We are still sailing our plan and made Bull Creek easily. We had a favorable current most of the day. Bull Creek was a nice anchorage except it being a Sunday we had to endure a lot of small boat traffic and accompanying wakes -- there is a marina further up the river.
The next day we had a great run to Beaufort, SC. We had a favorable current all the way across both Calibogue Sound and Port Royal Sound. We made Beaufort around 10:30am. We thought about picking up a mooring at the City MArina but then would have to time the departure in the morning with the Lady Island Bridge schedule. We have heard folks rave about the LAdy Island Marina on the other side of the bridge and found they could accommodate us for one night. We took it.
TJ the Dockmaster met us at the dock and helped land us in a strong current. Once tied up and checked in which was a very pleasant process we had some lunch on board. Checking the literature they gave us we found that they had everything from drug stores, food stores, hardware stores, Laundromat, eateries all within 1 mile of the marina. No wonder folks rave about this place. We took a walk and took it all in. We stopped at the Publixs for some fresh veggies and lunch meat, checked both drug stores for the electronic fly swatter we had heard about from Madeline -- found one at Rite Aid and then back to the boat. We had dinner at the restaurant there called Dockside with John and Madeline from Chanceaux -- ohhh they beat us here because they went offshore for a while but found it uncomfortable and came into Port Royal the day before.
The shower and bathroom facilities are first rate -- very nice. Wish we could have stayed longer but because of the bad weather forecast for latter in the week they had reservations to honor and we had to leave -- we will be back.
Today we had a VERY SLOW run to Church Creek in SC. WE left on a rising tide and had a fast 7kt run to the Coosaw River then had to run for hours against the tide for all of the Coosaw, channel cutoffs, South Edisto River and North Edisto River. n the North Edisto our speed was in the low 4kt range!!
Church creek is a nice anchorage but we had some strong sea breeze against a strong current which has us forward on our anchor tonight. Not dangerous but annoying and noisy. The wind should lay down after dark and we will swing to the current all night which we are looking forward to.
Tomorrow it is only 18 miles to Charleston but the current is strong and will be against us near the end. Ohh well.
Not sure how long we will stay. There is an unusually early strong low pressure system building Wednesday which could be come a names storm and may impact South Carolina. We need more info to decide to either weather it at Charleston or move on to Georgetown, SC and weather it there.
Today all the models are mixed with some calling for 30kt winds and others for only 5kts. hat's a girl to do. Hopefully we can make that call tomorrow after checking the latest forecast in the morning. Obviously cruising is not as easy as sitting around and chewing the Lotus leaves.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Moving with a vengence!
We finally left Saint Augustine on Thursday. Finally... The NOAA forecaster and Chris Parker have cost me some dollars. They have both been painting horrible weather these last several days (that's why we stayed in the marina) and virtually none has happened here... I'm just going to move inspite of the forecasts.
Thursday we had a nice day planned to travel to Fort George to anchor for the night. Well it didn't work out. We arrived at Fort George about 45 minutes before low tide and I could not get in. I tried 4 times and ran aground four times -- gently though and got off by ourselves. Victoria Gaye caught up and we decided to continue to Fernandina. A long days travel of 63 miles vs the 43 planned for Fort George. We did well until we hit the South Amelia river at low tide. I ran aground in charted 13 feet of water, got off ran aground again and waited. Victoria Gaye tried to find the water and ran aground twice then found some deeper water. I tried to get there but I was stuck. I could see deeper water just a few feet in front but the keel was on the bottom. I put out some sail and backed it rocking the boat and with the engine SCREAMING finally got off. The boats that went around us were complaining of bouncing in places. We anchored for about 45 minutes till the tide came up about 2 feet then went on. It was dicey and slow but we made it to Fernandina -- a nearly 12 hour travel day.
We pow wow and thought that going out front to Charleston would not work in the short term. I decided to move on in the inside. We left early Friday morning and had a good ride to St Andrews sound -- it was a bit rough and we took a lot of spray to the windows and top sides. Once in Jeykel Creek we were 2 hours from low tide and tried to pass. It was tough in places and quite shallow but we made it with out running aground. We had planned to go to "Wally's Leg" to anchor but gave it up early and anchored in the Frederica River. That was nice for awhile but the current changed direction and the wind picked up and we were driven forward on the anchor with waves from the aft end. Very uncomfortable but even with the Rocna short scooped and us doing nearly 360s and going forward on the anchor it held. Around dark the wind died and we had a nice evening.
