Vero Beach Municipal Marina, Vero Beach, FL Mooring Ball 31 MM 951.7
Lay Day
Weather: Sunny, mid 70’s & low 60’s, light north wind
Comment: Bon Voyage Tally Ho and Reflection! They are heading south in anticipation of a two day weather window, beginning on Friday, during which they hope to cross the Gulf Stream on their way to the Bahamas. After Andrew slipped his lines from SUNSHINE, and after the fuel dock was cleared (many boats were leaving the harbor today and several stopped at the fuel dock before departing), we headed to the fuel dock, before the new arrivals (there were 14 of them) entered the harbor. We slipped our lines from Canvasback Too, with Captain Dave aboard SUNSHINE to help with the docking procedures. As we cleared Canvasback Too, I turned the wheel to starboard to get out of the mooring field and into the fairway that leads to the fuel dock. That’s when I discovered a small problem. SUNSHINE wouldn’t answer the helm! Yea Gads, we have no steerage and we’re in a crowded mooring field. Without panic, the crew gathered tools and hydraulic steering fluid while I used the twin engines to good advantage. We managed to keep clear of all the moored boats and fill the hydraulic steering fluid chamber as well. Within about 10 minutes, the steering was revived and we sallied up to the fuel dock, nice as you please. No one but the crew knew we had had a problem.
After reuniting with Canvasback Too on mooring ball 31, Anna Marie and I went to the marina where we caught the bus to West Marine and Publix. I was off to buy another quart of steering fluid and Anna Marie was off to buy some supplies for our Thanksgiving feast with the Henkels and their friends.
We arrived back at the boat for dinner, reading and sack time! Before hitting the sack, I check the condition of the batteries and the numbers of amps the solar panels have collected. Today, we hit 50 amps, a new record! We didn’t need to run the generator at all.
Arial view of our mooring in Vero Beach, FL
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