The Voyage of Vagus V
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Year 1
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Stuart Fl.
Start Date: December 22nd, 2003 Location: Stuard Fl.
End Date: December 28th, 2003
Merry Christmas

Alex arrived at 7:30pm on Monday. He made great time driving down from the frozen North, making it in two days with reasonable traffic. It was great to see him and we were excited when he called about noon and said he would arrive in the evening. He was also able to bring a vinaterta (a traditional Icelandic Christmas cake - it would not be Christmas without one) from my Mom. Fortunately, it arrived just before he left so we could enjoy it over the next week. He was also able to bring some presents from Jeff and Caitilin, the mail and a special computer monitor cable that we could not find here (everything is "special" on a computer).

We spent a few days wandering around the town and catching up and, for Alex, resting up after the drive. The people in the anchorage had arranged a potluck dinner for Christmas Day. So on Christmas Day, after opening presents around our "mast" tree, we took the dinghy over to the potluck. It was a great time with about 30 people attending. The selection of food was incredible, including turkey, ham and pork, and many desserts. I am still amazed at what people can cook in the small propane ovens on boats. At dusk we headed back to the boat for a movie.

On Friday, we promised Alex a beach fix. Fortunately, the weather cooperated and he got to swim and snorkel at Bathtub Beach on Hutchinson Island. It was a bit windy and the water roiled up so the snorkeling was not too good. But, he did get to swim on Boxing Day. We wandered the beach before heading back to the boat. That night, we went out to a local Mexican restaurant that was within walking distance from the marina for dinner.

Alex left on Saturday to beat the New Years traffic back to Burlington. Apparently I95 Southbound was one big parking lot through Florida but Northbound was okay. It was really sad to see him go. We got back to the boat after seeing him off and decided it was time for us to go as well. It looked like a weather window was starting to open in the next week. If it held, we would leave Stuart on Monday and head for Lake Worth. From there we would either jump across to the Bahamas if the window was good or head towards Miami. The next few days were spent in a flurry of putting more provisions on the boat, including stocking the boat with more beer. We heard that beer was $40/case in the Bahamas. Karen found an unused area in the bottom of our fridge that took 4 dozen beer to fill - bonus. We also had to settle our accounts at the marina and say goodbye to all the people we met while staying there. Most are heading to the Bahamas so we will hopefully see them in the near future.

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