Week 27:
Wed. Apr. 3, 2013—Day 183:
Destination: Vero Beach (Mile 951.7)
Winds: SE 10-15K
Weather: mainly sunny till late afternoon, then
threatening rain clouds
Another am that we slept in till 0700 hrs.; high
winds were expected late Wed. & Thurs. so we’ve been told, but because we were
not moving we were not so concerned. I
haven’t been yelled at recently or spoken to unkindly etc., all kinds of
conveniences are here except internet has been suspect for much of the day, free
bus service, therefore Vero Beach is not a bad place to lay up. Graeme took me to shore after breakfast &
I had a long 45 min. powerwalk to the beach, along the boardwalk & back to
the marina & a lovely shower. I
tried internet but not. Graeme did an
oil & filter change & brought the old oil preserver to the marina
office for disposal. A quick lunch on
board then we took the #1 bus to Humiston Park; 3 hrs. of beach time, catching
rays, reading , people watching & walking along the expensive shops of
Ocean Dr. before taking the 1555 hrs. #1 bus back to the marina. The clouds were looking very ominous but
seemed to have moved off westward. A
quick shower for both of us before dinghying back to the boat. Terri & Bill’s diesel genset had been
leaking a very minimal amount over the last 3 days but unsure exactly where
& still there; they were unable to get someone in the near future so have
delayed tomorrow’s departure. We phoned
Lynn & Larry over the noon hour & they were on schedule for Lake Worth
today, dinner with friends tonight, then Vero tomorrow.
Thurs. Apr. 4,
2013—Day 184:
Destination: Vero Beach (Mile 951.7)
Winds: S & light & clocking W about 10K to
NE to SE about 5-10K
Weather: cloudy, little rain in the am, tornado
warning mid afternoon with lightning & thunder & rain, then cloudy
night
Vero Beach Municipal Marina-- lounge, laundry & showers |
A warm calm night; thusfar the high winds have not come to flourishen. It was to shore soon after breakfast with a month’s worth of sorted laundry & supplies, shower supplies & computer backpack supplies + garbage & diesel jerry can. I did 3 full wash loads @ $2.00 each & 3 dry loads @ $1.50 each; a huge job at the expense or instead of a powerwalk. It did give me an opportunity to reacquaint with a few cruisers we first met near the beginning of the trip. A shower felt wonderful as ever & then some emails & my blog, although I was unable to post any pics as the internet was so very slow or cutting in & out. Graeme took a bus to town for a washer or bolt & hopefully for some info for Larry re a new starter battery, only returning mid afternoon; I was about to take the dinghy & all the laundry, shower & computer back to the boat on my own. Vero Marina holds a cruisers’ Happy Hour every Thurs. at 1600 hrs. till whenever, but with the pending weather/tornado weather warning we did not attend but awaited the Morrow’s arrival about 1800 hrs. Instead we hosted a cheering greeting happy hour party with ‘Whiski Mak’ & ‘Second Option’; soon after their arrival & when securely tied up ‘Twomorrows’ joined in. No lack of conversation & laughs. A clouded sunset with red sky only visible to the north. A clouded night, no stars, no moon.
Fri. Apr. 5, 2013—Day 185:
Destination: Vero Beach (Mile 951.7)
Winds: SE to S light
Weather: cloudy & rainy especially in the am,
humid to damp till evening
Another quiet & calm
night, just humid by morning. While I
showered Graeme took the #1 bus to West Marine yet again. Towards noon the Morrows & ourselves
gathered at the lounge awaiting a pick up by Enterprise Car Rental; Terri &
Bill took showers & did laundry & did a run to Publix, then later
declined meeting us for Mexican dinner at El Jalisco. Everyone’s spirits seemed dampened on this
grey day. Our car route included Total
Wine, way south in Port St. Lucie, Sam’s Club
& Bells all on US #1, a drive through Ft. Pierce City Marina
(construction still in progress by breakwater), then a stop & drink at
Harbortown Marina. We so happened to see
Dixie & Rex (Wonderland); hugs & short chat. We ended the day’s travel with a good dinner
at the El Jalisco (Publix Shopping Center).
The humidity had subsided as the north winds increased & in fact it
was slightly on the cool side. We had
late evening farewell drinks on our boat as Terri & Bill were leaving in
the morning; the umbilical cord was being cut after about 6 wks. of travelling
together. Clouded skies at sunset &
all night.
