The Parkinson’s Bahamas Adventure April 1-12, 2009

April 1^{st(Week 26, Day 174)}: Despite the howling winds all night, we slept well but I couldn’t drag myself out of bed till 0730 hrs. We hadn’t had a good night sleep for 3 nights. Graeme had coffee made & was stomping around the deck getting the dinghy ready to drop into the water. We have to clear US Customs & Immigration onshore sometime soon. Graeme phoned & received his reference # after numerous attempts & a few different numbers. The winds were S blowing 15-20K with whitecaps on the waters of the ICW; we surfed down to the Riviera Marina dinghy dock. If the winds don’t settle down by the time to return to the boat, it will surely be a wet ride. Paying the $10.00 docking fee at the marina gave us the privilege to take showers & do laundry. Checking into Customs & Immigration on the second floor was no problem & quite quick despite the number of people doing the same thing. We then went up to the third floor to show our Decal (Jan.- Dec.), & apply for a cruising permit from today till July 1 ($19.00 for 3 months); a cruising permit is required if the boat is registered outside of the USA. Alto, Celtic Cross, Sandcastle & us met at the Tiki Bar & had a celebration lunch. Then we went our separate ways to do a bit of provisioning. A Happy Hour gathering was cancelled because the wind & chop on Lake Worth was too bad; yes, the dinghy ride back to the boat was a very wet one, requiring a shower bag shower in the cockpit. Lying in bed with a brisk, warm, humid breeze flowing through the front hatch, I got to thinking of some of today’s events; of being thrusted back to reality of North American lifestyle & the world we live in ie driving on the right side of the road, walking on the opposite side that I have gotten so use to doing, the many more lanes of cars, roads & traffic, noises, increase emergency vehicle noises, more availability of familiar products & prices, are just a few reality checks.

April 2^nd: It was an early start this am as we wanted to put in some good miles north. First, we lifted the dinghy motor, then up anchored at 0745 hrs. & motored into the ICW channel with a brisk S breeze at our stern, on a sunny with some cloudy periods, hot & muggy morn. We passed through the usual string of bascule bridges from Palm Beach to Jupiter. The S wind piped up to 10-15K making it feasible to deploy the jenny in Hobe Sound. Suddenly the clouds & 25+K winds rolled in as we were going to set anchor in Lake Peck around 1400 hrs.; the anchorage is small & quite shallow & there were quite a few boats here already. We abandoned that idea & pressed on through St. Lucie Inlet to Jensen Beach, just north of the fixed bridge in 8 ft. of water. The winds & chop were up & down, S to SW between 10-20K; the skies too were variable, sun, cloud, threatening & angry, but nothing developed. By evening the winds & chop decreased. Distance= 32.9nm. Another shower bag shower in the cockpit felt very refreshing.

April 3^rd: Winds decreased during the night, but as dawn was approaching, they increased from the WSW. It was very cloudy, humid, grey such that there was little difference in colour & distinction between sky & water. We had another early start & threatening rain clouds followed us all the way to Vero Beach City Municipal Marina. With only 1/3 of the jenny out & myself on the helm were averaged 5-6K on the knotmeter, but a high of 7.4 on SOG on GPS. We were at Vero on a mooring ball #39 by 1245 hrs. with Celtic Cross & Sandcastle soon to follow (usual for 3 boats per mooring ball). The black skies did open up with heavy downpour that repeated itself a few times throughout the rest of the afternoon. We were able to get to shore to do 4 loads of laundry (all foul weather gear got a well-needed wash to rid them of saltwater) & a long, hot long awaited shower (Oh I’m in heaven!). An outdoor ‘Happy Hour’ had been organized for all cruisers in the anchorage & was well attended despite the weather; after all we are suppose to be used to rain & getting wet. Surprise, surprise---Waterparke made it all the way from the Lake Worth area; they were dead tired. Since arriving in the US this is the first internet access I have had, so called my Mom on Skype; warm & rainy in Ottawa. Too many city lights; the stars are not as plentiful & bright as in the Bahamas. A warm & humid breeze wafted through the hatch all night.

