They're Coming! They're Coming!

     Our Fleet is scheduled to arrive today, but the day did not start out as planned.  Our first communication was at 7:28 am from Brunelle: “WE’RE STUCK and low tide is at 9:30. . . .  “ They needed to winch themselves out of their slip at the Marriott Hotel &  Marina in Port St. Lucie. Brunelle continue to fight through the mud in the fairways until almost noon! Andiamo had spend the night at the gas dock as they were unable to make it into the slip due to the “skinny waters” and waited patiently as Dan and Martha probably invented some new words as they worked to free Brunelle.  While all this drama is being played out in the muck, Glen and Maureen of Sevilla are slowly making their way south hoping the others will catch up before long.

     Since we will probably be underway tomorrow, we use today to finish up the laundry and complete a few projects.  Pete was able to install the Wifi antenna, but needed me to get down into the sugar spoon to help secure it.  Unfortunately the 5 minutes turned into 45 minutes, which usually is not a problem except we were doing dinner for the eight of us and needed to shop before I cooked. They arrived just after the marina office closed so we helped everyone secure and get settled.  Dinner was nothing fancy, but it was great to be together again.

     Since some engine maintenance needs to be done on all boats, another day will be spent here at Lake Park Harbor Marina.  It will also give Maureen another day to recuperate.  She is under the weather with a really bad cold or flu.

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Lake Park Marina December/ January

     Lake Park is a small municipal marina with a friendly, helpful staff. Mike Pisano, the harbor master, is a great source of info from local shops to marine service providers. It is also easy to get him talking about his newest adventure in being a first-time dad.  When we arrived his son was only 3 weeks old. John, Rich and one other round out the crew and they are all great. The marina primary activity is for diving excursions. We are the only live-boards, who remained for more than a day. We have met 3 other transients, including Semper Fi, who just came in for the night and were gone by first light.

     We had the opportunity to visit with Peter and Anne Wehrle of Toronto.  They just purchased Spice of Life, a Caliber 40, which they picked up in South Carolina.  They were rather disappointed when the discovered that the "enclosure" was only screens and not windows. Anne gave me the thumbs up on our enclosure and assured me that we will continue to enjoy them in the Bahamas as the weather is similar over there.  She also mentioned that they decided to leave the kayaks home as they are very difficult to use with the currents in the Bahamas.

Sandpiper hunting for lunch as
we were hunting for small shells.

     Pekabu needed a really good cleaning from top to bottom. She was coated in salt outside and her insides needes a little bit more than just a quick dusting.  Then we were off to spend the weekend with our friends, Ann and Howie Freedman in Delray Beach for weekend.  We joined them for the famous Seafood Dinner at the Club as well as brunch. The guys were able to get in a number of rounds of golf.  Ann and I were able to do some Christmas shopping and I had my inspiration for making the Christmas ornaments.

Santa's Landing Pad
in the neighborhood with all the lights

 As a result, we were off to beach hunting for small shells and to Michaels for the other items. We also toured an entire neighborhood lit up for the holiday season.  It is amazing, walking around, viewing Christmas lights in 70 degree weather.

This year's ornanaments were
inspired by our trip.

        We took advantage to get some projects done aboard including Christmas cards and the ornaments. 

     We treated ourselves to a couple of dates to the movies. We saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 1 and the animated feature Tangled. The Freedman’s joined us for Chronicles of Narnia, Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Bruce and Lin have
treasured memories
of their time on the water.

Yes, we really are here!

     We also had time to catch up with Lin and Bruce Olsen, who have now settled in Fort Pierce.  It was wonderful catching up and taping into their cruising experiences. We shared a wonderful Indian meal after exploring the largest second-hand marine store we have come across: The Marine Connection Liquidators, 2970 North US 1, Fort Pierce, FL 34946.    This must be the place where all the boats that were destroyed in the hurricanes eventually wind up. There must be a football field size building of parts and pieces…mind boggling! The Sailor’s Exchange in St. Augustine’s is only about 1/6 as large.

