Days 16-20 to Stuart, FL

We made it!!!!  We made it to Stuart in exactly 20 days.  Unfortunately, we had to depart St. Augustine earlier than we would have liked on day 16 in order to arrive in Ft. Pierce by day 19.  Why was it so important to be in Ft. Pierce you might ask?  Because we wanted to host a potluck with our Krogen friends there.  We wanted to time our arrival at the marina during slack tide (when the current is neither ebbing or flooding), because they have a raging current.  We actually anchored in Ft. Pierce on day 18 to facilitate our morning arrival. This portion of our trip we “buddy boated” with a different Gratitude, this time with Roberto and Maria on a Krogen 48.  It was such fun traveling south with the two Gratitudes!

Our arrival in Stuart was also timed for slack tide.  Our timing was perfect getting to the fuel dock to pump out and get some fuel.  However, by the time those two things were accomplished the current was ripping and the winds had picked up.  We think they gave us the most difficult slip in the marina for docking.  Although Scott did a fabulous job docking we did get a scratch in our blue stripe from the light post on the dock.  Scott is quite bummed…do you think a magic marker will work?  The beautiful new docks have the light and water posts right next to the edge which makes for a challenging docking situation in our slow-to-respond girl.

Darn! A scrap in our beautiful blue stripe!

Notice how close the water and light posts are to the edge.

Returning to Stuart felt like returning home.  We have friends here, we know where important places are in the city, Scott returned to riding his bike to swim at the YMCA and I returned to Zumba!  There is a fabulous studio (ZT’s Fitness) with wonderful teachers where I can do what I love…DANCE!!!  In the next 3 months we have some exciting improvements coming on board like redecorating the saloon.  Scott is thrilled about improvements like a super bright spotlight on the bow, LED lights in the engine room, insulation for the water heater, and a rubber edge for the swim platform.  Maintenance projects include potties being serviced, level probe in the holding tank, oil change for the engines, new windshield wipers, etc.  These projects aren’t exactly mind-blowing but they are necessary.

Scott’s new hip will be his new improvement!  I’m so happy that he will be pain free and can return to all of his exercises and fun activities like hiking and walking the beach. This will be a piece of cake after having both of his knees replaced.

I have never minded leaving a house but I absolutely do not like leaving the boat, especially not for snowy and cold weather.  However, it will be nice to use Quilted Northern again!  Ah, the small pleasures in life!