April 4^th: This was the day to race around & do reprovisioning, with anticipation to leave & travel north on Mon. or Tues. Vero Beach have free transportation Mon. through Sat. with short day on Sat. It was a beautiful sunny day with clear blue sky & less humidity due to winds from NE. I squeezed in an hour powerwalk with the purpose of locating a church for tomorrow, followed by another gorgeous shower. We attended ‘Happy Hour’ at the Riverside Café & met a few more new boaters. Once back on the boat we fired up the BBQ, but that did not keep the no-see-ums away; they are particularly bad tonight.

April 5^th: Palm Sunday; I walked to Holy Cross RC Church on A1A to attended the 0900 hrs. processional mass. After lunch, while others went shopping, it was beach time for me. It was a busy day on Vero Beach with families enjoying such a beautiful sunny, hot, humid day with 10-15K winds. I walked the sandy beach, the boardwalk, took in some rays while reading, then walked back to the marina. Another grand shower, internet work & a superb BBQ beef fillet supper. The night was a quiet one; the winds died down to nil; some no-see-ums.

April 6^th: It was still sunny, hot, humid with some threatening cloudy periods. Ian & Sharon had a loaner car yesterday & today; we were fortunate to tag along to a variety of stops they were making. I even got a haircut at the barbershop across from the Publix ($13.00). The skies opened with a short burst of rain just as we were about to leave to dinghy to Waterparke as they were hosting a potluck supper. The predicted high winds blew in bringing dryer air & a considerable drop in temperature from 90F to 60F. The Skipper’s Meeting this eve made a decision to cancel tomorrow’s departure as winds are predicted to be 20-30K N-NW. It was a cool & gusty , windy night with clearing skies & a moon that was approaching full in a few days. Good night Dad! I love you!

April 7^th: Yes, it certainly was very gusty & windy & cold today! Temperature high = 69F & low= 55F. It was a fleece day despite the brilliant sun. Some tidying up & little joe jobs, some internet work like installing MacAfee successfully in Graeme’s unprotected laptop all on my own + sending my mass email successfully on my own by highlighting, copying (Ctrl C) & pasting (Ctrl V); I have learnt some new computer tricks from a variety of people. I even crammed in a powerwalk to Riverside Park (SR60 & Mockingbird), while Graeme was shopping. Then it was Happy Hour up by the Holiday Inn on the beach, followed by a quick supper & a game of Mexican Dominoes on Celtic Cross. The N wind has died down this eve but still very fresh. Predictions are good for a departure tomorrow.

April 8th (Week 27, Day 179): The morning was sunny, gorgeous, cool, cloudless blue sky with NNW winds about 5-8K & minimal chop on the ICW. Quite a number of us were on the move this am. The wind was on our nose until we just past Sebastian Inlet, then it clocked slightly to the E so we were able to roll the jenny out & decrease our motor rev’s as it’s strength increased to 10K. We sighted a large number of dolphins around the Melbourne area & also a huge osprey nest with a possibility of young-uns in the nest. We sailed to Palm Shores & anchored NE of the causeway at 1700 hrs. Distance= 35.6nm & water temp= 22C. Winds now SE about 5K, but by sunset they had clocked to SW. Nevertheless it remained calm & gentle at anchor. I know I have mentioned a few striking differences from here to the Bahamas but it seemed to be emphasized here on our own anchor ie colour of the water, more car/traffic noise, but nevertheless & similarly is the presence of water no matter what colour, the sound of water slapping against the boat, the clear night skies emphasizing the amazing magnitude of stars, the moon in it’s varied stages of the month. & the complete sense of peacefulness on the water. I know you have peace to Dad!

April 9^th: A cool start to the day but a magnificent red hue on the horizon before sunrise. The sun was in full force warming the air to the mid 70’sF. At 0730 hrs. we up anchored & again sailed most of the day in a NW wind about 5K in the am, then it increased to 8-10K & clocked to NE, then E. We arrived at our destination, Titusville & anchored at 1315 hrs. Distance= 24.5nm. By evening, the wind increased to 10-15K & clocked to the S, so we were rocking a bit at this location. Happy Hour was not missed; we were supplied with Mojitos compliments of Sandcastle. The full moon shone brilliantly despite the wispy clouds & few stars in the night sky.