     We also rode over to the beach, witnessed the end of a beach wedding and purchased my Christmas ornament: a wooden dolphin. Then we went over to the Tara Plantation, a law firm which opens its building to the public on certain days in December.  The senior partner decorates the 20 rooms and had the outdoor decorations and lighting

done.  It is quite a production with transportation from a school, greetings by the partners and staff, and light refreshments included for free other than canned donations for the food bank.   Our stay was topped off in the morning with a “Jersey diner style” breakfast.

      We headed home for Christmas on Monday at 4 AM and were home by 9:30 PM. The books on CD make the ride more interesting.  Once home, there were trees to trim, decorations to complete, Greg to pick up from the airport, shopping for food, gifts to wrap and friends to see before Christmas on Saturday.  Company was scheduled for Sunday to Monday, then new company from Monday to Wednesday.  Appointments on Wednesday; then drive back to Florida on Thursday. But there was a slight hiccup!  There was snow on Sunday.  Delaware only had about 4-5 inches, but Jersey and New York City had 16-20+ inches.  NJ was in a state of emergency and Deneen and the girls could not go home on Monday.  The Bruzik’s could not come in from Ohio and the Michko’s could not come down from NJ on Monday. As a result we have a lot of food in our freezer at home and the catered food was shared with couples in our neighborhood.  Add to the craziness of the holidays, Pete will be working while in the Bahamas.  As a result, he spent time investigating cell phone, satellite phones, & amplified Wifi antennas. Heather had a lot of decorating and undecorating to do on the homefront with and without me.  Thanks Heather!

Epcot's
Universe of Energy

Epcot's
Mexican Pavilion

     We celebrated New Years Eve with Freedman’s with a late dinner and watching movies.  During the weekend, the guys enjoyed another round of golf while Ann and I caught the strange movie, Black Swan. Together with Ann and Howie, we also visited Epcot, which we haven’t visited in years. Some things have been updated while others are in need of updating. It was a great day and we enjoyed our dinner at the Tokyo Pavilion. Next time in the area we want to visit Universal Studios and the new Harry Potter area.

      I needed to catch up on some projects, which included finding a public library so I can access my work email…an endeavor that included 5 libraries… an all day project!  I also have been working on the sound blanket for the generator.  Pete hoisted me up the mast so that I could secure another pulley and line. We also had a Raycor dual fuel filter system installed by Wayne Phelps of Phelps Marine Services (recommended by our Harbor Master, Mike). He did a great job and very reasonably.  We had to put it above the engine compartment in the rear cabin, but it is easy access and visibility. Wayne also recommended a refrigeration person, who rechecked our refrig/freezer as it continued to be warm. His diagnosis: 1 oz too much refrigerant, which he adjusted, and the fan needed to be replaced. Pete was able to replace the fan and now working better. Pete also installed a new antenna for the Wifi.

      During our stay here at Lake Park Marina we have seen glimpses of a large male manatee from time to time here in the marina.  However, conditions were perfect yesterday afternoon as he lazily (doubt he does anything in a rush!) drifted past our boat and the boats on this side of the marina.  I was able to get some great pictures of him as the lighting was perfect for pictures.

     Our time here in Lake Park is coming to an end.  Brunelle, Andiamo and Sevilla should be arriving tomorrow afternoon.  The adventures are about to continue.

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Final Cruise of 2010 to Lake Park Harbor Marina, Lake Worth, Florida (Mile 1016 ICW)

     We were up before the alarm looking forward to our final day of cruising for a while.  It was brisk with the temperature hovering around 38 and the winds steady around 18 from the northwest.  Once again we are thankful for the enclosure.  As Pete brought to mind, the enclosure was very similar to childbirth . . . very painful at the time, but the painful memories have begun to diminish with the joy and value of the “baby.” (However, 5 weeks of intense labor are hard to totally forget!)

