Vero Beach
Tuesday, February 16,
2016. The weather to cross the gulf
stream has been uncooperative. We have decided to wait here for a few days
rather than head down to Miami and have to sit in crowded No-Name Harbor
waiting on appropriate weather. It
rained last night and is still raining this morning, but by noon it
clears. It is cool, about 50 degrees.
Troika sent us
some pictures of Lisa’s trip up the mast last Friday, so those are included
with this post.
Earl (Seeker) came
over (we are rafted with Seeker) and
gave lessons in splicing double braid rope.
We have purchased quite a bit of rope (sailing term is line) to replace aging running rigging (the ropes that control
the sails), and splices are much stronger than knots.
Wednesday, February
17, 2016. Cool again this morning,
but the wind has slackened. By evening it dies completely. Summer of 42 left with Saber
Tooth and Greenstone to cross the
gulf stream to the Bahamas, but they are back!
They had generator problems and Connie has managed to break a toe, so
they are headed back to Jacksonville and then home. Short season.
More splicing today, but this time older rope. Much more difficult than new rope.
Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres aboard Summer of 42 and then goodbye to Walter and Connie until next
winter.
Thursday, February
18, 2016. Nice morning, but still very cool, especially considering where
we are! Lisa went for a long walk through the park to the beach with Troika and Seeker. I started replacing the old lines with the
new ones we spliced eyes into. We heard
from Jason (Silent Running). We traveled with him a bit last year. You may remember that he was single-handing
to Florida.
Lisa went in to do some laundry and who drives up but our
friends Jim and Judy Foster (Tug-a-Long). We traveled with them quite a bit on our
first trip and they stayed with us on the boat both in Marathon and the
Abacos. They were showing some friends
around (they have a house in St. Lucie). Great to see them!
Also, while doing laundry, Mike and Fran from October Moon wander in. We originally met them here in Vero and then
last year in Hope Town. We wound up
going to dinner with Mike and Fran. The
first place we went (Riverside Café) said it was an hour wait, even tho’ there
were empty tables. The second place
(Mulligans) said the wait was an hour and a half, even tho’ there was no one
else waiting. The third place (Waldos)
said a 30 minute wait unless we had six people (???????) So, Lisa recruits the
couple in line in front of us to join us to make six – and we were seated. The couple joining us was Mike and Loraine
from Connecticut, in Vero on vacation.
Nice folks. Food was good, the
band was mediocre, but loud.
Friday, February 19,
2016. Today is perfect. Sun, 70s, a bit of a breeze. Lisa repeated the walk of yesterday with Troika and Seeker. We installed the new main sheet (the line that controls the
main sail) and a new furling line for the main (the line that rolls the main
sail in and out). We lubricated all the
blocks (pulleys). While working on the
traveler (the mechanism that allows you to move the main sail side to side), we
managed to lose all the ball bearings! Ugh!
A call to Catalina revealed that Casey (in parts) had this same issue
“the other day” and robbed parts from another unit. They do not have any ball bearings, or replacement
traveler car in stock, so she gave the number for Garhauer, who makes this
gear. I talked to Doug Garhauer in
California and they are making a kit to upgrade the traveler system we have,
but he does not have one in stock. He
Hasid they will make one up over the week-end and ship it overnight to us on
Monday. How’s that for customer service!
We had cocktails on board Seeker (with Autumn Borne). Benny then cooked dinner on board.
Saturday, February
20, 2016. We walked to the farmers’ market with Troika, Autumn Borne and Seeker and had breakfast at Cravings. Cool this morning, but the sun is trying to
break through. We met Peter at the
farmers market. We met him here in Vero
a couple of years ago. He lives in
Oxford, MD, and is friends with Jerry and Pam, whom we have known for
years. Another instance of how small the
world is. We bought some banana nut
bread to bring back to the boat. We
continued to work on replacing running rigging and Lisa worked on replacing
solar rope lights around the cockpit.
Sunday, February 21,
2016. Absolutely perfect weather this morning. We replaced the outhaul (the line that pulls
the furled (rolled up) mainsail out of the mast and the topping lift (the line
that adjusts the height of the boom). We
also replaced the sheaves (wheels in the pulleys) in the boom for these lines.
After lunch, we walked into town to the beach (Hummiston
Park) to “Art in the Park”, where local artisans sell their works. Then a walk back to the marina and a dingy
ride around the mooring field. We
stopped at Elle and I and asked them
to dinner. Ellaine and Lawrence are from
Williamstown, MA, and know our long time friends Kate and Shawn Burdick (more
small world). Lisa made chicken and
vegetables and Ellaine brought and great asparagus salad. Nice evening.
Monday, February 22,
2016. Calm morning, sun trying to
break through clouds. We hear from Flying Pig that they have made it across
to Great Sail Cay in the Abacos. Outbound sent us a message saying they
were leaving this morning for Bimini.
Hopefully our traveler parts and mail from home arrive tomorrow and we
can head south on Wednesday and then across.
Lisa went to Deb’s (River
House) yoga class this morning.
Tuesday, February 23,
2016. Another beautiful
morning. Lisa went walking with Troika
and Seeker. The traveler parts
arrived and we began the task of disassembling the old one and rebuilding it
with the parts to upgrade it. The good
news is that these parts are more substantial than the old one. The bad news is that there are no
directions. Dean came over from Autumn Borne and we figured it out. Maybe him being a mechanical engineer
helped. I also replaced all the control
lines for the traveler. Lisa is getting very good at making splices in double
braid rope and made three more today for the lines on the traveler. One more
upgrade now completed. Heavy rain all
afternoon. Clearing and cooler in the evenein.
Wednesday, February
24, 2016. There is a very good
reason they call this “Velcro Beach”.
Once here, it is easy to become “stuck”.
There is lots to do, friends, stores, the beach……………
Lisa went to Yoga with Deb (formerly River House) this morning.
We refilled fuel and water in anticipation of leaving. Tonight is $5 Hamburger night at Mr. Manatees
and about 20 people show up. Good food,
good friends, good price……………..nice evening.
Thursday, February
25, 2016. Lisa went walking this
morning with Trioka and Seeker.
They had big wooden tops on strings that you throw at the ground to make
them spin. Today there was a CCC
(Conservative Cruising Committee) meeting.
CCC consists of the “admirals” on each boat and they decide when to
leave, where to go and when. The
admirals tend to be the women on board (depending on the make-up of the couple,
obviously). It was decided that Rhiannon was leaving on Friday, on the
inside because of the wind) and headed to Miami for a crossing to Bimini. Seeker
and Troika and going to leave on
Saturday and head south towards Fort Lauderdale.
We had cocktails and dinner aboard Seeker (Troika present
also). Everyone brought leftovers. Nice evening and good food and company.
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