Exploring

We have been getting out and about and doing a bit of exploring in the area the past couple of days. We have always liked Manatee Pocket in Stuart and anchored New Horizon there several times, coming and going from the Bahamas. Around the perimeter are lots of boatyards, marinas, and restaurants. Plus the crowning glory is the Sandsprit Park and launch ramp at the convergence of the mouth of Manatee Pocket, the St. Lucie Inlet to the ocean, the Intracoastal Waterway, and the St. Lucie River. We will probably spend quite a bit of time there when we get a boat to sail around. More about that in another post, but the entrance road to the park is gorgeous...

We have also been checking out the ocean beaches on Hutchinson Island and the nearest one is only 4 miles away. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the ocean was almost the same color blue/green as the Abacos! We kept heading south as far we could drive and ended up at Bathtub Beach.

There are lots of rocks here, but Dave talked to the lifeguard who told him not to bother to try snorkeling because there isn't much to see. Still a pretty spot.

Take a close look at these houses though. With the high tide, they were in the water! 

We are really looking forward to a different, but fun winter of more explorations like this. What a treat to see all the bird life that doesn't venture over to the Bahamas, including pelicans, whose antics I have missed. Even near our house we have sandhill cranes, ibis, and then there was this stork at the very top of the neighbor's tree...

Hope he wasn't making a delivery in our 55+ community! 😉

Cold To Hot

Wow, the weather in Jensen Beach sure is hotter than it was at home! I wanted hot, and I better watch what I wish for. This was the temperature in South Carolina and it stayed that way all the way here.

We had a nice uneventful trip and are settling in nicely, especially with the wonderful air conditioning. Although the place is partially furnished, there are still plenty of essential things to acquire to fill up the cabinets and rooms...including a desk for me to keep the blog going. 😉 We sure have plenty of stores to choose from though and it is the exact opposite of the choices in the Bahamas. The numerous Hope Town West contingency of sailing club members are beginning to arrive and we have get togethers planned already. Soon we will be ready for some adventures too. Stay tuned!

Ready!

Here is where we are headed to start our new adventures in Jensen Beach...

Not your usual mobile home, that is for sure. The van is packed to the hilt and we are ready for our road trip to this new horizon. I will report in when we are settled...and I finally get warm. 😉

Sisters!

Dave and met up with my sister Sue and her husband Len in Wilmington, Vermont this past Sunday. They live in New Hampshire, so this quaint town seemed like a good place to meet for lunch. The trip there was gorgeous with the leaves at peak.

Of course everyone else thought it was the perfect day to head to Wilmington too, which is over the mountain outside of Bennington. The town was packed, but it made it even better since it gave us time to catch up on all the news.

The views were spectacular and being with family was fantastic. 

What a way to end the fall in the northeast. We are expecting a nor'easter to blow in the next two days, so the leaves will be gone...and then so will we! The southern climate is beckoning us. 😉

Heavy Lift

One of the large boats that washed ashore in Hope Town was refloated a couple of days ago. It is a 46ft. trawler belonging to one of our club members. A barge with a large crane came into the harbor and docked as close as it could to the boat. Then all the debris had to be removed by a skidsteer so it could be accessed to patch up the holes in the hull below the waterline. Then the crane came off the barge and single point lifted this approximately 58,000 lb. boat, swinging it over the road and the seawall.

It then had to be blocked up so that the crane could move back onto the barge. The barge was repositioned so that the crane could pick the boat back up and reverse the whole entourage back out into deeper water to refloat the trawler. After it was lowered into the water, it was brought over to the dock with two skiffs and last we heard it was still floating. We presume that it will eventually make its way back to the States for repairs. This was a huge project that took all day, and unfortunately there are many more boats ashore like this throughout the Abacos. Thanks to Kim Kopp for the great photo!

North Country

Yesterday we closed up the house in Ticonderoga for the winter. What a gorgeous day in the north country with the leaves at their peak colors.

We even got to see the 190 ft. Lake George tour boat Lac du Saint Sacrament hauled out on the slipway.

What a great ending to a great summer season!

Saved From The Rubble

After I wrote my last post today, we received another email from Linda, the marina manager, who made an extra effort to make her way into our apartment. She found one of our prized possessions...our half model of an Abaco Dinghy made and signed by Winer Malone, who also built our Abaco Dinghy Dandy. Since then, Winer has passed away so this is irreplaceable.

It certainly looks like it has been through a hurricane and saved from the rubble and insulation. I think we will leave it as is and clear coat it to preserve this Dorian memento. 

Good News, Bad News

We heard from our marina manager in Hope Town and she had good news and bad news. The good news is that although they can't get really close to our boats in the boatyard yet, it looks like Walkabout and Safari appear to be fine. At least they weren't in a big pile, and are still sitting in their spots on the lower part of the storage rack, with the upper rack intact.

The bad news is that they tried to get into our apartment this week and even though they were able to go up the stairs, they could not even begin to get inside due to the amount of rubble. It must be that the roof did not blow away, but collapsed. If you look closely in the zoomed photo below, you can see the dark mess piled up inside. Plus the back wall on the right between the front and back apartments is missing.

That just makes Dave want to get over there to go rummaging through the wreckage. It means that there is a chance that some of our stuff could still be under everything instead of being blown away. I think he is crazy with toxic mold setting in, but he is forever optimistic.