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December 9-13, 2010

We left early from Titusville because we had 75 miles to go to Vero Beach. Titusville Municipal Marina has many resident ospreys. One had chosen the “soft” post on Grateful’s port side to eat its breakfast. As we were making to leave, it puffed its feathers and spread its wings to make itself BIG, but I still won the battle and it finally flew away with its catch.

We looked forward to Vero Beach because we had heard so many positive comments and we had heard that there was a dog beach close by. Our intention was to spend the weekend there. We stopped and got fuel – another 300 gallons – and they put us into a nice slip. Unfortunately it was raining off and on and things were a little soggy. However, it made a lovely sunset picture.

Friday dawned on a foggy morning and it didn’t clear until 9:00. But when it cleared, the day was brilliant and warm. We did find the dog park, and after a few Frisbee throws, Porter went to the drainage ditch for a drink – pretty much guaranteed a bath for him. Later in the day, Mark and I used the free city shuttle and went shopping. We needed dog chow, milk and sweet vermouth. My O&M friends would be proud of me because I figured out the bus schedule and we were standing on the correct side of the road to catch our ride home. But, alas, we decided to leave Vero Beach early as a cold front was going to be moving through on Sunday bringing high winds and freezing temperatures. We were able to rearrange our marina reservations so we were all set.

Saturday dawned with heavy fog again. We were ready to go but needed to wait until we could see the sailboats anchored in the harbor. Well, we could see them and we had our trusty GPS and radar, so by 8:30 we departed.

The day cleared to a bright, cool day. We traveled the Indian River this whole day. The river is sometimes a mile wide, but with only a very narrow channel with 8-10 ft depths. The channel is lined with spoil islands – some have trees, beaches and room for camping.  

As we approached St Lucie Inlet, the water became that beautiful aqua. There were many more dolphin sightings and some came to swim with us. There were a lot of boats out enjoying the day. At the St. Lucie Inlet we had to turn inland to find the Okeechobee waterway. The first test was getting through a set of three bridges – one high, an open RR bridge, and a low bascule bridge. Finally we were through and into the canal.

We made it through the St. Lucie lock – a 13 ft lift. We are old hands at locks, but this one seemed hard. In the Midwest, water is run into the lock through a pump system  – water seems to boil up from the depths. So far these locks seem to work by simply opening the lock door at the other end. We had a heck of a surge as 13 feet of water poured into the lock – we both were holding on for dear life!!

We cruised until we came to the RiverForestYachtCenter. This is not a marina, but has electrical power and water. This is one of the places we are considering to store Grateful rather than cruising to South Carolina.

We had reservations at Indiantown for both Sunday and Monday evenings. We knew the cold front was beginning to move through the area. Sunday morning arrived peacefully and calm. 

However, Sunday morning I called Indiantown Marina to find out when we could arrive. Because the cold front was due to arrive, the boats that were going to leave the marina had not left. We offered to stay where we were – and the same happened for Monday.

The wind that has arrived with the cold front is crazy – gusts to 35 mph. We have been out rearranging fenders continuously as the wind bumps us against the wall. Travel across Lake Okeechobee is not advised – weather channels call it “rough”.  Lake Okeechobee is the second largest lake within the boundaries of the US, but it is only about 13 feet deep. Winds can make crossing the lake quite hazardous. When I called the Indiantown Marina today, they did not think anyone was leaving throughout the week. I guess we will wait. According to weather forecasts, we might be able to cross Lake Okeechobee by Wednesday – we will make the attempt. We will start from RiverForest rather than 13 miles closer at Indiantown.

Until then……….

CamacheeCoveYachtHarbor, St. Augustine

HalifaxHarbor, Daytona Beach

Titusville Municipal Marina, Titusville

It’s been awhile since I added to the blog. We have traveled every other day and rested on the off days. We are still on target to get to Ft.MyersBeach by either December 16^th or 17^th. Even though we are traveling on the ICW, the weather could be a factor by next week. It seems so odd to have to pay so much attention to what may happen with the weather.

On December 3^rd we left FernandinaBeach for St, Augustine. We needed assistance leaving the dock again because of the tidal current, but mostly because of a strong wind blowing us into the dock. As it turned out, Mark placed one of orange ball fenders toward Grateful’s bow and pivoted the stern out using the fender against the dock. Our trip was uneventful – thank goodness – and we saw some interesting sights on the way to St. Augustine.

