Sharon and Stephen's Adventures: 2009

Having left Spokane in mid November ahead of the snow storms we travelled down to the 3-Cites, Boise and then headed south, southeast, south before heading East to Savannah, GA. Thanksgiving was disappointingly spent ‘on the road’. Sharon did manage to make a semi Thanksgiving Dinner as we had fresh cranberry sauce, acorn squash, mashed potatoes with turkey gravy AND smoked spicy sausages!
A quick week was spent in Savannah getting Indian Summer ready to splash, seeing Lou & Harriette Waldhour as well as Jay and Mary. Finally having stowed everything and dashing ahead of the weather we left Thunderbolt Marina (Savannah, GA) along with our buddy boat, S/V Solitaire I (a 40foot Sabre’) belonging to David (British) and Catherine (French) Allin of Montreal. We did an offshore overnight passage arriving at the St. Augustine, FL inlet and our initial destination of Camachee Cove Marina. The bad news was that almost immediately upon leaving Savannah, we found we had lost our auto pilot. So we hand steered alternately for 23 hours. Most folks want a nap upon an overnight stint . . . Stephen and I wanted a masseuse.
Camachee Cove provided us a weeks’ worth of activities . . . the annual Christmas party, some ugly weather, new lifelines, a new autopilot, and a second bilge water alarm. We caught up with Bob & Jane Fulton of Voyaguer (IP40 like ours), Lin Amstutz & PaddyCat on ‘Mo’ (IP380), Alan Bethel & Mischief on ‘Whiskers’ (IP30), and our dominos buddies, Sam & Mimi on ‘No Agenda’. It was great catching up with the staff & crew at CCYH . . . Ruger continuing to be spoiled by special treats from all.
Getting ready to leave on another overnight passage to Cape Canavaral, we found the USCG reporting fog ¼ mile to 20 miles offshore which completely dashed our plans. Instead we tooled down the ICW, turned circles at Matansas Pass for 3 hours waiting for the tide to come up enough so we could pass (we all draw 5 feet of water) and finally arriving at 1915 hours in darkness to the welcoming hands of folks at Palm Coast Marina.
Our morning was fuel up and head out by 0745 hours, making New Smyerna early afternoon with the winds picking up and the rain headed our way. Sharon had a dickens of a time docking, had to go out, turn around and go back in due to the big currents and high winds. The downtown was charming, and an early morning bakery run prior to heading out was delicious! Leaving was another chore due to the winds and current but we wanted to get a bit down the ICW and try to avoid some of the impending bad weather.
Once again we turned circles . . . this time for an hour outside of the Titusville City Marina waiting for there to be enough deck hands to assist Solitaire and Indian Summer in to their respective berths. The weather caused us to stay 3 nights but allowed for the Christmas Cards to all be sent, laundry, some shopping, AND to view a lighted boat parade at night. This was our third viewing of lighted boats on the water at night in honor of Christmas . . . the first was at Thunderbolt in Savannah, the second in St. Augustine and the final one in Titusville. Manatees (sea cows) are frequent visitors in the marina, and Ruger walked the docks with his head hung over the planks looking for these creatures.
The winds finally abated a bit and on Sunday, December 20th we left Titusville and headed for a long, long day to Vero Beach. We were disappointed in the speeds – although we did fly our staysail – and logged 10 hours on the water. We both fueled up before taking a mooring ball – number 45 – and rafting together. Vero Beach is often called lovingly Velcro Beach because many folks wait out the weather before crossing to the Bahamas here. The anchorage is wonderful, nice clean facilities for laundry and showers, a fuel dock, walking distance to the historic beach and shops AND a free bus to all the main shopping. We’d intended to stay one day BUT when we attempted to leave the next morning, Solitaire I reported engine trouble before passing the fuel docks. We all agreed to return to the mooring field. Stephen diagnosed the problem which was a loose belt – but we all felt it was best to have a mechanic look at the situation – which occurred – and Stephen’s diagnosis was correct.
The next morning we attempted to leave again, only to be stopped by weather reports that there would be no crossing for the next few days. We decided to stay put . . . along with dozens of other boats . . . and spent our Christmas at Vero Beach. A Fresh Market grocery store was a big hit with the four of us; Ruger received lots of exercise and as we speak we are looking to (if the weather window comes true) leave Vero Beach Monday morning early with a hopeful weather window to the Bahama’s early morning Wednesday . . . with the hope of spending New Years at West End, Abacos, Bahamas. Will keep you posted thanks to the efforts of Mari Kay. Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and are looking forward to a Happy New Year!