Day Five in Fort Pierce, aka Vagabond Village
Grinding to a halt and driving to Miami and back
I woke up at 6:30 am, and woke Aaron up at 6:45. We skipped breakfast and went straight to work, grinding away the last traces of the cancer in our hull and wiping the open sores with TSP (trisodium phosphate) and acetone. We figured to be done by 9 a.m., but didn’t finish until after 11.
This was partially due to a visit from a neighboring boat owner, who we chatted with, safety goggles on and tools in hand, for about 30 minutes. With ponytail, neat white beard, and fading blue anchor tattoo on his bicep, he looked fifty but claimed to be 79. He also told us many stories about his history in boat ownership, among other things. Back in the 80’s, he said, he bought boats at bargain prices and sold them off at profits of $100,000 after putting minimal work into refurbishing them. One 34-foot sailboat he bought “came with a tugboat,” which he sold almost immediately, and “made out like a bandit.” He had also made out like a bandit buying and reselling washers, dryers, and other appliances from a deliveryman, who he suspected of stealing the merchandise. One washer and dryer set, he recalled, which he bought brand new for less than $100, was worth exactly $1104 dollars.
He also cruised several times to Cuba. On one trip, his story went, nine doctors asked him to bring their families from Cuba to the United States. He took 44 people in all, and the group paid him $45,000 for the service.
Most of the characters around the boatyard emit a low whistle when passing our boat, then follow with some comment trying to make light of the jagged situation on our hull. “I don’t envy you,” “You’ve got your work cut out for you,” and “You’ll be in the water by the weekend, right?” are some examples. We were happy to finish the grinding, and went out to the diner for lunch before driving to Ft. Lauderdale to pick up sails, Miami to pick up our life raft, and back. The round trip took about five hours.
Back at the boat, we had salad and ravioli for dinner. Aaron retired to his quarters afterward, and I stayed up reading and writing before turning in early myself.