Today we left early to hit the troublesome places of Buttermilk Sound and Little Mud River. Passed with plenty of water. We pressed on and passed 5 sounds today. Buttermilk, Altamaha, Doboy, Sapello, and St Catherines. It was a great day for the sounds with 10 kt or less wind from the NW. It was frustrating because when you pass a sound you get a push from the current in one direct and adverse in the other. Thus at one point you do 7.4 kts then 4.9 kts. We ran during low tide today but it occurred at none of the troublesome spots -- you just had to pay attention to depth and chart plotter to stay in the center of the charted channel. However there were a few places where the chart was wrong so you had to use best judgment.
Hopefully the 60+ mile days are done and we can get back to a conservative 40+ to 50 mile days.
Tomorrow we need to run Hells Gate but from this anchorage we will hit it just before high tide. The worry is we will hit Fields Cut and Elbow cut about 2 hours before low tide. If we get through okay then we will anchor at Bull Creek which is in South Carolina and Georgia will just be a memory
Thursday we had a nice day planned to travel to Fort George to anchor for the night. Well it didn't work out. We arrived at Fort George about 45 minutes before low tide and I could not get in. I tried 4 times and ran aground four times -- gently though and got off by ourselves. Victoria Gaye caught up and we decided to continue to Fernandina. A long days travel of 63 miles vs the 43 planned for Fort George. We did well until we hit the South Amelia river at low tide. I ran aground in charted 13 feet of water, got off ran aground again and waited. Victoria Gaye tried to find the water and ran aground twice then found some deeper water. I tried to get there but I was stuck. I could see deeper water just a few feet in front but the keel was on the bottom. I put out some sail and backed it rocking the boat and with the engine SCREAMING finally got off. The boats that went around us were complaining of bouncing in places. We anchored for about 45 minutes till the tide came up about 2 feet then went on. It was dicey and slow but we made it to Fernandina -- a nearly 12 hour travel day.
We pow wow and thought that going out front to Charleston would not work in the short term. I decided to move on in the inside. We left early Friday morning and had a good ride to St Andrews sound -- it was a bit rough and we took a lot of spray to the windows and top sides. Once in Jeykel Creek we were 2 hours from low tide and tried to pass. It was tough in places and quite shallow but we made it with out running aground. We had planned to go to "Wally's Leg" to anchor but gave it up early and anchored in the Frederica River. That was nice for awhile but the current changed direction and the wind picked up and we were driven forward on the anchor with waves from the aft end. Very uncomfortable but even with the Rocna short scooped and us doing nearly 360s and going forward on the anchor it held. Around dark the wind died and we had a nice evening.
Today we left early to hit the troublesome places of Buttermilk Sound and Little Mud River. Passed with plenty of water. We pressed on and passed 5 sounds today. Buttermilk, Altamaha, Doboy, Sapello, and St Catherines. It was a great day for the sounds with 10 kt or less wind from the NW. It was frustrating because when you pass a sound you get a push from the current in one direct and adverse in the other. Thus at one point you do 7.4 kts then 4.9 kts. We ran during low tide today but it occurred at none of the troublesome spots -- you just had to pay attention to depth and chart plotter to stay in the center of the charted channel. However there were a few places where the chart was wrong so you had to use best judgment.
Hopefully the 60+ mile days are done and we can get back to a conservative 40+ to 50 mile days.
Tomorrow we need to run Hells Gate but from this anchorage we will hit it just before high tide. The worry is we will hit Fields Cut and Elbow cut about 2 hours before low tide. If we get through okay then we will anchor at Bull Creek which is in South Carolina and Georgia will just be a memory
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Surprise Surprise
Well not really. We are still in Saint Augustine waiting for some really poor weather to pass. The worst is expected today and tonight through tomorrow morning. A strong low pressure system is expected over New Orleans at mid day today and then move to over Fernandina by mid day tomorrow. Rather than just sit in some anchorages holed up from the rain for a couple of days we elected to just stay here in St Augustine until it passes. Much better weather is expected to build in Thursday and for the next several days so we should be able to make some real progress north, possibly even an offshore passage to Charleston -- we will see.
St Augustine Old Town area is really different on a weekday vs the weekend. It was quite quiet here yesterday. It was a cloudy day and quite comfortable with a high of only 78 degrees. Sunday the temps got up to 94 degrees -- thanks for the air conditioning. It was pleasant here plugged into the marina.
