Pahokee to Melbourne, FL

Saturday, 30 March – Pahokee to Stuart – 54 mi

Blue sky, calm, 64 degrees.  Bob and Joan took off for home in the rental car. They were a real pleasure to have on board. Good company, but also good crew, helping with the lines and washing down the boat.  We missed them already when we left the dock. The most shallow part of the rim route is the eastern most ½ mile just before the Port Myacca lock. We called for an opening (channel 13 for locks), and got through right away, since there was no water level change. The St Lucy Lock, however, was about 12-15 ft drop. We managed to handle it – just the two of us – with a nice lock tender who tossed us the lines.

  We did not see the plane, but our friend Bill Hinsley and his dad, Pop, flew over us at 800 ft to see us approaching on the St Lucy Canal. When we got to the Hutcheson Island Marriott Marina, Bill and pop took us to the Tin Fish for dinner in Stuart, followed by Kilwins for Ice cream. I tried the new chocolate raspberry truffle – yum!

Sunday, 31 March – Stuart to Vero Beach – 36 mi

Blue sky, calm at first, with wind picking up on our way north, 62 degrees.The ICW was quite busy with boat traffic – after all it is Easter Sunday -even wave runners, who, like the dolphin, played in our wake. Slow speed much of the way, due to manatee. We docked at the Loggerhead Marina in Vero Beach. Nice facility, nice heated pool, nice people, with international guests (Ireland, Nova Scotia, Spain, etc).

Monday, 1 April – Vero Beach to Melbourne – 30 mi

Cloudy, 71 degrees, but calm.  Before we left last week, we noticed that the salon air conditioner neither heated nor cooled.  Anticipating the need for air conditioning soon, we called Dometic, the manufacturer for a service center near us. They gave us the number of Ty Cobb’s Marine. Turns out he is indeed distantly related to the baseball player. The Loggerhead harbor master said Ty was “the best there is.”

Ty came over before noon and checked out the unit. Found the refrigerant had leaked out, and the dryer was still leaking.

We made arrangements for Ty to order parts and repair the unit while we were in Melbourne.  The Melbourne Harbor Marina delivered our ice maker to our slip. It was delayed, so it did not get delivered to our home in time, so I had it sent to Melbourne, where we planned to stay a few days to visit with our friends, Don and Betty Heim. Later Don and Betty joined us for dinner at Ichabod’s Dockside at the marina. It rained a little overnight.

Tuesday to Saturday, 2-6 April – Melbourne

Tuesday - Don came over and drove us to the Home Depot (for plumbing parts) and the grocery store (for provisions). Discovered, while we were close to being able to install the ice maker, we still needed one more part. Called in a special order at West Marine. We later joined Don and Betty at their March home (they rented a small trailer in a gated community in Melbourne Beach) and then at poolside for a
sunset party. Met some nice folks and danced a little.

Wednesday – Don gave us a ride to the West Marine to special order parts needed to complete the ice maker installation. Saw manatee in the harbor, and paddleboarders.  Ed, Karie, and Riley Dollard were
visiting Disney World, so they came over for sunset snacks and took us to dinner at Meg O’Malleys – great. They stayed overnight in the boat. Nice to have the company.

Thursday – We adjusted the lines in prep for a thunderstorm. Finally published the first post of our blog. Ty Cobb came over to repair the air conditioner. Big job, getting it disconnected, pulled out, dryer replaced, painted, reinstalled, and filled with R-22.
Went to the Florida Brewery and sampled their beers (not bad), bought some, then enjoyed dinner with Don and Betty.

Friday – Don gave us a ride to Walmart for some provisions, then to West Marine to pick up my special order plumbing parts. I installed the ice maker finally,
and organized the summer kitchen for grilling tools and propane canister storage. Had dinner with Don and Betty at their place.
Took a nice walk to the very windy Melbourne beach to stick our feet in the Atlantic Ocean. Really enjoyed Melbourne, nice marina, good restaurants, and it was great to hang out with long time friends.