My New Charriot

Vero Beach, Florida

The weather looks best if we leave Monday.  Meanwhile, I thought I would show my new chariot.

A bicycle is essential cruising equipment.  Actually, two bikes.  But alas, Libby is missing some discs between her vertebra and she can't stand riding a bike.  Too bad; we miss the chance to do side explorations together.

The new bike is our third since we started cruising in 2005.  The first was a nice Dahon folding bike complete with a canvas case that was a gift from our kids.  Unfortunately, it rusted away to nothing after 3-4 years.  The second was Walmart's cheapest.  It lasted 3-4 years, and was pretty rusty and rickety when it was stolen in New Bern.  

Bikes would last longer if we could store them below decks when under way.  We don't have room for that, so they get sprayed with salt water.

I coated the new bike with Shellac, on the first day.   That wasn't enough.  Rust spots started showing up after the very first rainy day.   Sigh.   I'll try car wax to slow down the rusting progress.

I actually wanted a woman's bike.  They are much easier to mount and dismount.  But in the store the only woman's bike similar was pink and it had a basket with flower patterns.  This male version has an insulated canvas bag instead of a basket.  The bag is exactly the right size and shape to hold a six pack of beer.

Good news: On the first day after buying this single speed bike, I could not ride it up the 65 foot high bridge.  I had to walk it up to the top of the bridge.  But now, I can ride it up without puffing.  Exercise works!

Community Feast

Vero Beach, Florida

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What a great day.   We had as many as 150 people at the cruisers Thanksgiving pot luck dinner yesterday.   Things worked well.

• The marina donated the venue, a very nice house at the south end of the anchorage.  The nature down there is great, and Everglades-like.
• The local CLODS (Cruisers Living on Dirt) donated 7 turkey and 5 hams (all cooked).
• At the end, everybody ate their fill yet there were not many leftovers.  Matching the quantity of food with the number of people at a pot luck event is not easy.
• The weather was delightful.

In addition to the cruiser friends we knew would be there, we had a few surprises.  

One couple had met Libby at the Harris Teeter supermarket in New Bern, and the wife had been one of my students in the Excel classes I taught at the New Bern Library.

A second couple we met years ago at Valcour Island on Lake Champlain.   We spent several days there sitting out bad weather, and we were the only two boats around.  We got friendly and invited them over for drinks and to tour a "real cruising boat"  Now they are cruising themselves.

Libby won one of the door prizes.  She got a basket with wine, crackers, cheese and chocolate -- a mobile party.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Neither Nor

Vero Beach, Florida

Last night it felt chilly so we put a blanket on top of us as we went to bed.  How chilly was it?  72 (22C).

This morning it felt chilly so I put on long pants before going outside at 0600.  How chilly was it?  72 (22C).

What the heck you say.  Have these people's blood thinned that much?  Yes.  Have they become Floridians?  Heck no. Floridians are 2nd only to Californians to being nutty in many respects.

Actually, there would be several advantages to becoming Florida residents.  I have to pay $60 per year for non-resident library cards, and $97 per year each for non-resident fishing licenses.  But we resist that.  We like calling Vermont home and we like our mail going to Jenny.  

We lived in Vermont for 6 years, so are we Vermonters?  Not really.  

We lived in New York much longer, more than 50 years, so are we New Yorkers?  Not really.  

I guess we are 50% Floridian, 50% Vermonters, 50% New Yorkers, 25% North Carolinians, and 5% Maine, Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina.

What about politically?   Are we Republican?  No.  Are we Demoncrats?  Hell no.  Are we Conservatives? No.  Libertarians?  Not really; although we think libertarian with a small l.  Even if I was loyal to a party, I would never register to vote that way.  I consider it a big violation of my privacy to have my voter registration be public information.

I lived in Sweden 10 years and was eligible for Swedish citizenship.  I didn't want to do that because I differed from the Swedes on so very many issues.

Are we real cruisers?   We don't cross oceans or circumnavigate, but we do live aboard year round and we move around a lot?  That makes us say 85% cruisers.

We are not religious.  We do not belong to any religion, neither secular humanists, nor atheists.  I hate other people wanting to label us.

I'll admit to being 1) a skeptic and 2) a critical thinker and 3) a prolific blog writer, but that's about all.   But I won't join The Skeptics Society.

Libby?  I won't risk insulting her by saying she's a member of any group at all.  Libby is unique and incomparable.

