NEWS UPDATE FROM COSMO

Cosmo reports on his “vacation” in West Palm Beach while we were away in Newport. 

“Welcome home, Janice and David! While you were back in Newport enjoying some time with family and friends,  Zin and I were holding down the fort Aboard Obsession in West Palm Beach. I know you were a bit nervous leaving Obsession, but David did an excellent job of securing Obsession to the mooring and making sure all the lines, halyards and sheets were cleated off properly.

He stowed the generator and strapped OCD in the davits, closed all the hatches except the ones under the dodger, and ran the engine one last time before we left. Zin and I managed ok, sometimes it got a bit stuffy down below, and we had one day that the wind blew hard and it also rained. 

Dean and Sarah Marshall stopped by to check on us, and I heard that Ingrid and Fred were watching too. A small boat to the east of us was spotted wandering around the Inlet, but it never came close to Obsession.

 We could hear the cruise ships come and go every morning and night, occasionally some small boats with teenagers raced by, 

There were many different pleasure craft going up and down the ICW, especially after the Boat Show, so we had plenty to keep us entertained.

And, by the way, I only consumed a small amount of rum and I think Zin found a bottle of Obsession wine while you were away. (If you believe that, go check David’s rum stash in the bilge along side Janice’s wine locker.) 

I heard that you had a great time back in Newport, that the harbor was empty, but you enjoyed the view from 41North 

and your favorite timeshare unit at Long Wharf Resort.

I’m disappointed that you didn’t bring us any lobster or chourico though! Guess I’ll have to wait until June for a taste of those favorites. Speaking of favorites, I saw a picture of Janice with Perrin and Bill, our favorite launch drivers, 

and Mariah and Bob, CJ,  and Harvey and Judy. 

And of course, Peggy and Ralph and the rest of the family were all at the Viking (One Bellevue) for a mini family reunion.

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone back home in Newport the end of June. I’ll be sure to find a way to climb into Janice’s laundry bag when they go to their timeshare again on June 24. By then it will be time for my twice yearly bath anyway. That way when she invites friends over for a drink I’ll be somewhat presentable. That’s all my news for now. Thanks for reading.”

Janice’s update. 

We had a great trip from Fort Lauderdale to Lantana, working our way through 20 bridges over the course of 8 hours. And we were happy to drop anchor in Lantana because we wanted to go to The Old Key Lime House for dinner and we also knew that it was going to be windy and rainy for a day or two. So we hunkered down for two nights, made our lists for going home, met up with Mike Mason from BLM who has a condo not far from Lantana, had a delicious lunch and Key Lime Pie at the restaurant, and even performed a rescue operation. 

The short trip to West Palm Beach was uneventful, but we did manage to see a lot of beautiful and interesting boats en route to the Boat Show in West Palm. Luckily we had a private mooring waiting for us, and we were able to spend a few days preparing for our trip to Newport. 

We took an Uber to the train station, rode the Trip-Rail train to the Fort Lauderdale Airport, called the hotel shuttle to pick us up, then took the same shuttle to the airport the next morning. Then in RI we took an Uber to 41North from TF Green Airport, and our Newport vacation was about to begin. Two nights at 41North where we were treated royally by the staff. Then 5 nights in our favorite timeshare unit at The Long Wharf Resort. We had dinners out with my family at Johnny’s and the highlight of the trip for us was dinner at One Bellevue (Viking Hotel) with my parents, my 2 sisters and their husbands and Rosa and Perrin. We met up with some friends who have followed my blog at the timeshare too.  But not every minute of our trip was visiting and eating. I spent a few hours doing taxes and some other errands.  We took one last look and photo of the Cooling Towers across the River from our condo in Somerset. By the time we return they will have been imploded. 

The return trip to West Palm was uneventful and easier knowing how to navigate the train.  

We had only planned to stay in West Palm for a few days, re-provision and then start our trip north on Monday, April 8. We have learned (the hard way) not to travel this part of the ICW on weekends. Too many powerboats and jet skis. Lots of wakes.

