Stay Over in Vero Beach
Dec 17 thru Dec 20
—Blogpost written by Bob
We were staying over in Vero Beach awaiting a weather window to cross the gulf stream to the Bahamas. We recently decided to stay here through Christmas and will be making blogposts every three or four days.
Tuesday, December 17
We listened to the Vero Beach Cruiser's Net again this morning and found out that the outside temperature was expected to reach 83 degrees this afternoon! We've been living in shorts and tee shirts for the past week and today was more of the same.
After taking nice hot showers in the morning, I made arrangements with the marina office to have a slip on Monday (December 23) to make it easier to take Lola to the vet's office for her international certificate of health (as required by the Bahamas) and paid our mooring fees through December 27. (We rented a car for Saturday through Monday.) We caught the 9:45 AM free bus to Publix where we did some grocery shopping. We took an Uber back rather than load all our groceries into the bus. We then rode our bikes to Francesca's near the beach for lunch--it was delicious and very reasonable!
In the early afternoon a beautiful 10 to 15 knot southerly breeze came through the boat's forward hatches. It was a great day to just tinker around, read, and relax.
I felt particularly good today because a hip ache (right side) that has been bothering me for a month or so has finally disappeared. I can attribute the disappearance primarily to thermal bandages applied to the affected area and, secondarily, lots of Ibuprofen. I have no idea what caused it in the first place but it had really plagued me with negative thoughts about my ability to maintain this lifestyle for much longer. I'm so glad that its finally gone!
There was an 80% probability of rain tonight and it certainly looks like rain is coming (and it did rain heavily during the night!)
This morning I tried making cafe con leche a little differently--I used Starbucks (decaf) VIA, heated milk, and Splenda. It was delicious and I think that will be my go to recipe from now on!
It was foggy and wet outside and today's high temperature was expected to be only 57 degrees (which is cold for Florida!) with overcast skies most of the day. It didn't sound like a day for doing outdoor things. In fact, we never left the boat.
The day went from foggy and wet to windy (20 knots) and cool (low 60's). We had delicious home made chili for lunch and we read indoors most of the afternoon. Any day spent on a boat is still a good day! The high wind and cool temperatures continued into the night. There is still no weather window for the gulf stream crossing looking out through December 26 but we are hopeful for one shortly thereafter. (We have to allow about 3 days to travel further south before crossing the gulf stream to Bimini.)
We defrosted the fridge tonight because of excessive build up of frost on the cold plate. The high humidity here in Florida seems to be the cause. (I think I also need to make some improvements on the door seal but that will have to wait until next summer.)
The high wind (15 to 20 knots) out of the northeast continued into today with temperatures rising a bit, reaching a high of 70 degrees F by the afternoon. We went out for lunch at Casey's Place, an outdoor cafe near the beach--they had great hamburgers and hotdogs!
We continued with our all out war against "no-see-ums" as our Avon Skin-so-soft with bug guard came in today from Amazon! The high winds we've experienced lately have helped a lot since the "no-see-ums" are not strong fliers but we still have a lot of old bites with which we are still dealing.
We have paid for a slip for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. The slip will give us a 3-day reprieve from the "no-see-ums" (hopefully), provide a safer way to get Lola to the vet for her international health certificate, and make it a little easier for us to load groceries onto the boat. (We were very lucky that a slip was available for these three days!)
After a light breakfast, we started our major project of the day, changing the engine oil and filter. I, first, ran the engine for about 5 minutes to warm up the engine oil and, then, used our oil extractor to suck out the old oil. This operation usually takes about 20 minutes.
While I was working in the engine area I also changed the transmission fluid since the total engine hours reached nearly 1500 hours--this will be due again at about 3000 hours. The coolant level was perfectly fine as it has been the last couple oil changes. (Whatever used to cause the coolant level to drop has ceased.)
It rained during most of the afternoon and evening. The high winds continued too. This rainy and windy weather and the continuous battle against "no-see-ums" is getting old. Tomorrow, we get a slip for next three days...
Thanks for following our blog!
After taking nice hot showers in the morning, I made arrangements with the marina office to have a slip on Monday (December 23) to make it easier to take Lola to the vet's office for her international certificate of health (as required by the Bahamas) and paid our mooring fees through December 27. (We rented a car for Saturday through Monday.) We caught the 9:45 AM free bus to Publix where we did some grocery shopping. We took an Uber back rather than load all our groceries into the bus. We then rode our bikes to Francesca's near the beach for lunch--it was delicious and very reasonable!