A pelican in flight

     The further south we cruised, the higher the temperatures climbed. The sun is much more intense here in Florida, but it had to work real hard to reach the high of 60 by 3PM.  All the farmers are very concerned for their crops as tonight it is supposed to be colder yet, and the citrus and strawberry crops are just about ready for harvest.

     Surprisingly, today was the lightest traffic we have seen on the ICW.  Some of that is due to December 1^st being the date that some insurance companies hold boats north of the Florida line for hurricane season.  We are too far south for that traffic to catch up with us.  As for the sport fishermen, between cold and the Gulf Stream currently closer to the Florida coast mixing with these winds, the seas are running a choppy 6-8 feet. I guess the fishermen will choose more comfortable fishing conditions.

The water's beautiful
shade of blue



Color and vegitation on the ICW

      When we are furthest from an inlet the water is fairly still, no current and the color is very similar to the Chesapeake, brownish-blue. However, the closer we get to the inlets the currents increase to about 3 knots and the color will change to blue and then to clear, tropical, green-blue. (It is a taste of the waters we will be seeing further south and in the Bahamas.)  Today we passed the St. Lucie Inlet, which must be a major traffic intersection on weekends and during the height of the “migration.”  Not only is it the north/south passage, but also the east/west passage to the St. Lucie River to the Okeechobee River to the Gulf. One other point of interest is the homes of Jupiter and Singer Island.  These are magnificent waterfront homes, many of whose homeowners block their views with 100+ foot yachts!

      We passed the ICW 1000 mile mark and we only had 16 miles to finish this leg of our trip. However, since we chose to stay on the ICW due to the conditions on the ocean, we now had to deal with 9 bridge openings, only 3 of which were on demand.  The winds chose to stay at 15-18 NW and the currents were against us.  Pete decided that it was a great time to practice my “dancing” skills: holding the boat in position, waiting for the bridges to open.  This was a real challenge for the Jupiter 707 Bridge (1004.1) followed very shortly by a sharp right turn after exiting the previous bridge into current from the Jupiter Inlet for the Jupiter Federal Bridge (1004.8). Then it is a sharp left, staying closer to the green on the turn and head for the Indian Road Bridge (1006.2). And so it continued at mile markers: 1009.3, 1012.6, 1013.7 (This bridge opened 10 minutes early for a tug and work barge, but the bridge tender agreed to open at 2:30 for us once she cleared the traffic. We just got lucky!) and our final bridge at 1017.2.  We were both glad t be enter Lake Worth and know we were almost there.

     We pulled into the Lake Park Harbor Marina around 3:15.  The water is so clear.  As we were approaching our assigned dock I spotted a school of 100 fish that were about a foot in length in the marina!  Once secured in our dock we wanted to just chill, but there are certain chores that need to be done. While Pete was taking care of things in the Marina office, Semper Fi arrived.  He is from Castle Harbor Marina, dock B.  He will only be spending one night here then heading on to the Keys.  We might see him again there.

     Dinner was grilled cheese sandwiches and salad.  We sent the SPOT message, checked in with the kids, touched base with Jay Bliss regarding picking up our car tomorrow in St. Augustine, made arrangements with the car rental agency and called it quits for the night.  This blog entry will be written another night.

View from our "home" in the Lake Park Harbor Marina across the ICW at sunset.

     We made it all this way averaging 7 miles an hour, having the time of our lives, with a great group of friends, and it ain’t done yet!

51 /1218    Total Statute Miles                                ~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Onward to Fort Pierce and the Olsens (Mile 915 ICW)

     Apparently manatees, the makers of those strange bubbling/swishing sounds, don’t sleep much at night because we heard them a number of times during the night and early this morning.  Hopefully, Pete will see a manatee today. 

