Jeff and I arrived back in Florida Sunday morning. It was a good trip and we are happy to be back home on Echo. We are thankful for the visits with family and friends and are sorry that we missed some of you.
I was able to attend the funeral for our good friend, Jeff Funni. It was a very difficult time and very important to Jeff (Pernick) and I that at least one of us was there. He was a well loved man and we will always cherish our time with Jeff, Marcy and their amazing kids.
While in the Detroit area we stopped at our storage hanger several times and brought yet more stuff back to Florida with us with us. After we landed, we stopped at a Costco near the airport. Between luggage and supplies we had loads to ferry over to the boat in the dinghy. Luckily we ran into our friends Ed and Chris from Freedom in the parking lot of the marina and they offered to take a few bags to Echo in their dinghy. This was a big help – logistics can be complicated at times.
When I left a week ago Echo was out of the water at a marina a few miles from Stuart. Jeff completed his projects, had the boat launched, stopped at the fuel dock to fill the water tanks then picked up our mooring ball here at Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart. Not really a big deal in the scheme of things but he did it by himself which demonstrates how competent he has become with handling the boat. A few months ago these efforts would have required much planning and both of us, now he doesn’t even need my help.
This week work continues on finishing the water maker installation, tweaking things to improve radio reception and finding space to stow all the things we hauled back to Echo. We have a rental car till tomorrow afternoon so it is some what of a race to complete tasks that require trips around town for supplies. Of course these things can be accomplished on foot or by bicycle just takes much more time.
I have also been planning our provisions. In reading about what other cruisers do I have complied a list of what supplies I think we should have on board to keep us going for about 3 months (grocery shopping will be limited in most of the areas we plan to visit). We do plan to take advantage of local food as much as possible but want to have a good supply of staples on hand.
Jeff has been researching fishing while cruising and purchased a trolling fishing rod. From what the salesman predicts I am now facing a dilemma about the freezer. Should I fill it with meat and seafood that I can purchase here or will his predictions of all the amazing fish we will catch come true in which case I will need freezer space available… I’m a bit skeptical since we have yet to catch any fish but will make sure we have room in case he’s right.
We hope to be ready to be ready to move on next week.
Glad to hear you are back on Echo. As far as fishing goes……good luck! Steve has only been out once since we have been here. Too windy to go, but the one time he went out with friends, they came back with one dolphin (aka mahi) and four Wahoo. Just as an FYI there aren’t a lot of fish worth catching on the Bahama Bank, occasionally a snapper or a grouper gone astray. Most of the good fish are offshore, so fishing will only be when weather permits. I think West Marine has a book or chart of fish that are good eating or better thrown back.
Keep us informed when you think you might head east and if you’ll be in our neck of the woods. Would love to see you again and show you around our playground. Steve would be more than happy to take you out fishing to show you the ropes and maybe even how to spear lobster. Maybe being the operative word for the lobsters. He’s been out twice and came back empty handed which is unusual for him.
Smooth sailing!
We will definitely contact you if we are in the Abacos Roberta. It would be great to visit and get some pointers from Steve – the FB picture of his recent catch looked great to us. Our current plan is the Berry Islands next week if the weather cooperates. I think we have enough supplies on board at this point but may make another trip to the grocery. I do hope we manage to catch a fish during the passage… Thanks!