In the early afternoon a beautiful 10 to 15 knot southerly breeze came through the boat's forward hatches. It was a great day to just tinker around, read, and relax.
 |
| Lola on the foredeck as the clouds start to roll in. She is not allowed on the foredeck while the boat is underway. |
 |
| Happy hour tonight consisted of my favorite wine (Erath Pinot Noir from Oregon) and Yancey's Fancy Zesty Hatch Chile cheese. |
I felt particularly good today because a hip ache (right side) that has been bothering me for a month or so has finally disappeared. I can attribute the disappearance primarily to thermal bandages applied to the affected area and, secondarily, lots of Ibuprofen. I have no idea what caused it in the first place but it had really plagued me with negative thoughts about my ability to maintain this lifestyle for much longer. I'm so glad that its finally gone!
There was an 80% probability of rain tonight and it certainly looks like rain is coming (and it did rain heavily during the night!)
Wednesday, December 18
This morning I tried making cafe con leche a little differently--I used Starbucks (decaf) VIA, heated milk, and Splenda. It was delicious and I think that will be my go to recipe from now on!
It was foggy and wet outside and today's high temperature was expected to be only 57 degrees (which is cold for Florida!) with overcast skies most of the day. It didn't sound like a day for doing outdoor things. In fact, we never left the boat.
 |
| Looking toward the north mooring field with an overcast sky |
 |
| The self-tailing winch for our port jib sheet. This winch was not original to this boat but is of the same vintage as this boat. |
The day went from foggy and wet to windy (20 knots) and cool (low 60's). We had delicious home made chili for lunch and we read indoors most of the afternoon. Any day spent on a boat is still a good day! The high wind and cool temperatures continued into the night. There is still no weather window for the gulf stream crossing looking out through December 26 but we are hopeful for one shortly thereafter. (We have to allow about 3 days to travel further south before crossing the gulf stream to Bimini.)
We defrosted the fridge tonight because of excessive build up of frost on the cold plate. The high humidity here in Florida seems to be the cause. (I think I also need to make some improvements on the door seal but that will have to wait until next summer.)
Thursday, December 19
The high wind (15 to 20 knots) out of the northeast continued into today with temperatures rising a bit, reaching a high of 70 degrees F by the afternoon. We went out for lunch at Casey's Place, an outdoor cafe near the beach--they had great hamburgers and hotdogs!
We continued with our all out war against "no-see-ums" as our Avon Skin-so-soft with bug guard came in today from Amazon! The high winds we've experienced lately have helped a lot since the "no-see-ums" are not strong fliers but we still have a lot of old bites with which we are still dealing.
 |
| The pesky "no-see-ums" come from these mangroves that are about 100 feet away from our boat. We have considered moving to a mooring a little farther from the mangroves. |
 |
| The Avon Skin-so-soft with bug guard came in today! This is the second best deterrent for "no-see- ums". (The best contains 40% DEET.) |
We have paid for a slip for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. The slip will give us a 3-day reprieve from the "no-see-ums" (hopefully), provide a safer way to get Lola to the vet for her international health certificate, and make it a little easier for us to load groceries onto the boat. (We were very lucky that a slip was available for these three days!)
----------
A weather window for our gulf stream crossing has finally shown up on December 28--however, Penn State plays in the Cotton Bowl on that day. I would rather watch the game on TV than cross the gulf stream that day.
Friday, December 20
After a light breakfast, we started our major project of the day, changing the engine oil and filter. I, first, ran the engine for about 5 minutes to warm up the engine oil and, then, used our oil extractor to suck out the old oil. This operation usually takes about 20 minutes.
 |
| Using our oil extractor to suck out the old engine oil through the engine access door in the quarter berth. |
While I was working in the engine area I also changed the transmission fluid since the total engine hours reached nearly 1500 hours--this will be due again at about 3000 hours. The coolant level was perfectly fine as it has been the last couple oil changes. (Whatever used to cause the coolant level to drop has ceased.)
 |
| The ocean was rough when we went to Mulligan's for lunch. |
It rained during most of the afternoon and evening. The high winds continued too. This rainy and windy weather and the continuous battle against "no-see-ums" is getting old. Tomorrow, we get a slip for next three days...
Thanks for following our blog!
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