But on Sunday we got a call from someone who wants to rent our condo for a few months, so we have to go back to Fall River at the end of April to move furniture out of the storage area and back into the condo. This time we plan to leave Obsession in Vero Beach, and have arranged to rent a van to drive home and use to transport the furniture etc. from the storage area. We will allow 1-2 weeks to get this done. Another adventure, this time by car/van. We hope to leave Vero Beach on April 27 or 28, arrive in Fall River by the 30th, check out the condo and then head back to Vero Veach around the 7th or 8th of May. 

HOMEWARD BOUND

HOMEWARD BOUND

Songwriters: Jay Althouse and Marta Thompson

In the quiet misty morning

When the moon has gone to bed,

When the sparrows (seagulls) stop their singing

And the sky is clear and red,

When the summer's ceased its gleaming

When the corn (lobster is AT it’s prime) is past its prime,

When adventure's lost its meaning -

I'll be homeward bound in time.

Bind me not to the pasture (water)

Chain me not to the plow (Obsession)

Set me free to find my calling

And I'll return to you somehow

If you find it's me you're missing

If you're hoping I'll return,

To your thoughts I'll soon be listening,

And in the road I'll stop and turn

Then the wind will set me racing

As my journey nears its end

And the path I'll be retracing (ICW)

When I'm homeward bound again.

When I began thinking about the title and theme song for this blog entry,  Homeward Bound by Simon and Garfunkel came to mind. But when I googled the song and lyrics they didn’t fit. I did, however, find this haunting melody by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I will post a You Tube clip of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performance at the end of this blog. 

Sunrise the morning we left Marathon. 

Moon setting in the morning in Lake a Worth, (West Palm)

Seagulls in the sunset in Key West

Red sunset from No Name Harbor (Miami)

And another red sunset from West Palm Beach. 

When the lobster is at its prime-“looks like we just might get some while we are in Newport this week. 

When the adventure has lost its meaning.

I’ll be Homeward Bound in time. 

The beautiful Atlantic Ocean off Cape Florida  from the beautiful Cape Florida Lighthouse.  (Bind me not to the water)

Chain me not to Obsession

 Obsession in Lake Sylvia (Fort Lauderdale) she is a pretty boat!

Set me free to find my calling (I don’t think either of these are in our future) 

But maybe more of this?

Or this?

I’ll return to you somehow-we are flying home to Newport for a quick visit as I write/edit this post. 

If you find it’s me (is) you’re missingL

To your thoughts we’ll soon be listening. 

In the road I’ll stop and turn. 

And the wind will set me racing

When I’m homeward Bound again

The view from 41North. It really feels like home!

We will be at our timeshare at Long Wharf Resort (Washington Street) in Newport Friday, March 29-April 3. Come visit us on Sunday, March 31 after 4:00 so we can catch up on your news and say “HI”. Contact me after Friday night and I can give you the unit number. 

https://youtu.be/MaQYQnrPgSM

ONE PARTICULAR HARBOUR-MARATHON

ONE PARTUCULAR HARBOUR

And there’s that one particular harbour

Sheltered from the wind

Where the children play on the shore each day

And all are safe within

Most mysterious calling harbour

So far but yet so near

I can see the day when my hair's full gray

And I finally disappear

Sung by Jimmy Buffet

Our stay in Marathon, Boot Key Harbor has come to an end. It was a perfect place to unwind from the fun days and nights in Key West. I must say, they know how to treat cruisers here at the Marathon City Marina. And the cruisers are the neatest group of people. Friendly, helpful, fun, and knowledgeable. They may call Vero Beach  “Velcro Beach” well, I’ll call Marathon “Stay-a-thon”. So many people have come here for a week and are still here years later! Or they come for a day or two and stay a week or a month or two. 