CLODS, CLOWS, NEWBIES and Others

Vero Beach

I write often about the cruising community as if it was a cohesive whole.  Of course it is a society.  It has cliques and factions just as any other societies.  Here are a few.

• CLODs  (Cruisers Living on Dirt):  this is a club here in Vero Beach.  It has 115 members.  Many of the members are people who cruised as Libby and I do for 10 years or more before deciding to quit cruising and settle in Vero.   CLODs hold a weekly breakfast.  I asked a CLOD member how many active cruisers come to their breakfast.  He said about 30.  Wow!  I've never tried it, but I think I'll go to the breakfast next week just to see what it's like.
  
• CLOWs (Cruisers Living on Water): Not to be confused with LIVEABOARDS.  These are people with extensive cruising histories, who for one reason or another choose to live aboard their boats year round.   There are some in Marathon, but there is a larger bunch here in Vero.  In Vero they love to congregate in front of the sailors lounge to chew the fat.  Some say that they love to complain about NEWBIES.
  
• LIVEABOARDS:  These are people who live on their boats full time but who do not have much cruising in their history.   There used to be one in Vero but he left.  In Marathon, there are lots of them.  One told my once that he came to the keys headed for Key West.  In Marathon he stayed for a few night on a friend's boat.  The friend offered to sell him the boat for $1.  He accepted and many years later he still lives on that boat.  He is anchored.  He pays no mooring fee. I don't know if he pays a fee for the dinghy dock.  The State of Florida is at war against LIVEABOARDS.  They want to get rid of them.  The rest of us are cautioned to never refer to ourselves as LIVEABOARDS.  In Florida, that can have legal consequences.   Many LIVABOARDS in Marathon succumb to KEYS DISEASE.  Unknown in medical science, but well known to people in the keys, it is a malady caused by the combination of excessive nice weather and excessive alcohol, the symptom is a pickled brain.
  
• CIRCUMNAVIGATORS:  The superstar elites among cruisers.   I don't know of any in Vero, but every year, a half dozen or so pass through Marathon.   At the SSCA Gam meetings they parade CIRCUMNAVIGATORS like royalty.
  
• ACTIVECRUISERS: Such as ourselves.  There are two subdivisions, full-time cruisers and part-time cruisers.  The part-timers still have homes on dirt.  Not surprisingly, part time cruisers are more likely to become CLODs some day and full time cruisers are more likely to become CLOWs some day.  There is a predictable progression that we make into a joke.  NEWBIES start with sailboats, then change to trawlers, then change to RVs, then change to nursing homes.   There is a grain of truth in that joke.
  
• NEWBIES:  We see very many of these in Vero.  It is fun to talk with them because it reminds us of our first year, when everything was fresh and exciting.  They say that you never forget your first (in sex and in cruising).  NEWBIES are sponges for information and advice.  In Vero, the vast majority of NEWBIES are headed for The Bahamas, because of the exotic appeal of a tropical paradise foreign country.  NEWBIES in Marathon mostly come from the Great Lakes, and in Vero they come from the USA East Coast.   Only a small fraction (I estimate 33%) of NEWBIES graduate to become ACTIVECRUISERS.
  
• WANNABEs:  Many people dream of cruising their whole lives.   Some achieve that goal, but many don't.   Everyone should have a dream and cruising is a very worthy one.  Our cruiser friend Sandra used to be an oncology nurse.  She saw that dream cruelly snatched away from too many cancer victims.  Sandra and Bob decided to cruise, and appropriately named their boat Carpe Diem (seize the day).  That is an excellent motto for any wannabe.
  

p.s. I'm reading a book called NAVAL BLUNDERS.  It is full of contra examples to professional competence that I wrote about recently.

My Civics Lesson and Yours

Vero Beach, Florida

On Monday I did something I've never done before.  I witnessed a real jury trial.   In my own life, I've never been in court, nor summoned for jury duty.  I wanted to see how it really works instead of being satisfied by Hollywood's version.     In New Bern, I tried to do the same thing but I was thwarted by unfriendly court employees who made it difficult for me to discover where and when jury trials would be held.  I managed only to witness,  a session for minor crimes and traffic tickets that gave each person his 30 seconds to stand before the court.