Let's see - Saturday we visited the Lightner Museum. It was very nice and surprisingly after I had to check my back pack they told me I could take my camera and take all the pictures I wanted. Now when has a museum offered you that?
We hope to take advantage of the lay days today and tomorrow and get some chores done and a visit to a grocery so come Thursday we can travel for several days without stopping. Still hope to be in North Carolina by mid May.
Oh yes we had a big surprise on Sunday. I was below looking out a hatch when I noticed a large sail boat backing into the slip next to us. This was very surprising because with the strong current in this Marina any movement is difficult and backing is usually not considered. Well I watched until I saw the helmsman and exclaimed "that's John and Madeline on Chanceaux!". Old friends from New Bern and haven't seen since December in Vero Beach.
Note -- John is known to back his boat in all conditions and he does it very well. It's like ol home now.
St Augustine Old Town area is really different on a weekday vs the weekend. It was quite quiet here yesterday. It was a cloudy day and quite comfortable with a high of only 78 degrees. Sunday the temps got up to 94 degrees -- thanks for the air conditioning. It was pleasant here plugged into the marina.
Let's see - Saturday we visited the Lightner Museum. It was very nice and surprisingly after I had to check my back pack they told me I could take my camera and take all the pictures I wanted. Now when has a museum offered you that?
We hope to take advantage of the lay days today and tomorrow and get some chores done and a visit to a grocery so come Thursday we can travel for several days without stopping. Still hope to be in North Carolina by mid May.
Oh yes we had a big surprise on Sunday. I was below looking out a hatch when I noticed a large sail boat backing into the slip next to us. This was very surprising because with the strong current in this Marina any movement is difficult and backing is usually not considered. Well I watched until I saw the helmsman and exclaimed "that's John and Madeline on Chanceaux!". Old friends from New Bern and haven't seen since December in Vero Beach.
Note -- John is known to back his boat in all conditions and he does it very well. It's like ol home now.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Northern Florida is Great
We have had 2 absolutely perfect travel days. We went from Daytona Beach to Palm Coast Marina yesterday under absolutely perfect weather. We had a very favorable tide part of the way too. The Temps and wind were ideal.
We got into the marina around 11:30am and easily tied up. After a quick lunch I had to tackle a very despicable job -- that Y-valve I cleaned and lubricated the other day is leaking and needs to be replaced! I hate sanitation plumbing.
I used one of those "chucks" or inconstancy pad rather than sacrifice a towel. Worked Great!!
The job was just as daunting as I thought, since I had to remove 3 1 1/2" hoses from the valve that had been on for 7 years. A lot of wiggle, screwdriver plying, and the heat gun got the job done. The new valve is working great with no leaks.
Karen and Vickie went to the Publix here by taxi and bought a few groceries -- mainly a cart full each for both of them!! Oh man we are going to undo all our weight loss from the Bahamas in short order.
After my job I went to Victoria Gaye to help Buck with his leaking fitting on the water heater. Boy that barb fitting was shot and nearly broke off. We had to break it the rest of the way then extract it from the pipe. Since it was nylon we got it out easily -- just drove a knife into it and turned it out.
Buck was able to get a ride to the hardware store and get a replacement -- working fine now.
We had a nice evening and got to sleep in this morning. We needed to navigate the Mantanzas Inlet and need to do that near high tide. We left around 10am this morning and had a great ride to the Mantanzas with a favorable current pushing us along at nearly 7 knots. The inlet was not too bad with one area around 8.2 feet for a hundred yards then fine after that. We made St. Augustine at 1:30pm which was a good run.
We took a mooring ball for 2 days and then will go to a slip at the marina for 2 days to weather some really bad storms expected this Saturday and Sunday. Ohhh the mooring ball is number 69 and the second to the last in the mooring field. It is a L O N G dinghy ride to the marina to tie up.
St Augustine is a great place to spend a few days. So much to see and do in the downtown historic district for example a jewelry store called "Jewelry for the Filthy Rich"! Lots of places to eat drink, art stuff and just other cool stuff. Karen wants to tour the Lightner Museum too.
Looking forward to enjoying St Augustine since the weather is putting a crimp on our travel plans -- this is what it means to be a cruiser -- don't keep a schedule and stop to enjoy when the weather makes travel difficult.
We got into the marina around 11:30am and easily tied up. After a quick lunch I had to tackle a very despicable job -- that Y-valve I cleaned and lubricated the other day is leaking and needs to be replaced! I hate sanitation plumbing.
I used one of those "chucks" or inconstancy pad rather than sacrifice a towel. Worked Great!!