Sat. Apr. 6, 2013—Day 186:
Destination: Vero Beach (Mile 951.7)
Winds: brisk, cool WNW to NW +/-15K, decreased by evening
Weather: mostly a glorious sunny day
Janet & David (Whiski Mak) |
Sun. Apr. 7, 2013—Day 187:
Destination:
Vero Beach (Mile 951.7) to Palm Shores (Mile 909)
Departure: 0855 hrs. Arrival: 1455 hrs. Distance: 42.7 SM
Winds: NNE 8-12K
Weather: low level cloud in the am, many sunny periods
throughout the day, H= 78F & L= 65F
A quiet calm night, an early shower, the last
garbage disposed of & 1 water jerry can emptied into the boat tank was
refilled this morning. We said our good
byes to ‘Cocoon II’ but Bette & Bill (Sea Mist) had not surfaced yet. The dinghy motor & dinghy were lifted,
then breakfast. We said our good byes to
Lynn & Larry who will catch up to us in the next few days. A parade of a dozen boats (+/-) left this
am. I wondered if we may have an
anchorage problem at the end of the day.
Also, I didn’t think we would have any or as much a problem with weekend
boat traffic in this central section of Florida, but the powerboats were
discourteous, disrespectful, etc. between not announcing their approach from
the rear & their speed & wake when passing. Lots of beautiful homes lined many sections
of the ICW waterfront & lots of sea life was seen along the Indian
River—dolphins, pelicans, cormorants & osprey & new osprey nests, a
sure sign of Spring. We motorsailed this
section knows as the Treasure Coast of Florida under jenny at a speed of +/-
6.0K. I was able to catch up writing the
last 2 days of my blog in Word while moving along. We had reached Melbourne at 1240 hrs., too
early to stop, therefore we continued through 2 more bridges, setting the
anchor & 100 ft. of chain in 8 ft. of water at Palm Shores. There were only 3 boats here for the night,
one of which was ‘Whiski Mak’; surprising after the parade of boats heading
north today. We probably should have proceeded
to Cocoa because our dilemma now was where to go tomorrow; Titusville is too
close & Daytona is too far. I have
mentioned in the past how I would like to see & climb the lighthouse at Ponce
de Leon; this might be my opportunity. A
lovely sunset until the sun slid behind the landmass & red sky that
followed. A calm, clear, dark night sky
+ stars.
Mon. Apr. 8, 2013—Day 188:
Destination: Palm Shores (Mile 909) to Rockhouse Creek
(Mile 842.2)
Departure: 0700 hrs. Arrival: 1710 hrs. Distance: 66.8 SM
Winds: N 3-5K & even flat calm, not a ripple at
times to NNE at 10K
Weather: light fog to full sun, few clouds at times
then sun again
Fishing standing outside your dinghy |
Tues. Apr. 9, 2013—Day
189:
Destination: Rockhouse Creek (Mile 842.2) to Seabreeze,
Daytona (Mile 829.2)
Departure: 1235 hrs. Arrival: 1515 hrs. Distance: 13 SM
Winds: SSE 12-15K, decreased to SE 5-8K evening time
Weather: brilliant sun, few clouds, 0 humidity, H=
upper 70’s & L= upper 60’s
A calm night; the tidal
current was the major factor affecting boat positions due to the close
proximity to Ponce de Leon Inlet. A bright
& most beautiful sunny morning. All
boats but ‘Whiski Mak’ & ourselves left early. We heard ‘Second Option’ on the VHF & was
able to communicate with them; they had a bolt & bracket break on the
ammeter on the engine but had repairs done at Halifax Harbor Marina, causing
them an extra day in Daytona, but now were off to somewhere north of St.
Augustine. We jumped into our dinghies
about 0900 hrs. (high tide at 0822 hrs.) & made our way through the
mangrove canal across the waterway to the public dock by the boat launching
ramp , then walked to the lighthouse, which does not open till 1000 hrs. In the meantime we walked toward the inlet,
the beach & boardwalk; waves were crashing in, a surfing competition was in
progress with vehicles & canvas/nylon tents strung along the beach &
surfers in the water, people fishing off the boardwalk & the rock jetty of
the inlet passage & walkers. I could
have stayed here all day; I was in my element.
There was a $5.00 admission for the lighthouse (200 steps) & the
adjacent museum, but it was now 3 hrs. past high tide & Graeme was worried
we would not be able to dinghy back through the mangrove canal & around the sandbars; very disappointing
as there was no time to climb the lighthouse.
We saw locals who had pulled their watercraft up on the sandbars, spread
their lounge chairs out & were enjoying this spectacular day of sun &
12-15K SSE wind that was keeping them cool; how cool was this! We prepared for our departure for the short
journey to Daytona, with a 2K current against us, motorsailing up the Halifax River,
anchoring north of the Seabreeze Bridge.
Reservations were made for St. Augustine. There was vivid evidence of low tide around
the Ponce de Leon Inlet area with all the exposed sandbars. An incredible number of dolphins were seen
throughout the day & even evening.
Eight boats were anchored here tonight, 2 boats were rafted & 2
other boats were way too close to us, 1 in front & 1 in the rear; sandwiched
in by idiots who had no regard for others—great! I wonder if Graeme or I will sleep tonight
& if we will be able to lift anchor early in the am! An amazing sunset & sky & clear night
sky with stars.
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