s/v ENDURANCE: Finally, an Update.

Here we sit in West Palm Beach, Florida. Despite the claim that we are dealing with a Cold Front (it was 41 degrees in St. Lucie where we woke up this morning - Friday, January 17), the sun is out, Lake Worth is calm and we are warm and relaxed. We left Manatee Pocket in St. Lucie this morning and went out into the great Atlantic. We actually sailed (with no engine!) for a good 90 minutes until the wind just died completely. It was great to get out on the ocean again and away from the ICW.

Our plan now is to avoid the Ditch until we start our return. That means we avoid about two dozen bridges between here and Ft. Lauderdale. It’s offshore to there. And then offshore to Miami and the Florida Keys. Can’t wait. In fact, we are leaving in the morning.

Here’s a brief recap and some pictures since our last post.

On January 8, I started to write: Brunswick to Eau Gallie!! It has been a cold and often blustery, but we are least 20 degrees warmer than our friends in Brunswick. Our first night back on the ICW was spent anchored in the Ft. George River just north of the St. John’s and Jacksonville. From there we made it to St. Augustine where we picked up a municipal mooring for one of the coldest nights in Florida history and one of our worst overnights aboard. Blowing and banging and straining and whistling and whipping about all night. For $20.20 we would have expected a better night’s sleep. Next time in St. Augustine, we’ll try the Econo Lodge. St. Augustine to New Smyrna on Tuesday as the barometer started to climb. When we awoke on Wednesday, it was 51 degrees! And climbing.

On Friday, January 10, Tess wrote from Vero Beach: Well, I thought it might never happen. We have been pushing, pushing, pushing to get to somewhere warm (and relatively comfortable) for so long we’d nearly given up. After leaving Brunswick, GA we spent our first night at anchor just north of the St John’s River. Fog came in so thick we thought we were back in Maine, but the morning was temperate enough. The next night we spent a miserable time on a mooring ball in St Augustine...we couldn’t leave fast enough. It was cold, wind “like stink” as sailor Tim would say, and the mooring field was immediately off the cut through to the Atlantic and the wind and current were having a battle of wills. I don’t know if either won, but the boaters did NOT. So, we left at first light and did another long day south as far as New Smyrna expecting warm...not so much. We pressed on to anchor in Eau Gallie, and while it was a bit warmer, the water was still a choppy mess for sleeping. We left a little later in the morning – about 9ish – and after an hour the rain came, and came, and came. Water-logged, we pulled in to Vero Beach to the municipal marina. The rain continued all day, the wind was whipping but we’re behind a mangrove break and are protected from it....and Here we are!

I got off the boat for the first time since Sunday (January 5) at 10:00 to go ashore and shower. They have a courtesy bus system which we took in to town to see a grocery story (we’ll stock up another day...we were just celebrating today) and we’re told the shuttle goes all the way to a Mall with a MOVIE THEATER! We are wearing shorts. We are a little uncomfortable with the heat. There’s little enough wind that the tiny bugs are coming out to nibble away at our arms and legs. In short, it’s GREAT!!!

Tomorrow we’ll do our chores – the boat needs another bow to stern cleaning; the dingy has been up on the davits since August and has a lovely layer of green algae in the bottom; we’ll work ourselves for a while and then do a walk to the beach, or a bus ride to a movie, or whatever we WANT to do rather than what we MUST do. The down coat is hung for the last time before heading north I hope.

And to friends from our last trip to the Bahamas who were staged to cross from Miami: We've listened to Chris Parker the past two mornings, and both Tony and I figured you'd take the window he has for you. There's no doubt you'll have company going over. God, I can hear the celebration from here! We are at Vero Beach City Marina. There are people here who've been waiting for two months! We have, for the FIRST TIME since leaving Vietnam in November, put on shorts. We're going to pause a moment and celebrate that today is what we're considering our First Day of cruising this season. Until now, cruising was the plan but weather turned us into a delivery crew -- up

early, slog through what you can get through, and go to bed wondering what

happened to the good weather.

I'm so sorry we're going to miss you We're so close -- 120 miles to Miami

from here I think....but if I were you I'd be SO OUTTA THERE!

Have some coconut bread for me...let us know where you touch and what you're

doing. We'll live vicariously through you. Scott's list of anchorages is

tucked in to Tony's cruising guide. Hopefully we'll be able to offer back

some tips one day!

Have fun. Our crossing to Bimini from Government Cut was easy-peasy....you'll be

there by lunch and the Customs lady will tell you where the best conch fritters can be found, up around the bend. It'll be just like being at home.

Congratulations. I miss you already.

Well,… we spent a week at Vero Beach. It’s called Velcro Beach by cruisers since it is warm and protected, has great (free) bus service, and that means access to everything.

And Tess and I went to the movies to see “Her”. Weird to me, but Siri tells me that not all AI girlfriends are like that. We’ll see, I guess.

Mike Parda met up with us on Monday (January 11) and is with us until about January 26. We took advantage of the fact that Mike had a car for the rest of the week as well. Schlepping lots of groceries, including 14 gallon jugs and four cases of water is not something you can do on a bus. Even if it is free.

Mike and I bought Florida fishing licenses at Vero Beach Bait & Marina, under the bridge, where Captain Brian gave us tips and maps for fishing (and drinking) in his hometown of Key West and Jim gave us local tips and instructions as we loaded up on new gear. At one point, Jim said “and I’d use this plug in the morning just casting a few from deck while drinking my first cup of coffee”. Well, at 6:00 the next morning, my first thought was of Jim. I made a pot of coffee, cracked open a new plug and went above to cast “a few”. On the third cast I had a Sand Seatrout and as I lifted him out of the water, his tail bounced off the cap rail and he was gone. He did leave some scales as evidence so when Mike arrived (with his first cup of coffee), I had evidence. When I snagged the bottom a few minutes later, I hopped in the dinghy to retrieve my lucky new plug. Once on the water, why not keep going? Mike and I then spent two hours further up in the mangroves casting for fish.

Back by 9:00 for eggs, toast, more coffee and fresh Seatrout. A good start to our Florida fishing experience.

We left Vero on Thursday, January 16, to move to St. Lucie on a cold and blustery day. Not because we were done with Vero, but because we wanted to take the St. Lucie Inlet out into the Atlantic on a good day sail South. So, here we are in Lake Worth. We are really in Florida now.

The reason we left for Vero Beach.

It still gets cold out here!

St. Augustine. Where we hoped to get warm. And failed.

A juvenile pelican friend.

It can be bad...

… and it can be good.

Porpoises. Warmer blooded than we are.

Girls at work.

A man. On a New York City subway. Dreaming of being on a boat in Florida.

A man. On a boat in Florida. Dreaming of being on a warm boat in Florida.

Mike, in sunny Vero Beach, Florida talking to Howie in sunny San Marcos, California.

Attracting porpoises on the way to West Palm Beach.

Nice visit.

First day of fishing results in Seatrout at Breakfast!

Vero Beach Pelican gorging on Florida Pompano scrapes from local fisherman (not us).

A more mature Pelican friend.

Girls still hard at work in Vero Beach.

Staying warm on the way to St. Lucie.

Route Selection or Fish Identification?

Heading to Lake Worth and West Palm Beach.

How long to Key West?

A lizard fish (maybe) on our second day fishing (off the coast headed to Lake Worth).

We arte in Ft. lauderdale now. George and Craig met us in West Palm and Tess took their car back to Ft. Lauderdale while the four "boys" sailed down on a beautiful day. We sailed. We fished. We ate. It was good.