Manatee Cove Marina - Patrick Air Force Base

We are located at Manatee Cove Marina, which is a pretty marina located on Patrick Air Force Base. There is a lovely club house, an outside Tiki Bar with a bartender, two pavilions (one is across the way for boats docked on the other side away from the clubhouse), laundry facilities, and showers. We are fortunate that some military bases have marina facilities that we, as military retirees are permitted to use, and while they are not free (there are commercial marinas that charge less for dockage), the cost is reasonable. It is also a very good feeling to be on a military base again. It feels like home.

The dolphins and manatees here at the marina provide daily entertainment. We came here at the urging of our friends, Eric and Ellen Provost, who keep their boat here. Eric and Mike worked together at Fort Bragg many years ago, and have maintained their friendship through the years. Eric and Ellen sometimes blame Mike for their decision to buy a big boat (their boat is a 40 foot Silverton), but Mike refuses to accept responsibility for that decision. Manatee Cove Marina is an active club, and the people are great. This one is on our list as a future hangout.

Now the rest of the story: Along the way to the marina we hit something in the shallow water of the Banana River, and we knew immediately that we had damaged our props. These were props that Mike and Keith had just switched a week earlier!! That’s another story. Anyway, we knew we were going to have to find a diver to remove the props for repair before we could continue on. Immediately upon getting docked and settled, Eric started searching for a diver. Tim, member of the marina and also the bartender at the Tiki Bar, and Rob, came to the boat on Thursday and removed the port prop (the starboard prop was okay). There was a seven inch by one inch piece missing from one of the blades and another blade was banged up somewhat (see the picture).
We drove to Bradenton, FL on Friday to drop off three props (the one just removed on Thursday and the two other props that were damaged earlier) to be repaired at General Propeller. These folks were very nice and promised to have them ready for us by 1:00 p.m. the same day, and they were ready as promised!! This was also the same day that we found a CompUSA to repair our computer. We spent the night in St. Petersburg, FL and met Ted and Jeff on Saturday to pick up batteries and our dinghy registration that Mike Jr. took care of for us in Tennessee. We headed back to Patrick AFB on Saturday with new props and a repaired computer!! By the way, a switch on our autopilot broke between Jensen Beach and Patrick AFB! These are certainly minor things compared to some stories we have heard, so we are thankful that we haven’t had more serious problems to deal with. As those familiar with boats learn to say, “It’s a boat!!”

We are grateful to Eric and Ellen, long-time friends, who have provided us with a car while we have been here. They also have a boat docked here at Manatee Cove. These folks are a lot of fun to be with, and we are glad that we had the opportunity to get to Patrick AFB to spend some time with them before moving on to points south.
We have decided not to go to the Bahamas until January at the earliest. We will stay at Patrick for a while, at least through 27 November, and eventually make our way to Key West! The good thing about this trip is that we don’t have to keep a schedule, so we can hang out anywhere as long as we want.

Since today is Thanksgiving, Pat and I would like to wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving. Please keep our American Servicemen and women in your prayers.
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