Thurs Feb 6 - In which we batten down the hatches

Melbourne anchorage to Vero Beach City Marina

I don't what it was, but we both woke up cranky.  Nothing to see, nothing to do so we pulled up anchor.  Which was encrusted with mud and tiny shells.  And the hose wasn't squirting strongly enough so it took me 20 minutes to wash it off.  And Rick's foot was hurting.  And the novelty has worn off, forcing us to start a deeper examination of our purpose, why we are boating, what we want to get out of it, what makes it fun/not fun and other existential questions.  All before breakfast...

This lovely sailboat cheered us up a bit

It was just water, water, water all day long.  The wind increased throughout the day; Mr Weather (and the rest of the weather services) were anticipating a big storm at night.  Rick had planned ahead and gotten us the last slip at the marina so we didn't have to be rafted (tied to other boats) at a mooring ball in a big storm.

Our arrival at the Vero dock was fairly dramatic.  Yes there was wind (this area how little current/tide), but it was really a matter of underestimating how fast we were moving, and poor communication.  We still have a lot to learn.  Let me put it this way - it's a good thing we haven't repainted the side of the boat yet.  There are POSSIBLY some new small-ish dings.

It was good we got there early.  We had time to batten things down, and Rick wasn't over-estimating.  Much of FL and lower GA was under a tornado watch, there was snow everywhere else and the wind was shrieking through the rigging of the sail boats around us.  It's an incredibly eerie sound, as the wind wraps itself around the cable and canvas.

Rick took the bus in to town for a visit to urgent care (HA!  It wasn't me for a change.  Not that I'm happy it's Rick.  Just sayin...) to see about his foot.  I got some alone-time to read, work and hunt for chocolate.  And to look through the marina bookshelf.  It's my favorite thing about every marina - the chance there might be the perfect book just waiting for me.  To TAKE!  FOR FREE!

Well, Rick seems to have a slight infection and .... gout????  Is that even a thing?  So now we are not only sailors but we have a medieval Henry VIII type affliction.  What is the message here?

For dinner we almost always have a variety of things on a salad.  It sounds boring but it's what we both like, and we try to be clever about coming up with new ideas.  Last night was buffalo chicken salad, tonight is cobb salad with egg, bacon, chicken, crab, etc.

It had been couple of hot sweaty days so we relished the unlimited water in the marina showers and then settled down to see how windy it was going to get.  Also there was the dilemma of the hatch - we needed it open for the air, but it was going to pour later.  We decided to cross that bridge when the first drops fell.  Fingers crossed.

Doesn't she look homey!!