March 2022 in Fort Pierce

 

     It has been a strange year with weather and everyone is talking about it.  We have had so many weather fronts accompanied by strong winds.  In the past, we would have wind and heavy seas about 3 times a month. Now they blow almost every week and last for 2-3 days.  We had one particular storm with heavy downpours: 5-6 inches of rain, wind gusts to 40 mph, lasting 4 hours and then it was gone.    Anchorages as well as marinas are full. Lots of folks are waiting to make the crossing to the Bahamas (and vice versa). Anchorages as well as marinas are full. Lots of folks are waiting to make the crossing to the Bahamas (and vice versa).  They have had to wait weeks, and then the openings are small.  Friends have been caught in rough seas and winds once they started their crossings. 

 
A couple of morning of fogs

 
Before and after the storm                                                    

 

     Of course during that heavy rain storm, we found that the port side salon window was leaking substantially.  We moved things and set up buckets to collect the water.  I was able to reseal the windows the next morning with white duct tape.  Thank heavens for the white duct tape as it is not noticeable.  It will have to stay on until Pete has mastered kneeling.  There is no way to do the reseal without kneeling.  The tape should hold until we get back to the Chesapeake.

     While the motion is very comforting, we have come to realize that the noise, rocking and choppy waters from wind, or motion in car upsets Bailey.  We assume that she really becomes uncomfortable trying to counter the motion with her hips. It is a real shame that she now must be sedated whenever we travel.

Opportunistic, thirsty pigeon and pelicans

 

Sources of bubbles against the hull

Snowy Egret fishing from a line

  
Amber Jacks under the docks and . . .                     the dreaded fuel spill in the marina

     The  sounds of fish slapping along the hull has increased. When relaxing OR SLEEPING, it can be somewhat startling. Being so close to the ocean inlet, there are lots of larger fish: Tarpon, Amber Jacks,  and others feeding in the marina. Such a rich nutrient environment also encourages growth on the boat bottoms. We have had to have the driver come 3 times over the past 5 months.

      Mother Nature always has her ways of making life interesting!

    The city of Fort Pierce has decided to crack down on parking violators, especially in the north parking lot for people in the marina. About 2/3 of the 40 spots are reserved for boat owners paying $50/ month for that slip. The rest of us have purchased parking permit stickers for the rest of the unmarked spots and are lucky to get a spot about 80% of the time. Now anyone parking with out a permit should receive a $50 ticket and towing costs. In the past few weeks, I know of one unhappy person who was towed, another who had their car blocked in by the slip owner, and 2 who were forewarned and moved their cars. Unfortunately, they only enforced for a week or so. Now reserve spot holders have to call to have them ticketed. For those of us with just the parking permit, we are very cautious where we park.

The only parking enforcers we've seen! And, YES, there is a permit on the windshield!

Hibiscus I couldn't pass
without grabbing a pic!

    George and Pete are still very busy. Pete had purchased a note pad, Remarkable 2, that links to the computer in place of this paper notes. It has made his life so much simpler as notes can immediately be filed with the project and/or amended, AND it is seamless across the computer, iPad and phone!

  

     Pete accidently kneeled on his incision while the staples were still in place, re-injuring the incision.  With a number of PT exercises, he reopened a portion of the incision once the old Sterri strips fell off. The doctor was very pleased with his progress at the 8-week mark.  He has exceeded all goals as far as mobility and flexibility, but the separation of skin was readdressed with more Sterri strips. He was told to ease up on the PT. He has been so aggressive that he caused tendonitis. PT was modified and the tendonitis has calmed down.   Despite the minor setback, Pete is very pleased with his progress. No more hip cramps every 100 feet steps or so. His leg is now straight. The healing ache is so much less than the constant pain he has dealt with for years.

Our Socializing Continues. . .

     I now look forward to breakfast with my dear friend, Carolyn. With her "anchored" to her home in PA, and we in Florida or wherever, in-person is definitely out of the question, However, thanks to technology, the phone and Facetime is the next best thing. It is a great way to start our day!

    And, of course the Saturday Farmers' Market . . . 

     SV SEA BREEZE was docked on A Dock, but was moved due to a large club of boaters coming in for the weekend. Laura and John were a great addition to I Dock, even if it was only for a few days. Laura went to do laundry and was instantly mobilized to do a deep cleaning of the area. She even had John get the wet/dry vac to clean out the lint from the driers. Then John worked and was able to get one of the two fans working. She also organized a great I-Dock Party. Everyone on the dock was able to make it; Great food and wonderful conversations. The biggest hit was when Laura took pictures of the boat dogs, then had the owners create a speaking part that was paired and animated via the phone app,  My Talking Pet.

     Betty and John, Martha and Dan, and Jeanne and Gerry had a beautiful 3-bedroom time-share in Orlando. It was worth the 2-hour drive to catch up with them. Wonderful friends, lots of shared memories and topics of conversation, along with delicious food. The very next day, we all met at Marilyn and John’s in Vero Beach. More laughter, great food and conversations, wonderful friends and more memories created! We plan to do this again next year, but the time-share location much closer; Less traveling and more laughter!

     Friends from our old neighborhood, Legacy in Delaware, have been vacationing here in Florida. While traveling from North Palm Beach to Orlando, Roselle and Al were able to meet us for lunch at Cobb's. It was great to catch up on changes to the neighbors in the 6 years we have been cruising.