The clerk in Vero was very friendly, and told me exactly where to go and when, so I did it.  Which trial, civil or criminal, and the nature of the case were completely random.  I had no idea when I went.  But my random choice turned out very well for me.   The trial turned out to be a "summary judgement" trial.  I never heard that term before. The judge was not present.   One of the defendants was not present.  There were no live witnesses.  Instead, an entire 2-3 week long trial (according to one of the attorneys) was compressed into a single four-step day.  Jury selection, a 60 minute presentation by the plaintiff, a 60 minute presentation by the defendant, jury deliberations, and verdict.   The attorneys (there were 6 of them, 2 for plaintiff, 2 for defendant 1, and 2 for defendant 2) had deposed very many witnesses and experts in advance.   Their presentations were summaries of what the witnesses said.  No live witnesses, no objections, no cross examinations; it was a very streamlines process.   For me, it meant that I could observe the entire process in only 10% of the time.

The subject of the suit was a medical malpractice civil suit.  In Vero with plenty of rich people, plus hordes of doctors and lawyers, there must be many such cases.

Everyone, jury pool, attorneys and clerks behaved very well in my opinion.  I saw no frivolous or cynical attitudes.   The jury pool predictably was motivated to be dismissed and to go about their lives.  That could be accomplished by giving an outrageous answer to any question.   I did hear some surprising answers.  One man said, "I blame malpractice awards for making my insurance premiums raise by a factor of 10 to the point where I can no longer afford them."  When the attorney asked how many others in the pool felt the same, half raised their hands.    A woman who was a nurse at a private practice in Vero said this about the local hospital, "Unless I was dying and on my final breath I would beg to be taken anywhere in the world other than Indian River Medical Center."   In the end, those jurors in the pool who never answered in the affirmative to any question were selected.   Nevertheless, I felt that all the answers given sounded sincere.

After listening to both sides, I decided that the plaintiff should win.  The plaintiff's attorney gave a very logical and coherent presentation that laid out the whole sad story of the plaintiff's misfortune, including specifics of where the doctors failed to meet established standards of care.   The defendant's lawyers sniped and rambled incoherently and never addressed the specific allegations.  At first I thought that they didn't have enough time.  Two defendants, and only 30 minutes each to make their case.  Then I thought that the defense attorneys weren't as competent as the plaintiffs.  Finally I realized that they avoided the allegations because they were guilty, and the best defense was to avoid the issues and talk about what fine doctors they were.

I skipped out before hearing the jury's verdict.  I made up my own mind instead.

Now for your civics lesson.  The issue of NSA, and general government spying on citizens is an issue I am very passionate about.   Many of my friends say, "I don't care as long as it fights terrorism." or "I'm not one of those who distrusts government." or "I opposed it when Bush/Cheney were in charge but I trust Obama.."  I urge you to look deeper. I believe that if public apathy prevails that we could be doomed to an Orwellian hell in the future.  

"... the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country." -- Reichsmarschall Hermann Wilhelm Göring

Even if you don't feel like I do, it is your civic duty to be better informed than the political pundits on the news can make you.  Read the most recent issue of Bruce Schneier's Cryptogram newsletter.   Bruce is a security expert who is very well informed, a deep thinker, and a good writer.  The stuff may be more technical than you like, but stick with it.  Pay particular attention to the following sub-topics.

• NSA Harvesting Contact Lists
• NSA Eavesdropping on Google and Yahoo Networks
• Code Names for NSA Exploit Tools
• Defending Against Crypto Backdoors
• Why the Government Should Help Leakers
• The Trajectories of Government and Corporate Surveillance
• A Fraying of the Public/Private Surveillance Partnership
• Understanding the Threats in Cyberspace

The whole thing should take no more than 15 minutes to read.

The Dismal Swamp Secret Is Out

Vero Beach, Florida

What secret?  Well, it's not really a secret.  I mean how pretty and nice the Dismal Swamp Canal (DSC) alternative really is.

You see, the ICW actually passes through the Virginial Cut, via Great Bridge and Currituck into Abemarle Sound.  The DSC is an alternative side route through the canal, the Pasquotank River and Elizabeth City.   We have never been the regular Virginia Cut way, but we are unusual.   More than 90% of the traffic, including most of our cruising friends are afraid of the DSC and choose to go the other way.   That's fine by us because the DSC Welcome Center can get crowded enough as it is.  It would be impossible with 1000% more traffic.

Well guess what happened?  A valve in the lock for the Virginia Cut route has been broken for more than a week, and it may not be repaired before a few more weeks.   All of the cruisers heading south on the ICW in that period find the DSC alternative their only choice.  That's why I say (tongue in cheek) that the secret will be out.   Now many more cruisers will know that the DSC route is not only safe, but very beautiful and fun.

