Son et Lumière

       

            Festival of Lights, celebrated all over the world in one form or another—Diwali, Hanukah, Christmas, Saturnalia—celebrates the triumph of light of darkness, good over evil.  When I was young, we would go on special outings to drive around various neighborhoods to look at the lights.  Little has changed over the years. 

 The lights are still beautiful.

  The addition of synchronized sound adds a dimension of drama not possible back then.  LED lights reduce energy consumption.  Several years ago, I installed a one hundred Amp service entrance at a home.  It was a dedicated panel that exclusively fed power to the Xmas light display.  People came from miles around to see it.  Wow!

            So now it is 2013 and lights are everywhere, even on the water.  The annual boat parade on Taylor Creek in Ft Pierce is an event best seen from the dock. 

 Even Mother Nature has joined in the festivities with a full moon and sunsets that reach all the way around to the East.

Oh, I almost forgot!  Port Oliver Yacht Club's Hula Girls have been reincarnated as Island Girls and contribute to the Festival of Lights on the bow of Now or Never!

ADRIFT!

One hundred feet from our mooring ball at Vero Beach, a mere 100 feet!  The engine died.  Powerless, we were gently blown into the mangroves.  Thankfully, maybe miraculously, we were not aground. With a little help from the marina staff, we were towed to the ball and got tied up.  We had been looking forward to rafting up with other boaters.  Instead, we were rafted up with a derelict old boat.  I had to climb aboard in order to tie our lines to it and I almost fell through the rotten covers on the cockpit lockers. 

 Yikes!  God, please don’t let this boat sink while we are tied to it!

We had anchored the day before at Dragon Point in Eau Gallie. 

  It was a quiet anchorage and we had our own happy hour while swinging gently on the hook. 

 Bruno’s navigation skills were tested as he charted our course to Vero.

A couple of days after our arrival at Vero, we were surprised by the arrival of friends Roman and Olha on s/v Moya Mreeya..  We had met them on last year’s trip.  

 Together, we had a great time at the Thanksgiving pot luck.  The C.L.O.D.s (Cruisers Living On Dirt) of Vero Beach provided ham and turkey and the rest was provided by the cruisers in the mooring field.  One hundred and fifty of us gathered for fun and food.

  A grander feast was never served.  Vero is a nice place.  Many restaurants, good shopping, beaches, happy hour ashore, lots of cruisers.  Of course, when there are 150 boats in the harbor, you can bet that the dinghy dock will be loaded. 

  It’s a real challenge to get in close enough to the dock to get Bruno off the dinghy.

The day after Thanksgiving, we tackled the dead engine.  Out of fuel!  That was easy.  Whew!  So again, with Bruno’s navigation, we made it down to Fort Pierce.

  We were just in time for the annual Xmas parade.  Beautiful!  Horses, kids, ballet troupes, bands, motorcycles and clowns. 

Olha and Roman had learned of a Byzantine Catholic Church where they sell homemade pierogi, kielbasa, holobchi and kolach. 

 The church was beautiful and the food delicious.  We bought enough for several meals.

Happy hour often brings on a bit of silliness.

  Speaking of silliness, we got a new mascot for the boat. 

 A terrific 25¢ purchase at a thrift store.