Birthday & NYE Celebrations!

Having a celebratory drink at Waldo's in Vero Beach with Mark and Liesbet.

What a crazy few days we have had with the arrival of Mark and Liesbet joining us for my birthday and New Years Eve celebrations. They treated me to a surprise visit at the cinema to see the new Star Wars in 3D. What a kind and clever treat, as I had just been saying how disappointed I was not to have gone to the cinema while we were still in the US! We finished the evening at a popular Italian restaurant near the seafront in Vero Beach.

At the cinema to see Star Wars with our 3D glasses!

We hung out and walked on beaches (and got stung by a bee). We sweated in the heat and got eaten alive by the noseeums on board with the hot, windless days in Vero Beach. But we had lots of laughs too. We saw the new year in with a few drinks at Waldo's, a rustic mexican bar down on the front and then back to the boat for BBQ, quizzes and paper hat making competitions. 

Sim, Liesbet & Mark at Avalon Beach Park, near Fort Piece.

Unfortunately it was up early for 2016 for us all. Mark and Liesbet have the first part of a long journey to Connecticut and we were going to leave for the Bahamas. I say 'were' as the weather is rapidly deteriorating over the next few days in the Abacos where we were headed and it looks as though there will be some uncomfortable days ahead. So we figure we are better of waiting it out over here until the next opportunity to cross.

Avalon Beach State Park... The first blue water we have seen in ages!

Having a picnic at the Beach.

Hanging out at the beach

So good to have my friend around

Liesbet and Sim and their party hats for NYE!

Sim in action BBQ-ing!

A Christmas Affair With Friends In Florida

One of the things about cruising is that people come and go. We are always saying hello's and goodbye's. Christmas is especially hard when you don't have family and friends close by. Our friends are fairly global now and every year we have been fortunate enough to spend it in good company.

Out for a stroll in the Villages on Christmas

No less so than this year when one of my very best friends (made while cruising) invited us to stay at the place they were housesitting for Christmas. 'The Villages', in central Florida, is a very unique "active adult retirement community" for the over 55's with more of a 'theme park' feel to it than an actual village. It's a very surreal place. Not everyone is an OAP. But the over 55's (Sim could join them!) race about in golf carts to play golf on one of the numerous golf course's, or just to hangout in one of the many fake historical villages eating...or drinking as seems to be the popular occupation for those who no longer need to work. 

Look at that smile, Sim and his Camero...all the better for being a free up grade

It was 150 mile drive from Vero Beach to 'The Villages', Enterprise is the only car hire company we use as they pick you up and drop you off and their rates can be very reasonable. Because we have hired a few cars over the last year with them, Sim asked if we could get a free up grade for our two day jaunt. You should have seen his face when they offered him a Camero convertible! He was one happy bunny. So we drove to The Villages in style, with Sim trying his hardest not floor it on the way there. Needless to say we made good time! 

The very colourful and unique home in which Mark and Liesbet were housesitting

Mark and Liesbet greeted us when we arrived and showed us around the very vibrant and colourful home they were sitting and introduced us to the two huge slobbery but friendly dogs.

Fun times with our friends

Apparently Florida hit record highs on Christmas day with temperatures soaring, the sun shining bright all day. We hung out, exchanged gifts (..thanks), went out in the golf carts to walk around one of the villages, ate sumptuous food (roast pork), and basked in the hot tubs. We had a blast. 

Mark cooked an amazing roast pork

As we had no one to check in on Ali - it was back the next day after a fantastic 24hrs away. But it wasn't sad goodbyes as Mark and Liesbet are coming back to join us for a few days over my birthday and New Year.

Out and about in the golf carts -how cool do we look?

Mark and Sim in their wheels...

Me and my bestie.

The Christmas decorations in one of the villages

Some of the wheels about town!

Some of the local residents

Says it all!

Girls out on the town!

The Villages is full of lots of "faux" - for example there are no gators and the boats are for display only.

Amazing chandeliers in the house our friends were sitting.

Sometimes You Just Need To Stay Put To Get Things Done!

Our comfortable spot in Vero Beach to get a few jobs done.

Sometimes you need to stay put somewhere to get things done. I know for some it comes as a surprise that our job list is so long considering the time we have just spent in a boatyard. But that time was dedicated to the hull and all that that entails.  We all know how Sim is a belt and braces kinda guy who likes to tinker and fix things.  I use to join him on this continuous maintenance mission that he is always on, but over the years and for the sake of both of our sanities I have happily learned to just let him get on with it while I potter  and tinker with my own interest and projects. And that keeps us in a happy place, so its a win –win!  
 A ‘bad’ clevis pin got changed. Since then I have lifted Sim up the mast 7 times changing the rest of them, just in case.

The dye test shows that this clevis pin definitely needed changing - see the purple stress line near the top of the pin.

Sim has thoroughly inspected all the rigging and changed all the clevis pins at the top of the mast for the shrouds and the backstays and both the T bolts from the lower cap shrouds at the bottom. He has cleaned it all and conducted a three part dye test on any suspect pieces that show any fractures or corrosion.  So far all seems good and we are glad we have had this time in Vero Beach to do this, as had we left for the Bahamas it would have been delayed and delayed and a constant worry.

