Fond Farewell

On Saturday night the gang met up at our house to say farewell to (and Happy Birthday to) more boater friends; Frank and Cindy. Frank and Cindy arrived in Grand Rivers in the spring sporting glowing tans and long blonde hair. We called them the Vikings. The marina assigned them a slip on pier 6 and “Mayor” Pat took them under her wing. Frank and Cindy live every day to the fullest. They are a welcome addition to Green Turtle Bay and Grand Rivers. They volunteered on Marina Day, cooked for Tuesday night clubs, participated in cruising club and CYC events, and added to the fun of summer with all their enthusiasm. We laughed. We cried. We now call them friends and will miss them over the winter. Frank and Cindy shared with me this letter to express what these few short summer months meant to them.

“In October 2006 we arrived at Green Turtle Bay; one of the “must stops” when doing the Great Loop. We were traveling with another boat and we planned to stay one night and then move on. Well, all of us had such a great time that we stayed four days. Since then, we have always talked about our great experience at Green Turtle Bay.

Due to Hurricane insurance, we have to be north of the 35 parallel by the first of June. We started thinking of all of the nice places we visited when doing the loop. Well, Green Turtle Bay popped into our minds and we thought it would be a great place to spend a few summer months. What a great choice it turned out to be.

We arrived in April on a windy rain filled day. As we were tying up at our designated slip on Pier 6, we were welcomed by the “Mayor” of Pier 6; Pat Terry and her faithful companion Luke. As the days went on the mayor introduced us to everyone on Pier 6 and to others from piers 12, 5 and 4. We were overwhelmed by the kindness of everyone. We joined the Commonwealth Yacht Club and participated in many of the events throughout the summer. There is so much to do at Green Turtle Bay there was never a dull moment.

To try and find all of the right words to express our memories and new experiences of the past several months would be a challenge, but here are a few; awesome, overwhelming, fun, learning, relaxing, and enjoyable. By far this was the best stop in our three years of boat travel. We have so many special thank yous to give to all. To try and list everyone by name would take another six pages so to everyone a big THANK YOU.

Over the summer our pet of 7 years, Diamond passed away. Our hearts were empty. The kindness and compassion of our new friends helped us get through this difficult time and we will never forget any of you.

Winter is moving in and it is time to go south. We would like to thank the entire Green Turtle Bay staff for all of your friendly smiles, and help with whatever we needed. The Gary’s for having the foresight to build such a beautiful resort for boaters. And once again to everyone we have met, Thank you so much. All your warm hearted and thoughtfulness is what makes Green Turtle Bay in Grand Rivers, KY one of the finest boating area’s around. See you in the spring. Have a safe and happy new year. “

Frank and Cindy Staffe
Peacekeeper