CamacheeCoveYachtHarbor is very nice and protected. Last spring we spent a week at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina. While we had a wonderful week there with easy access to beautiful historic St. Augustine, the hustle and bustle (construction on the Bridge of Lions, tour boats coming and going, transient boats crashing and getting caught up in the current) was quite a difference from the calm, peaceful feel of Camachee Cove. On Saturday many boaters were decorating their boats for Christmas – the big regatta is next weekend.

We moved on to Daytona Beach on Sunday, and returned to HalifaxHarbor. We had a very pleasant stay with them last spring and this time was no different. Our trip was another easy one – and we shared the waterway with many more boats than we had seen before. As this day progressed apparently the wind shifted from the west to out of the north. We were getting a healthy push from the wind as well as the current, but it ushered in very cold weather for this part of the country. For the last three mornings we have been getting up to mid-30s for temps. I have pulled out all the winter gear that I needed last fall when we were traveling down the Mississippi. Even Captain Mark has reluctantly given up his shorts for a pair of sweatpants.

On Tuesday, we continued down to Titusville and stopped at the Municipal Marina again. We had forgotten what an adventure it was to get into a slip here. Because the docks are fixed not floating and because the fingers are only about 25 ft long, we have to go stern in so that we can get off our boat. (Our doors are located about 10 ft from the back of the boat). Things seemed to be going just great with the stern fitting between the soft posts when suddenly the dockhand yells “FORWARD” because one of those posts had moved right behind us!!! Well, Captain Mark still has fast reactions and we did not hit the post. I got the stern line to the dockhand, but then I had to run to the bow to lasso those soft posts with bow lines. Good Grief – I am going to need more practice on that skill. Anyway with expert help from the dockhand, we were finally tied down. Our power cord and water barely reach from the front of the boat back to the main dock behind us, but we are connected. And this is another great place to stay. Porter loves it because he can get off and on the boat under his own power. With floating docks we need a ladder so we have to lift Porter off the boat. He is much happier this way.

Last spring we watched the Atlas rocket launch while we were here and we thought we might see another commercial rocket launch of the Falcon 9, but it has been delayed – maybe tomorrow morning? We will look as we travel down to Vero Beach.

It would have helped if we had read this notice before we traveled, but we are ever so grateful that swift action was taken by the USCG and the temporary markers were in place when we went through.

The rest of the trip was great. We passed more shrimp boats and this one was pulling in a net – notice all the birds waiting for a possible meal.

Birds waiting for a meal

Nice paint job

We again went by King’s Bay – a facility where up to 6 submarines can be moored – and this time we saw one being worked on. It is impressive.

Submarine at King’s Bay

Notice the men on the top of the sub

Guardians of King’s Bay

Then as we crossed St. Mary’s Sound and nearing FernandinaBeach we watched this container ship come into port (just north of the marina we stayed in). In a matter of three hours this ship had docked, been unloaded and moved on.

Escort Tug

Escort approaching

Again, we liked FernandinaBeach – a pretty little town. We went out to eat at the Irish pub, and I purchased some fine chocolates to get us through these chilly nights.

Fernandina Harbor Marina

Are we in Florida

Town Hall

Christmas tree in marina

Main Street in Fernandina Beach

December 1, 2010

We are cruising a 64 mile day on the Georgia ICW. And today has been more exciting than most so far on our trip.

Let me start out by saying by way of explanation that for the last two days we have been concerned about travel because of the predicted severe storms and the extreme high winds. Yesterday we squeezed our short 26 mile trip in between two rain/storm fronts. A warm front off the coast is running into a cool front traveling east from Mississippi (it’s probably the other way around meteorologically).  Not only were we concerned about weather, but we were trying to time our trip to take advantage of the tidal swing – 8.5 ft. 

We wanted the water to be low enough for Grateful to get under SkidawayBridge, but rising enough to get Grateful through “Hell Gate”. Hell Gate is infamous (obviously to deserve the name) for shoaling and shallow water. We passed at mid rising tide and had no problem. Landing was a little quicker than usual because of wind, current and tide, but I was ready with all our fenders out – Kilkenny Marina’s docks are a little rough. (We picked up fuel there because we could save about 30 cents per gallon – we needed 317 gallons at $3.09 – do the math  – YIKES!)

