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Tuesday, December 29, 2015

23 December, 2015

Okay, the evening of the 23rd we headed out thru the Snake Creek Bascule bridge at 1600, 4 PM, and made our first attempt at crossing to the Bahamas. Well, it was a little rough out there and neither of us relished the notion of riding a roller-coaster all night long, so while there was still daylite we turned back and made the 6 o'clock opening of the bridge, back into the bay side of the Keys. I had told others that it was no embarrassment to turn back in rough going, so I took my own advice.
Bonus - beautiful sunset on the way back to the Keys.

Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve anchored off Islamorada and went ashore for supper at an outdoor restaurant, eating under the lighted Palm Trees. We had Conch, Red Snapper, Crab Stew and cheeseburger, to live music. After supper we walked Rte 1 a bit and did some window shopping. It was pleasantly cool ashore and good sleeping back at the boat.
In keeping with Pease Christmas Eve tradition Dan ordered a cheeseburger for dinner.
Dinner at Lorelei's on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve Sunset
Christmas lights in Islamorada - the stalks are palm tree trunks.

Christmas Day

Looking for a place to snorkel, we moved the Willie over to Shell Key Bank. We did find swimming and tried out our snorkels, fins and masks, but the only thing we found was a crab, a dead horseshoe crab, and a couple of sea stars. We caught and ate the crab. Sorry guy. We also saw a turtle on the way there, but just a fleeting glance, as apparently they are pretty shy.
Stone crab - we made a dip out of him.

26, 27 December

Still looking for snorkeling and swimming, and a break from the strong East winds, we retraced our earlier path and to the Northward to anchor in the lee of Bottle Key where we spent two nights. The swimming was good if not a little chilly, 77 degrees. We mostly swam laps for exercise as it was very cloudy in the water, never did see bottom. We were anchored in 5 feet of water. We had some other boats come and go, some fisher-folks and some swimmers. All were quiet company so we weren't bothered, and there was plenty of room.
Sunset at Bottle Key - still hoping for that green flash.  Not this one.

28 Dec, 2015

After a good morning swim we headed back to Tarpon Basin as we were expecting delivery of some solar panels. The panels didn't show so we did some ships work and then at suppertime discovered that our electric fridge had quit and was unresponsive. Kathy started cooking all the meat we had on hand and I walked to the grocery store for some ice.

29 Dec, 2015

We started the morning discussing options for food for the near future of our cruise. Clearly we had some big decisions to make. Options, replace or repair the Norcold that had lasted only 3 months of calm waters of the ICW, put in a full blown refrigeration system, go back to ice (hardly practical in the tropics), or go cold free. Since we both agreed that to fix or replace the Norcold would be pointless, and we weren't crazy about the idea of chasing diesel fuel all over and listening to the engine everyday as it cooled the fridge but warmed the boat. We had chased ice all summer in Canada, (where the water and air temps were much colder), and that was a hassle, so we decided to go back to basics and give a go at no refrigeration at all. (And why does refrigeration have no d?)
Funny aside: I was on the phone with the Norcold people for a while this morning and I openly admitted that I had no sales receipt, purchase price, didn't even remember where I bought the fridge except mid-sept over the internet. They told me I would need to return the unit to the seller for service. I said I don't want it fixed, I just want to return it. Them - No way.  Finally I got the ear of a supervisor and she said they would cover a service call. (FYI - Norcold's 2 year 'warranty' consists solely of one service call.)  Well the closest service center was in Miami and they said that would be too expensive to send someone out so the best thing would be for them to over-nite ship a new unit to us either in Key Largo or the Bahamas!

I guess they had called my bluff, I still didn't want the thing, but would I be a fool(?) to turn down a free new unit?  So I had them ship it to Camden and said that we would pick it up there. Then I asked what they wanted us to do with the original fridge. She said, “You can do whatever you want with it, we don't want it.”

I decided to put a "FREE" label on it and put it by the dumpster at the community center/town hall that we are anchored off.  That works in Maine, why not here? But while rowing ashore I decided to ask one of the live-aboards if they or any of their friends might be interested in it. He said he would be glad to have it, working or not, didn't matter. He said he might take it to Miami and see about getting it fixed himself and maybe he should take my name and number just in case ...?  I couldn't think why he would need that, he wasn't buying the fridge, I was giving it to him, and he wasn't getting it fixed for me either.  No name or number was given.  The fridge is his.  

