December 25 , 2013 - Jan 16, 2014 Ocean Reef Yacht Club

Christmas and New Years at Ocean Reef Yacht Club

Dec 25, 2013 Wed:  Merry Christmas,   We celebrate Christmas at Liz and Ricks with folks from the Marina. There was a yankee swap and gifts for all.  There were many swaps. 

Our weather window is closing for the Exuma departure so took advantage of the extra time and worked on the boat, went  kayaking, played tennis, did major shopping for provisions, had a few dinghy adventures and hung out with friends. 

We did the bad dinghy landing on the beach but somehow managed to survive.

I stepped on a wine glass and cut the bottom of my foot which prevented me from playing tennis. The weather was pretty bad anyway. 
We did enjoy some dinghy beach time with John and Arlene, their dog, Shirley and I.  What a great way to spend and afternoon.

We met Liz's daughter Jen and her new boyfriend Dom from Australia for a very nice New Years Eve Dinner at Rick and Liz's. 

We missed the fireworks in Lucaya, it was getting too late and we are getting too old.  

Jan 1, 2014:  Happy New Year!  
Unfortunately Shirley leaves this afternoon. 

Hank brought us to airport, since he was picking up Tom who had been at Cindy’s for several days. 

Junkanoo with Tom and Bob was interesting, they liked the food, I like the pina coladas, and we all like the people watching just as much as the parade.  OMG what a hoot.

I started off the New Year slipping on the foredeck and slicing my leg as it went part way through the forward porthole. I am not sure just how I did that, I am not a happy camper but I cleaned it up and closed the gash with  butterfly band aides. So more time off from tennis yet again.  This time I did make an appointment with Dr Bethel, he remembered me from last year when I injured the other leg (do we see a pattern here).

Bob did the intro to scuba, he liked it, and had no problems with his ears. 

  

As the weather continued to deteriorate, howling wind and sideways rain, we hunkered down and watched movies for  a couple of days. 

 Oh and Bob put up his special string of lights. 

We had dinner on board for Judy, Anthony and Tom, pork chops, mashed potatoes, peas, garlic bread and after dinner drinks.  Everyone was nicely stuffed and Judy and Anthony spent the night.

 Liz and Rick had a cocktail party, I made brochette and it was a big hit. We had a great time talking with several other cruisers. They did discourage us from leaving the next morning for the Exumas.   They had been listening to Chris Parker and he had advised against because of potential squalls over the next several days. ( there were no squalls)

The un-departed cruisers thought it would be a good idea to have a navigation meeting sharing charts, notes, tall stories and good information about where to stop and where not to. It turned to be a very useful gathering. 

We were disappointed that we didn't leave as planned.  But it did give Bob more time to work on the generator, impeller and battery charging. Bob and John spoke about the battery charging and came up with a good solution.  

Bob went out with the boys on shopping trip, got a battery charger, roadie, beer, stopped at the $2 bar, he said he was the slower shopper, but a good beer drinker. 

I guess I was getting stir crazy because  I started cooking, I made potato salad and hand dried some basil leaves. 
More weird weather all day, rain on and off, big black clouds, squalls. So that calls for a dinghy ride, some reading and dinner with Judy and Anthony.

Jan 16 2014: we finally play some tennis even with a cold wind, and very overcast skies.

Bob rented a bike and went shopping for ingredients for his wings. There is a  Big competition tonight ;-}  The boat smelled delicious again.  
Bob did quite a bit of exercising on his rental bike, he forgot and Item of importance and had to go back to Freeport to get it.  He was sore for a few days. 

Liz stopped by and we played a couple of hands of cribbage, she has been very busy with family.  

Lots of folks at the wing night event and lots of food.  I liked Bob’s wings the best, but he did not win.  I don’t think we made enough for the number of people that turned out.  It was a good night.  

We all got back to boat and hit the sack so we would be ready for our early am departure for the Exumas.  Yeah!   ABOUT TIME!

Vero Beach to Bahamas Dec 22 - Dec 24

Vero Beach to Grand Bahama Island, Ocean Reef Yacht Club (ORYC)

Dec 22 Sun:  We depart Vero at 9:17 am after topping off fuel, water, pump out, and take showers.  We arrived at north bridge Ft pierce 11:00am and made to our anchorage in North Lake Worth at 5:45pm.  There were lots of boats in the anchorage, and lots of shallow spots.  After we anchored the boat behind us moved, I guess he thought we were too close.  

Dec 23 Mon:  We depart 6:45 am, Shirley agreed that most of the the homes along the ICW were over the top, same for yachts. 

Lots of bridges on this stretch but there was not too much waiting.  We arrived in Ft Lauderdale at 3:30pm and waited for the last bridge opening before our exit out to the ocean. Heading out of the inlet was rough, just for Shirley,  and for a while after that, but seas did calm down and the rest of the night was good. We did not much sleep on our 3hr shift since the auto pilot was not working. We sailed most of way till the wind died. 
We received a message that Herb had passed away at 3:30pm, what a wonderful man, a real gentleman. 


Dec 24 Tue: We arrived in Port Lucaya 7:30am, port tie, Ryan, the dock master helped.  We cleared customs and immigration and head to ORYC at 11:30am.  Shirley did some shopping in Lucaya and bought ear rings she liked from last year. 

 Going into Silver Pt inlet was like coming home, folks in dinghies welcomed us, as well as lots of shouts from the beach. Tom met us at dock B3 and helped us tie up.   There was some mix up in the office about where we were located, Tom helped clear it up.  We are in B4 using B3 power.  Lots of hello’s and greetings, cocktails with Tom, Rick came by in his boat.  We went over to see Liz after a shower.  Dinner at Esters tonight then to bed for some much needed rest.  

Titusville Fl to Vero Beach FL Dec 9 - Dec 21 2013

Titusville to Vero Beach

Dec 17 Tuesday:  Depart for Vero Beach at 12:30 after breakfast, return car, and picked more provisions.  It was warm sunny, winds at 17kts, from North, choppy water but going wit it.  It was actually getting warmer. Shirley is doing crossword puzzles, Bob at helm, all is well.  We arrive at Melbourne at 4:30pm and dinghy in for dinner at Chart House, we were not the best dressed folks there.  But the food was good.  

Dec 18 Wed depart Melbourne 8am, 10kt N wind, choppy, still going with it. Clear and warming to 72 degrees, Shirley at the helm and doing a fine job.  We arrive in Vero Beach Marina around noon. There was only one mooring left near the mangroves in the crowded marina; most boats rafted up.  Saw Betty and Bob on Lady Nelson as we came into harbor. 

We dinghy in for showers and check-in as it started getting windy and cooler.  Peg and Herb, my Aunt and Uncle, picked us up at 3pm, their neighbor Bill Chambers driving. They had been looking for a new car/van.  We stayed for a bit then borrowed their car to shop.  We picked up pizza for dinner with Peg and Herb and then headed back to marina at 9pm and off to bed.  Jay had called us at 11pm to let us know Herb had a stroke and was in the hospital.  

Dec 19 Thursday; Up around 7am, trying to find someone to work on generator.  We spent the next couple of days visiting Herb and keeping Peggy company.  

Dec 20 Friday:  Drove to Ft Pierce for hardware, dive gear, and more provisions.  

Dec 21 Sat:  Spent the day with Peg; Shirley and I helped set up her Christmas cards and updated the mailing list. There was no change in Herb's condition.