Back on The Loop and "None Worse for the Wear"!!

As in the past 2 times that we have had our boat at Stuart Yacht, we seem to experience things breaking just because we have handy men all around to help fix them.  So it seems we get sucked into this hole where it is hard to leave the boat yard!  So when we thought we we would get moving by Monday, 4/25, it was Wednesday 4/26 before we left and even then it was not until mid morning but alas, we finally pulled away from the dock and began the loop once more.  (The washing machine is not usable but we just didn't want to stay longer to get a service guy out for that!  We can safely travel with dirty towels and stinky clothes!!)

Al was happy to be back with hands on the wheel but his new captain chair is still on order because it is fancier than mine so it is a special order.  So he must suffer through sitting on his pile of cushions. Note the serious look on his face as this was taken during the first few minutes after leaving the dock.  He has since relaxed back into his old self but the first half hour was a time of more concentration.

I, on the other hand, am well relaxed in my new navigator chair with my charts and iPad at the ready to plan our adventures.  First stop, an anchorage in the area of Ft. Pierce, a 40 mile jaunt.

This is the end of the South branch of the St. Lucie River where Stuart Yacht is situated and we are looking at a little park they recently created that has been part of our daily walk.  So goodbye to days and days of walking and chores in Stuart and hello to moving north out of Florida! 

This is our anchorage for our first night out since 6 weeks ago.   It was a calm night with nice open water and an end to an easy cruising day. 

This part of the Florida ICW is more scenic, with less housing, more wildlife areas and far less boat traffic.  We encountered our old friends the Dolphins but the new screens make it difficult to take pictures over the side of the boat so I missed the photo op and need to work on a picture taking strategy!  I also missed taking pictures of osprey nests with new babies. 

Yesterday we traveled 70 miles, a long day for us, to get to an anchorage at Cocoa, Fl. There was nothing special to see on the way so we pushed on to get further north and Cocoa is a cute little town with a very nice Riverview Rd to walk on.  

We anchored out there where the sailboats are and then this morning tied up at the free dock that is only for day use.  We took a lovely walk and found a great breakfast place that makes fresh croissants! We also had to find the highly recommended hardware store in town that is the biggest and best we have ever seen, catering to marine grade fasteners and other stuff.  A paradise for a captain!  Plus I could gather supplies so from this point on, I can take care of the teak rails.  I learned the tricks of the trade from a guy at Stuart so no more spending a fortune paying others to do it. (Maybe, I may rethink that idea as I continue to add skills to my repertoire which only adds more chores to my to do list.) 

Doesn't she look beautiful in her new red "hat"?  We are loving the new canvas.

When we headed out late this morning the ICW was smooth as glass and not a boat in sight. We had an easy cruise north to Titusville. Since we came here by car last month, we simply are dropping anchor and planning a bigger day tomorrow to get to Daytona Beach. 

Here we sit looking in the far distance at the tall NASSA headquarters building. We are tucked behind a spit of land protecting us from the light wind.  Another peaceful night.