So if anyone is interested in a brand new 12/24 Volt 2 cubic foot DC refrigerator there should be one showing up on Norwood Avenue any day now.  

At lunchtime we motored over to Sunset cove so Kathy could tend to laundry at a facility there, and spent the evening anchored off listening to wedding party music drifting off the shore of Key Largo.

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

December 17 -20, 2015 What do you think you're doing?

Once you start thinking about crossing over to the Bahamas there are many things to consider. Among them are, where to depart from, where to enter the Bahamas, what last minute supplies you might need, groceries, hardware, fuel , water, etc.

We have chosen to depart from the South end of Key Largo, which is on a latitude that is South of our first Bahamas destination, Cat Cay. This need to be to the South is in whole due to the flow of the Gulf Stream, which flows North at 2 to 3 knots. As our boat speed is somewhere around 6 knots this 2-3 knot current is an important factor. Our plan is to ride with the Gulf Stream current as much as possible. The distance across for us will be 80 miles.

The next biggest consideration is the weather for the crossing. There must be no North winds the day we cross the Gulf Stream, as Northbound current against wind from the North spells Rough Seas. We have recently been in a northerly period and now the wind has moved to the East, things are lining up.

So for provisioning, in part due to expected higher costs of everything in the islands we have stocked up on groceries. Water and fuel are also to be considered. Most cruisers carry extra water in jugs, sometimes on deck.

The day we landed at Tarpon Basin, at the recommended Municipal Landing, when we were putting our trash in the dumpster, we spoke with Dean, the head custodian for the property. He was very accommodating and told us all the services they had to offer, rest rooms, WIFI, a nice air-conditioned public space in the building, but he told us that they had some trouble with local boat live-aboard folks, taking advantage of the situation, and making the property their home.
Sunrise, Tarpon Basin
The next day we walked up Route One and did some shopping. One of the things we bought was an extra 5 gallon water jug. When we got back to the landing, Kathy had some internet work to do, so I went to see if I could find a spigot to fill my new water jug. A guy in a county truck was just leaving the lot as I walked thru and he recognized I was looking for water, so he told me where the tap was along the side of the building, sort of in the back. I headed out beside the building, found the tap and was skooched down at the tap filling my jug when out of nowhere, Dean came around the corner and said in a kinda loud voice, “What do you think you're doing?” I said, “Filling my water jug?” He said, you know you're not supposed to do that, you know everything is locked up, you've seen the locks!”

I hadn't seen any locks nor did I know I wasn't supposed to take water. I said, and I know it sounded lame, “The guy in the truck told me I could.” Deans says, “What guy, what truck, you need to get out of here.” I said, “The white truck.” Even more lame, I know, then I had to gain the offensive, I said, “Dean, we talked to you yesterday, my wife Kathy and I at the dumpster, you said... At which point his face turned confused, then friendly, then apologetic. “Oh I am sorry, I thought you were someone else, (one of the local bums), you go right ahead, get your water, I am so sorry.” I said, “I'll stop, I don't want to make trouble” Dean said, No, it's perfectly OK, we build the waterfront for visiting boaters, It's the live-aboards that ruin it for everyone.”

Well that was a tense situation, but we came out of it alright. Dean is right, many of the live-aboards cause trouble, their boats are obvious: blue tarps and junk piled sky-high, filthy looking, and anchored nine ways to Sunday. And in the end, when one of their boats sinks in the harbor, there is no-one to clean up the mess, the people just move to the woods, or onto another scruffy-looking boat. Almost every out-lying harbor has a sunken boat or two, masts marking the spot. We are anchored next to one right now.

But on the plus side, we were entertained this evening by three or more manatees who were swimming lazily about, between us and a catamaran.  It's hard to get a good picture of them - they were only sticking their noses up to breathe, and they occasionally slapped a tail at us.
Manatee tail in the foreground, 2nd manatee behind.