The picture below was taken a few days ago on the DSC Welcome Center.   Even though the peak season for cruisers should be long past, it is very crowded.

Green, Seasoned, Professional

Vero Beach, Florida

 

As you know, Libby and I are seasoned cruisers. You also know that after a year's hiatus, Libby and I committed a number of blunders when we restarted cruising this fall. i attributed them to us being rusty. We have other seasoned friends with similar experiences. They both restarted cruising after a prolonged period of down time. Both committed blunders of the kind that one would not expect from seasoned sailors.

One friend entered the ICW, at the very first day market they came to, they forgot whether it should be red left or red right when heading south. They chose wrong and ran aground less than 1/4 mile from their starting point. The other friend put out to sea and shortly discovered that their running lights didn't work, their Monitor self steering didn't work, and that their engine was seriously misaligned. As I said, their errors and our errors are not of the kind that one would expect from seasoned cruisers.

What is really going on here? Certainly the prolonged down time has a lot to do with it, but what happens when we restart?

A completely green sailor would be afraid to leave without first testing everything. In fact, the green sailor might even hire a surveyor to check things very thoroughly. Indeed, green sailors often start by buying a boat and a survey is part of the ritual.

I've had time to think about it. My conclusion is that we should categorize cruisers (sailors) in three classes, green, experienced, and professional.

The green cruiser does not trust his knowledge or instincts. The green cruiser seeks the opinion of others as to the seaworthiness of the vessel and the crew. Green sailors may travel in flotillas with more experienced sailors so that they can follow the leader and call for help if needed. I am ignoring utter fools. Fools tend to not choose the cruising life.

Experienced and professional sailors share knowledge, know how, and experience. However, professional sailors have discipline, that amateurs like find hard to match.

Think of merchant ships and Navy ships as examples of professional crews. They have an entire management structure to maintain the discipline. The captain sets the standards, the officers and noncoms supervise, and the grunts do the work. Everyone has multiple people looking over their shoulders. Quality is assured by inspections. Lack of fresh experience is compensated for by drills.

It is not difficult to see why couples like us and our friends who are living our retirement dreams as we cruise, can not easily match the discipline of professional crews. We minimize blunders by keeping our experience fresh. We deal with equipment failures on an incremental basis as they occur. Therefore, a prolonged period of not sailing undermines the very foundation of our competence. Our skills get rusty, and clusters of boat problems can build up invisibly while we are not using the boat.

I'm sure there are exceptions. Another cruising couple of similar age and experience, leave their boat 6 months every year. But the captain is a former police chief, is very disciplined. He may be able to avoid the restart problem. I'll see him in the next few days and ask what he thinks.

I know that many experienced cruisers read this blog. Please comment on this post. Do you agree or not?

Green, Seasoned, Professional

Vero Beach, Florida

 

As you know, Libby and I are seasoned cruisers. You also know that after a year's hiatus, Libby and I committed a number of blunders when we restarted cruising this fall. i attributed them to us being rusty. We have other seasoned friends with similar experiences. They both restarted cruising after a prolonged period of down time. Both committed blunders of the kind that one would not expect from seasoned sailors.

One friend entered the ICW, at the very first day market they came to, they forgot whether it should be red left or red right when heading south. They chose wrong and ran aground less than 1/4 mile from their starting point. The other friend put out to sea and shortly discovered that their running lights didn't work, their Monitor self steering didn't work, and that their engine was seriously misaligned. As I said, their errors and our errors are not of the kind that one would expect from seasoned cruisers.

What is really going on here? Certainly the prolonged down time has a lot to do with it, but what happens when we restart?

A completely green sailor would be afraid to leave without first testing everything. In fact, the green sailor might even hire a surveyor to check things very thoroughly. Indeed, green sailors often start by buying a boat and a survey is part of the ritual.

I've had time to think about it. My conclusion is that we should categorize cruisers (sailors) in three classes, green, experienced, and professional.

The green cruiser does not trust his knowledge or instincts. The green cruiser seeks the opinion of others as to the seaworthiness of the vessel and the crew. Green sailors may travel in flotillas with more experienced sailors so that they can follow the leader and call for help if needed. I am ignoring utter fools. Fools tend to not choose the cruising life.

