigued by Carl's phone when it says "droid". His dad is a professional surfer from Brazil. He looks like a little surfer himself with his long blonde hair. He captured the attention of more than one waitress. He's going to be a handful. Brenda took us (and Magnus) to CVS and Publix. We also went to her house and she gave us a quick tour of downtown Vero Beach and a look at the beach. Back at the dinghy dock, we loaded up the dinghy and hauled our groceries back to the boat just before the sun set.
Monday December 7
We took the dinghy in about 9 a.m. for showers. We also filled a couple of water containers and the gas can. It is overcast again today. Back on the boat, our boat chores today includes running another line to the mooring in preparation of Brad and Anne's departure tomorrow. I enjoy doing a little house cleaning, decorating and making chicken salad for sandwiches and an apple dip in preparation for a sundowner on our boat tonight. At 5:30, Brad and Anne are the first to arrive. They only have to step over from their boat to ours. Then, Dave and Jill arrive in their dinghy and then Michelle and Tim in their dinghy. I invited Gizmo, but they left him at home. I am really appreciating our open transom. It makes it easy to tie the dinghies up and just step right up the back of the boat. Once again everyone has brought some yummy dishes to share and we make dinner of it. Brad and Anne are heading to Miami in the morning to meet their children for Christmas. Michelle and Tim are thinking about leaving in the morning to head farther south to stage for a crossing. I am glad that we had a chance to get together again. It is a fun group!
Tuesday December 8
We see Brad and Anne off this morning. Today is pump out day. There is a boat here that comes to your boat to pump out twice a week. We have an appointment after 1 p.m. Now that we are alone on the mooring, we are swinging back and forth. Carl decides to add another line to the mooring but it doesn't help much. We have a riding sail that is designed to keep the boat stabilized at anchor. We've never used it but decide it's worth a try. It's not easy to set it up. I have to stand on one of the stern rail seats to reach the topping lift at the back of the boom. Once we have it tied off, it works like a charm. Davido is coming to look over the Bahamas charts with us. Carl runs over to pick him up in the dinghy. We are looking at charts when the pump out boat arrives. Just as we finished with the pumpout and sat down to our charts a boat comes along side calling our name... Bay Breezin' Bay Breezin'! It is our new neighbor who has just arrived to raft up with us. They are from Canada and are traveling with four other boats. One of them rafts along their other side. Well we won't need the riding sail with two boats attached to us now. After we have them tied up and the fenders in place, we return to our charts. I think we have a good idea of where we're going now, we just don't know when we are going. We've decided to keep looking for a window until the 15th. After that we'll wait until after the holidays to look for one. I think chances are good that we'll be here for Christmas. Carl takes Davido back to the dinghy dock before it starts to get dark. We have a few leftovers for dinner, watch a little t.v. and then it starts to rain again. Just another day of life on a mooring.