The job was just as daunting as I thought, since I had to remove 3 1 1/2" hoses from the valve that had been on for 7 years. A lot of wiggle, screwdriver plying, and the heat gun got the job done. The new valve is working great with no leaks.
Karen and Vickie went to the Publix here by taxi and bought a few groceries -- mainly a cart full each for both of them!! Oh man we are going to undo all our weight loss from the Bahamas in short order.
After my job I went to Victoria Gaye to help Buck with his leaking fitting on the water heater. Boy that barb fitting was shot and nearly broke off. We had to break it the rest of the way then extract it from the pipe. Since it was nylon we got it out easily -- just drove a knife into it and turned it out.
Buck was able to get a ride to the hardware store and get a replacement -- working fine now.
We had a nice evening and got to sleep in this morning. We needed to navigate the Mantanzas Inlet and need to do that near high tide. We left around 10am this morning and had a great ride to the Mantanzas with a favorable current pushing us along at nearly 7 knots. The inlet was not too bad with one area around 8.2 feet for a hundred yards then fine after that. We made St. Augustine at 1:30pm which was a good run.
We took a mooring ball for 2 days and then will go to a slip at the marina for 2 days to weather some really bad storms expected this Saturday and Sunday. Ohhh the mooring ball is number 69 and the second to the last in the mooring field. It is a L O N G dinghy ride to the marina to tie up.
St Augustine is a great place to spend a few days. So much to see and do in the downtown historic district for example a jewelry store called "Jewelry for the Filthy Rich"! Lots of places to eat drink, art stuff and just other cool stuff. Karen wants to tour the Lightner Museum too.
Looking forward to enjoying St Augustine since the weather is putting a crimp on our travel plans -- this is what it means to be a cruiser -- don't keep a schedule and stop to enjoy when the weather makes travel difficult.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Great Travel Day
Yesterday was a hot humid stormy day as predicted. It was a good choice to stay at the marina.
A cold front came across yesterday and today was just beautiful. We left the marina early and motored on up to Daytona Beach under friendly cumulus clouds and anchored in the Halifax River just north of red 44. Oh it was a very good day. We had a favorable current most of the way -- only one bridge opening and we waited only 3 minutes! We hit all the trouble shoaling areas at just after high tide and saw no skinny water. Just a great travel day.
Lots of boats left the marina this morning all headed north. I think we were in a pack of 12 - 15 boats -- a combination of trawlers and sailboats. Unfortunately one sail boat came to grief just short of the Haulover canal. He was exhausting steam instead of water from the engine exhaust and obviously was overheating. I hailed him with the PA system and told him the bad news -- better I told him before the alarms went off and the engine seize up
The anchorage here after Red 44 is not as shown on the chart. There is no 14' water and deep water areas have shoaled in. Several boats in storage on moorings here. I would not recommend this area in the future. Try the deep area on the East side of the channel just before R44. I see a fine Cabo Rico 38 sitting there all by their lonesome.
Tomorrow will be a short 3 - 4 hour hop to Palm Coast. St Augustine is just too far for a single day and you need to work the tides.
Should be in early enough to enjoy the marina with light work and then off to St Augustine the following day.
Today the temperature is great. Started at 65 and headed up to 78 degrees -- low humidity and should be fine sleeping tonight on the hook.
A cold front came across yesterday and today was just beautiful. We left the marina early and motored on up to Daytona Beach under friendly cumulus clouds and anchored in the Halifax River just north of red 44. Oh it was a very good day. We had a favorable current most of the way -- only one bridge opening and we waited only 3 minutes! We hit all the trouble shoaling areas at just after high tide and saw no skinny water. Just a great travel day.
Lots of boats left the marina this morning all headed north. I think we were in a pack of 12 - 15 boats -- a combination of trawlers and sailboats. Unfortunately one sail boat came to grief just short of the Haulover canal. He was exhausting steam instead of water from the engine exhaust and obviously was overheating. I hailed him with the PA system and told him the bad news -- better I told him before the alarms went off and the engine seize up
The anchorage here after Red 44 is not as shown on the chart. There is no 14' water and deep water areas have shoaled in. Several boats in storage on moorings here. I would not recommend this area in the future. Try the deep area on the East side of the channel just before R44. I see a fine Cabo Rico 38 sitting there all by their lonesome.
Tomorrow will be a short 3 - 4 hour hop to Palm Coast. St Augustine is just too far for a single day and you need to work the tides.
