Monday, December 3, 2012

Vero Beach (aka Velcro Beach)



Many people arrive on their boat to Vero Beach, fall in love with it and stay.  As a result it is has acquired the nick-name ‘Velcro Beach.’  We had no intention of staying long, but we did need to wait for a weather window.  It is an easy place to wait and the local transit is free!  ‘Free’ is the most favorite word ever for cruisers, ie unemployed people that work really hard on their boats.

Waiting we did, hiding from rain squalls, doing little projects, reading, walking, and meeting new people.  We found a sweet shop aptly named ‘Cravings.’  Toasted coconut ice cream was my poison of choice.  We also found a well stocked, well organized hardware store within easy walking distance on Beachland.  The beach is only about a mile away and we would walk over there to peek at the ocean.  Each time we have gone, the ocean looks unhappy.

Doug on Moma Cal left after one night.  Two days later another boat rafted up with us, ‘Huli Makai,’ a Baba 35.  The owner and his friends are from Roanoke Island, North Carolina.  They are a nice group of young guys, a bit frustrated because the weather has ruined their plans to sail to various locals in the Caribbean and surf.  They walked to the beach with their boards and found more disappointment.  It was so broken up it was not even worth going into the water.  The next day was more of the same so they hitched down to Sabastian inlet based upon some anonymous tip.  The backup plan was to watch football at a nearby restaurant.  Their friends have joined us on the mooring.  That makes three rafted to this mooring, typical for Vero Beach, except the accumulated age of any two of these guys is still about a decade short of anyone’s age here in the marina.  I asked for a picture tonight to prove to Marja that there still are young people out adventuring on sailboats.  Youth can be refreshing and they have been gentlemen.  It is always sad when we part ways with nice folks.


We will slip the mooring Tuesday and join up with Barb and Barry in anticipation of a weather window for crossing.  If the Ham bans allow, we will supply position reports during the crossing.

On a side note, here is a shout out to Ellen and Jonathan on s/v Cupcake:  Thank you for letting us know you made it safely back to Maine.  We cannot contact you because we do NOT have your email address, please leave it for us in a comment and we promise not to publish it!

Love to all,
Dena

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