
As expected, we are at Nettles Island Marina, just south of Fort Pierce, where Orion will spend the next month, as we travel to see family. After spending several days in Vero Beach, we traveled here on Monday and plan to leave later this week to drive north.
“Velcro” Beach
Vero Beach has a city marina with several dozen mooring balls that are popular stopping spots for cruisers headed to the Bahamas or just further south in Florida. With a free bus service that picks up right at the marina, boaters have an easy trip to a variety of stores that make provisioning easy. The marina is so popular, that they “raft” boats on a mooring ball, meaning that there can be 2, 3 or even 4 boats lashed to each other and with a pennant attached to the mooring ball. Each Wednesday, there is also a “Cruisers Breakfast”, which is attended by the boaters in the marina and local boaters as well. The friendly community makes many cruisers stay for longer than they originally intended, earning Vero Beach the nickname “Velcro” Beach.
We took advantage of the bus to go grocery shopping, with some side trips to the Dollar Store and West Marine. Cathy joined Pat from Marianna to tour the Vero Beach Art Museum, which was a short walk from the marina as well. We could easily have become one more of the “stuckees”.
“Velcro” Beach
Vero Beach has a city marina with several dozen mooring balls that are popular stopping spots for cruisers headed to the Bahamas or just further south in Florida. With a free bus service that picks up right at the marina, boaters have an easy trip to a variety of stores that make provisioning easy. The marina is so popular, that they “raft” boats on a mooring ball, meaning that there can be 2, 3 or even 4 boats lashed to each other and with a pennant attached to the mooring ball. Each Wednesday, there is also a “Cruisers Breakfast”, which is attended by the boaters in the marina and local boaters as well. The friendly community makes many cruisers stay for longer than they originally intended, earning Vero Beach the nickname “Velcro” Beach.
We took advantage of the bus to go grocery shopping, with some side trips to the Dollar Store and West Marine. Cathy joined Pat from Marianna to tour the Vero Beach Art Museum, which was a short walk from the marina as well. We could easily have become one more of the “stuckees”.

Rafting up to Merlin in Vero Beach
Rafting Up
Since we were still traveling with Marianna and Merlin (2 of the 3 traveling companions from the previous weeks), we planned to raft together on one of the mooring balls. This was the first time we had rafted, so we were grateful to be sharing the mooring with friends. Merlin was chosen to be the center boat, with Orion to her port and Marianna to starboard. Both boats put out fenders to ensure both boats were well protected from each other. We also had to ensure our masts were not lined up so that any rocking would not cause the shrouds (metal wires holding the mast from the side) to get tangled with those of another boat. The approach of the 2nd and 3rd boats requires delicate handling, since the middle boat will tend to move away as you approach from the push of your bow wave. With Donna and Dave on Merlin assisting us, we had no trouble hooking up. Due to our experience back in Georgetown, Md in the summer, we were also prepared with our own pennant to attach to the mooring ball, which Dave attached using the dinghy.
Since we were still traveling with Marianna and Merlin (2 of the 3 traveling companions from the previous weeks), we planned to raft together on one of the mooring balls. This was the first time we had rafted, so we were grateful to be sharing the mooring with friends. Merlin was chosen to be the center boat, with Orion to her port and Marianna to starboard. Both boats put out fenders to ensure both boats were well protected from each other. We also had to ensure our masts were not lined up so that any rocking would not cause the shrouds (metal wires holding the mast from the side) to get tangled with those of another boat. The approach of the 2nd and 3rd boats requires delicate handling, since the middle boat will tend to move away as you approach from the push of your bow wave. With Donna and Dave on Merlin assisting us, we had no trouble hooking up. Due to our experience back in Georgetown, Md in the summer, we were also prepared with our own pennant to attach to the mooring ball, which Dave attached using the dinghy.

