Category Archives: Stuart

Cruising Plans Written in Sand

I spent the last three weeks in Maryland and California and flew back to Florida four days ago assuming we would be able to leave for the Bahamas in a day or two.  I had done all of my preparations before I left to be with Peter for his surgery and recovery.  Mark worked hard while I was gone and finished almost all of his projects.  However, two major problems are now holding up our departure.  First, on the way to the airport on January 15, we were rear-ended in rush hour traffic on I95, one exit before the West Palm Beach Airport.  It took several weeks to get the car owner’s insurance company to start the repairs on our car.  We should get it back early this week.  Second, we are waiting for repairs to be made to our radar and anemometer, both of which were damaged when the mast was taken down.  We have been waiting since the mast was put back on in November to get the repairs done, and now we are getting angry.  Hopefully we’ll get these parts repaired in a few days and be on our way by the end of the week.

The time I got to spend with my son Peter was wonderful. The surgery successfully removed a tumor at the bottom of his spine and then we flew to California for two weeks.  Peter was my tour guide every day as we visited beach towns, tourist destinations like Hearst Castle and Sequoia National Park, a Monarch Butterfly Park, wine tastings, Farmers’ Markets, and many walks on the dunes and various beaches.  Rather than put entries about the visit on this blog, I posted pictures on my Facebook page, the link for which is on the top right hand side of this website and also here. Flying into West Palm Beach last week, I caught this view outside the window as I was watching the sunrise above the clouds.  It reminded me that in a short time we would be passing large container ships like this on the ocean as we cross from Miami to Bimini.

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Today, Mark dived under the boat to clean the props.  The St. Lucie River is so filthy from runoff in Lake Okeechobee that he couldn’t see more than five or six inches in front of him.  He’ll finish cleaning the bottom when we get into cleaner water. Mark uses a Brownie’s Yacht Diver Electric System to allow him to breathe air while cleaning the boat bottom or for any other reason we might need to dive under the boat.

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One of our recent unplanned purchases (there have been many) was a new XM Radio for the boat.  We have always had an XM radio with a small speaker unit on the boat but it stopped working this fall so we bought a new one. We have speakers in the salon and outside in the cockpit, but had never tried to connect the XM radio to it.  We did that today and now can use the indoor and/or outdoor speakers in the cockpit to play XM stations.  Right now we are listening to a pleasant “spa” station which shouldn’t annoy our dock neighbors.

I was afraid that Sailor might not remember me when I got back.  At first he seemed confused but happily took the new toy I brought him.  Hopefully we will get to leave Sunset Bay Marina this week to begin our next cruise to the Bahamas and Sailor can become a real boat dog.

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Plans are Written in Sand

Our “plan” had been to leave for the Bahamas next week when Sailor is six months old and “legal” to enter the Bahamas, but then life happened.  My son Peter is scheduled to have spine surgery on January 17th, so we will keep the boat at Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart until I return from being with him for his surgery and recovery.  The surgery will be in Bethesda, Maryland, and then he and I will fly to his house in Oceano, California where he will recover.  I should be back in Florida sometime in early to middle February, depending on how long Peter needs me.  I am so happy to be able to do this for him and any cruising delay is not a consideration.  We’ll still have plenty of time to go to the Bahamas this season.

In the meantime, we have been busy NOT getting ready to leave.  Mark is probably quite happy to have more time for his projects.  Currently he is working on a dining table for the cockpit.  The small “coffee table” in the cockpit can by switched with the large dining table in the salon, but we never do it.  Mark has built a beautiful drop-leaf table which matches the other tables.  It has been a long drawn-out project. In the photo below, Mark has the three pieces on the dock while he is coating them with epoxy. Notice Sailor is overseeing the work. His next big project is to install a solar panel above the dinghy davits for the hot water heater.  This will enable us to always have hot water (as long as there is sun during the day).  In the past, if we wanted hot water while anchored or moored we had to turn on the generator.

