December 7 - 12, 2007

Weather: Each day is a carbon copy of the previous. Highs in the low 80’s, lows in the mid 60’s, winds have had an easterly component (NE, E, SE) @ 10 to 15 knots. On each of the days, we’ve had periods of sun and clouds. We even had a sprinkle on December 8.

Comment: Our daily routine includes daily walks throughout the island, boat chores (we tending to some minor maintenance tasks, cleaning and securing all the outside items or putting them away until we return) visiting with Larry and Sharon (“Lead Free Too”) who have given me a tremendous amount of information about the Bahamas in general and the Exumas in particular (here’s hoping I get to use the info!), and attending happy hours in the Tiki Hut.

We have hired Scott (A-1 Canvas) to build a cockpit enclosure for the boat. It’ll have isinglass and screens. He promises to have it installed by the time we return in January.

One morning, we joined Larry and Sharon (they have a car) for breakfast at Mulligans. Sharon (Lead Free Too) took Ana Marie to the laundramat. It was a great help. Our clothes will be clean and the boat should smell sweeter when we return. We also joined then and a bunch of other people for ribs at a local establishment. It was a great time. The folks at this marina are really friendly and they help with any project. I’m wondering if someone will volunteer go up the mast to fish a new cable for the wind meter! Before I ask, I’ll need to get the cable.

We joined Larry and Sharon (“Lead Free To”), Greg and Leslie (“Amalia” – a shippy looking 1968 steal trawler), Charlie and ????? (Waugh Point – PDQ M/V 34), Ron and Susan (Tanah-Keeta III(PDQ M/V 34) (they also have TK II, a PDQ 36 sail) for sale, and Colin and Ruth (“Cadenza” – a PDQ 36 sailboat), at Park Avenue Bar-B-Q for Rib Night. While docked at Nettles Island Marina, Larry and Sharon do rib night each Monday evening. They’re great about inviting other boaters to join them. We had a grand time. The ribs were spectacular (a full rack for $14.95) and the company was even better! Several folks told Anna Marie that the Exumas were the place to be! I’m hoping that she’ll buy into the idea!

Before leaving the boat for the holidays, I wanted to rig lines on the starboard side to hold the boat off the dock. Because the piling was about 12 feet from the boat, I used the dinghy to get close. After securing the lines, we hauled the dinghy aboard. After an hour, the port side became soft. It hasn’t lost air since we inflated it way back in Deltaville. I’m concerned! We pumped it back up and in an hour, it was soft again. I’m really concerned. We’re on our way out for the evening, so we’ll have to address the problem tomorrow (12/11).

We’ll pick up the rental car ($68 for a one way drop) on Tuesday (the 11th) and use it to go to dinner (Conchy Joe’s) across the river, run some errands and check out the area a bit. We have the car for 24 hours and will drop it off at Fort Lauderdale Airport at 1800 hours. Our flight to Atlantic City is 2030 hours.

NOTE: We had a great meal at Conchy Joe’s. We both enjoyed the house specialty, Grouper Marsala. It was out of this world!

Larry and Sharon are leaving for Detroit on the same day we lave for ACNJ. They’ll be back to the boat before December closes out and they expect to be on their way to the islands by the time we return on January 2. We’ll miss them… they’ve been so helpful. I hope we’ll see them at the PDQ Parking Lot in Elizabethtown Harbor outside of Georgetown, Great Exuma Island.

Speaking of a PDQ parking lot, this marina must be the stateside PDQ parking lot. In addition to SUNSHINE, there are four PDQ Motor Vessels (“Lead Free Too,” “Sno’ Dog,” “Beach Magic,” and "Waugh Point" (arrived Monday, December 9) in the marina. I think they’re all headed to the islands!

This is our final entry until we return on January 2, 2008!

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and Happy New Year to all!

Space Shuttle Launch!?!

Weather: Temp range – 60 – 75 degrees; N wind 10 – 12 knots – cool on the water!

Comment: Our mission is to view the launch of the space shuttle “Atlantis” for mission STS-122, the 24th mission to the international space station. “Atlantis” will deliver the Columbus European Laboratory Module. Lift off will take place on launch pad 39A at 1631 hours.

We rented a car (the marina office also does Avis car rentals ($40.00/day); drove up to Titusville to meet Joe and Dee Fritz. We’re going to have a picnic lunch, watch the shuttle launch and go out to dinner. Some time between 1200 and 1300 hours, our launch viewing neighbors inform us that the launch has been scrubbed. OH NO! After our brief disappointment, we enjoyed our picnic lunch and devised “Plan B.”

We toured the Kennedy Space Center. The bus trip included two stops. At the Saturn V building one cannot only view the huge completely restored Saturn V rocket, but one can attend a spectacular simulated Apollo launch program and a lunar landing simulation. We have seen both before, but they remain spectacular! The Kennedy Space Center is awe-inspiring!