April 10^th: Good Friday! The idea was to go to Daytona today then St. Augustine for Sat. & Easter Sunday, both full mileage days. Hence a 0630 hrs. start on a coolish morning with cloud cover. There was quite a number of us on the move through Haulover Canal, a favourite spot for fishing, then into Mosquito Lagoon, where the fisherman were wearing hipwaiters standing waist high in the water about 100 ft. from the ICW; it is that shallow. Sun did make an appearance & warmed the cooled air. Winds were SW about 5K, then W but not the 10-15K predicted until late afternoon. Too many powerboats on the waterway creating waves. One really should decide if it is worth travelling on weekends or holidays when the weather is nice, winds are light & the rocking & rolling over powerboat wakes knock any little wind out of the sails. We anchored with many others at Mile 831.9, Daytona, east of R 44 at 1515 hrs. Now the winds have clocked to the Se & are blowing 10-15K; interesting though was the fact that the current was stronger than the wind so our anchor was behind us & all boats were pointing in different directions. By 1630 hrs. the winds shifted again to the SW to 15-20K with 1 ft. chop, making the anchorage bouncy. Distance= 42nm.

April 11^th: Another 0515 hrs. wake up alarm. Now the anchor line was wrapped around the keel, so it took extra time & maneuvering to pull up the anchor as we tried for an early getaway before dawn. In no time there was an entourage of boaters at our tail. This early morning was cloudy with even some haze/fog, W winds at about 5K, just enough to keep our jenny filled on a beam reach. The wind picked up mid morning & shifted to the NW (a beat). We went aground favouring the G19 (Flagler Beach) in 4.3 ft. but managed to get ourselves off. The ICW weands around in the area from Flagler Beach to St. Augustine on the Matanzas River. The winds were shifty & gusty, & had increased to 15K & later 20K in a falling tide no less. The tides are exaggerated at the time around a full moon (April 9^th). We had numerous warnings over the VHF from leading boats when approaching G81 & G81A, but we farred O.K. making long wide sweeping turns. We passed through the south & north anchorage fields at St. Augustine & took a slip at Comanche Cove Yacht Harbour at 1715 hrs.(M16), having no problems with the construction & limited openings of the Bridge of Lions. This location is an Easter gift to each other; we haven’t been in a marina since having boat repairs done in Spanish Wells in Feb. Besides the winds had really gustied up to 20+K, the anchorages were quite full & it would have been a long & wet dinghy ride to shore to showers, etc. I took advantage of laundry facilities & did 3 loads + long, hot shower, even blow drying & passing a curling iron through my hair. Distance= 46.0nm. We have arranged a complimentary vehicle for 0700hrs. to attend an open air Episcopal Easter Sunrise Service at the Castillo in the morning. The wind died down by bedtime & there was a very pleasant night breeze flowing through the V-berth hatch.

April 12^{th(Week 27, Day 183)}: Happy Easter! Hot, sunny, slightly humid day with light winds that built over the afternoon into the evening , but very pleasant. After showering, we were on our way to the Sunrise Service. The music started as the sun was just poking over the horizon. The crowds were seated in their lawn chairs facing east. The homily was not very good. The best part was when 3 adults were baptized, completely immersed in full clothes in the salt water of the harbour. Then we all went to the Bunnery on St. George St. in old St. Augustine for breakfast. A Group Easter Supper at a local restaurant was arranged. Graeme & I walked back to the marina, a 11/2 hr. walk; Graeme hosed the boat down well with fresh water while I cooked a few meals for future use. There was an Easter Parade downtown that some in our group attended. I called my family on Skype before they sat down for their Easter Dinner at Donna’s. We had the loaner vehicle again for the evening & met the group of 16 for dinner at Harry’s, a Louisianna-style food; lots of talk, pictures, drinks & good food. When all was said & done, we said our good-byes to some who were staying on at St. Augustines & good night to those who were moving on tomorrow like ourselves. We drove the van on a little tour over the Bridge of Lions & back & over the Villano Bridge, put $10.00 of gas in the van, then home. Weather tomorrow through Wed. is not to be good; decisions will be confirmed in the morn.