Should be in early enough to enjoy the marina with light work and then off to St Augustine the following day.
Today the temperature is great. Started at 65 and headed up to 78 degrees -- low humidity and should be fine sleeping tonight on the hook.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Tempus Fugit
WOW Time has been flying by.
We easily made Vero then just forgot about time. It really is that easy there. Multiple trips to the grocery - Publix, Karen forays in the clothing stores, mine at the dive shop, and just hanging out with the cruisers we have seen along the way.
It was quiet when we got to Vero. Only a couple of mooring balls had multiple boats on and at least 20 balls were empty. We just grabbed one and reported in.
Well it wasn't all fun and play. I had to rebuild the forward head flush pump, install a new toilet bowl gasket -- yes you had to remove it to do that, and clean and lubricate a sanitation y-valve. I also had to install a new damper plate in the fresh water pump and clean the shower pump filter and fresh water filter -- whew that was a lot of work!! no wonder I haven't written a blog in awhile.
Still time to meet a group of cruisers at a pot luck on Thursday night and have a big luncheon at the Riverside restaurant on Friday -- all that packed in 4 days and we did 3 loads of laundry.
Saturday We got underway to head north. We made it to Dragon Point near Melbourne and for the first time went behind the swing bridge there to anchor -- that is the place. We found lots of room in 10 - 12 feet of water and a no wake zone. Unfortunately it was HOT. They set a new record high of 92 degrees that day and it was windless. It was uncomfortable on the boat. We had to run fans all night to make sleeping bearable. The normal high for this area is 81 degrees so there is hope it will cool down soon.
Today we were up early and made the run to Titusville Marina. It's another very hot day with temps in the 90s. Strong thunderstorms expected tonight and tomorrow so a good place and excuse to duck in and run the Air Conditioner. It was already hot when we got here around 12:30pm and we stopped first on one dock for a pumpout which didn't happen -- pump is broke -- then moved onto another dock for fuel -- 45 gallons. I haven't bought any since Treasure Cay. Then into a slip on E-dock. I should have called earlier than today for a reservation. E dock is the only old floating dock with all the livaboards, deserted boats, and boats for sale -- not the best location but the Electricity is FINE. This will only be for 2 nights and then we will be on our way to Daytona. Today is the day for multiple showers in their facility, maybe a bucket of Kentucky fried chicken tonight, and tomorrow a quick bike ride to the NAPA store and drug store (for batteries and candy), and of course a minor trip to the grocery store -- need fresh limes and lettuce.
Time for a nap now and just enjoy the cool air conditioning on the boat.
Oh yes and enjoy the GREAT WiFi here. It is the best we have encountered on this whole trip so far!! AC - WiFi -- we may never leave the boat today except for SHOWERS. LONG ones.
We easily made Vero then just forgot about time. It really is that easy there. Multiple trips to the grocery - Publix, Karen forays in the clothing stores, mine at the dive shop, and just hanging out with the cruisers we have seen along the way.
It was quiet when we got to Vero. Only a couple of mooring balls had multiple boats on and at least 20 balls were empty. We just grabbed one and reported in.
Well it wasn't all fun and play. I had to rebuild the forward head flush pump, install a new toilet bowl gasket -- yes you had to remove it to do that, and clean and lubricate a sanitation y-valve. I also had to install a new damper plate in the fresh water pump and clean the shower pump filter and fresh water filter -- whew that was a lot of work!! no wonder I haven't written a blog in awhile.
Still time to meet a group of cruisers at a pot luck on Thursday night and have a big luncheon at the Riverside restaurant on Friday -- all that packed in 4 days and we did 3 loads of laundry.
Saturday We got underway to head north. We made it to Dragon Point near Melbourne and for the first time went behind the swing bridge there to anchor -- that is the place. We found lots of room in 10 - 12 feet of water and a no wake zone. Unfortunately it was HOT. They set a new record high of 92 degrees that day and it was windless. It was uncomfortable on the boat. We had to run fans all night to make sleeping bearable. The normal high for this area is 81 degrees so there is hope it will cool down soon.
