Jensen Beach – Stuart, FL

We left the marina in Vero Beach and started heading South again. We enjoyed the marina and the gated Grand Harbor community of which it is a part.

Suntex Marina in the Grand Harbor community

We will be closing on our old home tomorrow. Good bye home.

95 Sheldonville
Home for the last 13 years

The plan is to sell the home and cruise the East coast till we find an area where we want to settle down. Vero Beach was nice but it was also the first location that we stopped at for an extended time.

We plan to be in the North for Spring, Summer & Fall with our family and friends. However, the question of “do we buy a place up North and live aboard while fleeing winter down South or vice versa?” We don’t know the answer yet. We plan to cruise the South looking at different locations and imagine what it might be like to live there.

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Flee the North

Maybe we should use Ben Franklin’s Pros vs. Cons style of decision-making?

The North has a king & queen:

Wait… this king & queen

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The real King of the North

The South has

Beaches

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boating beach

and boating

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a trawler enjoying the clear blue water

We believe North or South will figure itself out as we explore more locations.

Yesterday’s trip down to Jensen Beach looked something like this:

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Derelict sailboat along the ICW
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A building floated up on an island?

Jensen Beach

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Jenson Beach North of Stuart & St. Lucie Inlet

Once anchored, it was time to put our feet up,

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watch the sun set,IMG_6112

and the bridge light up.

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Other notable stories this week was the story of a young couple who were chasing the simple life. After dropping out of work, selling everything they owned and buying a $5,000 1969 Columbia 28′ sailboat similar to this one.

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1969 Columbia 28′ sailboat yachtworld listing

They sunk another $5K into the boat, a few sailing lessons from a one of the couples’ Dad and they set sail. Only two days into their quest to sail the world, they ran aground in John’s Pass near Tampa, FL and sunk her loosing everything they had.

Social media is alive with people calling them idiots. I don’t feel that way however, I will slam them for creating a GoFundMe page to cover expenses that they alone are responsible for. Was their plan risky? Could they have benefited by gaining more experience? Should the boat have been more seaworthy? Should they have saved more money? Yes, of course but life is about experiences and if we wait till everyone tells you you’re ready, you’ll never leave the dock. Boating couples come in two varieties:

  1. Couples who buy huge million dollar seaworthy boats only to leave the dock once a year on the fourth of July to make a safe loop around the harbor
  2. Couples who buy a decades old boat with a few dollars and want to sail the world.

Most boaters are somewhere in the middle but I don’t see a problem with either of the extremes. Life and boating are pursuit of happiness. It’s your life and nobody else is going to live it for you so do what you like and do it soon.

Click on the picture below to find Nikki Walsh’s Facebook page here and see their pug that was rescued along with them.

Nikki Walsh

Click on the picture below to read the full story

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What are your thoughts on their story? Leave your comments.

One thought on “Jensen Beach – Stuart, FL

  1. After reading your blog about warm weather I feel like our 50° weather is just fine with me. As long as there’s no snow or ice, I’m a happy camper.

    Hope the dogs are doing well, enjoying their eternally green patch of grass and a warm deck to lie upon. They never get sea-sick? I would, ha ha ha!

    Any time frame when you two will be enjoying Papa Hemingway’s haunts down in Key West?

    Watched the entire 3hours if Godfather II tonight, from 10-1AM. What a masterpiece! Watched the original Godfather a few days ago and I have to say I forgot how dynamite that movie is, even to this day! So artfully crafted with great flashbacks and plot twists. In another couple of days I’ll watch the third Godfather movie. It’s been so many years since I first saw them (46 years since the first movie) Michael and I first started dating when I saw that movie. Well, I’ve been listening to piano lullaby music on Pandora each night to relax me before attempting to sleep. I set it with a timer so it shuts off after an hour. Time for my lullabies… sweet dreams.

    Like

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