Tuesday, April 13 to Friday, April 16, 2021
This is what we left:
And after a ten-hour sail across the Gulf Stream, we were back in the Palm Beach area of Florida:
It was a bit of a culture shock to be back in the US—traffic, train whistles, huge boats, enormous houses, and access to a seemingly endless supply of anything we need (or even remotely think we need) to buy. On the other hand, we are very grateful to once again see reliable navigational aids, hear messages from the US Coast Guard and SeaTow on the VHF knowing they are there in case of an emergency, have excellent phone communications, free potable water (hot showers, hooray!), an almost obscene abundance and variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, possible access to Covid vaccinations, and to sleep in the calm, protected anchorages of the ICW. We take so, so much for granted.
We were able to clear in through US Customs and Immigration by simply filling out a form online. Sometimes vessels are required to participate in a video interview but we were already Verified Travelers and had our vessel decal. David had registered us (back in January) via the Customs and Border Control app ROAM so officials already had our passport and boat registration information. Sure beats standing in line for hours at the Miami airport where the lines are longer than at Disney World and, trust me, Mickey is not there to entertain you. It’s a preview of Purgatory even in non-Covid times.
We spent only one night in the Palm Beach/Lake Worth area and sailed to Ft. Pierce on Wednesday. Blessed with great wind and the extra 2 knot boost of the Gulf Stream pushing us along, we flew northward, actually reaching 9 knots for about an hour. That’s over 10 mph which for Onward felt like we’d ignited the turbo thrusters! Our incredible speed attracted some playful marine life to come by to say hello. (If you don’t see two videos, click on View Web Version at the bottom of this post.)
We entered the Ft. Pierce inlet with the tide against us and the wind and our diesel pushing us forward, creating the harrowing sensation of being inside a washing machine. It was 15 minutes I do not wish to ever repeat in my lifetime. Once again, David was laser-focused on getting us through it and we were soon back on the ICW heading to Vero Beach Municipal Marina.
Our first order of business now that we had phone service was to try to get vaccine appointments. CVS will take us even though we aren’t Florida residents—hooray! Next was laundry, grocery shopping and trying to figure out why Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts had terminated my health insurance policy on April 1. I will not bore you with the specifics, but I got caught in a catch-22 between BB/BS and Medicare, each blaming the other. (I think they need to spend time in the lines at the Miami airport as punishment.)
We’ll stay here for a couple more days, enjoying the beach and avoiding the ICW weekend boat traffic. And getting those long-awaited first Covid shots.
Welcome back!
ReplyDelete