December 21, 2015 Tommie Training

This morning we decided to go across Tarpon Basin to a more remote area to go for a swim. As we had recently up-graded the Tommie retrieval system and we thought it was time to let her try it out. It took two tries to get her into the dinghy, then she and I drifted astern. When we were about 40 feet astern I let her go, not happy she prowled the the dinghy staying low. Then I got to the oars with the intention of coming close enough to the Willie Dawes so that she might jump to the float, then climb up the heavy braided lines. Well she had her own ideas and at about 25 feet from the Willie she had had enough, and leaped into the water and made time for the Willie. She went right for the float but made a glancing attempt then started swimming for the bow, yowling all the time. I made chase and at the bow she doubled back, then came to the dinghy where she grabbed the fendering and pulled herself aboard. I got hold of her and we drifted astern in the wind. Once again we approached from astern, but this time she went to the bow of the dinghy and made a mighty leap, right to the wooden rail of the Willie, and climbed right aboard. Am I glad that isn't a varnished rail! Not too happy, and soaked to the skin, Tommie hid under the cockpit. Guess what? She didn't trust us for almost an hour, but she's no worse for wear, and a darned strong swimmer.
Tommie scopes out the distance from the dinghy to the Willie.
 
"I think maybe I can swim there..."
"Ok, I'm going for it!  Yeeaaaah!"  

December 22, 2015 Window opening, or is it?

Well, our weather window is approaching, tomorrow night, only problem is we have not received our “Pet Importation Permit” We sent the application on December 8, $10 permit fee, $5 for them to fax it to us, $5 fee for a money order, $50 to fed-ex it to the Bahamas, now three phone calls at $5 a pop to find out if they have it and in fact are going to get it back to us. Not to mention the international Vet check-up we got in Palm Bay, (which has probably expired).  Yesterday, they said tomorrow the permits would come. Today they say maybe.

We decided to prepare as though we would get the permit, hate to miss a weather window opportunity. We head ashore to grocery shop what we hope to be the last time stateside. As we were approaching the supermarket Kathy's phone buzzed. “We got it” she exclaimed.  We're going to the Bahamas!  To the UPS Store to print out the emailed FAX, or the Faxed email, not sure which. We also shipped home a box of East coast charts that we won't be needing for a while.

Then on to the grocery, then back to the boat, and haul anchor to head to Community Harbor where we will get fuel and water (legally) tomorrow.  We arrived just before dusk, anchored in 4 feet of water.  There are many boats here, and someone is holding a large, loud party on one of them.  Worshipping the solstice maybe?

Things look like a go for tomorrow night's crossing to the Bahamas.  

Friday, December 18, 2015

Wednesday - Friday: Dec 16-18  Key Largo!

     We made short work of our trip through the last four bridges, and were surprised to see that we were also in and through Miami before lunchtime.  That went fast.  We entered Key Biscayne for the thirty or so mile run inside the beginning of the Florida Key chain to Key Largo.
One of the last bridges.
Miami skyline
      Our plan is to depart from somewhere in Key Largo for the Bahamas, when the weather window opens up.  The guides all say watch the wind clock around through the easterlies and southeasterlies, and and just as it comes to the Southwest, that's the time to go, before it comes out of the North again. Such a window was opening up within the next forty-eight hours, but we aren't ready to depart yet.  We need to top off the fuel and water and hope to lay in a last minute supply of fresh produce and meats, but more importantly than that we need the animal importation permit from the Bahamian government.  We applied the day we hit Melbourne - one of our first errands - and paid the extra fee for it to arrive by fax, which will be forwarded to my email.  We don't want to arrive in the Bahamas and be unable to leave the boat because we don't have the required permit.  Tommie isn't going to leave the boat anyway (we hope!) but it would be bad form to ignore the animal importation regulations.
      So now we are in the wait for the fax and wait for the next weather window mode.  It's a good feeling!
     Wednesday evening we dropped the anchor in Angelfish Creek, on the very North end of Key Largo.  We had the place all to ourselves, save the great white heron stalking in the mangroves, and the occasional fisherman speeding by in the bigger channel.
     Thursday Dan wanted to go outside into the Atlantic to see what it was like.  We did a recon tour of the inlet (outlet?) leading East toward the Gulf stream and the Bahamas.  The water was various shades of green and blue and quite shallow in spots.  It was also a bit rougher than what we've been experiencing in the ICW and Dan remarked how soon we forget what the real ocean is like.  We turned back into Angelfish Creek and came out the other end, on the inside of the Keys, and made our way down Key Largo another twenty miles to Tarpon Basin, a very protected body of water with shore access and a short walk from shops and John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.  The guide says this anchorage can be quite crowded in foul weather, as the locals use it for a hurricane hole, but we were one of three in our anchorage when we dropped the hook.  For the first time since hitting warm water we felt it was ok to go swimming, and we spent a nice hour in the 82-degree water getting some exercise and much needed relief from the muggy heat.  A coolish breeze came up in the evening and we sat on the cabin top and watched the stars come out.  This is what we've been waiting for!
Key Largo!
     Friday we moved the boat closer to the shore access area.  The dinghy dock leads to Key Largo's municipal center where the community area offers free wifi and air conditioning.  It's hotter today - high eighties - but the wind is supposed to switch to the North tonight and bring 'cold' weather.  So we've been told.  (The weather forecast predicts we might have a low of 67 tonight.)  Dan and I took our backpack and shopping list (how can we still have a list of things we need??) and walked the half mile or so to K-Mart.  Our list is dwindling, though, all we really need now are extra oil filters.  Turns out the Napa store is too far to walk to, so we may raise anchor tomorrow and head to the next bay, hoping for such easy shore access.
     Or we may not.  We're getting into this island time, now.
   
