Chris here....
Thursday, April 10
I am now safely installed at a great marina in Stuart and the Belle is working well. Life is good. Better if Kerm was here but he will be soon, we hope. After the drama of Kerm's medical emergency, getting him safely to a health care facility in the States, the Belle's electrical emergency and getting her safely to the States for needed electrical surgery it is wonderful to rest for a while and not have to worry every minute.
I have learned a huge amount about the boat and had to dock her numerous times with no assistance from the captain. It's been a huge learning experience and I have really enjoyed having a chance to handle things by myself. I shouldn't say by myself, however, because Linda has been with me the whole time and she is an exceptional crew. She has been steady, willing to work hard and open to all the learning opportunities that presented themselves. She stayed on the boat and weathered a huge blow in Black Point when I flew out to Miami to check on Kerm's progress. Without her the Belle would probably still be in the Exumas. She is awesome.
Pat, Linda's son, came to visit us here in Florida and has been a great help on the boat, washing, waxing and polishing. The Bahamas salt and sand are almost all gone by now. Linda and Pat are renting a car and heading off to Minnesota on Sunday...I am going to tag along to Atlanta and collect Kerm's pickup truck which is at his cousin, John's house. Then I will drive it back here.
Here are pictures of our new home for a while...
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| We are on A Dock ...closest to the bathrooms, office and ship's store and cruiser's lounge |
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| Our exact address. Slip A-19 is in a nice protected spot |
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| The Belle...sitting pretty |
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| Office, ship store bathrooms, lounge and dinghy dock |
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| Tuesday and Friday there's free bus service to area shopping spots...a wonderful convenience for cruisers |
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| Laundry room and bathrooms are new and cleaned every day...not always the case at all marinas! |
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| Harbormasters Sam and Buzz great guys and very helpful |
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| Hibiscus all over the place |
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| Air conditioned lounge with TV and lots of books |
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| The lounge is a nice place to read the morning paper |
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| On site restaurant...quite good |
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| Nice ship store with coffee every morning |
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| That's the Belle with the blue lee cloths by that orange thing. |
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| Marina has about 240 slips |
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| Mooring Field has about 40 mooring balls. Our friends, Dick and Nancy are here! |
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| Bird of Paradise...need I say more? |
Hey, Chris,
ReplyDeleteYou've had some adventures you didn't count on, eh? Glad to hear all is well now and Kerm will join you soon. Bravo to you for handling the Belle on your own with Linda's help as crew. I suppose you'll be writing next that you and Kerm have decided to explore the Caribbean, go through the Panama Canal (isn't that expensive?) and sail 'round the world.....LOL Take care, and thinking of you!
Cinda