Week 10 / Week 4 in Ft. Pierce (and New Jersey)

Sunday, 11/20/22 ~ Saturday, 11/26/22

     I brought Mom home from rehab on Monday. She was thrilled to be home. She even approved of the newly cleaned and organized room. She enjoyed settling into her home. We discussed the possibility of having family over once Mom is home. There is a lot of sickness going around especially at the rehab. It might be just the 3 of us and that’s OK. Thanksgiving morning came and Mom woke with a bad sore throat.

     As it turned out, Debi’s son and daughters had dinner with their dad and stopped by after they ate. They were too full to enjoy the cake I

baked. It is a variation of my Gram’s recipe. I was unable to get strawberries, but since raspberries were on sale, I used them instead. The light, yellow cake with whipped cream, dark chocolate and the raspberries was outrageous. I can say that without reservations as I ate almost half of the cake over the next 3 days. 

    Pete joined Ann and Howie for Thanksgiving Dinner at the Club. It was a delicious dinner, but no one could believe that they ran out of mashed potatoes. Pete and Howie played golf on Friday, before Pete returned to the boat.

    Mom tested positive for Covid on Friday. She brought it home from rehab. Unfortunately, Deb also tested positive, and I spent the weekend caring for both of them.

~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~   K & P

Week 9 / Week 3 in Ft. Pierce (and New Jersey)

Sunday, 11/13/22 ~ Saturday, 11/19/22

     Pete continues with a very busy work schedule. He has also found time to install the new refrigeration unit and new faucets in the galley and head. I love having a higher faucet in the bathroom. Now we have plenty of space to wash hands in that tiny sink. The one in the kitchen has the sprayer pullout from the neck. Pete managed to find one that proportionally matches the tiny galley. It looks like it has always been there. He is enjoying a lot of quiet time in the evenings spend reading and surfing the internet. He has also sent me lots of websites for info on dogs. Very interesting. . . .

 

Aren't they Beautiful!

    I have managed to post everything to the blog up to arriving at Fort Pierce around Mom (and her roommate, Angelina) visits, errands, and helping Deb with stuff around the house. When I visited the rehab, I brough milkshakes for both Mom and Angelina. It might have been 39 degrees outside, but we all enjoyed our Dairy Queens!

 ~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~   K & P

Week 8 / Week 2 in Ft. Pierce (and New Jersey)

Sunday, 11/7/22 ~ Saturday. 11/14/22

    It came as quite a surprise when the News started reports about a hurricane. The cruising groups we follow on Facebook have been suggesting boats hunker down for the heavy wind/rain event heading towards the East coast this week. The reports state that the tropic depression looks to be intensifying and will probably become a low Cat 1 before hitting the eastern coast of mid-Florida. Yep, the spegetti models like the Treasure Coast (including Stuart, Ft. Pierce, Vero) area! Monday, the boat was prepped, canvas was removed, lines doubled, extra “stuff” in the cockpit and dinghy were either removed or secured. AFTER we completed our prep, the dockmaster told us they were moving us off the T-head, where the eastern winds would be the worst, to a secure slip, between MV BOLD RASCAL and MV ARGONAUT. By this time the winds were increasing and probably in the high teens-low 20’s. That made dancing in the basin, waiting for a dock hand “interesting.” Without excitement, we secured into the new slip. Of course, it has full pilings that we needed to tie our aft and spring lines in the wind more interesting for sure!

     It was a challenge, but I managed to pack for a month in 1 carry-on and a small backpack for my flight to NJ. Pete dropped me off at West Palm Beach Airport and my sister, Deb, met me at Newark. Just before I boarded the plan, Deb called to let me know that her radiation therapy was cancelled as the disease is no longer visible in the most current MRI. It is great news, but Mom is still due to come home from rehab. We don’t know exactly when. After a medical appointment for Deb in NYC on Wednesday, I will have a week or two of not being needed. Hopefully, I will complete the blog, start an online class, visit Mom, and still have time to get her settled back in before I come home.

     Hurricane Nicole did come ashore near Ft. Pierce. Friends offered Pete a place to stay during the storm, but he wanted to remain on board as it was only a minimal hurricane. (He did pack a jump bag and put it in the car, just in case.) Sue Ann, Ray as well as Morgan and Zack, who just bought their 43-foot Catamaran 2 weeks ago, also opted to stay aboard during the storm. The winds howled and the rains pounded. Pete checked things every 2 hours, adjusting lines when needed. The surge come in after dinner and thankfully didn’t coincide with the King Tide high that was earlier in the day. Waters only inundated the docks with about 6 inches of water. He was without electricity for about 48 hours. The marina cut power as a safety. The marina staff made rounds and posted photos during the storm. The marina and boats were fortunate. There was just minor damage on 2 boats that Pete knew off. Pete was glad he was there, but doesn’t think he would stay on board in a hurricane again. Everyone returned to the dock around 8 on Thursday to check and return to their boats.

 
Rains & Winds of Nicole as she came ashore just south of Fort Pierce

 

Our great marina staff kept us posted as they checked the docks and boats

 dudring the storm. The tides rose to cover about 6 inches of the docks

     By the time the tropical depression hit NJ, it was winds of 15-18 and heavy rains for a couple of hours. Deb made some Mushroom Soup, which was perfect for the cold, rainy, and raw days. The biggest problem for me was the rain on top of the leaves. I haven’t needed to worry about leaves on the street in years. Come to think about it, I haven't seen the leaves change on the trees in years either.  I do enjoy the colors and crisp air of Autum!

    During one of my visits with Mom, she had mentioned that she has a lot of clothes that she doesn’t wear, many of which no longer fit. Deb and I decided to help her by going through all her clothes and donating 10 bags of clothes that are too big, shoes that are too small or unable to be worn due to the heals, and pocketbooks. I’m so glad retro styles are coming back. A lot of those clothes from the 70’s will be used again! The room was cleaned, the closet and drawers were organized. The next time I visited Mom, I told her we took her at her word that she wanted to go through her things and get rid of that which she doesn’t use. I promised her that we made sure we kept her favorite things and that which she uses. 

     Speaking of favorite things, Mom loves all the colors and sparkle of Christmas,  In fact, whe loves it so much, Christmas is up all year long.  They were already for Christmas when I arrived November 6th.

~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~   K & P

Week 7 / Our First Week in Ft. Pierce

Monday, 10/31/22 – Saturday, 11/5/22

This week was a mix of highs, lows, and in-betweens.

     The week started off with the beautiful trawler docked in front of us. Doug & Cathy are heading to Cracker Boys for a short haul for minor repairs and bottom painting before heading to their permanent slip, south of Stuart. I helped them with lines as they pulled away from dock. Somehow, I never realized that there was a crossing line from their aft port side to the dock. Thankfully, nothing serious happened other that an unexpected stop. The line was released, and they were on their way. Proof of how we look value our fellow cruisers. . . I was given the keys to their new car. I drove it over to Cracker Boys and then Cathy drove me over to Enterprise so I could pick up our rental.

     The hardest part of this week was saying good-by to our Bailey. She spiraled down in the past 2 weeks, and it was a very hard visit to the vet. She was such a big part of our travels, friends and most importantly, our family. She will always be part of special memories.

 

 
Our Bailey

     Of course,  work has kept Pete very busy, and the usual chores, food shopping, photo processing, etc. for me, but we also had great time meeting friends over great food. We picked up our car from Ann & Howie’s. With Howie traveling, we had dinner with Ann and Marion at Hunan for some delicious Chineese. Sue and Billy, MV ANGELINA, are settled in Stuart so of course we met them at Lola’s Seafood Deli, for their wonderful Lobster Rolls. Then we were able to catch up with Marilyn and Jon at our favorite spot in Fort Pierce, Taco Dive out by the inlet.

     We are also falling into the rhythm of being here. Dave, SV CILCIA, Sue Ann, Ray and Buddy, form the Carver, and Melissa, Mike and Maggie, MV BOLD RASCAL, are on the dock with Dave, Dianne and Coco, MV ARGONAUT, arriving in the next few days. Barbara and Mike, SV ELAN, should be here in a couple of weeks. We have a wonderful community here on our dock. There is also First Friday evening, and the Saturday morning Farmer’s Market are a staple of life here.

    Here in the Marina ~

 

~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~   K & P

Week 6 ~ Fernandina to Ft. Pierce, FL ~ Our Winter Home

Sunday, 10/ 23/22 ~ Fernandina to St. Augustine, FL
Today:       60 miles             8.9 hours          S/M 755.6
Total:     1000.3 miles      158.0 hours

    We were up and out before sunrise in the hopes of being docked it St Augustine before the conference call. Skies were clear, temps in the low 60’s and the winds freshened during the day to about 15 from the ENE.

 

Fernandina Sunrise

    There is a new housing development going in on the SW area of Amelia Island along the ICW. Beautiful, medium-sized, Southern style, homes with the wrap around porches. They are kind of reminiscent of River Dunes, but scaled down. The only negative is that both of us noted was that the foundations only raised the homes about 5 foot above high tide!

Island of storm displaced trees

     Periodically during the day, the USCG announcing safety zone for the Blue Angles Air Show over Jacksonville Naval Air Station. Too bad we are too far away to see any of it.

 
    It was another day of changing currents and tides. We once again came through the skinny areas at high tide with plenty of water. While on Sister’s Creek, approaching the St John’s River in Jacksonville, we were “cruising” at 9.6 mph. Of course, once we crossed the river, we had the current against us. Where it narrows down under the bridges, we were actually doing 3.0. Going through the bridge we noticed that the water on the port side of PEKABU under the bridge was actually 3 inches higher than starboard. We could see it on the bridge’s fender boards.

 
Lots of strong currents

 
Sights along the ICW ~ That cover dock is larger than some houses!

    The area north the homes on Rosco Road is always beautiful. In “Rosco Row” there are still a lot of new homes being built. There are also a majority of boats passing through this area that disregard the 4-mph speed zone. In fact, that was every boat zoomed passed us.

 
The estuary along the Tolomoto River

    We probably could have been in the dock prior to the 4:15 conference call, but there was no way to judge the currents. Instead, while Pete was on the call, I was at idle, traveling back and forth between 2 red markers on the Tolomato River heading to the marina. The call was brief, and we were in our dock by 5:15. The dock hands both complemented us on our preparedness and ease in docking. “The best docking of a sailboat that either had assisted with!”

    Comachee Cove Marina is now part of the Windward Group. Like all recently acquired marinas, renovations are in progress.  

Monday, 10/24/22 ~ St. Augustine ~ Day 2

    Pete’s conference call went well, but it will be continued tomorrow afternoon. More issues need to be discussed.

 
    I had to defrost fridge freezer and did 2 loads of laundry at my 2nd favorite marina laundry. Expensive but worth the money. Large capacity washers and driers, and the driers are very hot!

 
    I downloaded photos and worked to finish writing the blog. I do make notes and usually complete the daily update on my phone, but they need to be cleaned up.


Tuesday 10/25/22 ~ St Augustine ~ Day 3 

    Pete is working on catching up on other projects and prep for the 6-hr conference call this afternoon. I had the loaner car from 10-noon. I was able to pick up a new step ladder at Lowes, prescription at Walgreens, and food shop. When signing the form for the loaner car, I noticed that the range was 50 miles. Usually, one must stay within the city/town. When I questioned the staff, they said that Green Cove Springs was ok, but not JAX airport. We have a couple of heavy boxes at our mail service in Green Cove Springs. Once we are docked in Ft. Pierce, we planned to do the 3-hour drive to pick up the refrigerator parts. Guess who drove up to Green Cove Springs in the afternoon.

 
    Dinner was easy. We had pizza from one of our favorite places, Vinny’s NY Style Pizza, right here at the marina. Now we have enough for 2 more yummy meals on the freezer!


Wednesday, 10/26/22 ~ St. Augustine to Daytona, FL
Today:         60 miles            8.9 hours      S/M 755.6
Total:      1000.3 miles      158.0 hours
 

   Left the slip at 8. We picked up 27.7 gallons of fuel before heading out. We were shocked at the price- $191.93, which was $6.99 per gallon! It is the highest we’ve ever seen! That enforces the need to check prices.

    We fought the strong current at waiting 20 minutes for the Bridge of Lyons. The current with us for the 5-hour ride to the Flagler Beach Area. We dropped to 6.4, but slowly increased speed to the mid 7s. 

Historic St Augustine and The Castillo, North of the Bridge

City Marina, South of the Bridge

A boat too far gone?

    We were in our slip in Halifax Harbor Marina about 4:15. The gal who assisted us at the dock lives here at the marina. Ian brought lots of wind (85 mph) and lots of heavy rain (about 5 inches). We began to see a number of boats on shore or sunk as we approached Ormand by the Sea and further south. Boats in the marina fared much better.

Thursday, 10/27/22 ~ Daytona to Titusville, FL
Today:         60 miles            8.9 hours      S/M 878.1
Total:      1000.3 miles      158.0 hours

    There were clear skies, but haze on the water due to the air already pretty warm & very humid. We were out by 8:10. As we swung by the fuel dock, one of the dock hands was there with a fishing net to collect our key cards. This is a system that has worked for at least 12 years that were have stayed here.

 

The Bridges of Daytona

    We had the current for the first hour or so, but it then turned. It was shallow & narrow crossing into the Ponce de Leone Inlet. Once we crossed the inlet, we had 9+ under the keel. We coasted to the George Mason Bridge, which was under repair for electrical issues. I was able to dance in that very fast, incoming current for 15 minutes until the bridge opened.

    Between Daytona and the area below New Smyrna Beach, I counted close to 20 boats sunk or grounded, including 2 large (40-foot+) sailboats and a cabin cruiser.

 
Some of Ian's hurricane damage

Exiting Haulover Canal
onto the Indian River

    There were lots of dolphins mating. They like the shallows where there’s agitated waters, lots of splashing, fins and tails. There were also lots of manatees. They are more difficult to spot. Their noses are round, but blunt, usually clearing the water only 3-6 inches as they then dive down. Their backs will flatten the surface water. Lots of sightings by the fish camps, Mosquito Lagoon, and the western side of Haulover Canal.  Having once startled a sleeping manatee in the canal (who awoke and banged his tail against our hull!), we try real hard to see if other manatees are in the canal when we traverse it.


    We were at Titusville by 4, including a pump-out at the Ian-damaged, T-head dock. Once we were settled into our slip, Pete took Bailey for a walk while I took readings and straightened up.

 
    Pete has started doing the engine check after dinner rather than before departure. It makes for a better flow in our morning departure routine.

Friday, 10/28/22 ~ Titusville ~ Day 2

Spiderman has been
keeping watch over this 
catamaran for 3 years

    We stayed in Titusville an extra day. Pete has experienced episodes of vertigo. He described that when he got into bed last night, he felt as if the entire boat flipped upside down. Since I didn’t react, he realized it must be him. It is probably a middle ear infection, but we decided to see an urgent care facility just in case. Of course, a number of tests and labs that were inconclusive. Urgent care was only a half mile away, so we were able to walk, but then needed an UBER for the 4.5 miles to Walgreens for the lab work and prescriptions. Our UBER driver hung out in the parking lot knowing we would need a ride back to the marina.

 
    Once back, Pete cleaned up a few work things then relaxed and read the rest of the afternoon. I was able to work on a bunch of photos. As long as Pete doesn’t bend down, turn his head or move quickly he is doing better. The meds must be helping.

 
    I was able to move our reservation for Eau Gallie back a day with no problem. Pete was also able to switch the rental car to Monday, so we can retrieve our car from Ann & Howies’s.

    My mom and sister, Deb, are dealing with health issues. Mom has been hospitalized since Monday. My sister, Deneen, has been with her almost all week, while working remotely. Pete and I decided that it would be helpful if I went up for a couple of weeks to give her a break and to take care of Mom once out of rehab. 

 Saturday, 10/29/22 ~ Titusville to Eau Gallie, FL

Today:         36 miles            5.6 hours      S/M 914.8
Total:      1036.3 miles      163.6 hours

    We were docked at the marina by 2. It was humid, hot and no breeze. We sought the AC asap.

 
    The boat behind us is the same one that was behind us while we were in Belhaven - - SV CES’T CI BON. We have stayed in touch with Pam and Tom and plan to get together again soon.

 
    I need to make an appointment for Bailey on Tuesday, once we have our car. She has developed an ulcerative gingivitis that is painful. She doesn’t complain, but her expression says she doesn’t feel well. It came on fast (just 2 days ago) just like other flair ups, but unlike her internal flairs, we can SEE the irritation. There has been no improvement. We are trying to make her as comfortable as possible.


Sunday 10/30/22 ~ Eau Gallie to Fort Pierce, FL

Today:         51 miles            8.1 hours      S/M 965.1

Total:      1087.3 miles      1171.7 hours

 

    OUR FINAL DAY OF CRUISING UNTIL THE SPRING!

    We were up and out by 7:50. Temps in low 70’s, humidity low (no moisture on the windows) and breeze out if the ENE at 10 mph, but increased to 15. As we were leaving, people were at the parks across from the marina already fishing. One net fisherman was surrounded by storks preparing for an easy meal.  

    Once on the ICW, we were making way at 7.1 mph. With the addition of the gib, our speed increased to 7.8!

 
    We still see glimpses of manatees and river dolphins. More than we’ve ever seen on this area of the ICW. 

Sabastian Inlet's reminder to be aware of shoaling!

   The waters around Sabastian Inlet were busy with Hobie’s catamarans, jet skis, fishing boats, cruisers, kayaks. Lots of people were camping on islands. We continued to make great time, doing 8.2-8.4 cruising Sabastian Inlet.

 
Islands created by dredging the ICW. Some have homes

 

  

Weekenders enjoying the islands and the water, too!

 
Beautiful Wawassett

        
                                                                               . . .and the view from the perch seat

    While waiting for the last bridge to open in Fort Pierce, we could see the water color change to the beautiful light, but vivid, blue green color.

    We stopped for fuel before checking our dock. We were shocked to see it was occupied. They offered us the slip between MY ARGONAUT and MY BOLD RASCAL. The problem is that we have a dog to lift on and off the boat. That is why we have a contract for an inside of the T-head slip. We contracted for it back in February and have been paying for it since August. They allowed us to take the outside of the T-head until things get straightened out.

 
    Once settled and Bailey walked (and found her old, familiar sights and grounds) Pete and I had a delicious dinner at Cobbs. It was nice to know that we didn’t have to be up and traveling tomorrow or for a good while. We are "kinda" settled in our winter "home." We will be fully settled once the marina lets us back in our slip. 

Even with this hiccup, it is good to be back and looking forward to friends arriving back on the dock!

~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~   K & P