Tuesday, 12/15/2015

     We left the anchorage at Lake Sylvia about 0900 and started in again with the draw-bridges. Many more to go today.
     I had realized I had forgotten to bring a dinghy anchor for the trip, so Kathy got on the internet searching for marine second hand stores. Of course we had just come by one in Stuart, but she found two, one in Key Largo and one in Fort Lauderdale. Just around the bend.
     We found what we hoped would be the closest anchorage to the store, Sailorman's, and dropped the hook. To avoid at least a $10 dinghy tie up fee, Kathy dropped me off at a nearby bridge where I went off on foot, carrying my folding hand-cart and backpack. Nice neighborhood, and look, a manned gate-house. Getting out was no problem It might be interesting getting back in.  I'll worry about that later.
     Off I go, up and over the big bridge to the West in search of the store. We thought the store was somewhere just off US Route 1, but I didn't think it would be so far. Eventually after three calls to the store I made it.
     In the mean time, Kathy texted and said she needed to move the boat, as we had anchored nearby to a scuzzy liveaboard catamarran. What we didn't realize was that he had way too much anchorline out and when the tide changed he would be on top of us. Justin, from a nearby boat recognized both the problem and the Willie Dawes and came to Kathy's aid.
     Sailormans was all it had promised to be, lots of great boat stuff, new and used. I picked up two dinghy anchors, one with chain and rode, also a 15 foot piece of hawser to braid up for Tommie's rescue ladder. Had I not been on foot I would have come back with more loot!
     Now, to get back and find a place where Kathy can pick me up. Found a place to mail a letter and made a pharmacy stop. Kathy recommended the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Marina Resort at the foot of the bridge as a possible pick up spot, but all entrances were gated, and altho she says I am a smooth talker, I am hardly respectable looking. For starters I have Desitin all over my face and ears as sunscreen, drab green pork-pie hat pulled down to my giant sunglasses, and if all that and wearing a backpack isn't enough, I am dragging a handcart with an anchor sticking out of it. Even I think I look like a street urchin! No way I can talk my way into a gated community or marina, no way.
     I did find a parking lot that was not gated, which led to the end of a canal where boats were moored to a seawall, and tucked myself inside, gave Kathy a call and hoped not to be tossed out in the meantime.
     I had barely sat down in the shade leaning up against some kayaks when out walks a 2 foot-long iguana lizard. Okay, not sitting here anymore. Time to stand out in the open.  Here comes Kathy in the Seaquin, not a moment too soon. Get me out of Ft. Lauderdale!
    Soon back at the boat, we decided to go another ten miles, 3 or four more bridges then anchored off the channel with high-rise hotels on all sides. Before supper we dinghied in to a grocery which backs right up to shore. Hmmm, tall fences all around, but not at the vacant lot next to the grocery where four guys are fishing from the seawall. After I fouled one of their lines on my prop, one of the guys took our line, helped us ashore, and as he was showing us the secret path to the hidden hole in the fence, told us he was born in Portland Maine. He was very helpful and watched our boat while we were in the store. He was all set up out behind a shipping container and a bunch of construction material, had a grill and chairs, very comfortable.
     Back aboard we spent a quiet nite, the only boat in the anchorage.