Today we were up early and made the run to Titusville Marina. It's another very hot day with temps in the 90s. Strong thunderstorms expected tonight and tomorrow so a good place and excuse to duck in and run the Air Conditioner. It was already hot when we got here around 12:30pm and we stopped first on one dock for a pumpout which didn't happen -- pump is broke -- then moved onto another dock for fuel -- 45 gallons. I haven't bought any since Treasure Cay. Then into a slip on E-dock. I should have called earlier than today for a reservation. E dock is the only old floating dock with all the livaboards, deserted boats, and boats for sale -- not the best location but the Electricity is FINE. This will only be for 2 nights and then we will be on our way to Daytona. Today is the day for multiple showers in their facility, maybe a bucket of Kentucky fried chicken tonight, and tomorrow a quick bike ride to the NAPA store and drug store (for batteries and candy), and of course a minor trip to the grocery store -- need fresh limes and lettuce.
Time for a nap now and just enjoy the cool air conditioning on the boat.
Oh yes and enjoy the GREAT WiFi here. It is the best we have encountered on this whole trip so far!! AC - WiFi -- we may never leave the boat today except for SHOWERS. LONG ones.
Monday, April 13, 2015
On the MOVE again
We really enjoyed a "rest stop" at Old Port Cove marina but it was time to be moving on. Partly because it was about $100 a day there! We can stay at Vero for $17 a day..
We cleared customs this morning and what a NIGHTMARE that was... You would think this was their first day on the job.
There were ten folks there ahead of us at 9am. The office says ring bell for service and I asked the waiting folks if they had rung it or if we needed to sign in a sheet or what. They said they had rung it repeatedly since 8am and no one came to the window -- no sheet to recognize the order of arrivals.
Finally a Hispanic male comes and starts querying the people. About half he send to immigration in another office -- he was very rude. He takes our information but does not ask for a name and says he will get back to us -- HOW!! Then he helps the first person at the window. The crowd is overflowing from the office to the hall. Well after 30 minutes I just go and stand behind the next person in line. He takes 25 minutes to process that persons info at a site other than a window. Then another officer comes and asks for those of us who only need our passports stamped to come forward. He gathers our passports, looks at the pictures then disappears for 20 minutes. Then he returns and gives us back our passports and says we can leave. What a cluster. This is my third time here in 10 years and this has been the worst experience. Who you going to call? What a waste of taxpayers money... and our time..
Sorry but had to vent. Once back at the marina we checked out then were on our way to Hobe Sound to anchor. It is only 15 miles away but through 6 bridges of which 4 are on schedules. Fortunately after having to wait 20 minutes for the first one we hit the others within a couple of minutes thank you tide and wind.
Once passed Jupiter Inlet the incoming tide had us doing more than 7 kts towards Hobe sound with the engine running just above idle.
We anchored easily since no other boats were there yet and hey tonight at 7:15pm we are still all alone here. No problem -- beautiful location and great weather/wind protection.
We should make Vero Beach and moor on a ball for a few days there while we do some laundry and effect some minor repairs and Karen buys some clothes that fit -- she has lost so much weight due to diet and exercise on this trip. She should write a how to book!!
We cleared customs this morning and what a NIGHTMARE that was... You would think this was their first day on the job.
There were ten folks there ahead of us at 9am. The office says ring bell for service and I asked the waiting folks if they had rung it or if we needed to sign in a sheet or what. They said they had rung it repeatedly since 8am and no one came to the window -- no sheet to recognize the order of arrivals.
Finally a Hispanic male comes and starts querying the people. About half he send to immigration in another office -- he was very rude. He takes our information but does not ask for a name and says he will get back to us -- HOW!! Then he helps the first person at the window. The crowd is overflowing from the office to the hall. Well after 30 minutes I just go and stand behind the next person in line. He takes 25 minutes to process that persons info at a site other than a window. Then another officer comes and asks for those of us who only need our passports stamped to come forward. He gathers our passports, looks at the pictures then disappears for 20 minutes. Then he returns and gives us back our passports and says we can leave. What a cluster. This is my third time here in 10 years and this has been the worst experience. Who you going to call? What a waste of taxpayers money... and our time..
Sorry but had to vent. Once back at the marina we checked out then were on our way to Hobe Sound to anchor. It is only 15 miles away but through 6 bridges of which 4 are on schedules. Fortunately after having to wait 20 minutes for the first one we hit the others within a couple of minutes thank you tide and wind.
Once passed Jupiter Inlet the incoming tide had us doing more than 7 kts towards Hobe sound with the engine running just above idle.
We anchored easily since no other boats were there yet and hey tonight at 7:15pm we are still all alone here. No problem -- beautiful location and great weather/wind protection.
We should make Vero Beach and moor on a ball for a few days there while we do some laundry and effect some minor repairs and Karen buys some clothes that fit -- she has lost so much weight due to diet and exercise on this trip. She should write a how to book!!
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