Stuck in Velcro Beach

Well, how do I begin this entry? I guess it's about following plan C when plans A & B don't work out any longer. In our case, plan C is the result of a minor problem with our “new” engine. The fresh water pump which circulates coolant through the engine has begun to leak indicating that the bearings are worn. The pump needs to be replaced. We learned this while we were on a mooring at Vero Beach and about to leave to continue our northern travel.

The problem is that these pumps don't generally fail. So one question still to be answered is “why did it fail?” The practical situation related to this pump that never fails is that there are no replacement pumps available in this country. The engine is a Yanmar built in Japan, and the nearest replacement is also in Japan. The wait for a new one would be 2-3 weeks at best, perhaps longer. Our summer plans don't allow for us to stay here several weeks and still get north on time. Soooooo we put the boat in a slip here in Vero Beach where it will stay for the summer we'll go north via rental car early next month and then plan to return here in late August to deal with the issues.

We had talked about leaving the boat south at some point to avoid the long trek north, but we didn't imagine it would be this year and we hadn't considered Vero Beach, although it's a good place to spend time. Hence the nickname among cruisers of “Velcro Beach.”

We had spent a couple of days here already. The city runs a free bus service that stops at the marina and also a several shopping centers. We had used this to get our groceries and also took a morning to visit a local botanical garden. It was jungle-like in appearance but also boasted 50 varieties of water lilies, most of which were in bloom. The ocean beach is less than a mile away, so we walked there yesterday and enjoyed a swim in the waves. The water is near 80 degrees, so not difficult to get in. Now that we know we'll be here for a while, we looking into more of the local hotspots to explore. In spite of all plans, we can never say for sure that we'll have another opportunity here.

                              The botanical garden photos

When built, this was the largest bamboo structure in North America

While I had planned to continue blogging our travel, since we are no longer traveling up the ICW, my entries will be a little less frequent. We are still adjusting to the forced change in plans, but we are looking at it as a new and unexpected adventure that will offer good times that we have yet to learn about.

Till the next blog entry....Carpe Diem

Captain Bob