     Heartbreaker, one of the anchored boats with us, and we pulled up anchor at 8 this morning.  It was clear with a 5-8 NW and temps in the 60’s. What we thought was a good morning turned questionable when we tried to pass Heartbreaker.  The increased RPMs caused a hesitation so Pete started an investigation.  Things were OK for a little while, but then it started to miss again at our normal cruising speed.  So we hoisted sail and Pete tried to siphon off any water from the fuel line in hopes that that might be the culprit.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t. He then called the Sabastian Marina, which is questionable for

The obervation gallery as we had our repairs
 at Sabatian Marina

sailboats, to see if they might be able to accommodate us, since they were the closest.  They said they could after confirming our draft. We figured that we would have to lie up for at least 3 days since today is Sunday; wait to see the mechanic tomorrow and order any necessary part to arrival and installation on Tuesday. Worst of all, we might need to call our friends, Lin and Bruce Olsen in Fort Pierce to say we won’t be seeing them for a couple of days.   Well… Vic helped us tie up at the fuel dock (with less than a foot under the keel) and immediately started to discuss the possible problem. He then requested to come aboard and proceeded to pull apart the engine.  In 90 minutes he had the engine running like a top, 2 new fuel filters installed, Pete educated on how to change the filters and way to set up an electrical switch to assist in the process, plus a few other suggestions I missed while above deck.  He also said to run the engine at higher RPMs as we left so if we were going to have problems, since we are Boat US members, call and he will come get us as he is also running that service as well today. Talk about great service.    As we left the marina, the cold front had arrived.  The clear blue skies were gone and the clouds were looking ominous.  Once again the enclosure is proving it true value; even for just the light misting and winds, we were very comfortable. It turns out the heavier rains split to the north and south of us.

Wabassco was curvy
and bush lined

   The prettiest area we traversed today was through Wabasso Beach.  The expensive homes appear to have been built in the past 10-15 years. The cut is curved and the banks are lined with what appear to be low mangrove-type plants. That area gives way to the Mega Mansions that would be at home in Newport. Pete keeps wondering what these homes go for in today’s market. I believe that in any market they are in the “I can’t-shop-here market!”

A colorful single-handler in a home-made boat

     About 15 miles from Fort Pierce, the skies cleared and with the sun the temperatures climbed a bit, but the 10-12 NW wind kept things cool.  We spoke with the Fort Pierce Municipal Marina for tonight’s reservation and let Bruce and Lin know our ETA.  We are so looking forward to seeking them. We followed Lin and Bruce as they traveled aboard Alize throughout the Caribbean for 5 years.  They were the ones who helped take our dream from “Perhaps someday” to “We can do this!” because they lived it.  Thank you, Lin and Bruce!

     We tied up around 3:45 to the fuel dock where we are permitted to spend the night. We were greeted by Lin and Bruce.   After securing, we opted for an early dinner and glanced at the Holiday Parade that passed by the restaurant near the waterfront.    The floats were considerably different than what you would normally see in the north.  Many are on boats, which are on trailers. The parade was over an hour long, but it appeared that everyone had a good time.  It was fun to catch up, but being on the water, cruisers’ midnight was catching up fast. We also needed to stop by an ATM as well as pick up a few items before heading back to the boat.  We said our farewells to the Olsen’s with a promise to call them once we are settled in West Palm Beach/Lake Worth later this week, so we can spend more time together.

  The boat’s doing great.  We made it to our destination long before dark.  We met up with Lin and Bruce and went to dinner, and the town threw us a parade!  What could have been a really bad day, turned into a great day!

41/ 1166   Total Statute Miles                                ~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Beyond Melborne and Going Solo (Mile 925 ICW)

     Both crews of Sevilla and Pekabu were ready to leave at 7:45, but hugs were the order of the day prior to leaving.  We would travel as far as the Mathers Bridge in Melborne at ICW Mile 915, but that will be where we will be part ways until January. Pekabu will continue on another few miles while Sevilla will stay in a marina for a week or so before journeying towards Steward for a month's stay before joining the rest of us in Lake Park Marina.

A home with an observatory ~
Wish we thought of that option!