~ We have no pictures of this day - I was too busy getting to the consignment shop and back, Kathy was busy tending the boat in my absence.

Monday, December 14, 2015

Dec 13-14: Dan's Birthday and Bridges, Bridges, and more Bridges

     On Sunday we took a tour of Bob & Lynnette's Willard - we Willard owners love to compare our boats - and spent a good hour or so chatting with them.  Tony and Cathi - Ralph's in-laws - couldn't make our rendezvous; Cathi was under the weather.  Maybe another time.  We left Manatee Pocket close to noon and continued our journey South.
Jupiter Inlet light.  
     The day was hot and humid and very windy.  We traveled through the first of MANY bridges on Sunday, playing the hurry-up-and-wait game as some bridges have scheduled openings and our timing doesn't always coincide with that.  Despite our late start to setting off, we managed to make 30 miles and turned into Lake Worth for the night around five pm just as the skies opened up for a downpour.  Lake Worth is a jumping off spot for the Bahamas - for boats faster than ours - and there were many vessels anchored here waiting for their weather window.
     Today is Dan's birthday, and we celebrated with a pork roast accompanied by roasted sweet potatoes and onions, with toffee squares for dessert.
     Monday we awoke to clear skies and another warm day.  No complaining here!  I made use of all the collected rain water by doing three loads of hand laundry (which dried nicely in the wind) and then we set off to see if we could get a little farther south to await our own weather window.  There are many jumping off spots - but since we plan to get to the Exumas first, we need to leave Florida from below Miami, to make the best use of the Gulf current.  It looks like a weather window is opening at the end of the week, and it would be great if we were prepared to leave then.  If not, we'll wait for the next one.  We hoped to get to Fort Lauderdale or so today.  What we didn't really realize, were the fifteen-plus bridges we had to get through to get there.
Lake Worth
     Southern Florida is filled with bridges, almost all of them too low for a sailboat to pass under.  Many of them are one to four miles apart and they mostly operate on one of two schedules, and all of them use the same VHF frequency.  You must call the bridge tender to let them know you plan to be there for the next opening, and what ends up happening is everyone is calling a different bridge at the same time on the same radio channel.  It makes for quite a verbal traffic jam.  Often the times changed from every 30 minutes on the hour to every 30 minutes on the quarter hour from bridge to bridge, although the distance could vary from one to the next, and there were a few times when we arrived at the next bridge one or two minutes two late and had to wait thirty minutes for the next opening.  We didn't make it to Fort Lauderdale, but we did get through sixteen bridges today.  Tomorrow there are only thirteen and then we are in the beginning of the Keys.
Just one of many bridges.
Iguanas!  Many of the bridges had large iguanas hanging out below the bridgespan.
     This stretch is called 'the canyon' because the sides of the ICW are concrete and wakes reverberate back and forth.  Technically it's a low- or no-wake zone, but few of the local powerboaters observe such restrictions.  It's hard on the docks and must keep the manatees in the canals instead.  There was plenty for us to look at, however, the homes on these shores must go for millions.  We got a real kick out of the Christmas decorations, too.
Gingerbread house complete with fake snow.  
I told Dan I bet this band plays music at night.

     We turned off into a small man-made lake - Lake Santa Barbara - in Pompano Beach and anchored for the night.
 
