More Work, More Play

Back in Fort Pierce, we’re determined to maintain a balance between work and play, unlike our first 6 weeks here. With that in mind, we worked all morning. Bob spent several hours washing the boat, removing dirt and vast quantities of salt that accumulated everywhere during our shake-down cruise. He also applied water-proofing to the top of the flybridge bimini, as we noted some leaks during our trip north in the heavy rainstorm, and cleaned all the isinglass.

Cathryn headed to the laundromat to get 4 loads of laundry done and made arrangements with a couple of contractors to keep their work moving forward.

That meant we got to play for the rest of the day. We went to the Navy Seal Museum here in Fort Pierce, the only one of its’ kind in the nation, and was it ever impressive! While we’ve always had great respect for the men and women who serve in our military, these guys (and yes, they’re all guys) are over-the-top amazing!

There were displays about World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and Desert Storm, as well as non-war efforts such as the actual Maersk Alabama lifeboat, for those who recall the astonishing news story of the Navy Seal rescue in 2009 of Captain Richard Phillips from a lifeboat after a Somali pirate hijacking that lasted 4 days. These are the same guys who undertook the capture and killing of Osama bin Laden more recently.  If you ever find yourself near Fort Pierce, this is worth a visit.

Captains Chris and Alyse Caldwell, the folks who trained us for 3 days in January, keep their boat in the same marina where we’re located and have a couple from New York on board for 5 days of training.  We always enjoy time with Chris and Alyse, and they wanted their current students to meet some recent “graduates” who have gone on to successful cruising (if our 500 mile journey to the Keys qualifies as such), so we invited the 4 of them for cocktails on our boat.  Alyse brought 2 pounds of delicious crawfish, and combined with other appetizers and drinks, the stories began. We also offered a tour of our boat.  It was a fun way to pass a couple of hours and ended long after dark, and well before the next heavy rainstorm began. We think we achieved the right balance for the day.