Ve(lc)ro Beach

After a stop in Melbourne on Sunday night, we headed for Vero Beach on Monday morning. Our friends on Toucan, Solveig II, and Serenity were already here. The Vero Beach Municipal Marina mooring field is a crossroads for cruisers. Many people wait here for a good weather window to make the trek across to the Bahamas or on the outside to Fort Lauderdale. The price is right at $11.66/day including tax. The city packs us in two to three per mooring.

As we pulled into the mooring field, our friends on Toucan, Gary and Lil, called us on the radio and invited us to dinner on their boat when we were settled. How thoughtful! Dinner was delicious and it was a special treat not to have to make dinner after moving the boat all day. Gary and Lil are among the few cruisers who are our ages, and Gary retired from the USAF, so we have found a lot in common.

On Tuesday, we did boat chores, however, I have already forgotten what we did! That evening, Gary and Lil came to dinner on Island Chariot. They met Elvis Ann for the first time. Elvis Ann really took to Gary. He was a very good sport about it!

On Wednesday, we ventured out into town on the Go-Line, the free bus system around Vero Beach. Having a ride anywhere on land has become very special to us. The #1 bus stops at the marina and cruisers pile on board. Cruisers can be spotted all over town by their t-shirts, hats, sandals, and backpacks. Like Marines, we just start recognizing each other. Our bus stopped in the middle of West Marine, Publix, the Book Center, Panera Bread, and Carvel (for ice cream) – heaven on earth! Knowing my awesome culinary skills and liking my fellow cruisers, we decided to buy cranberry sauce at Publix to share at the Thanksgiving potluck. Provisions in John’s backpack, tummies full of turkey sandwiches and ice cream, and a $3.87 lightbulb later we were back on the Go-Line headed for the marina.

Back at the marina, we had received our first mail. What fun we had sorting through five weeks of mail, minus the junk mail which we pre-sorted over the telephone with John’s dad. We had all of our mail forwarded to him. He and Dorie have been patiently waiting for us to give them the first address where we can receive mail. Vero Beach is the first place we knew for sure we would stop and stay for a few days. Back on the boat, John devoured his Cruising World and Practical Sailor magazines. And, we paid a few ubiquitous bills.

On Thanksgiving Day, temperatures were a balmy 69 degrees, the sun shined brightly, and the sky was clear blue. At 1PM, about 100 cruisers met on the south side of the marina for a potluck of turkey and all the trimmings. Food was plentiful enough for seconds. Our friends had all elected to move on during the great Thanksgiving weather, so we made new friends. We enjoy hearing stories and getting tips from experienced cruisers. At 3PM, with our bellies full, we rolled back into the RIB (rigid inflatable boat), which is our car equivalent, and headed back to the boat.

This morning was thrilling! Three manatees swam for about 30 minutes just off of the back and side of our boat. John and I took a manatee tour years ago and saw one. Today, minding our own business enjoying the beautiful day we were treated to seeing three. They are adorable creatures in their massiveness.

Already we have learned why people call this “Velcro Beach”. The beach is beautiful and the city has everything a person needs. We planned to participate in the cruisers Thanksgiving potluck, and then leave this morning (Friday). After seeing the weather forecast for the next several days, we decided to stay here and wait for the front to move through. So did the other people on our mooring. Now we are waiting for a new “yellow box” for our windlass, which we expect to arrive on Wednesday. The “yellow box” is a switching unit that will alleviate John acting as the human windlass the next time we decide to anchor. We think this would be a good place from which to send our Christmas greetings, too. Our destination is still Marathon – really!