7-11, December 2015: Palm Bay/Melbourne

     We entered Eau Gallie River at 1330. The wind in the Indian River had been 15 to 18 knots, but everything in the Eau Gallie was quiet as a mouse. We tied up at the E.G. Boat Basin, and in 2 minutes, Dave and Dianne Hoilman were walking down the dock. They said our tracker wasn't sending so they figured they would come looking for us. So much for us sneaking in. Friend of the Hoilmans, Chuck Baird owns the Marina. We had met Chuck when he was in Maine years ago, visiting after one of the Hoilmans' many schooner trips.
     The EGBB was pretty full up but they found us a berth next door at their Eau Gallie Boat Works
run by Chuck's son Jack Baird. I will say that this is the nicest little Marina boatyard combo, with nicest real people, many living aboard and or working away on their boats. The yard and marina were a beehive of activity and all were very helpful. I am so jealous.
An anhinga dries his wings on a boatyard piling.
This great blue heron was a tame resident of the boat yard.
     The Hoilmans left us their Prius to use during our stay and after a couple afternoon errands we met at their house for a lovely chicken dinner, and were joined by old friend Wally Norris. The Hoilmans and Wally have been Lewis R. French passengers since the late 1980s.
Wally, Dan, me, and Dave.  Photo by Dianne Hoilman
      Tuesday, more errands: trying to get all those needed items before heading to the Bahamas, then we met Dianne, Dave, Wally, Wally's daughter Ashley, (also an LRF veteran) and her son Eli, as well as Ed and Joyce Messer, friends that had sailed their own sloop up the coast to Maine a few years back. We met them for supper at their local hang-out Rooneys.
Ed, Wally, Eli, Ashley, Dan, Joyce, me, Dave.  Photo by Dianne Hoilman.
     More errands Wednesday, so much to do, so little time, and a late morning vet visit to obtain Tommy's travel/health certificate. Boy we love this cat! The Messers had been acting as our traveling mailbox and so we figured to repay them by letting them have us over to their home for a roast beef dinner, with Yorkshire Pudding. All of our 7 or 8 packages packages arrived before we left, I love it when a plan comes together.
      Thursday we wrapped things up errand wise, filled the boat with groceries and met the whole gang at Rooneys for “wings and beer”, a long standing Thursday nite tradition. What a great crowd of nice people. Much thanks to all of them for their hospitality and friendship.
     Friday we had one errand left, to get across the bridge to the pharmacy for a prescription. Turns out, Gayle, an internet friend of Kathy's was in harbor on her catamaran, and as she had a car in town, she offered to buzz us over there. I had been skeptical about internet friends, but I have to say we have met several face to face on this trip, and all have turned out to be descent upstanding and very helpful folks.
      We got underway at 1330 Friday to continue our journey South. We made about 25 miles that afternoon and anchored just South of the Wabasso Bridge.
Sunset, Wabasso Anchorage

Dianne took all the group photos, we hope to get some from her to add to this blog.

12 December, 2015: Manatee Pocket (Stuart)

     A very quiet morning, especially for being anchored 150 feet from the ICW and a bridge. After breakfast Kathy hauled anchor in a nice sun shower, with a double rainbow. The first part of our day was weaving through what are probably man-made islands, made with the spoils of past dredging of the ICW. Some well settled with houses. Then the bay opened up to a wide shallow sound, with a 12 foot ditch down the middle. We stayed in the ditch.
     Kathy read from Skipper Bob's Guide about an anchorage called Manatee Pocket. Sounds like a nice quiet spot about a mile off the ICW. Just before the turn for Manatee Pocket we passed thru a bay with several Windsurfers and many Kite-Boarders. Just how they handle that kite is a mystery to me.
Kite-boarders in the ICW
     As we turned in towards Manatee Pocket we found ourselves on a veritable roadway of power boats, coming and going. I was in hopes that they weren't going where we were headed.
But no, they were. A VERY busy place this quaint Manatee Pocket, four or five big marinas, big boats everywhere, loud music, the works. We were unsure about a stop-over here, but the anchorage looked okay. We decided to fill up with diesel fuel as the price seems to rise as we go South. After investing in 37 gallons, (since Brunswick, Georgia) we were about to shove off the pier and a whaler came alongside, “Hi Danny and Kathy!” It was Bob Walther from Camden. Turns out this is where he and Lynette are keeping their Willard 36 this winter.  Bob offered his chauffeur services so we rode up to the parts stores and picked some fuel filters and lube oil. Thanks Bob. No one knows how to treat cruisers like a cruiser does. Lynette had spotted us as we were cruising thru the harbor - she was the one who sent Bob over to greet us.
     We had hoped to connect with Kathy's brother's in-laws Tony and Cathi, who live in Stuart, as we had been hearing a lot about them from brother Ralph, and they had heard about us as well.  Kathy gave them a call and we made arrangements to give them a boat tour in the morning.
     As I returned from shore I caught the last of the Christmas Boat Parade, boats decked out with lights and inflated reindeer, just like floats in a parade. The harbor quieted down after dark and after supper we were serenaded by a jazz saxophone from a nearby shore.
Sunset in Manatee Pocket.
Boat parade in Manatee Pocket.


Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Dec 4-6: Wind and a Rocket Launch

     We left St. Augustine on a very gray morning.  It was windy, foggy, and threatening to rain all day.  Many of the vessels anchored or moored around us stayed put.  We got a shove from the tide and made good time - almost sixty miles in one day, passing a fort that stood all alone in a marsh. Our depth perception is a little off because everything is so flat, but it looked like this building arose right out of the wetlands. We turned off into a little creek where there used to be a cement plant.  Now it’s partially occupied by a Sea-Ray manufacturer and will soon be a large development with waterfront condos, docks, and a golf course.  For us it was a quiet anchorage, sheltered from the wind, protected from the current, and a good place to spend the night.
Fort Augustine
Willie Dawes anchored bow and stern in the cement plant creek.

     The next day was still overcast and windy, and became progressively windier as the day moved on.   We made steady progress down the coast, however, and passing through narrow sections lined with houses and docks and wider, wilder places of mangrove swamps.  Florida is another juxtaposition of wetlands and development.  (At least this part is.  We have heard that Southern Florida is much more developed.)  We’d been listening to Securite announcements by the USCG for two days now, warning of restrictions in the offshore area of Cape Canaveral, and wondered if we’d be close enough to see the possible rocket launch, or if the mission would be delayed because of the weather.  We put in another long day at the helm and ended up anchoring in fairly unprotected Mosquito Lagoon.  Dan set two anchors to hold against the wind.  We were close enough to the barrier island to hear the surf.  The wind howled much of the night and blew itself out by morning.
Sunrise, Mosquito Harbor

     Sunday dawned warm and sunny with much less wind.  Funny how much you appreciate a blue sky and sun after a few days of gray weather.  We could see the looming towers and large buildings of Kennedy Space Center and speculated on whether or not they had launched that rocket, as there were no more announcements about restrictions.  Then we heard another boat ask a bridge tender about it, and learned there was to be a rocket launch at 4:44 pm.  Instead of making another long day, we decided to drop anchor just after noon next to the NASA Causeway.  We had a clear view of a red rocket on a launch pad and our anchorage guide informed us this was the best spot to watch launches.  We were not alone in this spot - six other vessels ended up anchoring there as well.  Cool!  We’d never seen a launch in person!
The red rocket we thought was ready to launch.

     Dan launched the dinghy and rigged her for a sail to go exploring.  I stayed behind with the cat and tended some housekeeping duties.   After about an hour he came back for me, saying he might have seen a manatee.  We replaced the sail with the outboard and went back out.  Fish were leaping out of the water all over the place - squirting up two or three times like skipping stones, while osprey, pelicans, and a kingfisher kept watch.  We made our way slowly along the shore of the causeway and then along the mangroves, enjoying the show.  Then we both saw - something.  A boil in the water a fair distance away.  Then a large gray - something.  We were too far away to get a good look at it, and as we watched it sank back into the water.  To me it looked like a large rock had appeared and disappeared.  Dan turned the motor off and we drifted, watching, waiting.  Then, much closer to us, part of a head appeared above the water: an open mouth.  It happened too fast for a picture.  We waited for awhile longer, but apparently that was the end of the show.  

     Turns out the manatee was more exciting than the rocket launch.  When we got back to the boat, it was nearly 4:44 pm, and we both climbed onto the cabin top to get a better view of our red rocket.  The wind had grown stronger now, and thick dark clouds were moving in, and we wondered if maybe the launch had been canceled when we heard the rumbling.  Binoculars trained on the rocket showed no smoke, no activity and Dan said “Well if we can hear it, it must already be in the air.”  So we looked up and sure enough, there it was, already leaving the atmosphere.  We don’t know where it had been launched from but at least we heard it and saw its contrail.  Again, no pictures, sorry, we just weren't that prepared.  

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Dec 2 - 3: to St. Augustine

     It's hard to believe we are into December already!  We are currently sitting in St. Augustine harbor, in South Anchorage # 2, to be exact, beyond the Southern mooring field, which is quite extensive.  We left Fernandina Beach early on Tuesday morning, along with several other boats, and headed down the waterway for a long but uneventful trip.  Florida's portion of the ICW is really straight.  It was easy to cover fifty miles, but the scenic opportunities were few.  One side was literally house & dock after dock after dock while the other side was swamp.  We kept looking for 'gators or manatees but if they were there, they were hiding.  We did see a wood stork, another new-to-us bird.  We anchored about four-thirty just to the side of the ICW, about five miles before St. Augustine.
The dock side of the Northern Florida ICW.
The Swamp side.