Liddy sits on Merlin
Being so close to each other requires some “rafting etiquette” to ensure you don’t intrude on the privacy of your neighbors. This was less of problem for us, since we were rafted with friends. The poor folks on Merlin also had to endure traffic across their bow as we traipsed back and forth to visit with Marianna and vice versa. Merlin’s cat took advantage of the proximity to explore the other boats.
We had planned to stay at Vero Beach for several days, which turned out to be a good idea, since the weather turned nasty after we arrived and just about the time the shuttle launch was originally planned (more about that later). This gave us time for the guys to share expertise between them on engine maintenance, power systems, computer software and eBay shopping (guess who was the expert on that!). We also managed one dinner with all 6 of us, hosted by Merlin.
Catching Up
We were thrilled to catch up with 2 couples in Vero Beach that we had met much earlier in our trip. Doris and Russ from Ragtime who had helped us with docking Orion back in Solomons were staying at the pier in Vero Beach. We joined them for lunch one day. Also, Betty and Gary from Pumpkin, who had been in Coinjock, NC with us and who had been sharing information about the “road ahead” as they traveled a few days ahead of us, were there on a mooring. They invited us over for dinner our first night there, which was a real treat. Milano Myst finally arrived on Sunday, so we got to see them for a little bit before our Monday departure.
Lift-off
The space shuttle launch, delayed from Thursday for bad weather was rescheduled for Saturday evening, but the weather forecast was giving only a 30% chance of a successful launch. We were enjoying a game of dominos on Merlin, when we suddenly realized that launch time had arrived. We dashed on deck to see the sky lit up in the north behind the low clouds as if the sun was setting all over again. The folks on Milano Myst described a more spectacular sight from their vantage point in Cocoa Beach. It was as if it was daytime all over again, as the shuttle rockets fired and it lifted off. They were glad they had waited for the 2nd try.
Boat Stuff
We were delayed a day leaving Vero Beach when Cathy found the transmission oil dipstick had come apart in her hands the night before our planned departure. (Dave, it just happened.) As happens with all things of this nature, it was a Saturday night, so there was little we were going to do before Monday. Dave managed to find a local Yanmar dealer and did get a response from Karl, our mechanic back in Annapolis, who suggested some ways to close the hole if we couldn’t find the part immediately. He also had one in stock and was willing to ship it to us if we couldn’t find one locally. We even heard from another individual who had reported the same problem on a website, who described how to temporarily fix the existing one and where to look for a new one. Luckily the Vero Beach dealer had one in stock (although they didn’t have any of the other spare parts Dave was looking for), so we still managed to get away early enough to get to Nettles by mid-afternoon.
A more persistent problem had begun back in Georgetown, SC, when the oven stopped working. It would light, but wouldn’t come up to temperature. With some time available at Nettles, we managed to disassemble the oven, reset the air vent and clean out the burner. It now works better than it ever did. (And Cathy was able to finally clean all around it. Boy, did it need it!)
We had planned to stay at Vero Beach for several days, which turned out to be a good idea, since the weather turned nasty after we arrived and just about the time the shuttle launch was originally planned (more about that later). This gave us time for the guys to share expertise between them on engine maintenance, power systems, computer software and eBay shopping (guess who was the expert on that!). We also managed one dinner with all 6 of us, hosted by Merlin.
Catching Up
We were thrilled to catch up with 2 couples in Vero Beach that we had met much earlier in our trip. Doris and Russ from Ragtime who had helped us with docking Orion back in Solomons were staying at the pier in Vero Beach. We joined them for lunch one day. Also, Betty and Gary from Pumpkin, who had been in Coinjock, NC with us and who had been sharing information about the “road ahead” as they traveled a few days ahead of us, were there on a mooring. They invited us over for dinner our first night there, which was a real treat. Milano Myst finally arrived on Sunday, so we got to see them for a little bit before our Monday departure.
Lift-off
The space shuttle launch, delayed from Thursday for bad weather was rescheduled for Saturday evening, but the weather forecast was giving only a 30% chance of a successful launch. We were enjoying a game of dominos on Merlin, when we suddenly realized that launch time had arrived. We dashed on deck to see the sky lit up in the north behind the low clouds as if the sun was setting all over again. The folks on Milano Myst described a more spectacular sight from their vantage point in Cocoa Beach. It was as if it was daytime all over again, as the shuttle rockets fired and it lifted off. They were glad they had waited for the 2nd try.
Boat Stuff
We were delayed a day leaving Vero Beach when Cathy found the transmission oil dipstick had come apart in her hands the night before our planned departure. (Dave, it just happened.) As happens with all things of this nature, it was a Saturday night, so there was little we were going to do before Monday. Dave managed to find a local Yanmar dealer and did get a response from Karl, our mechanic back in Annapolis, who suggested some ways to close the hole if we couldn’t find the part immediately. He also had one in stock and was willing to ship it to us if we couldn’t find one locally. We even heard from another individual who had reported the same problem on a website, who described how to temporarily fix the existing one and where to look for a new one. Luckily the Vero Beach dealer had one in stock (although they didn’t have any of the other spare parts Dave was looking for), so we still managed to get away early enough to get to Nettles by mid-afternoon.
A more persistent problem had begun back in Georgetown, SC, when the oven stopped working. It would light, but wouldn’t come up to temperature. With some time available at Nettles, we managed to disassemble the oven, reset the air vent and clean out the burner. It now works better than it ever did. (And Cathy was able to finally clean all around it. Boy, did it need it!)

Merry Christmas
Here at Nettles Island Marina, there is a “Tiki Bar”, where the residents gather each evening to socialize and enjoy a cocktail. It is decorated for Christmas, complete with a snowglobe Santa. It seems that in Florida, they’re dreaming of snow. While in Rochester, where they get the snow, they’re dreaming of warm weather in Florida. Sigh! We’ll be experiencing some of both before we return from our holiday travels in the new year.
Happy Holidays to you and yours.
Here at Nettles Island Marina, there is a “Tiki Bar”, where the residents gather each evening to socialize and enjoy a cocktail. It is decorated for Christmas, complete with a snowglobe Santa. It seems that in Florida, they’re dreaming of snow. While in Rochester, where they get the snow, they’re dreaming of warm weather in Florida. Sigh! We’ll be experiencing some of both before we return from our holiday travels in the new year.
Happy Holidays to you and yours.