Last night we waited for the second wave of storms in front of the cold front to hit. There was no TV or computer to check the weather status. Other boats also sought shelter at Kilkenny – s/v Talisman from Sister Bay, WI, s/v Extra! Extra! from Annapolis, MD, and m/v Miscellaneous. We got some rain, lost electrical power for part of the night, but the inverter took over and we at least had a fan. It was 70 degrees and humid when we went to bed (after playing a game of Scrabble) and we woke up to 47, clear and WINDY!!

So yesterday was the easier of the two days. Today the extreme winds – 20-25 knots with gusts up to 35 knots – have compounded the effects of tides and current. In the narrow channels and rivers, it is better than in the Sounds. Georgia’s ICW is mostly rivers joining sounds with some manmade cuts when needed. Also, for several years, Georgia has not budgeted much money to maintain the ICW. Therefore areas that are prone to shoaling in most cases have not received attention for awhile. Our 64 mile trip to St. Simon’s Island has taken us through St. Catherine’s, Sapelo, Doboy, Altamaha Sounds so far and we will need to go partially into St. Simon’s Sound to get to Morning Star Marina of Golden Isles. St. Catherine’s Sound was first and was quite refreshing!! Grateful got a saltwater bath and we were rockin’ and rollin’. Most things in and on the boat are secure for waves, but not for the winds and pounding sea spray. I was laying towels down to soak up water both down below and in the upper salon and then noticed that the canvas cover for our tender was hanging over the back windows! I got to drive for a bit while Mark went to the upper station to secure the cover. He commented that it wasn’t at all as bad as trying to fix the chocks on the way to the Bahamas. Then he had to go out to tighten the ropes on the kayak as wind was lifting and shifting it on the deck. There he said he could believe that the gusts were 35 knots as he had to hold on to stay on.

Today we also traveled with the cruise ship, American Star. We caught up to her as we were coming out of Sapelo Sound and moving into the FrontRiver, CreightonNarrows and Old Teakettle Creek. The tide also had just shifted from ebb and was rising. The American Star has a draft between 7-8 feet so she traveled slowly and extremely precisely through those critical areas. As the river widened into Doboy Sound we were able to pass and move on at a little faster pace.

I can tell already that this is going to be another long blog, so while I have you I want to tell you about our past week. It was terrific!!

We traveled from Isle of Palms, SC to Beaufort, SC, on Wednesday, November 24. Because it was an 80 mile trip we were up at daybreak and moving by 7:00. Mark and I don’t usually experience this time of day – what a novelty. 

We made good time and landed at Downtown Marina of Beaufort around 3:30. Hank & Ann, m/v Queen Ann’s Revenge, were already there and we made plans to go out for dinner. We ate at Plums and had a fabulous meal – I had the server take a picture before we destroyed the evidence. 

Hank & Ann went on to Port Royal Marina for a Thanksgiving feast while we stayed in Beaufort for a few more days. Thanksgiving Day is all about eating and Mark and I were all over that. We had the traditional meal that I made on the boat and then we sat around and were lazy. Friday was rainy so we used the courtesy car and got groceries and I did laundry. Saturday was a day of working on the steering and repairing a leak on one of the engine exhaust hoses. (We discovered the leak on our way to Beaufort when it took the bilge pump one hour to expel the bilge water when normal is about 2-5 minutes.) 

After the chores we took a carriage tour of the area. The homes were spared in the Civil War because the Union Army moved in and occupied them.

We moved on to Isle of Hope, Georgia, on Sunday. The trip was OK – Mark’s fixes to the engine exhaust hose worked, but the fix to the auto pilot and steering did NOT. The Isle of Hope community is just outside of Savannah. Mark and I took a morning walk along

Bluff Street

. I continue to be enchanted by the live oaks covered in Spanish moss. Both Beaufort and Isle of Hope have many trees that are near 1000 years old – awesome. 

The homes on

Bluff Street

are both grand and charming – this area was a summer “playground” for Savannah’s elite in the early 1800s. Most of the homes are antebellum “cottages” that I would call mansions. Christmas looks beautiful here.