     We've heard a lot about this city:  it's historic, it's beautiful, it's a must-see.  It is all of that - settled in the 1500s, occupied continuously since then, it became a US territory in 1821 -  and it is also quite filled with cruisers, and there wasn't a mooring to be had.  We didn't want to spring for a slip at the dock, so we anchored North of the Bridge of Lions and took the dinghy in to the marina, paying a small fee for dockage and access to the showers.  We had lunch in a small sidewalk cafe that offered Cuban fare (very good!) and spent several hours walking around town and window shopping. We even walked across the Bridge to see what the other side had to offer.  A strong NE wind started up late afternoon and we decided to move the boat from the North side to the South side of the Bridge, hoping for a more calm night on the hook.  It is definitely more calm on this side, though it is farther to the dinghy dock than from where we were this morning.  We motored back ashore for the showers and came back to settle in for the night after a good supper of leftover chicken pie.  The winds are supposed to stay strong through the weekend.  Should make the next couple of days interesting.
The fort at St. Augustine
One of many little brick streets.
St. Augustine Lighthouse

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Nov 30 - Dec 1: Cumberland Island and on to Florida

     Monday morning we took our time returning the rental car.  We made a run to the grocery store and did a few other errands first.  We set off close to noon and found the tide mostly against us as we headed back to the ICW.  Our destination wasn’t far - we were headed to Cumberland Island, which we’d been told was a must-see.  There are wild horses, and unspoiled beaches.  It’s a designated National Seashore, maintained by the National Park Service.  Though we cruised until nearly five o’clock, we didn’t quite make the anchorage where the Park Service has a dock.  We had chosen a winding river inland of the island, thinking we might be more apt to see some of those wild horses, or perhaps alligators or manatees.  We saw only marshland, and the extra time spent on this inner waterway kept us from our intended anchorage.   Dan spotted some oyster mounds and decided to drop the anchor in this waterway near them while it was still light enough to do some oystering.  
The oyster bed.





Sunset Brick Hill River

     He quickly launched the dinghy and rowed over to the oyster mound and easily gathered a bucketful.  Ten minutes later he had a small bowl of shucked meat and soon was frying them up.  He said later he felt like Henry Plummer in the book we’ve been reading - The Boy, Me, and the Cat - a narrative of a father and son’s trip down the Intracoastal Waterway in a 24 foot catboat in 1912.  Henry often mentions eating fried oysters in his book.  
     Tuesday we set off for the National Park dock.  On the way, we came into Kings Bay, where the USN has a submarine shipyard.  Patrol boats are out to keep gawkers and potential terrorists away, and we’ve read that sometimes they will even close the ICW if a submarine is traveling through.  Though we saw one at dock, the patrol boats did not have issues with us.  Shortly after we passed them by we came to the Cumberland Island anchorage and dock.

     Here we met people from Camden, Maine!  They had set off on their boat after we had.  Small world indeed.  Park rangers Steve and Donna gave us a brief history of Thomas and Lucy Carnegie (yes, those Carnegies) who came to this island back in the 1800s and purchased a house.  Thomas died shortly afterward, but Lucy developed quite a compound of buildings, eventually owning 90% of the island and a main manor that had fifty rooms.  Her complex required a live-in staff of 200.  While the big house was burned down in the 1950s, its stone walls are still there, and many of the outbuildings are still standing.  She left her Carnegie (US Steel) money in trust to her nine children, and when the last of them died, the land and its buildings when to the National Park Service.  The horses she had owned became ‘wild’ and their offspring now roam the island at will, grazing and foraging for their food.  (The NPS does not feed or care for them, they only count them once a year.)  We took the small guided tour through the ruins and then set off for a walk along the beach on the ocean side of the island.  
Dungeness Ruins
Wild horses on the path to the beach
Just some of the birds - mostly Forster's terns - on the beach.



      We got back to the boat about three and decided to push on for about ten more miles, which took us across the border into Florida waters.  Our last state before the Bahamas!   Again the current was against us so we anchored just after four across from Fernandina Beach.  This is a small town with a colorful waterfront situated between two very large pulp mills that sound like they will be running all night.  
Fernandina Beach, FL