Our wheels for a couple of days....there was no losing this car in the parking lot!

But it’s not all work. We hired a car for a couple of days while it was still cheap and convenient and got a surprise message from Jennifer who was here in Florida on vacation with mum and dad, Jim and Linda – our old cruising buddies from Opus.  They were 150 miles away somewhere near St Augustine so we agreed to meet halfway in Titusville – a spot we are both familiar with. We had a delicious lunch and catch up at the Dixie Crossroads, renowned for their various seafood selection and Rock Shrimp.

Linda, Jennifer and Jim from Opus at Dixie Crossroads

We walked around the marina where we had both previously hung out over the years.  This area is a good place to spot manatees and sure enough we got to glimpse a few.  They love fresh water – one manatee was feeding from a boats’ cooling system and another couple from a running hose. Despite their funny looks, I think these docile creatures are very cute. 

The marina, like the rest of the US east coast had its fair share of resident Osprey.

We bought an ice lolly and were sitting eating them together with our friends, watching the boats come and go when we recognised two familiar faces. It couldn’t be  ‘Wind Whisperer’ with Terry and Barbara who we had all sailed loosely together with six years ago along the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico? It was. How uncanny!  Sometimes it really is a small world and no more so than when they tied up beside us two days later in Vero Beach.

 'Wind Wisperer' leaving early one morning after rafting to us for the night. 

Running From The Cold, The Captains Birthday And An Endless Job List!

Wandering Star on a mooring with the Christmas lights of St Augustine, Florida

After running from the cold for the last few weeks we have finally arrived in sunny Florida. Temperatures are perfect and yet I feel a little sad. Florida is the end of the line for us, the last state we will be passing through before we head over to the Bahamas and back to the East Caribbean. And though we are excited to return to a place that is as familiar to us as any 'home' has been, we can't deny how much we have enjoyed the US.

Sunrise at Sisters Creek free dock, Jacksonville, Florida

After leaving Beaufort, SC, Sim would have liked to sail on the 'outside'. Our plan was to head down to Hilton Head, do a quick shop at the very nice Kruger supermarket, then head out of the Caliboque Sound for an over night sail to Florida. But it was very cold and we would have had to wait another 3 days for a good forecast. We could be there by then. In the end we opted to take the waterway route, on the inside, to keep moving, and to safely tuck up warm somewhere at night at anchor (because the waterway is no place to be moving in the dark). The days were mostly long, grey and drab. We passed through some of the shallowest areas - the notorious Hells Gate and Fields Cut, timing the 9ft tides to clear the shallowest spots of 2ft MLW. We rose and retired with the sun catching some of her awesome early morning or evening displays. 

Hurrying south, I now wonder what the rush was for? But here we are, in time to celebrate Sims Birthday in sunny St Augustine, Florida. A fun 'historic' town with a good atmosphere. We had a mooring right next to the seawall. What a fantastic spot. On one side we had the old fort 'Castillo de San Marcos' and to the other the ornate Bridge of Lions - the whole waterfront lit up at night. It was gorgeous and a very lovely contrast to the marshy anchorages of the previous weeks.

The Birthday Boy at Georgie's Diner, St Augustine

We started Sims Birthday, with an epic breakfast at 'Georgie's' - a very cool, typical American diner - it was fully decked out in chrome, and red and white leatherette seating. We loved it. Then a fabulous dinner at A1A on the waterfront that evening. The whole of St Augustine is covered Christmas lights and festive decorations, it looks amazing. We have passed through At Augustine many times but always with an agenda or schedule and then we move on. This time we really enjoyed our time  - walking the red bricked streets and taking in the ambiance. It's been wonderful.

The old district at St Augustine

But now, again, we must press on, we hope to be in to Vero Beach next week to change some more clevis pins on the rigging, to pick up some packages, to do our last load of mounting laundry and to hire a car for a last big provision before we head over to the Bahamas. And to deal with some of the jobs mounting up. We haven't even left America and our list is piling up. Our hopeful solution of replacing the ($200!) cable for the radar hasn't changed a thing. It fires up, the radar scans but we receive nothing. Because of the short days our batteries are starting to dwindle. We hauled out our brand new generator that we bought at great expense in the Bahamas earlier in the year, but guess what? It won't run. I've no doubt that Sim can fix it. Where do we draw the line between the necessary and the nice to have? We've managed for a decade with no radar or watermaker.  It's one of those times when we feel things getting on top of us. It might be time to put the kettle on.

Passing the ubiquitous shrimps boats so familiar on the east coast at Fernadina Beach

Endless days of sky and water just after passing Hells Gate on the ICW

On the free dock at Sisters Creek, Jacksonville, Florida

At anchor in Hilton Head with a full moon.

Freezing and another early start to the day.

Sim has made several trips aloft to measure for new rigging pieces.

A one legged pelican....there has to be a joke in there somewhere.

The Bridge of Lions, St Augustine, Florida

The Christmas tree in the square at St Augustine

Sims birthday evening stroll - St Augustine -all lit up.

All the trees are wrapped in fairy lights

Even some boats in the marina are all dressed up

The birthday boy in the birthday boy hat.

Thats a tall one!