The second stop was the dedicated to the International Space Station. One can “roam” through mock-ups of various modules of the ISS. Most people seemed fascinated by the bathroom facilities and sleeping quarters.

Our final bus driver was quite a character. He knows a lot of facts about the astronauts, various launches and particular fascinating details. He had a most engaging personality.

After a visit to the missile park, we departed the space center and headed off to Cocoa Beach to find a seafood restaurant. Surprisingly, we didn’t find a seafood restaurant is this seaside community. We settled for ribs at Sonny’s Bar-b-que. It was a fun meal.

Joe and Dee took us on a tour of the famous Ron Jon’s and their competitor across the street, the Cocoa Beach Surf Company. Both stores are real surfing stores on steroids. They are huge and sell all kind of beach stuff, surf boards, trinkets, foot wear and clothes. This Ron Jon’s is much larger than the New Jersey store in Ship Bottom.

Our drive back to the marina was uneventful and gave plenty of time for reflection on our space program; the wonders of exploration and the benefits society has reaped. One that stands out in my mind is communications. NASA developed the first world wide communications system so that mission control was able to stay in constant touch with the capsules. It was the start of a communications revolution that is in full swing today!

A Mixed Bag

Weather: A cold front moved through overnight. The temperature ranged from a low of 60 to 77 degrees. It was blustery on the Indian River but we were protected from the westerly wind.

Comment: Today’s activities included:

• Arrangements made to rent a car (The marina office also runs an Avis car rental agency… most convenient) so we can travel about 90 miles north the view the space shuttle launch. I’ve always wanted to experience a rocket launch. This’ll be my chance!
• We cleaned the “Chesapeake Smile” from the hulls of the boat. The brown stains were beginning to look rather unsightly. The boat looks much better. Unfortunately, we were unable to get to the outside of the port hull. We’ll do that when we get back.
• We hauled the dinghy on land so we could put the name “SUNSHINE” on the port side.
• When the dinghy hangs from the davits, it hides the name on the stern of the boat. This way, overtaking boats should be able to read our name and hail us on the radio. We took the opportunity to clean the dinghy a bit and we’ll finish our dinghy project on Friday.
• We had a mini cocktail hour with the crew of “Lead Free Too,” a PDQ 34 motorcat.
• We took an evening stroll around the island to look at the Christmas lights.
• We have spent a few hours catching up on e-mails and checking out some web sites. It’s great to have reliable connectivity!
• We enjoyed a special treat for dinner – cheese ravioli and meatballs, garlic bread and a fresh salad. The grocery store, also located on the marina premises, makes dinners each night. They have a different meal each day of the week. The meals are ready for pick-up after 1630 hours. The food was very good and plentiful.

Nettles Island

Weather: Temp range 70 – 80 degrees.

Comment: We walked around Nettles Island today. The owners' association sports a very nice recreation area that includes a meeting room(s?), library, large pool, hot tub, tennis courts, badminton court, shuffleboard courts, handball court, several bocce ball areas and six horseshoe pits. This in addition to their ocean cabana and very large pool!

Connectivity in the marina is a great treat and we spent several hours catching up on e-mails and checking out some interesting websites (i.e. nasa.gov re: the shuttle launch).

Each day, the boaters (many live aboard and are here for the season) gather daily at the Tiki Hut to enjoy fellowship, drinks and snacks. We joined them today. Everyone seems very friendly and very helpful.

Underway Again!

Weather: Partly Sunny; Temp range 70 – 84 degrees; West wind 10 – 15 knots

Comment: It feels good to be underway again!

We started the morning by catching the 0805 bus out of the marina to take care of some last minute business. Anna Marine went to the Publix for some shopping. I took another bus to take care of other business. We met back at the marina at 1000 hours. After riding the dinghy back to the boat, we stowed some gear, hauled the dinghy up on the davits and got the boat ready to head out in about 30 minutes.

At 1100 hours, after a few squeezes on the primer bulbs, we fired up the engines for the first time in quite a few days. They started easily. Anna Marie dropped the mooring line and we were on our way… to the fuel dock to take on water, pump out the holding tank and settle up with the marina.

We left the fuel dock at 1130 and were on our way to Nettles Island Marina in Jensen Beach, Florida (ICW Mile Mark 979.3). We completed the 30 mile trip in four hours (average speed 7.3 mph). We broke 9 mph for a sustained period of time while motor-sailing in the 10 – 15 knot west wind.

Today’s travel was uneventful. We enjoyed the scenery on both sides of the waterway. It included the usual McMansions and a power plant. There were some natural areas along the way as well. Observed wildlife included Osprey, dolphins, a manatee, fish (they jump clear out of the water around here) and other shore birds.