IMG_3734Last week we went down the St. Lucie River to get the mast stepped. (We had it unstepped last June so we could get under a low bridge on the canal and be hauled out in case of a hurricane warning. Thankfully, there were no hurricanes in Florida this season.)  A large crane lifted the mast they had stored for us off their truck and in the photo below the men  are putting it back on Seas the Day.

IMG_3681The workers didn’t have time to put the sails on so we went back to our slip at Sunset Bay still a motor vessel.  They also didn’t reconnect the electrical wires that run down the mast but should be finished this week and then we will once again be a sailboat.

A week ago we drove to Vero Beach to visit good friends and boat buddies Cathie and Tom on Interlude.  Apparently we were so busy talking we forgot to take any pictures.  We were hoping to cross to the Bahamas with them, but they will beat us there. We’ll be sure to catch up with them in the Exumas and hopefully sail together again.

Of course, Sailor continues to grow in size and as a fantastic boat dog.  He is six months old in a few days on December 13 and weighs 38 pounds. Last Sunday we drove to Boca Raton for our second “Doodle Romp.”  There were 17 Goldendoodles there from Moss Creek Goldendoodles.  We had a great time at the Canine Cove Dog Park.  The doodles all kept together and stayed close to their people. Occasionally an SOB (Some Other Breed) dog came near our group, but they didn’t stay long.

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After several hours we drove a few miles to Ruby Tuesday in an upscale Town Centre for lunch.  The dogs behaved perfectly and the restaurant was very accommodating, bringing each dog their own bowl of water.

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After lunch, we went across the street for a group picture. Some of the families had left by then, but as always the doodles were well behaved even with shoppers and vehicles going past them. Sailor, Mark, and I are at the end on the right side. Almost every color of Goldendoodle was represented at our romp.  One of the most unusual is Orli, the parti colored doodle in the middle.

IMG_3718While Mark has been working on projects, I have been doing very little to get ready for our cruise.  However, before I leave for Maryland on January 15 I will have us totally provisioned with the boat organized for four months in the Bahamas.  First on my “to do list” for the next month is to make a “to do list.”

Mutt March

Since we are within a month of (hopefully) beginning our 2013-14 cruise to the Bahamas, our blog entries will start focusing on preparations and destinations.  Therefore I have added a new page under the “Sailor” section of the menu called “Sailor’s Adventures” where the boat dog information will be located. The first entry there is about what we did today, with a short description below.

Every year, shortly after Halloween, the “no kill” Humane Society of The Treasure Coast, located in nearby Palm City,  holds a fundraiser in Stuart.  Called the “Mutt March,” people pay to enter their dogs in the festivities and buy tickets for a raffle.  The dogs come dressed in costumes, participating in a parade and a variety of fun events.   More details can be found in the “Sailor” section of this site, located here. The photo below is one of the winners of the costume contest. Walking behind them, I actually thought a real little boy dressed like a cowboy was riding this dog. Very clever costume and very gullible me!

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Happy Halloween!

We  had a Halloween get-together at Sunset Bay Marina today.  Sailor was the only dog wearing a costume.  I got there late and told Sailor to pose for a picture.  With all the distractions going on around him, he saw the camera, sat up and posed.

IMG_0982Eventually he fell asleep with his head on Mark’s foot.  We didn’t tell him his butt looks big in his costume.

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Sailor’s First Beach Walk

Mark and I grew up in Duluth, Minnesota and their forecast for the next two weeks is snow with lows in the 20’s. It appears they might get an early winter this year. Seasons in Florida are changing too.  When we first moved aboard the boat five years ago we were getting a car to rent and were picked up by a Hertz employee.  While talking to him about the weather he informed us that, “There are two seasons in Florida……hot and damn hot.”  We are now entering the “hot” season, with “damn hot” hopefully almost over. Today seemed like a good day to take Sailor for his first beach walk. Unlike Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, almost all the beaches in this part of Florida allow dogs and there are a number of designated “dog beaches” where they can go off leash.

