18 November 2024
We arrived here in Vero Beach on the 8th of November and have stayed way longer than planned. Being able to stay at our friend's dock has been a true blessing.
One of our blog readers said they missed the "dinghy story". At that time, I responded that there really was no dinghy story. Well, now there is one!
At the beginning of our trip south, we discovered the dinghy was losing air. If we needed to use it, Clark had to pump air into the starboard side tube ahead of time. When we stopped in New Bern, NC, our friend Ralph recommended someone he knew located in Florida, Zoe, that does dinghy repair. Ralph was able to provide Clark with contact information.
Clark called Zoe from New Bern and made arrangements to have repair work done once we arrived in Florida, i.e. by the time we got there our name would be at the top of their priority list. Stopping at a friend's dock in the Satellite Beach, FL area, Clark was able to drive the dinghy to a boat ramp where he was met by a rep from the repair shop to take the dinghy away on a trailer to their shop. They quickly sent us a video of the issues they found and got to work on the repairs.
The plan included the dinghy being returned to us in Vero Beach after repairs were completed. We got the good news on the 13th that Clark could pick up the repaired dinghy the next day. As I mentioned in the blog update of the 14th, the outboard was making unusual noises when raised or lowered. Clark spent the next day, somewhat unsuccessfully, working on the outboard.
During his time spent with the dinghy, Clark discovered that the starboard tube was still losing air. He sprayed soap on the tube and then sent pictures of the resultant bubbles to the repair folks. They were horrified with this news and told him to bring the dinghy back to the Vero Beach boat ramp the very next day for a return to dinghy "hospital". Even though it was a Saturday, they picked up the dinghy in the morning and jumped right on looking into the issue. They said they would need time for the repair work and the glue to dry before the dinghy could be returned to us.
This morning, Clark received a text-message video outlining the repair work that was completed since Saturday. Shortly thereafter, he received a phone call scheduling pickup for this afternoon. With no discussion, they told Clark that they stand by their work and there would be no charge for the rework. We now have some "cosmetic" patches on patches as well to prevent potential future issues.
Clark got a ride to the boat ramp from our host, Don, and picked up the dinghy around 3:00. We are expecting everything to now be in good shape and will finally be leaving Don's dock tomorrow morning. We needed to kill time before arriving in Marathon for our reservation in December, but we did not intend to spend this much time in one place.
Knowing that we would be leaving tomorrow, I spent today focused on activities that are not easily done while on board. First, having gotten in the mood to do acrylic painting, I tried something a little different today. Back in August I went shopping in Michael's and saw a ceramic snail on sale for around $5. On a whim I picked it up for a future fun activity. When I packed the boat, I brought the snail along figuring I might find time one day to work on it. Today was that day.
 |
| As sold at Michael's |
I tried a few different ideas and eventually ended with a faux wood look for my snails.
In between coats of paint, I did a last load of laundry to be all set until we get to Marathon.
After lunch, when Clark prepared to go retrieve the dinghy with Don, I decided to go for a walk. My destination for today was a return to the Vero Beach boardwalk. I took a water bottle and my kindle planning to sit there for a while, enjoy the sights, and feel the ocean breeze. The plan worked as intended. The ocean is an amazing stress reliever, and I enjoyed every minute of time I spent there.
I walked from one end of the boardwalk to the other a total of four times as the sign at one end says 4 times equates to 1.5 miles. Including the distance to and from the boardwalk, by the time I arrived back at the boat, I had walked about 2.5 miles. That totals about 10 miles walked over the last 3 days.
Even though today was a Monday, I saw more folks at the beach than I did yesterday.
 |
| Folks enjoying the Vero Beach beach |
 |
| Looking down from the boardwalk, I spied a bunny busy nibbling |
 |
| A man stuck his toes in the water as sandpipers ran back and forth behind him (and his wife watched from the beach chair) |
 |
| End of lap 1 of 4 |
I realized today that part of the beach has a life guard and the rest is denoted as "swim at own risk". Pets are not allowed on the protected portion but appear to be allowed on the "at risk" section.
 |
| Yesterday was a red flag day; Today was a yellow flag day. |
 |
| I couldn't resist taking a picture of the US flag blowing in the breeze on a cloudy day. |
 |
| This young girl enjoyed running away from the waves as they rolled in towards her. |
 |
| Off in the distance I could see a large vessel traveling in a southerly direction |
Most folks stayed out of the water. A few brave souls went in. I noticed that no one was in the life-guard protected water. They were all in the ocean where it was labeled "swim at own risk".
One gray-haired guy amused me as he frolicked in the water like a teenager playing with the waves. When he got to the ocean's edge, he jumped around a bit probably psyching himself up to get ready to enter the ocean water, and then he ran in like a little kid. He dove into the waves, body surfed on them, and let the waves just carry him where he stood. Eventually another person, who might have been his wife, joined him to frolic in the waves as well.
As I watched, I had to smile as I pictured my Idaho son and his wife doing this in their old age as well. Fortunately, they have quite a few years to go before old age arrives!
 |
| Two black dots in the water are the wave surfers / wave divers. |
 |
| Here they are again bobbing in the water |
After my 1.5 mile walk, I did find a bench with a view of the ocean and pull out my kindle for a bit, but it was much more entertaining to "people watch" than to read. Some time after 3:00 I got a call from Clark to say he was back "home" with the repaired dinghy. I stayed for a while longer and then made my way back to our boat where I found him tying down the dinghy in preparation for our departure in the morning.
Knowing we would be pulling in our lines tomorrow, our friends Cathy and Franklin came over for a quick visit. We sat on the patio with Anna and Don for one last docktails. Unfortunately, the gnats / mosquitoes were out enforce tonight. The party broke up just before 6:00, and everyone went their separate ways to find dinner, etc.
After dinner I worked on this blog update. While I did that, Clark was out, in the dark, gluing down the mini solar panel that charges the battery for the dinghy -- his last activity before we pull in our lines in the morning. He said it would possibly blow away if he didn't take care of it tonight. At this point, we are both hoping the dinghy is done making demands on Clark's time.
We still have more time to kill and more friends to connect with before we reach the Florida Keys. At our next, non-anchoring stop we plan to connect with a friend of Clark's that he has known since elementary school. She also migrates to Florida in the winter months but not on a boat.
No comments:
Post a Comment