We received an e-mail from Reflection. They have successfully negotiated the Okeechobee Waterway and are enjoying the West Coast. We may see them next year in Marathon.

We will slowly put the boat to bed for our three week hiatus when we go home for the holidays! The boat will stay here in Nettles island Marina. We fly out of Fort Lauderdale on December 12, 2007.

A Clean Bottom

Weather: The temp made it down to the low 70’s… a good sleeping night! We awoke to a bright blue, sunny sky. It clouded over late in the afternoon.

Comment: The diver we hired to clean the bottom arrived as scheduled at 0800 this morning. He scrapped off a few barnacles and scrubbed off all the grass we were growing. His job was completed in about one hour (His fee was $40.00.)

We spent the remainder of the morning relaxing aboard. Reading was the order of the morning. At 1300, we went ashore to watch the Eagles play the Seattle Seahawks. At half time, we took off through the residential neighborhood and made our way to the beach, We waked up and down the 1/3-mile long boardwalk and returned in time to see the last four minutes of the game. The Eagles lost (again).

We dined on the boat and spent the night reading. Tomorrow, we’ll take our last Vero Beach bus rides for the year. After tending to some business, we’ll depart Vero for points south!

The Vero Beach Christmas Parade

Weather: Overcast and showers all day, even had a thunder shower. Weather cleared by nightfall – the parade and outdoor concert went off without a hitch. Temp range was mid 70’s to low 80’s.

Comment: It was a gray day; the first in a long, long time. We had a fair amount of rain overnight and into the daytime hours. Between the drops, we went ashore several times. We spent time in the cruiser’s lounge and walked around the marina.

We also did a lot of reading today. I completed C.S. Forrester’s “Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies,” and Anna Marie put a good dent in Homer Hickam’s “A Coalwood Story.” On our next visit to a bookstore, we’ll try to find Hickam’s “Sky of Stone,” the final volume in his trilogy about growing up in Coalwood, West Virginia.

The Holiday Season in Florida

As previously mentioned, the Florida Christmas season begins before Halloween. Christmas decorations and carols could be seen and heard in stores in October! Since Thanksgiving, Christmas activities have been in full swing. Blue Spruce tree sales are booming. We can’t imagine how those trees will survive until Christmas in this hot weather. It seems that every other house has a plastic snowman and “Think Snow” signs (as if there’s a chance) can be seen in the stores, on the busses and just about any glass surface. It short, it’s like Christmas at home, except, it is hot (at least comparatively so)!

The warm temps feel like summer. In fact, every time we take a beach walk, we observe people swimming in the ocean. Shorts, bathing suits and tee shirts are the uniforms of the day. If it weren’t for the decorations, we’d have no idea that Christmas was around the corner. To us Northeasterners, it just doesn’t feel like Christmas.

Santa arrived via the parade at Vero’s beachside in full North pole garb. He sported a red velvet suit and cap with the traditional white fur trim. He sat in his chair and listened to the hopes, wishes and desires of children dressed in shorts and tee shirts. At the time, the temperature was in the high seventies. I thought he might have sported a more “tropical” Santa suit, but, other than the temperature, it is like Christmas at home.

The parade was spectacular! Hundreds (if not thousands) of people lined both sides of the two mile parade route. The parade was led by the Vero Beach High School Marching band. The highlight of the parade for us was the troupe of majorettes. The girls were all of three and four years old and marched in two lines in their green uniforms. At the direction of their leader, they marched down the street doing a routine that included various baton positions. There was even some twirling. Cute kids all!

We reflected back on our experiences at Ship Bottom Christmas Parades past. There were crowds, but the cold went right to the bone. Invariably, we’d have to leave before the end of the parade because the kids got too cold to continue watching. After the Vero Beach parade, people just strolled down the street. Some ducked into the stores that remained open until at least 2100 hours, to by a few holiday gifts.

We watched a few of the floats and broke off from the parade to enjoy a pizza at Nino’s. This pizza parlor is just a few steps from the beach and right across the street from Humiston Park, site of the Christmas concert that we would attend after dinner.

The concert was performed by the Vero Beach Charter High School Level VI Jazz Ensemble. We enjoyed a few songs before hoofing it back to the marina.

Both Anna Marie and I agree that it’s hard to have the “Christmas Spirit” in the warm weather. Of course, we’re longing to be with family and friends back home. I suspect it won’t feel like Christmas until we are home. As the song says, “There’s no place like home for the holidays!”

NOTE: Yesterday, we made arrangements to leave the boat at Nettles Island Marina in Jensen Beach, FL for the holidays. We’ll fly home via Spirit Airline, from Fort Lauderdale International Airport to Atlantic City International on December 12. We’ll return to the boat on January 2, 2008!