We might be crazy

We left Vero and headed north planning to go to Cocoa. Along the way we started talking about the Bahamas and decided that we still wanted to go. We turned the boat around and headed south. We went out into the ocean at Fort Pierce Inlet. We ran just off the coast all the way back to Lake Worth Inlet. 

Once inside the inlet we filled up with fuel and headed back to the slip we had at Riviera Beach Municipal Marina. Now we're going crazy looking at multiple weather reports trying to decide what day to cross to the Bahamas. Some reports say tomorrow looks great and some say it could be rough. Wonder who is right?

Dredge boat off of Singer Island. It picks up sand from the bottom of the ocean on the north side of the inlet and then takes it to the south side of the inlet where it is pumped onto the beach.

Another look at our building

Back into Lake Worth Inlet

Vero Beach City Marina

It was another beautiful day in Florida. We took a short trip to Vero Beach and stayed at the City Marina. This is a great place for Hooper as there is a large dog park right next to the marina. Tomorrow we'll head to Cocoa Village Marina and stay for the weekend.

Fort Pierce

We had another good travel day. We stayed on the Intracoastal today, and it was sunny, warm & calm. Hooper was happy as he saw plenty of dolphin & they were willing to swim over and play in our wake. We never get tired of seeing dolphin.

Just to prove it's a small world, as we came through the Jensen Beach Bridge, my cell phone rang. Our next door neighbor in Massapequa, NY, who recently bought a condo in Florida, called to ask if it could be us. Sure enough, it was. He was looking out his condo at just the right time and spotted us.

We anchored off a small island just inside Fort Pierce Inlet for lunch and a swim break. As usual, I hopped in the dinghy with Hooper to take him to shore, while Al stayed on the boat to make sure the anchor was secure. We took off but the dinghy motor wasn't running right and died before we reached the island. I had to paddle like mad against the strong current to reach the island. I thought the motor was flooded and would start after it sat for awhile, so I took a walk on the beach with Hooper. When I returned to the dinghy, I tried several times, but couldn't get it to start. I didn't know what to do. The master mechanic was sitting on the boat & I was stuck on the island. The current was running too strong for me to have any hope of rowing back to the mother ship. Thank goodness I noticed that the fuel line was kinked. Once I straightened out the hose the motor easily started, because now it was getting fuel.

Later in the afternoon we pulled up anchor, headed across the channel and went into Harbortown Marina. We met several very friendly and interesting people there.

Mighty dolphin hunter

View from the anchorage

Peck Lake Anchorage

4/1/15

We wanted to go to the Bahamas. We were all set to go. We told everyone we know that we were going. The boat was full of fuel, water and provisions. We spent time reading the guide books and charts. The weather forecast predicted a perfect window for crossing the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas.

Then all our plans changed because the weather changed. The wind unexpectedly was coming from the north making big waves in the Gulf Stream. The perfect weather window for crossing blew away with the north wind. Friends of ours who tried to return to the U.S. yesterday had to turn around and go back to the Bahamas because of big waves. They told us several boats tried to leave the Bahamas this morning and all of them had to turn around. We didn't feel like fighting big waves, and we also didn't feel like sitting in Palm Beach waiting for good weather to cross to the Bahamas, when the weather was perfect for traveling in Florida.

We decided to head north and explore places in Florida that we haven't seen. We headed out Lake Worth Inlet, traveled along the coast, and went in Saint Lucie Inlet. It was nice and calm. We saw large sea turtles, flying fish, and dolphin. Hooper was disappointed because for some reason none of the dolphin we saw would come over to swim in the boat wake. 

We traveled a short way in the Intracoastal to Peck Lake where we anchored. We put the dinghy in to go to the beach. There was a short trail through the vegetation that opened to a long stretch of beautiful beach. This area is so quiet and secluded compared to Palm Beach.

Leaving Riviera Beach Municipal Marina

The Port of Palm Beach

Old Coast Guard Station on Peanut Island

Heading out the inlet

Our condo

Jupiter Lighthouse 

Hooper enjoying a dinghy ride

Trail to the beach

Biodiesel plant on fire. We could hear the explosions at our anchorage.

Sunset at Peck Lake

Back in the water

We got the call from the boatyard telling us that their travel lift was fixed and we could go back in the water today. Thankfully everything went smoothly and as planned. We went in the water and took a test ride. Everything feels great.

The travel lift with new pistons, liners, and head gasket.

Ready to splash

Cracker Boy Boatworks

We knew that Palm Beach was one of the worst areas for marine growth on boat hulls. We were starting to see a lot of growth on the hull, and barnacles on the thrusters, so we decided to haul the boat to clean the bottom. We went to Cracker Boy Boatworks which is right next to the Riviera Beach Municipal Marina where we are keeping the boat for the winter. 

The bottom wasn't too bad considering we painted it 3 years ago. We had quite a few bare spots from hitting logs on the Mississippi River. The thrusters were covered with barnacles. The prop & cutlass bearing were in great shape.

We had the bottom power washed & wet sanded. Al stripped the running gear & trim tabs down to bare metal. He then applied a metal etch & then 2 coats of primer. I scraped all the barnacles off the thrusters. He then painted everything with Pettit Trinidad Pro in Yacht Red. 

We had the hull cleaned and waxed. Al saw some cracks around the bow thruster tube, so we had that repaired.

Everything was going great until Wednesday 3/4/15. We were ready to go back in the water. We went to the boat yard, only to find out that the motor on the travel lift blew up. They have another lift, but it's much larger & can't fit where we are. The yard thought they could put our boat on a trailer to move it to a clear spot where the big lift could pick us up & put us in the water. The trailer was brand new & never used before. They were trying it out on our boat. After watching the fiasco for over an hour, it was obvious that this trailer couldn't safely move our boat. Al told them to stop! We thought it was much wiser to stay on land until the travel lift is fixed, instead of risking major damage to our boat trying to get back in the water. We were told that the lift would be fixed Saturday, but we can't go in the water until next Tuesday because everything is now backed up. Thank goodness we have the condo to live in & the yard isn't charging us to stay on land.

We came out of the water 2/26/15

Al cleaning the running gear

Etched, primed & painted

Hooper worked very hard on the boat & needed a break

The hull didn't shine this good when it was new.

Fiberglass guy fixing cracks around the bow thruster tube.

They though they could put our boat on this trailer.

They tried for over an hour to get the boat on the trailer

They tried for over an hour to get the boat on the trailer, but it didn't look safe. The trailer 

wasn't able to support our boat in the right places, so we were picturing the hull cracking or 

the boat falling off the trailer. We couldn't take watching the fiasco and told them to stop. 

We'll stay on land until the travel lift is fixed.