Voyage 2002-2003: Chapter 4

10 Dec 2002, On to Grand Harbor, 27 41.590 N/ 080 23.759 W

Last Friday we slipped our mooring, heading for our berth at Grand Harbor. We said our farewells to the folks on S/V Everden who have been our mooring mates for over three weeks. We could not have asked for better mooring partners. They taught us to play Farckle (dice game), showed Ann how to back bread in a pan, serenaded us with guitar music...genuinely nice people!

What a stinky day to go the 3 miles to Grand Harbor. The wind was blowing out of the North (of course we were going North) at 15-20 kts, raining (of course), and we were sad leaving Vero Beach. Grand Harbor is a well-protected marina (4,4,4 in Skipper Bob lingo) but has no services for their monthly customers. We rented a car and visited Vero Beach from time to time to say 'hi' to S/V Chatauqua and S/V Charbonneau (our Dry Tortugas buddies from Voyage 2000) who recently arrived at the mooring.

17 Dec 2002, Home for the Holidays, 27 41.590 N/ 080 23.759 W

We had a real scare last week. We drove to Orlando to visit friends and godkids and when we arrived back at the boat Samantha Jane was missing. Apparently she sneaked out of the boat before we left. We looked throughout the marina but no Sam. Ann called home to see if anyone left a message. Thank God, Dr. Ray found and rescued her. Our rescuer found her at 1730 hrs clinging to a powerboat about 100 feet away from our boat. She was wet, cold, and scared. Apparently the cat next to our boat spooked her and she fell into the water. Our rescuers, who live at Grand Harbor, took her home, cleaned her up, fed her, and comforted her. They brought her back around 2030 hrs.

Wow, two dogs, a cat, and our luggage in a Ford Escort. This is not going to be fun! Well, it wasn't bad after all. The 'kids' all behaved themselves and didn't fight with each other (much). Boy, was it cold. We are settling in to the business life and talking to our cruising buddies at Lake Worth. We heard from S/V Everden via WinLink (SSB email) a couple of days ago. Their prop fell off the shaft! They will be on the 'hard' for awhile waiting for a new shaft and propeller. Bummer!

More bad news. One of Ann's routine medical tests came out positive. Subsequent tests indicate that the problem is real. We should get the biopsy results before Christmas. We are already planning our cruising options depending on the outcome of the biopsy. We are hoping for good Christmas news. We wish all of you Happy Holidays!