When last we wrote we were in South Carolina and we are now in Vero Beach, Florida. We traversed the miles slowly without incident other than lots of shivering. A four day stay in St Augustine was a very welcome respite from constant traveling and gave us time to catch up on laundry, provsioning and exploration. They have a wonderful cruiser's shuttle which will take you anywhere you want to go for $5.00 and provides a great atmosphere to meet folks and share tales. It also gave us time to connect with our old neighbors who we shared our woods and dogs with for 25 years. They came out to Kanga for a very enjoyable dinner and plans were made to meet again in the spring.
The weather remained cold and while our home in Churchville was getting 31" of snow we were stuck on an anchor bouncing around for 3 days in Melbourne, Florida. The second day we were sitting below working on a puzzle when we heard "help, help me" and after a few puzzled seconds we ran on deck to see a man drifting by us in his dinghy. His motor had quit and he was furiously trying to paddle into the wind with one small paddle. Have no fear Greg was there. We quickly worked to lower our dinghy and put the engine on while he drifted further and further away. After what seemed like an eternity Greg went into the waves and wind to rescue him and tow him back to his boat where his wife was waiting with no idea he was in trouble. Another day in the life of a sailor!
Now we are sitting on a mooring in Vero Beach waiting for a weather window to cross to the Bahamas. It appears this weekend may provide the right winds and seas as if it all doesn't line up when crossing the gulf stream it can be uncomfortable and dangerous. This is our first time here and it is very pleasant. Yesterday we walked many miles on the beach and today we rode the free bus around town for groceries. I can see why they call it "velcro beach" for cruisers as everything is easy and all the cruisers are friendly. There are numerous folks here who we met last year, this year and from home which makes it even more fun. Yesterday we ran into our favorite dog from last year, Rudder on S/V Sanderling (sorry Hatch) and were able to stuff him with biscuits! It appears there is a dog in our future possibly sooner than our return as Dale on S/V Driven is going to look for a potcake for us once we get to the Bahamas so stay tuned.