Experienced and professional sailors share knowledge, know how, and experience. However, professional sailors have discipline, that amateurs like find hard to match.

Think of merchant ships and Navy ships as examples of professional crews. They have an entire management structure to maintain the discipline. The captain sets the standards, the officers and noncoms supervise, and the grunts do the work. Everyone has multiple people looking over their shoulders. Quality is assured by inspections. Lack of fresh experience is compensated for by drills.

It is not difficult to see why couples like us and our friends who are living our retirement dreams as we cruise, can not easily match the discipline of professional crews. We minimize blunders by keeping our experience fresh. We deal with equipment failures on an incremental basis as they occur. Therefore, a prolonged period of not sailing undermines the very foundation of our competence. Our skills get rusty, and clusters of boat problems can build up invisibly while we are not using the boat.

I'm sure there are exceptions. Another cruising couple of similar age and experience, leave their boat 6 months every year. But the captain is a former police chief, is very disciplined. He may be able to avoid the restart problem. I'll see him in the next few days and ask what he thinks.

I know that many experienced cruisers read this blog. Please comment on this post. Do you agree or not?

My Gal Kay

Vero Beach, FL

I have a new girlfriend.  Her name is Kay.  Here's how we met.

I was sitting alone waiting for a bus.  Along came this woman.  She just launched into a one-sided conversation as if we were old friends.   The woman was kind of handsome, but she was really ancient.  I guess close to 100 years old.

Kay first complained about a car that nearly ran her down.  Then she told me that last week she bought 10 mangos for $10 at Farm Fresh.  She had to carry them home because there were no busses at that time.  Then Kay told me about her husband Jim.  She told me about her macular degeneration; what she could see and not see; and how she declined the treatment.   Then I learned about her father John.  John took her on a walk from Poughkeepsie to Beacon when she was five.  In Beacon they have a very fine cathedral you know. She skied at Mount Snow in Vermont with her sister.  She had five siblings.

Her husband complained about her overuse of long distance, but she was glad that she called her sister because her sister died the next day.

Kay had attractive legs when she was young; that's how she got her husband.

Her arm hurt from carrying the mangos plus a heavy bottle of milk; not too big a bottle but heavy anyhow.  She couldn't cross herself when she went to mass, so she had the priest do it for her.   She asked the priest why it was so hard to be old.  He said, "keep praying."  She went to the doctor, he felt her arm.  She told him that she remembered everything she ever read, and recited the Charge of The Light Brigade for him. Then she recited the Charge of The Light Brigade for me (correctly I assume)

All this happened in 10 minutes.  I hardly said a word, but I knew Kay's whole life story.  As the bus approached she said, "Anyhow, getting back to the mangos...."   We walked to the bus and Kay warned me about each crack in the pavement.  She has memorized them all because she can't see them. As we got on the bus, the other passengers and the driver all seemed to know Kay.

Kay was inspirational.  She showed that really old people can be vivacious, entertaining, and fun to be with.   I'm sorry that I didn't get Kay's picture to show to you;  I was afraid to interrupt her story.

Heavy Water

Vero Beach, Florida

No I'm not writing about Canadian nuclear reactors that use D2O. I'm writing about the weight of a 5 gallon jug of water. We discovered today that these jugs are much heavier than they used to be, or at least it seems so.

Yesterday, Libby rediscovered how difficult it is throw the dinghy against a 30 knot wind. It is harder than we remembered.

Actually, these and other things remind us how much less physically fit we are than we were a year ago. Sure we are older, but I think that has little to do with it. I blame owning a car during the past year. Upper body strength in particular seems to have suffered.

The upbeat part of this story is that if you live the life of cruising sailors all the time, you acquire and retain an excellent level of fitness serendipitously (wow, what a big word).


The down side is that Libby and I have to find some kind of remedial program to regain fitness.

Our son John gave us a kettle bell, and he recorded some instructional videos to teach us a cross fit routine customized for people like us. I think I'll have to dig those out and actually start using them.

When we get to Marathon, we will get a mooring far from the dock so that we have to row a long way to get anywhere. Rowing is one of the best of all exercises. Our outboard motor has not been started in 18 months. We should try for 24 months. It might not be good for the motor, but it is good for us.

Too Big Boat 2

Vero Beach

 

I found this picture today. It says "Titanic juxtaposed with a modern cruise liner."

