Blogs from Vero Beach, Florida, United States, North America

Wanted to stay in Vero Beach for a week and head north to Fernandina Beach for maybe three weeks and slowly work north. Then came Covid-19. Not sure what will be open. some Marina's have closed. So decided to stay for a while in Vero Beach. I also ordered a new dinghy engine. 2.5 hp four stroke Suzuki. It is supposed to come tomorrow which is a week late. I have been paddling for a month and a half. Very easy here though. I am close to the dock and not much current. It will be nice to have an engine again though. I may need it at some of the anchorages to the north. Wrightsville Beach comes to mind because it is very near an inlet which means stronger currents. Everything is closed here except ... read more

Well, we have been back in the United States for a week already, and once again I am shocked at how quickly time passes! After a number of days readjusting, restocking and refreshing (takes some time to catch up after a long crossing!) we have begun our slow, lackadaisical journey north. To be honest, the first few days were a bit overwhelming. After months in the relaxed, laid back framework of the islands, Florida seems like a buzzing beehive. Compared to the humble, sporadic infrastructure we have grown accustomed to, coming into the harbor at Lake Worth in Florida was a little surreal. The materialistic opulence, the fancy yachts, high-rises, elaborate condos and palatial homes, all packed tightly together, made me almost a little claustrophobic at first. However, there are definitely some advantages to being back ... read more

Sorry for the week-long absence. Long travel days finally caught up with me, and I have spent the last week recovering. Ya, just laying around, you know me, lol! I can't seem to leave the pain behind, as much as I try. Anyway, back to normal for me again, so thought I would finish this post. We left Colleen and Greg in Myrtle Beach last Monday after a wonderful couple of days with them. Our plan was to travel down the east coast - it's pretty much a straight shot to Vero Beach. We stayed on highway 17 for a while, then angled over to through Charleston, SC to the 95 which was a little inland but with less tourist traffic. It should have been a nice 8-hour day, but it turned into 10 or 11 ... read more

Geo: 27.6583, -80.3706Now that we were back in Florida, to wait out the remainder of hurricane season, the original idea was that we'd come into Ft. Pierce, stay anchored outside the Harbourtown Marina for one night, check into American waters, get our American Cruising permit and then move on to Vero Beach right away. We had been through Vero on our way down the ICW and had enjoyed it (and the marina's facilities) and figured that it made sense to go back up to a spot we enjoyed so much. Vero Beach has an excellent pubic transit system and the beach is within walking distance from the marina. On the second day after we had arrived in Ft. Pierce we took a walk along the marina docks and I spotted a catamaran that I recognized. It ... read more

"Laissez les bons temps rouler" ..... "Let the good times roll". And we are! First assignment: go to the Vero Beach Antique Show. The fearsome trio of Sam, Cory & myself flew along the roadways on Saturday to this annual show. Whoa.....Black Beauty (our new car is black)....as we screeched to a stop at an unexpected flea market just north of Vero Beach. We found a few goodies here while Lulu made friends with a colorful, friendly parrot. Now, she keeps asking for crackers. Squawk! Time to get back in Black Beauty and head onward to the Vero Beach Antique Show. It was good but not as good as last year (less dealers and we didn't find too much). We saw three different dealer friends from our field at Brimfield. That's always a welcome moment. It ... read more