Since mid-December we have stayed in West Palm Beach for a month, then traveled a week to Key West where we stayed another month, then after one day of travel we headed back to Marathon where we stayed a month also. During that time we stayed on a mooring or anchored and did not stay dockside. All but two times that we needed to fill our fuel tanks we did so by carting our jerry cans to a gas station and brought them back to the boat to fill our tanks. We have done the same with water. Oh, and in Fort Lauderdale and Marathon the marinas charge by the gallon for water.  But there is no charge for the sunrises, the sunsets, the camaraderie and conveniences of Marathon. As much as we enjoyed Key West, we found that we could take a bus for $1.00pp each way from Marathon to Key West. Something to keep in mind for the future. Here’s some pictures and thoughts that capture our time in Marathon. Truly, that “One  Particular  Harbour.”

I sent this to Zack Green Sunrise weatherman  at WJAR, Channel10 back in RI. He commented that the water was so calm like glass. Many mornings were like this in BKH. 

Returning after a late afternoon Happy Hour at Castaways I couldn’t resist this shot.  The best sushi, the cheapest Yuenglungs and most delicious hogfish dinners. Interesting decor, and good times with special people.  This picture also reminds me that here in Marathon we learned to take things slowly. It’s a no wake zone and idle speed in the inner harbor. 

A piece of metal art hanging in one of the windows of Castaways. The lowered shade provided an interesting background. 

New Catalina 42 friends, (Resolve) Debbie Smith and Mike Vaccaro and new Catalina 400 friends (Kimberly) Kim and Bill Reynolds) meeting for the first time and having a good time at Castaways. 

And with sunsets like this it’s no wonder you go to bed dreaming of another beautiful day in this particular harbour. 

There are many activities and amenities at the city marina. First, there’s Vicky behind the desk. She called me “Miss Janice”. She is kind, caring, helpful,  knowledgeable, and knows the answer to any question you may have. She handles those of us waiting for a “ball” with honesty and sincerity, she sorts and puts out the mail, she manages the key cards for heads, showers, and laundry, the bikes you can borrow, and I’m sure a whole lot more! I do wish I had gotten a picture of “Miss Vicky”. 

The “library”, the mail room, and a place for sailors to meet, do work, socialize and play Mexican Train. (I enjoyed doing that)

The garden is funded and maintained by the Boot Key Harbor Cruisers. Lots of herbs, a key lime tree or two, tomatoes, peppers and lettuce. 

We found a diver (OCD DIVERS) To clean the bottom of Onsession, and check the prop and zincs. He even cleaned the bottom of our dink-maybe cuz we call it OCD?

We had lunch with fellow cruisers (SSCA $5.00 lunch), had groceries delivered for free from Publix, had mail and a package delivered to us there. All without major hassles. 

We relaxed Aboard Obsession in the mornings listening to the Cruisers net on VHF channel 68, we sometimes did chores (fill water and fuel tanks, and our evenings were spent on the bow enjoying the cooler temps, nice breeze, scenery/sunset and the neighborhood. It was  peaceful and relaxing, carefree and stress free. A special time, a special place-this “one particular harbor”.

Cocktails and appetizers were our dinner three nights in a row-first Kimberly, then a long ride out to the anchorage to Resolve and a final good bye on Obsession where we were joined by Three Penny Opera (Addison and Pat Chan) My, we did eat, drink and laugh a lot. 

Kim and Debbiel posing for Cruising Magazine (not!)

Aboard Kimberly Mike and Bill obviously having a serious conversation (not!)

It was a long  dinghy ride out and back to Resolve. 

Everyone is Aboard Obsession before toasting new friendships and heading to new destinations. Obsession is beginning her trek home to Newport, Kimberly is heading to the West Coast of Florida, Resolve is staying stateside this year, but will find lots of interesting and fun places to visit, and Three Penny Opera is heading to Cuba. 

We  wave bye bye

We pray God speed

We wish you lovely weather

More luck than you need

We only sail in circles

So there's no need to cry

Oh, we’ll see  you again one day

And then we’ll wave bye bye

Bye bye

Janice and David

On Board Obsession