We arrived in Titusville on Nov 26th and had a great visit & lunch with my cousin Ginger.  We had not seen each other for several years & it was good to catch up.  Love ya cuz!   I also had my new eyeglass prescription filled there with the help of friends Steve & Aggie.  They're former cruisers who have swallowed the hook and sold the boat.  Great folks.  Imagine our surprise when we were walking down the street and a woman on the other sidewalk points to us, it was our good friend Nikki from S/V Ajaya.  She and Phil, her husband, are from Portsmouth UK where Rob is from.  They even went to the same school but never knew one another.  While in Titusville we also ran into other cruisers we know, Rod & Diane from S/V Colonels Lady.  It truly is a small world.  We all got together several times for lunch or sundowners but soon we needed to move on.

Our next stop of importance was Cocoa to see they many people we know there too.  The reason we now know so many folks in this area is our very good friend Gary Johnson.  We gave him a call but he was heading to the VA in Tallahassee for a heart eval.  We were able to get together with him as well as Kathryn, Bob and Roland and met many new folks too.  Be well Gary!  Bess & Billie from Alibi II and Tim & JoAnne from Expatriate were  in the area and are always great fun too.  The six of us made a day trip To Vero to see the Barefootin's new catamaran.  We helped unload the U-Haul truck and literally filled the boat with boxes!

Dec. 12th found us in Vero Beach.  While this is an extremely popular spot with a large mooring field, we had never stopped before.  It was easy to see why it is called "Velcro Beach"! Very cruiser friendly.  Our buddy from Norfolk, Bill Edelstein, has a condo in Vero and it was good to see him & Gale his sheltie.  While in Vero we again ran into several folks we've known for years.  Phil & Irene from S/V Plan B and Bobbie & Francie from Barefootin' who have recently purchased the new to them catamaran mentioned above.

We had been having some engine issues & Stanley of Beta Marine suggested a mechanic in the Fort Pierce area, so we took a slip at the FP City marina.  While there our friends Pete & Jane drove over from Tampa.  A huge surprise was when Gary & Roxanne VanAuken showed up!  They heard we were in the area & came looking for us.  One afternoon as we were walking from the boat to the Tiki Bar (what?? Us go to a Tiki bar?!) who do we run across but our friends from Virginia Brenda & Bear.  Next, who pulls in the one dock over?  Brad & Jeanne of S/V What Next, with Jeanne's sister too.  We all got together & had a grand time!  Oh, there was a head boat docked next to us & they gave us some fresh fish too!

It truly is a small world.

One evening while in Fort Pierce the phone rings & it is Beulah from VA, a friend of Bill Edelstein's that we had met.  Bill went to the doctor, was immediately hospitalized with pneumonia, and his dog, Gale, was in the condo!  Bill has not lived in this condo very long and does not know his neighbors well.  The next day we rented a car, drove to Vero, to the hospital to get the keys, to the condo to take care of Gale, then go visit with Bill!  Now Gale is a very good dog.  She had been in the house 24+ hours and had not messed!  She still had a bit of water, but she was hungry!  We met one of Bills neighbors who also has a Sheltie and long story short, Gale was in good hands & Bill had cemented a new friendship.  Since we were back in the Vero area, we made a stop back at the marina & spent some time with Bobby.

Between Hobe Sound and North Palm Beach there are 5 bridges to pass through.  Rob pushed the engine and it worked fine.  Even had it revved very high to get between 2 bridges and no problems.  We dropped the hook in North Palm and decided  that Saturday morning we would go to West Palm Beach to the Green (farmers) Market and head to the Bahamas that night.  Now this was on Sat 12/23.  Its 7 miles from anchorage to anchorage and guess what.....the engine overheated.  There is no sense in heading to a foreign country when you know there are problems.  Parts were ordered from Beta but then we both became ill, bronchitis & sinusitis per the NP at the medical center so we stayed in WPB from 12/23/17 till 2/17/18!

We made the most of our time there making new friends and running into old.

Over the years we have developed a tradition of making Christmas Cake (Rob's Mums recipe) and cookies to deliver to anchored boats.  It's always fun and you meet folks too.  This year was no exception.  The 2nd boat we went to was 4 Aces, John & Marlene who crossed back to the US with us a few years back.  John had surgery & they decided that WPB was a great place to spend the winter.  Through them we met Elizabeth & Christopher who are getting ready to retire and cruise. 