    We tried to meet up with George and Lisa, SV BAYWIND. They have been in Port Canaveral for the past 3 months. Between the holidays, Covid, and Pete’s surgery, we didn’t think it was possible to meet up with them before they cruise over to the Bahamas. We thought they be leaving in Mid-February. We found out that they are anchored in the Fort Pierce Inlet for 3 days while they do their Covid testing and fill out the medical clearance for the Bahamas. It is proving to be a real pain as they can only do via their phones. Any incoming call will terminate the data and it need to be repeated. We were trying to meet for lunch, but the data would not upload and if not submitted within 3 days of their arrival in the Bahamas, the application and non-refundable fees have to be resubmitted. This is a very brief and tricky window (2 days) to make the crossing before another front comes through.

  

      It is always a great time when we have dinner with Alexi and Rob, MV LAMANTIN. We met them in Cocoa Beach and walked over to Ryan’s Pizza and Pub. Pete had the Shepard’s Pie, but it wasn’t as good as the one we had at Dubliner’s in Boca Raton. I had a great veggi pizza, but left the box with the half eaten pizza on the table!

 
Cocoa Beach waterfront

 

      We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Burton’s in Boca Raton with Ann and Howie.  Somehow, Pete left his credit card at restaurant, but it was not found.  What a hassle to get a new one! When Pete followed up with the bank after canceling card through app, he received a text asking him to call this number.  When he did, they asked him which of the 2 accounts was it? He only has one with this bank, Then, they asked for his complete SSN. He declined, hung up and called the number from the bank website. Customer service agreed it was a strange conversation with the original number, but the number was correct. His new one arrived within the week.

      Of course, we made sure that and we had another lunch at Taco Dive with Marilyn and Jon before we headed north.  It was quite windy, but we still had a great time and great food.  Nothing blew away! We look forward to resuming this custom when we return in November. 

    

      In between all the visiting and working, there are still chores to be done. Pete was able to make the final repair to the GPS (a modulator needed to be placed in the wire connections). We needed a new TV and treated ourselves to a small sound bar. What a difference. The sound bar is Bluetooth and I can connect Pandora from my phone. Regular chores like pump-outs, water tank refills, house cleaning, food shopping for fruits, veggies and perishables, all take little bits of the day. 

     The old docks here at the marina do not have pump out capabilities. That means that every 2 weeks or so, we do need to head over to the fuel dock. We try to do it during the calm of early weekday morning and be back in time for Pete to start work. The engine is running smoothly again.  What a difference!  The engine mounts must have been shot for a long time.  How everyone missed it is beyond our comprehension.

     We wanted to have a full detailing of boat by another of Pedro’s family. He showed up to give a quote. Said he would be back next week. After 2 weeks, Pete left a message. We were informed that he would be here that Thursday. Now he said he will be here next Wednesday.   I really have little faith that the boat will get detailed before we leave.

  Watching the boats try to dock at the fuel dock with the wind has become amusing. Lots of people have no clue of wind and current and those with thrusters think that they can overcome docking challenges with just the thrusters. There was a 50-foot sports fish taking on water. Everyone on board was in panic mode. As they approached the fuel dock they asked for water pumps.  It is not something most marinas have, unless they have a working boat yard. Deck hands suggested calling Boat US but  the boater didn’t have insurance.  They left with their aft dragging about 5 inches below the water.  We hope they found somewhere safe and helpful. Another sailboat was having problems and left, but was towed in about an hour later. 

 
Two of the big boats that stop for fuel

     Humorous to many, but not to me. . . I was “christened” by a pelican while visiting with friends on the dock.  Needless to say, I came back to the boat and immediately washed my hair! Why did it have to be such a big bird with appropriately sized excretion!

     After a lot of discussion, we signed an annual contract for the slip that we used this year. We love the group on the dock, the closeness to the bath house, grass for Bailey, he view of the fuel dock and fair way, and the parking - kind of…. As I mentioned earlier, we pay a monthly fee for the privilege of hunting for an unreserved spot. I can’t tell you how many people think it is free convenient parking and take the spots we pay for.  The city is supposed to be enforcing the parking with sticker policy, but we know of only one person was towed and another blocked in by the owner of the spot. Since we are not in the slip for 5 ½ months, we only pay ½ the monthly fee with no parking or liveaboard fees for that time. This way we do not have to be concerned with making the reservation list in July or slip availability which will be very tight for the next few months, the possibility of being assigned a slip that keeps us glued to the dock due to current, or so far out on A-dock, it is a ½ mile walk for Bailey to find grass. Also, Safe Harbor Harbortown, here in Fort Pierce, will be closing April 15 for dredging and installation of new docks.  That means that there will be a lot of liveaboards looking for dockage in already crowded marinas.

      With our season coming top an end and folks leaving the marina soon, I put a sign up on our dock door announcing a “I-Dock party.” Once again, great food and great company. My crockpot of meatballs and sausage was empty when we packed up. (Thankfully, I put aside portions to freeze for our cruise north!) We all agreed that next winter, we will do this more often.

     Melissa and Mike, MV BOLD RASCAL, Lynne and Don, MV ENDLESS LOVE, and we went to Chuck's Seafood for a farewell dinner. Lynne and Don leave the following day to return to Charleston. Needless to say, we had a wonderful time. Lynne and Don were concerned with their next day departure as the winds are supposed to be 20+ from the SSE. There is a significant amount of windage on the 40' Carver.  It turns out that it was an interesting but uneventful 1st day's ride.  It is amazing that they made it to Isle of Palms Marina in 3 days. It must be wonderful to cruise at 20 + mph instead of 7!

     After we left the restaurant, we headed out to the inlet to watch the inlet and the sunset.  What a wonderful evening! 

~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~  K & P