As I mentioned in my previous blog, we left Marathon earlier than usual to go to Vero Beach, FL to make flying home easier and to be better staged to continue our seasonal journey north after our visits home.
We pushed out of Marathon in order to try and beat some forecast bad weather along the way. From Marathon the ocean portion of the first passage was okay, but not great. We decided not to go all the way to Fort Pierce offshore and overnight. It might have been okay but marginal. Conditions were to be no worse than previous ocean passages but we try to avoid heading out in iffy situations because great conditions often deteriorate to poor conditions so it's better not to start out when it is barely okay.
We went back to the ICW from the Channel 5 Bridge under the Overseas Highway and had no issues. We did push on farther than usual and anchored in the NE corner of Barnes Sound. We sat out bad winds here once before and knew it would be comfortable. We could hear Card Sound Rd. in the distance but traffic is normally fairly light on that alternative route into the Keys.
From the Key Largo area we went to Miami. And kept going. The boat wakes from weekend Floridiots were amazing, another reason not to stop in Miami. Future weather concerns were more of a factor. The ocean conditions were not too bad but the wakes from passing powerboats still affected us. We decided to push all the way to Lake Worth Inlet (Palm Beach) even though we knew we would arrive well after dark. Being on the ocean at night is not an issue but travelling on the ICW at night is not a good idea. We were not actually going to go into the ditch (ICW) as there is a nice anchorage between the inlet and the waterway. We were settled a little after 9 (2100). Only the dredge between the breakwaters and all the confusing lights made it a little tense for a short while as we came in.
After a night in Lake Worth we went outside into the ocean again. Not bad but rainy 🤷♂️🌨. With a chance of thunderstorms ⛈😰. We intended to go all the way to Ft. Pierce Inlet but it got a little windier than forecast and the wind direction became less favorable. Seas went from under 2ft. to 3 to 4ft. which is less fun. The angle of the waves changed and slowed us down. Also, it is not very comfortable. Not terrible but not great. We decided to bail after about 90 minutes of this change in conditions but it was well after we passed Jupiter Inlet. We left the ocean and went back to the ICW when we got to St. Lucie Inlet. This inlet can be dangerous in certain conditions but we knew it would be okay in these circumstances. Well, "knew" might be an exaggeration. Anyway, doing it this way meant we skipped all the bascule bridge delays and only had to worry about the fixed bridge we brushed last November. The inland waterway was fine and we went under the bridges without issues. We ended up in Faber Cove in Ft. Pierce, one of our regular spots, where we could hide from the forecast strong winds. We pushed just so we could be in this great, secure place when the winds came. Got rained on for the same reason.
Velcro Beach is only about 2hrs north of Ft. Pierce by slow boat so after two chilly nights (55°) in Faber Cove we picked up and went to Vero. It was still windy and coldish but this part of the ICW was only a little choppy and it was an easy passage. We tied up at the city marina's fuel dock to take on diesel and to register and then we went to our mooring. We had to raft to another catamaran and were lucky to have help from Sue and Al from Gelato who have been in the mooring field all season. Their names should be familiar from several past blog postings.
Staying at a new place for more than a day or two means you have to get comfortable and familiar with your new location. What are the marina procedures? Where are the heads and showers? Where does the trash go, etc.? You also want to know where restaurants, grocery and other amenities are. What is there to do in the area? We were lucky because our friends on Gelato have been here a while and could orient us and old friends, Mike & Carol, live one town away and also know the area well. Within a few days of our arrival we had lunch out with one and dinner on board with the other. We also went to the weekly marina social hour to meet people one afternoon and then to the happy hour of the local squadron of the United States Power Squadrons (America's Boating Club) the next evening. Social butterflies, whew!!
We went to the Saturday Farmer's Market, also. Bought some veggies, bread, OJ and pastries. Delish. It was not quite as big or as nice as the market in Ft. Pierce but not bad at all. It seems we crammed in all the local activities while Carol was still in Vero while leaving nothing but chores aboard when she was gone.
The bus service is very nice. And free. It gets us mostly anywhere we might want go but, of course, it takes time following its route instead of going directly to our destination. Transfers are involved in the farther destinations and that takes time, too. Better than biking, however. Or walking. We went way out near the airport looking for an archeological dig that we didn't know closed a couple of years ago. We then took a different route the next day to another part of the airport to pick up our rental car to drive to the West Palm Beach airport to fly to New York to meet our new granddaughter. Carol went first and then I followed a week later. The baby being delivered a week earlier than planned kinda messed things up. Oh well.
Kaia Mae Carol Caramanico.
Full head of dark hair. Her older brother is blond. Go figure.
One is 4 years, one is 4 days in this photo. He's so excited to be a big brother. Cobbe and Kaia Mae.
A week on shore in the cold and snow up north with the plane flights and a cooped-up four year old thrown in made me appreciate our snowbird lifestyle. Cute baby 'tho.
After returning to the boat it was 5 days of projects and tax prep before returning to West Palm Beach airport to pick up Carol. JetBlue turned out to have let its customer service reputation fall badly. They messed up and were uninterested helping making it better. Good luck, deal with it is their new (to us) attitude.
Mother and baby issues made the end of Carol's time up north stressful but it has since mostly worked out. Not everything went as smoothly has one would hope but it has been improving.
Oh, and this happened, too...
As we wound up our time in Vero Beach, we stocked up on food, fuel and water, started watching the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, and went in the water to clean the boat bottom of barnacles and fuzzies. The water here is nowhere near as clear as it is in Marathon and the current is very difficult to deal with. Fortunately the bottom was not too bad. Little hard growth, mostly larval.
While we still had a rental car we drove all the way to Miami for my continued remission maintenance treatment. 150 miles each way. The news was good, however. Bloodwork results were great, mostly human, and after two more treatments in Connecticut I should be done. If/when my remission ends, with luck well in the future, the next treatment is not chemotherapy. Pills instead.
As we get underway northbound again I'll try to summarize our time here in Velcro. Nice. Not great. Carol didn't much like it. Being here longer than her, I got to meet new people and get slightly more involved in the local boating community. There is lots to do in the city and there is great (free) bus service but few of the things available was of interest to us. The farmer's market was good. Expensive but good. There is no free Pickleball and the people seem to be a bit more snooty than we generally experience. Not really referring to the boating community here. But.
Anyway, we would not tell people to not come here but our preference is still Marathon. But we will tell people not to go there. It's too crowded. But a lot more fun.
As I get ready to push the 'publish' button on this blog entry (3/22/22), we plan to depart tomorrow. Our next planned blog entry will be after we get to Annapolis, MD. Planned. It is three passage days to St. Augustine, FL from here and we will stay there 2 (or 3) nights. There are some possible weather issues enroute and beyond St. Auggie? Who knows? We will take our time and take on the broken bridge issues and other situations as they happen. Cruising.