West Palm is very cruiser friendly.  They have 2 wonderful, big public docks they are on a first come basis.  Most use the north dock as it is closer to Clematis St. which is sort of the hub of the action.  On this dock we met Sam, a veteran in a wheelchair who lost a leg in service to our country.  We were going to take him Christmas goodies but he was nowhere to be seen for a few days.  It turns out he had been hospitalized.  Pneumonia seems prevalent this season.  Sam will come up to where you are docking and help with lines & being wheelchair bound that is not easy.  Not only is he good at it but he is always friendly & a wealth of information too.  Now, if you want to give him a few bucks for helping (tip) that is fine, but he is not a panhandler!  WPB has a large homeless population but the local police have a good handle on that situation.  The city has 2 free trolley lines (Yellow & Green lines) that are fun!  A third trolley only runs an Thurs, Fri & Sat.  That trolley, the Blue Line, goes out to the Palm Beach Outlet Mall but more importantly to us it goes right by a great Laundromat.  We were able to get our shopping & our laundry done.

I could go on & on about the restaurants, Rocco's Tacos was our fav, O'Sheys Irish Pub that does free ribs, salad & french fries on Friday nights, Duffy's - where we watched the Superbowl, the list goes on & on.  Just about any type of food you could want is within walking distance.  There are 2 Publix groceries, 1 in the City Center area of WPB that you can walk to & get the trolley back if you buy too much.  The 2nd is in Palm Beach proper & has valet service!  It is much bigger than the WPB store so that was where we would walk to.  It was quite a pleasant walk from the dock, down the waterfront, over the Royal Palm Bridge and only a block or so from there.  Right across the street from the Palm Beach Biltmore.

 



We rallied for Christmas and fixed a wonderful meal of turkey & all the trimmings including freshly roasted chestnut stuffing & homemade cranberry sauce!  Yum!!!

 



When feeling better we went for many long walks.  One day we walked to Worth Ave, often called the Rodeo Dr. of the east coast.  We thought about lunch there, but a $19.00 hamburger?  No thank you.

 Then came New Years Eve.  Two days prior the fireworks barge was set up in the anchorage.  It was so close that we went over to see if we needed to move the boat.  The answer was no & we had the best seats!  We actually went to bed & set the alarm for 1/4 till 12 and went topside with our champagne.  I took pics with the camera & with the phone.  Unfortunately, I did not send them to the computer before I closed the US phone for 3 months. These are from the camera.

 

Now we were feeling better and decided to think about crossing to the Bahamas.  We rented a car, went to Trader Joe's (wine) filled jerry cans with diesel and did a major grocery shop, and planned our final visit to the Green Market the following Sat.

Randy & Belinda from our old marina were nearby & through them we had met Gino & Carolyn of S/V Andiamo. Ray, S/V Pelican, who we had purchased our davits from in Va. was there too and all of us were ready to cross.

We made our decision to leave on the outgoing tide 2/7/18.  We started our journey at 1815 (6:15pm).  At 2:46am on Thurs morning, during my watch, suddenly the engine sound changed, the rpm's dropped & the temperature started to rise.  Now we were not making good speed to begin with as we had been sitting in one spot for far too long but now we were making 1.5 to 2.9knts in the gulfstream. We stopped on the Little Bahama Bank for a rest but the winds kicked up & we got back underway.  Dropped the hook at Great Sale, on to Crab Cay, then on to Green Turtle.  A trip that takes us a couple of days went from (WPB to Green Turtle) Wed to Sun.  By far the longest, slowest crossing ever.  When we arrived in Great Sale on Fri 2/9, Rob got in the dink and checked the bottom.  At 2:46 we must have gone through a weed float as the prop & shaft were coated with grass.  He managed to clean most of it & we will probably hire Brown Tip to give a good cleaning when we get to Marsh Harbour.

We arrived Green Turtle on Sunday the 11th & Customs was closed.  We ate dinner about 4:30pm & were in bed by 2030.

Monday we took Andiamo, Gino & Carolyn into New Plymouth and we all checked in and walked around the settlement.  We have another tradition of lunch at The Wrecking Tree when we arrive & that is what we did!   We done reach!!!

There was a nice happy hour on Venture last night with BB & Ran, Gino & Carolyn, Ray & us.  The only thing better than the snacks was the company.  Ray, BB & Ran decided to stay on GTC for a few more days so Andiamo & Hampshire Rose headed to Fishers Bay for a stop at Nippers & Grabbers.  We are hoping that Island Breeze, Larry & Annette will join us there this afternoon.

Went from GTC to Fishers Bay and all six of us, Andiamo, Island Breeze, Hampshire Rose had a grand time at Nippers! 

Currently sailing.... yes! Sailing! to Marsh Harbour!

More next time.