Thunderstorms continued periodically throughout the night, and although the anchor held fast, Tommy’s PDSD (Post-Dragging Stress Disorder) led to him being up many times during the night. Paula got up because the bed suddenly seemed larger and found Tom’s side empty and him sleeping in the damp cockpit on a blanket.
In the morning the sun peeked out, and suddenly the anchorage was alive with boat action. We were part of the bustle. We hauled anchor and motored out of the anchorage heading North on the ICW during a nice, but short-lived, break in the weather. It was a short trip, only 5 miles, passing by the cruise ship terminal and the Riviera Beach area (featured picture). As we fetched up and docked at the North Palm Beach Marina, the clouds were returning and the sky to the east was taking on that familiar ominous purple cloud look.
This marina caters mainly to large fishing craft, and we were assigned to one of the smaller (!) 50-foot slips. There are many beautiful vessels clearly designed for hooking, fighting, and besting large sea creatures. A handful of sailboats and other varied watercraft rounds out the picture. This is clearly a working marina and we saw both owners and contractors performing labor on many vessels.
The marina has many amenities, including a free shuttle, so we plan to visit the first Publix we have seen since early February tomorrow morning. We bought ice at the marina store which allowed us to defrost the freezer and empty and clean the fridge. This maintenance was sorely needed.
Tommy wrote to some sailing friends who we encountered by chance in the Bahamas. We’ve been keeping in touch since then by email. They crossed over to the US earlier than we did, left their boat in Marathon and drove to Gainesville, where they had connections and business to attend to. Now they are on their way back to Marathon by car, and plan to stop at this marina tomorrow afternoon so we can spend time together.
Paula talked to her parents and texted with Glennis and a dear friend awaiting our return in St. Augustine. Fatigue finally caught up with Tommy and he took a short nap.
After that we washed up, grabbed our umbrellas and walked just a couple of blocks to an excellent Thai restaurant. The décor was beautiful, and food was delicious. It was exactly the type of food Paula had been longing for- the kind cooked by somebody else!
After eating an amazing amount, we rolled ourselves out of the restaurant and walked back to our dock. We spent a few moments admiring other vessels. The drizzly rain then started to get stronger and we saw a bolt of lightning. We took this as a sign it was time to board C Ghost and start to create tonight’s post.