     As we were departing the marina, the marina manatee rose to greet me, however Pete is still on the lookout to see one. Once again we were graced with sunshine and cool, not warm temperatures. Our entire trip today was on the Indian River. We passed Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center.  We were able to see the Assembly Tower, but the Space Shuttle will be safely tucked inside for quite a while, since the launch has been postponed until after the New Year at the earliest. It is a shame... we were here for the scheduled launch which was to be yesterday. It has been postponed until after the New Year due to a leak in the coolent system.

One of the strange vessels we
have seen on our travels.

     There are very few anchorages along the Indian River so we ended our cruising around 3 at Mile 925, which is about 5 miles south of Melborne. This anchorage is situated between the two man-made islands.  They are the first of a string of many that continue south on the Indian River. We were the only anchored boat for about a half hour, but were joined by two others.  It dawned on us that this was the first time in 7 weeks we have not traveled with our CCYC group.

Parting Ways ~ Sevilla heads to the marina as we continue
south on the ICW another 5 miles toward our anchorage.

Two other boats share the anchorage with us.

Our noisy friend

   



  It was a quiet night with just some traffic noise, the disconcerting noise of the heron and the bubbling/swishing sound against the hull of what we believe were manatees.  Definitely different!

53 / 1127 Total Statute Miles                                ~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Daytona to Titusville Mile 883

     The thermometer hovered in the high 30’s as we left the dock at 7:30 this morning, but the winds of yesterday were missing, so it was a little more pleasant traveling today, especially for Seville without the enclosure. During the morning the winds built to about 10-15 from the north. However, the sun shone brightly and warmed things up nicely.

Sevilla passes through the Haulover Canal and Bridge between Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River

     The birds and dolphins continue to keep us company. I still tend to check when I hear the pelicans diving into the water, as it sounds like someone falling into the water!  I also saw my first manatee surface briefly today.  As for the scenery, vegetation does vary as does the styles of homes and the skylines.  Just below Daytona, there were some high-rise apartments for a while, but then it returned to the barrier islands along the Indian River, Mosquito Lagoon, and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

     There were some tricky navigation spots again today. On the Matanzas River, we needed to favor the Red by G19. In Titusville, we were delayed north of the J.J. Rover Railroad Bridge. (This is not the name listed in the guide - It is listed as the NASA FL East Coast RR Bridge!)  It was closed for 45 minutes while a barge was across the passage way while the crew was doing some work.  There was never any “Security” broadcast over channel 16, just a call out to a sailboat approaching the bridge, which was given the choice to hurry to pass through the bridge before they began the work or to wait. (They foolishly chose to wait!) Our biggest concern today was that the most of the channel we traveled is very narrow with shoaling within it in many areas. It always amazes me that we can be surrounded by all this water, but it is so shallow I could walk across it with my head, and in many cases my knees above water!

Gulls monitoring traffic though one of the bridges.

     We passed the Ponce De Leon Inlet today and I realized today that the ICW has very few marked passages to the ocean. There are a few inlets like St. Augustine’s that are unmarked and state on both GPS and charts, “Rely on local knowledge.”  Talk about scary!

     I checked Wikipedia and found that the ICW was authorized by Congress in 1919. The ICW links natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, sounds and artificial canals, providing a navigable route along its length without many of the hazards of travel on the open sea. The waterway runs for most of the length of the Eastern Seaboard, from its unofficial northern terminus at the Manasquan River in New Jersey, where it connects with the Atlantic Ocean at the Manasquan Inlet, then around the Gulf of Mexico to Brownsville, Texas. The ICW is a significant portion of the Great Look, a circumnavigation route encircling the eastern half of the continental United States. It also allowed for the safe movement of goods and supplies up and down the East Coast during World War II.

     It was another beautiful day on the water topped off with a great dinner with Glen and Maureen at a restaurant named Chops here in Titusville. When we came out of the restaurant, the street was closed for a holiday celebration with street vendors, holiday music, performers and, for some strange reason we cannot explain, a Darth Vader complete with his red light saber.  He must be wishing, “May the holiday force be with you!” Since Christmas is only 21 days away, if he doesn’t, we will!

