I needed to decompress

After three really long days on the water (the last of which was on the Gulf), we arrived in our new home port of Regatta Pointe, Palmetto, FL. We came in on a Friday night, and our slip is just 50 feet from the marina's restaurant and bar. It was happy hour. Crowds gathered to watch us come in. I was at the helm, and did my best, but Captain Randy had to jump in on occasion. Nothing like some performance anxiety.

We joined the happy hour crowd for a bit, getting some small bites for dinner with Randy, then we both collapsed, exhausted. What a trip.

Dolphins like the boat

While on the gulf we witnessed firsthand some of the devastation of the red tide plaguing the area. The typically clear waters were yellow at times, or we'd pass through miles of floating dead fish. Russ even had burning eyes from the bloom. He remarked to Randy that this qualified under the heading of "we're just too stupid to live." Otherwise, the five hour voyage on the water was uneventful. In the boating world, we call that a good thing.

The last two days we did more sorted, arranging, going through the tons of storage space on the boat that is filled with tons of stuff from the previous owner. Which, as far as we can tell, was left from the previous owner before that.

Sunrise at the marina

Palmetto is a smaller town, and still has that "old Florida" vibe. Mostly retirees, cute little down town that we can walk to from the boat, and seriously cheap food. The Old Port Cove in West Palm Beach was more upscale, but lacking in anything other than a restaurant on the marina. Sure, many bigger, beautiful yachts (we felt like we dragged down the place), and towers of condos. Maybe it's my anti-car nature, but I'd think the folks living in those condos would appreciate a small grocery, or drug store, a couple of eateries. We would have. But you have to get in your car to go anywhere. 

Weather is coming, so we don't know when we'll get out again. We hope this afternoon, but it might be when we have to take the boat for some maintenance.