Boot Key Harbor to Manatee PocketWe returned from Key West on Friday, April 9th, and spent the next two days on the boat in Boot Key Harbor, recovering! On Saturday Todd got in the water and cleaned the side of the boat at the waterline. That afternoon…
Feel like a good grumble!
3am, 22/04/10.We are now exactly halfway. The hydraulic alternator has made my cabin sound like a factory that tests chainsaws.We have entered the ITCZ (Intertropical Convergence Zone), and there there are squalls that make the rada…
Marriott Point Clear Alabama
The Marriott’s beach on Mobile BayThe pool, beautiful but still too cool for most floks.The duck pond.Gumbo at the hotel’s marina.Mobile Bay sunset with Pelicans diving.After breakfast we drove into Fairhope and looked at a few antique shops, there are…
Almost half way. Concerns about fuel consumption.
We have now gone 1250 miles, with another 1450 to go until we reach Nuku Hiva, Marquesas. The problem is that the figure we were given for the fuel consumption of the generator of 0.8 gallons per hour has turned out to be wildly inaccurate. We hav…
Vilamoura to Faro
Since Travis is due to (finally) make the trip down to visit us we decide to take the boat to meet him in Faro. It is only a short passage and a very enjoyable trip up the Ria Formosa. The Estuary has an enormous variety of natural hab…
April 2010 – Ashiya, Japan
Weather has been downright crappy since we got back to Japan. I don’t know why, but we were expecting a bit of balmy weather and sunny skies. People here tell us that “normally”, March and April are fairly nice months with moderate te…
April 19-20, 2010
Ft. Pierce to Melbourne to Titusville, FL
Just a quick note to say that we have had two beautiful days to cruise. Monday morning we left the Ft.Pierce area – an easy passage to the Atlantic Ocean and a port of entry. Many cruisers use this port to return to USA and to clear customs.
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We are still in the Indian River ICW. The river is wide and dotted with islands – very beautiful, but shallow outside the channel. (We didn’t know it, but yesterday we passed very close to Tiger Woods’ and Greg Norman’s estates on JupiterIsland. In fact, after looking at their places on Google Earth, I am pretty sure I remember both – no pictures, though.)
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Florida is starting to bloom and we were close enough to some homes to enjoy the beauty.
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We had many dolphin sightings along this stretch of the ICW. And you’re not going to believe this…. Both Mark and I saw some sort of ray jumping out of the water. These guys were little and they sure didn’t “launch” themselves at a passing dinghy. I guess now, at least, we know what we are looking at.
In the river area local boaters set their traps for something. We heard today that they catch “river shrimp” (like small lobsters). Whatever, he is going for, he has an audience waiting for handouts.
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We were in the MelbourneHarbor by 2:00 and enjoyed the rest of the day. Shortly after landing I went out to the front of Grateful to read and enjoy the view when I saw a Manatee. I ran back to get my camera, but didn’t see any others, however, a dolphin came into the harbor for dinner as the sun was setting.
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Our trip to Titusville was equally terrific. We were still in the Indian River, but it was wide and open. We were so excited because the shuttle, Discovery, was landing this morning. We had been told that we would hear the sonic boom (possibly two) as Discovery flew in over Orlando @ 600 mph and slowed to 200 mph to land at the airstrip on Cape Canaveral. This was supposed to happen at 7:30 am. I was up and ready with Porter out for a walk in hopes that I would not only hear it, but possibly see it. Mark elected to let the sonic boom be his alarm clock. We were both disappointed as we heard nothing. So a little after 8:00 we started our trek to Titusville.
Titusville is the closest town to the KennedySpaceCenter and many cruisers will watch shuttle launches and landings from there. As we progressed north we began to hear radio chatter that Discovery had not landed earlier. It was about 9:30 and every boater was looking to the sky and listening. I was out on the bow straining both eyes and ears and of course, had the camera. After a few minutes Mark called out that Discovery was already on the ground. NOTHING! But we weren’t the only ones – by the chatter on the radio in our area no one heard or saw anything. I guess we were still a little too far south – “missed it by that much”. Later as we neared Titusville we were able to see the KennedySpaceCenter and the launch tower.
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On the west shore of the Indian River, was the Titusville power plant – liked the “candy-striped” chimneys.
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Bridges weren’t an issue these last two days. Today we squeaked under one and then our last one of the day was the Titusville Hwy Swingbridge. This bridge will soon be replaced by a 65 foot fixed bridge.
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April 19-20, 2010
Ft. Pierce to Melbourne to Titusville, FLJust a quick note to say that we have had two beautiful days to cruise. Monday morning we left the Ft. Pierce area – an easy passage to the Atlantic Ocean and a port of entry. Many cruisers use this port to re…
The Warf Marina to Point Clear ], Mobile Bay
This Great Blue Heron had good luck fishing of the dock he caught this Mullet, about 10″ longThe pictures tell the story better than words.All down but the mullet’s tail Before we left the Wharf I saw this Geat Blue Heron fishing on the dock and took t…
MVGUMBO 2010-04-19 18:02:00
An overcast but calm Monday morning at Redfish PointMother dolphin and baby, they and another large one (the father?) swam alongside the boat for several minutes.Gumbo at The Wharf Marina in Orange BeachSunset over the ICW at The Wharf MarinaWe had an…