51.8  / 1075   Total Statute Miles                                ~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete  

The Journey Continues with Half the Players - Sevilla continues with us to Daytona (Mile 831 ICW)

St. Augustine
 Lighthouse

Birds doing more than eating bread
 from Pete's hand...
John needs to wash Andiamo again!

     We feasted with the family over Thanksgiving weekend and spent Saturday and Sunday making our way back to Florida.  The most direct line from Cleveland took us through Charlotte.  It gave us a great opportunity to visit my sister Stephanie and her family.

The Ravelin at entrance to the Castillo

      Monday and Tuesday, we had some provisioning to do as well as some sightseeing to complete.  Downtown St. Augustine is a beautiful old town full of history and shops as well as the Castillo de San Marco, Flagler College, museums and galleries.  The Bliss’s and McElderry’s are headed back north for the holidays.  However, before they left we enjoyed fabulous seafood dinner prepared by John with everyone else chipping in on the rest as a farewell dinner at Jay and Pegg’s.

One of the storage rooms

    Wednesday morning proved to be cool, rainy and very windy. The crews heading north had little problems as they chased the severe weather as it traveled north.  However, Seville and we decided to stay put and wait for the winds to settle a bit more so we can head south. After helping finish off some last night leftovers at Jay and Pegg’s, Pete and I decided since we had the car to head to the movie to see the new Harry Potter movie, “The Deadly Hollows - Part I.” Being fans of Harry’s from the beginning, we are looking forward to seeing all the movies, even though they deviate from the novels.  

     We were up at 5:45 this morning in order to make the 7AM Bridge of Lyons opening. However, the calm breezes and mild temperatures we delayed for never appeared. We cast off lines prior to sunrise with a wind chill hovering around freezing and a very strong current that made pulling out of the dock very interesting.  Thankfully, Pete is a true master when it comes to maneuvering the boat.  We had to wait a little longer for the bridge as it had some technical problems, but the opening was only delayed 4 minutes. 

The rest of the gang

 Thankfully, the St. Augustine’s Municipal Dock opens at 6:30 am so we were able to get a pump-out before beginning our travels.  By 7:30, Sevilla was all set and fell in behind us.  Our destination is Daytona, 50 miles down the ICW.  Pete had checked the software on the IPad with the notations and updates.  He found that at marker 35 and 37 there is some recent shoaling and just in the past 2 weeks, new day markers have been placed at 81 with A, B, C and it is important to keep to the western edge of the channel to avoid the shoaling in the channel.  We cleared these areas with no problem, but were about 5 miles below 81 when we heard a sailboat hard aground needing assistance in the channel.   The ICW is very narrow for this entire leg of the trip.

Pegg and Mrs. Bliss join our
farewell dinner

     Our bridge tenders have been very friendly and helpful.  One of our tenders joking told one boat not to give her problems today as it was her birthday.  That boat sang “Happy birthday” to her and every boat going though her bridge has wished her a happy birthday as long as we could hear it on the radio.  All the bridge tenders have been wishing everyone a happy holiday, and looking forward to seeing us on our return trip in the spring.

One of the parapets from the Castillo that overlooks the river

     We booked the night at the Halifax Harbor Marina in Daytona.  Sevilla has been sitting on a mooring ball for 10 days without electricity, plus with the cold today, and the cables that cross the bottom in anchoring site we all feel this was a very good choice.

     Tomorrow we head to Titusville and part with Sevilla. Glen and Maureen will be spending the next month in this area, visiting with friends and playing golf.  There was a possibility that we might have been able to see the launch of the Shuttle this week. Pete and the boys have seen it and what a thrill it would have been. However, it has been scrubbed until the New Year due to problems. If we can drive up to see it, we will, but I am not holding my breath.  Pekabu will continue our journey on to Palm Beach.  Pete and I discussed our options, and with the weather being so cool for the next few days, we will not be doing the overnight from Cape Canaveral to Lake Worth (Palm Beach).  We will stay on the ICW and enjoy the sights and the warmth.

  58.7 / 1025.8  Total Statute Miles                                ~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete