New Year's at Stuart, Fla

We bid farewell and have fun to Clare on the 28th of Dec and took an extra day to do laundry and errands before leaving Vero Beach. You could hear the velcro ripping! It was hard to leave - except for the "no-see-ems" which were awful! Also, the Red Tide was still in evidence to a lesser degree, so we never went to the lovely nearby beach. (we did pass it on the bus, so I know it is lovely...)

Our journey on the 29th was a short one, just to Fort Pierce, about 20 miles away. Here we had to decide whether to go out the Fort Pierce Inlet into the Atlantic again and go to Lake Worth, or to stay on the ICW. Shortly after we anchored, we were hailed on the VHF radio - a surprise, since we did not recognize any of the boats in the anchorage. To our delight, it was "on Overdraught" who'd had to be hauled out for major rudder problems (it fell apart...bad news). Stuart and Heather could see our boat from their spot in the boatyard! We went ashore for a real restaurant dinner and got caught up with them. Unfortunately for them, the boat manufacturer was closed for Christmas holidays until Jan 7, so nothing was going to happen for them before that. Sometimes you just have to accept that stuff happens, and deal with it. They were philosophical about it, and I know will make the best of a bad situation. Hope to see them down the road before too long!

We also got a phone call from Jan and Iain on Jocks Lodge that they were in Stuart which seemed a good spot to stay awhile - convenient, cheap being important factors! Graham and I are going to make a trip back to Canada for medical stuff, and Larry and Clare may be on their own for a couple of weeks. We decided to head down the ICW toward Stuart.

We had heard about a nice anchorage at Peck Lake, which was just south of the Port St. Lucie Inlet (where Stuart is) so we decided to take a detour and check it out. It isn't really a lake, more of a bay off the Indian River, which is part of the ICW. It is a lovely, popular day anchorage for locals since it is not far from St. Lucie and Stuart. The lake side is nice, if crowded with mangroves, and it is just a short walk across the sand dunes to the ocean. It was gorgeous there that day - windy with great breakers for Graham and Larry to play in! We had brought the dog, but were told he wasn't allowed on the beach, so I decided to stay with him on the boat. After their swim, the boys explored the beach a bit before heading back to Star Shadow. As dusk approached and the dog was taken ashore for a last pee break for the day, the bugs swarmed Larry and Graham (the wind had dropped) and they couldn't get back to the boat fast enough! We spent a lovely peaceful night in the ancorage, most of the motorboats long gone.

The morning dawned clear and warm with a light breeze. Absolutely heavenly. We spent a lazy morning on the bow, reading (me) and the guys fishing. (I forgot to write about our good deed in Vero Beach....a couple of guys in a small fishing boat had run out of gas and Larry and I towed them in our dingy to the marina dock to get gas. They'd been fishing and caught a big Grouper which they showed us. We admired it, and then went on our way. A little while later, the two locals came up to our boat and said they wanted to thank us for helping them by sharing their catch! They cut a huge fillet off the Grouper (which was about 15 lbs) and gave it to us! What a feast we had for dinner that night. Fresh Grouper - yum! There was too much for 4 to eat - that's how big it was!)

Anyway, we enjoyed our morning, no luck with catching fish, before deciding to head out for Stuart. It was Dec 31 - New Years Eve. Not enough wind to sail, we were motoring up the river and the engine started to overheat a bit. Larry checked the raw water intake and found a big mangrove seed stuck in it!! We just putted along until we were in an area we could shut the engine down to clear it. Sheesh! Arrived safely in Stuart in the afternoon and anchored near Jocks Lodge, a bit of a dingy ride from the marina and the mooring balls (our name was on the waiting list for a mooring ball).

Being New Year's Eve, there was a Happy Hour gathering planned for 5 pm. Bring your own beverage and an appetizer to share (a pretty standard practice for cruisers). We had a great time meeting some new folks and visiting with old friends! There were a couple of young men from Sweden, who were sailing a small (27 foot Sherwin Vega). The younger of these brothers, 19 is planning to sail single handedly back to Sweden from the Bahamas! His 20 year old brother had flown here to go to the Bahamas with his brother. I thought it was too bad that Clare wasn't here to meet them, but on second thought, decided it might be just as well - cute young Swedes that they were!

Cruisers midnight comes about 8:30 pm (a big joke around here) so we toasted the new year (Scottish time) around then, and headed back to the boat and bed! Graham - much more of a trooper than Larry and I, woke me up just before midnight so I could join him on the bow to watch an amazing fireworks display! All up and down the shore fireworks were going off - we were surrounded! Poor Beau was scared by the noise - the sucky boy!

A cold and very windy front moved into the area after new years, and we spent a couple of days hunkered down in the boat, trying to keep warm! The wind was howling all night long, making the "snubber" creak and groan under the load. (the snubber takes the strain off the anchor chain where it goes into the windlass, its a safety thing). It was a wakeful night the first night, until we were pretty sure none of the boats anchored near us were not going to drag! We never budged!

We rented a car to go to Fort Lauderdale to pick Clare up on Jan 4. We were still experiencing rain and wind and cool-cold weather. Clare arrived just fine, after an uneventful flight - and a great week "back home". Our heartfelt thanks to Kelly's parents for putting her up, and putting up with her! She had a wonderful time.

We decided to take the scenic route (highway A1A) back to Stuart. The sun broke out and the road meanders through all the beaches along the coast of Florida. We stopped at Deerfield Beach because it was so pretty and enticing! There were people exercising on the beach, surfers, kite surfers and loads of people just playing in the water. No Red Tide! We started to stroll along (dog in tow, of course) when we were told that NO DOGS were allowed, even on the sidewalk on the east side of the road! Sheesh! So Larry, Clare and Graham had a walk on the beach, while Beau and I walked on the other side of the street! Needless to say, we didn't stay that long, but it sure was a lovely beach.

The rest of the trip home was uneventful, if rainy and we had to wait out squalls before heading back to the boat. We finally got a mooring ball on Saturday (Jan 5) which means that we are closer to the marina and showers and decent internet! Hoohaa! Here we sit this morning, the weather is a bit warmer, but still with the threat of rain, as we sip our morning coffee and contemplate the days agenda. Laundry, showers, walk to town. Bed.!!