Stuart Beach is just six miles from the marina. After we parked and made our way towards the water, Sailor seemed quite interested.  He had never walked in sand before and on the wide beach that’s about all he saw at first.  He was straining, obviously wanting to run across the sand, but we had no intention of removing his leash.

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For his first ocean beach experience, we probably should have gone to nearby Bathtub Beach, where there is a reef that keeps the waves off shore. Unfortunately, today the waves on Stuart Beach were a bit high and the tide was coming in.  We connected a long training leash to his harness and waited to see his reaction.  Sailor is always curious about new things and he stood at the edge of the water looking out at the ocean, not knowing that the edge would soon change.

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And then it did and he wasn’t quite so curious anymore. As the water came towards him, Sailor ran backwards while Mark let out some of the leash.

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Not wanting to scare him, we walked along the beach for awhile staying away from the water’s edge.  Eventually, two off leash dogs came by and Sailor got curious again. They played for a little while and then the dogs continued their walk.

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Daisy’s first beach experience was along the coast of Lake Superior and those waves scared her.  Eventually, she learned to love walking on the beach and I’m sure Sailor will too.  He has a lot of them in his future.

Weekend With Sailor

Sailor had his last puppy shots on Wednesday and on Saturday we decided to take him out to dinner with us and then to his first visit to the Stuart Bark Park. Below, Sailor waited for Mark to set up his ramp. He always sits patiently until we say “OK” and then he is allowed to walk  down the ramp to the dock below. IMG_3387During previous car rides, Sailor has been a bit unsteady sitting or standing on the back seat.  We bought him a “hammock” and this was his first ride in it. There are openings for seat belts, therefore he can still have his seat belt harness locked in. Yes, he is getting bigger and can now see out the car windows.  He weighed 23 pounds at his vet visit on Wednesday.

IMG_3403This was his third visit to Toojay’s and once again he behaved perfectly.  He slept under the table while we ate and when we were finished he sat and waited while we got ready to leave.

IMG_3392After dinner, we walked next door to West Marine to buy some hose for our new washdown pump.  West Marine allows dogs in the store, especially ones as well behaved as Sailor.

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Next we went to the dog park.  We brought him into the  “little dog area” but he seemed to want to be in the “big dog area” on the other side of the fence. Actually, the little dogs felt that way too, either barking at him or refusing to play. They were nice dogs but weren’t interested in rolling around on the ground with a puppy.  Perhaps there needs to be a “puppy area.”

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IMG_0972More fun was in store for Sailor on Sunday.  We had been in contact with another Moss Creek Goldendoodle family who live near us in Palm City.  We met Marilynn, Ray, and Smoochie at the Downtown Stuart Craft Show, a short walk from the marina.  Smoochie is the sister of Sailor’s father, Bentley, so today he met his aunt.  It took a long time to walk through the show because we had to stop every few feet for people to admire and ask questions about Smoochie and Sailor (aka Mini-Me).  We met quite a few other dogs, including several Goldendoodles.  One, named Max, turned out to be another “relative” from Moss Creek.  Stuart is a very dog friendly town.

We met in the park near the marina and Aunt Smoochie had to explain to Sailor, with a few barks, that she wasn’t interested in puppy play.  Eventually they calmed down for a picture and we walked to the craft show.

IMG_3441One of the dogs we met at the fair was another Moss Creek Goldendoodle named Max. By next summer, Sailor will be the size of Max who is much bigger than he appears in this picture.

IMG_3447After a fun time, and four new scarves for Sailor purchased from one of the venders, we headed back on the boardwalk.  When we got to the boat, an exhausted Sailor slept for the rest of the day. As a boat dog, Sailor will be meeting many new people as well as lots of dogs, and this weekend he showed us that he is up for the challenge.

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