 

 

Too Big Boats

Vero Beach, Florida

The other day on the ICW we were passed by a very big, very smart looking sailboat.  I was not able to recognize the brand.  It was new and it looked nice.    An hour or so after it passed us, we came upon the same boat dropping anchor in a strange place.   Libby asked if they needed help.  "No," came the answer, "There is only 63 feet clearance under that bridge ahead.  We are waiting for low tide."  

What a pain in the neck to travel the ICW and worrying to death if one could pass under every single bridge.

Back in Marineland, we met a nice couple from Oswego, New York.  They had a 65 foot steel tug boat converted to a cruising boat.  She was a very worthy vessel and she looked beautiful.  Again I thought, "What a pain.  Where could you go with that boat.  Where would you stay."   None of the mooring fields can handle a vessel that big, nor can most of the marinas.

Up in Saint Augustine we saw a Prout 63 foot catamaran.  We had not gotten over our astonishment at its size when we saw a Prout 77 footer nearby.   Those things probably had 90-100 foot masts.  Once again, you would be severely restricted in where you could go with such a vessel.   Only the marinas that cater to the mega-yachts of the super rich could handle them.  How sad to own such a fine boat and to be so limited in what you could do with it.

Some of our cruiser friends are heading south right now.  Because their mast is too high for the ICW, they must sail nonstop from Annapolis to Miami on the outside.

I once read a book about circumnavigation.  It said that 2/3 of circumnavigators who give up part way, cite "too big a boat" as their reason.

My friend Bob, just told me that the statistics for new cruising boats show a clear trend to get even bigger.  Ay ay ay. I understand that affluence is a driver.   "Why settle for that $200,000 boat?  Let's get the $400,000 one."  Never mind that all operating and maintenance costs go up with the square of boat displacement.   But what I suspect many of those boat purchasers don't understand, is that too big a boat is actually less useful to own than a smaller boat.

Do not expect the cruising media to tell you that secret.  They are captive to advertisers who depend on selling big ticket items.  Money is king.

Oh The Beauty

Vero Beach, Florida

We missed the eclipse yesterday. There is an absolutely stunning picture of it on the APOD web site. I don't have the photographer's permission to use it so you will have to click here to see it.

By the way, if you do not view APOD every day, I recommend it. Maybe half of the time you will not be interested but the other half you will be amazed, entertained and educated all at the same time. APOD is one of the top 5 popular sites on the entire Internet.

Welcome To Vero

Vero Beach, Florida
27 39.563 N 080 22.233 W

Last night was a special treat.  We had dinner with Dave and Jonnie, a great couple that we are specially fond of.  Thanks, Dave and Jonnie.

This morning, I woke at 5.  It would have been 6 except for daylight savings time.  Darn. I put on me clothes and went for a walk.  Wouldn't you know, I found a Sarbucks, so it wasn 't too bad.   I missed the eclipse in any case because I couldn't see the horizon.

But this afternoon, we arrived in Vero.  Regular readers know that this is one of our two major stops.  We have spent many months in Vero.  Next to Marathon it is our favorite place.  Nominally, we will stay here until after Thanksgiving.  We like to help with the big Thankgiving cruisers dinner.

Think of our progress another way.  24 22 N is the latitude of our winter playground.  We are at 27 39 N; so we have only 3 degrees to go.   Compared to our summer playground at 45 N, we are 6/7 of the way there.

The mooring here in Vero is surprisingly empty for November.   I'm sure it will fill up more by Thanksgiving, but I wonder if it is not the sign of a slow season.

Cruising The Indian River

Cocoa, Fl

21 28.868 N 080 43.277 W

 

Rachet up the comfort/fun level another notch. We are on The Indian River. From here, to about 150 miles south, there is nothing but fun, friends and sheltered waters. We are going to,have dinner with some of those friends tonight in Eau Gallie.

This afternoon we will meet Tom, a W32 owner. Tom hosted a Westsail rendezvous just last weekend. Unfortunately we missed that.

Last night we anchored near Cape Canaveral. There is something new to see there. They have a space shuttle, complete with external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters standing upright at the NASA museum. It makes quite a sight at night when it is brightly lit.

Today's dawn was extra nice with both the eastern and western skies all pink. Tomorrow we will try to glimpse the partial solar eclipse at dawn.

This,picture is zoomed to show the approximate extent of the Indian River. It follows the east coat the whole way. Cape Canaveral is the bulge extending eastward at the top of the picture. We are near that today. The picture also shows the Bahamas to the southeast.