Stuart, FL

The adventure continues.....First things first. The weather has been warm (very windy, but warm). Even Shirley is wearing shorts and tee shirts! That's why we changed our plans and went south to begin with. We left St. Augustine last Tuesday to travel down the ICW to Stuart. The winds were from the SSW and were (as already stated) very strong - 15-25 Kts each day. Too much to fool with outside (in the ocean). I got up early thinking we would be able to make Vero Beach by night fall. A little more than 2 NM from St. Augustine I was looking at some boats at anchor making notes for future reference and drifted a little right of the next red bouy. Within 20 feet of the bouy, we were hard aground on a falling tide. We did every trick we knew (most have worked in the past) to no avail. After 45 minutes I called TowBoat US in St. Augustine (first ever call for a grounding). They showed up 40 minutes later and it took another 45 minutes to get us unstuck and going again. Let me strongly encourage you boaters to purchase the unlimited BoatUS coverage. We do and are we glad. The invoice was $870 and our out of pocket was $0. While we were stuck Shirley kept repeating (for my benefit I'm sure) 'even a bad day of the water is better than (fill in the blank)'. The balance of the day was very pleasant. We anchored near Ponce Inlet and watched agreat sunset. Our routine is pretty much the same each day. Asleep by 2030, up and uunderway the next day before the sun is up (I love to see the sun rise when we are moving). Wednesday on the ICW with great weather. Anchored 6 NM south of Melbourne. Another wonderful night. Thurday into our slip in Stuart at 1530. Shirley said it's like being home again. We like Manatee pocket and the good folks at the Hinckley Yard. Dinner with friends that night, boat chores Friday morning, and to my dad's Friday afternoon. He is getting ready to turn 91 and is still going strong. We will be here until Sunday morning. Our plan is to get down to Lake Worth Sunday night and then go outside on Monday to No Name Harbor in Key Biscayne. The will start the Keys part of our trip.