Vero Beach

We are safely in Vero Beach public marina after a tense day on the water.This section of the waterway is a narrow ditch and winding around little islands.It started raining so heavy that it was nearly zero visibility,I put on our lights and stayed glued to the front window and we glided through to sun but with wind and black clouds coming around us.There are over 160 boats here  tonight with 3 boats to a mooring ball,Mike treated me to a dock for tonight so we can unwind and put out many more bumpers for rafting to other boats.Mike wants to install a gauge sensor for the holding tank and plot into the g.p.s. more waypoints for our way to Lake Worth and make the final decision on that crossing or Fort Lauderdale to cross to the Bahamas.I continue to cram more food and paper supplies into this small boat.Our friend Glenn arrives by van tommorrow so we can pick up more stuff if I find space.It has been very warm and humid except when on the waterway.I can`t say just how needed it is to have the full cavas enclosure on the boat.We kept dry in the downpour,warm in the northern cold winds and I haven`t even got a sunburn yet.

On the move again!

We left Titusville this morning and are now at Melbourne, as it would of been dark when we got to Vero Beach. If the weather continues to cooperate we will head for Vero tomorrow and then stop there for a couple of days before we continue south.

Watermaker install

After many trips to the local hardware store for various fittings and other sundry items the new watermaker is now installed and ready to be our new water source while cruising. This will save our backs and enable us to anchor out in more remote areas without having to haul water to bathe and cook with. Speaking of cooking we just returned from Lake Wales where we had a great Thanksgiving dinner with Chris's mom, her sister and her uncle. I just have to change oil in the diesel tomorrow, and then we will be ready to continue south to the Lake Worth area where we will cross over to The Bahamas. We don't know when we will cross over as we want to wait until we have just the right Weather to cross the gulf stream without a wind from the north creating large waves as it opposes the gulf stream.

Delta IV Heavy launch!

The pictures aren't great but there was a launch of the Delta IV Heavy missile tonight sending a spy satellite into orbit.

Titusville

 Well, we decided to stay at Titusville until after Thanksgiving as it is a good deal here, better than Vero Beach where we planned to spend the week. The drive from here to Lake Wales, where Chris's mom is will be about the same as it would of been from Vero Beach. While here I will install the watermaker that I bought at the boat show in Annapolis, and try and do a few other boat projects. It feels strange stopping for a week, we just want to continue moving south and cross over to the Bahamas. This is a nice Marina, a good deal, and a city bus stop right outside the marina that takes you all over, including Walmart, Target, Home Depot, and the town for only $1.25.

 We saw our first Manatee of the trip today, there were five of them in the marina eating all of the floating grass that had blown into the marina.

Thar she blows

Got blown into Titusville Marina this afternoon.After an enjoyable chance to unfurl the jib and cruise down the I.C.W. we ran into way too much wind that made for an interesting sudden turn in the Indian River and sliding into a dock here.Much bouncing now but ordered Pappa Johns pizza and have some red wine so all is good.We did find a Save A Lot store nearby.We have a resident Osprey here on a light post at the marina and friendly staff with Boat U.S. discount on diesel and dock

Daytona Beach.

Just a quick stop here at Daytona Beach, we want to keep moving now so we can be at Vero Beach to drive over to Lake Wales and visit Chris's mom for Thanksgiving. Will anchor somewhere around Titusville Thursday night, and then stop Friday afternoon at Melborne Harbor Marina and then on to Vero on Saturday.

When we were at the docks at St. Augustine the Pistol Shrimp ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC6I8iPiHT8 ) were realy loud.

St. Augustine, day 2

Today we did a combination of riding the tour train and getting off and on to take pictures and visit some of the sites in town. The "Red Tour Train" tickets are good for three consecutive days, cost under $20 and you can get on and off as much as you want, so it was a good deal. The Flagler college building was amazing, and I took a lot of pictures. The Tiffany stained glass in the dining room alone is valued at 30 million dollars ! All of the photos from here are in a separate slide show with a link on the left side of the page. It rained all afternoon today so we did not tour much after 3:00 so I filled our diesel jugs, Chris did some laundry, filled the water tank, had the holding tank pumped, and plotted out our waypoints for the next leg to Daytona tomorrow.

St. Augustine, Florida

• We are now at St. Augustine, Florida in the Municipal Marina and are going to stay for an extra night here as we want to explore the city and see all of the sights, as it looks like an interesting place to visit. After we take some pictures I will post more of the area. This afternoon we took the tour train to get an overview of the city so that we can explore in detail tomorrow. On Wednesday we will move further south and probaly stop around Daytona Beach.

oops

We had a nice evening and meal last night  at SeaJay`s restaurant-I chose to miss  the low country boil-same as a clambake but with shrimp and oysters because I love their Brunswick stew and also had a slice of warm pecan pie,the music was good but mellow-I do miss the Four Kings music.We left early and at almost low tide and strong current and ran into a shoal at 7 knots-whoa sudden stop-he managed to power off but it sure scared me. after that we navigated through the Navy nuke refueling base area and many bumps but no stopping.That area has no magenta line to follow on GPS so you need 2 sets of eyes to find markers.We are now safely anchored in Ft. George River north of Jacksonville and only dolphins,cranes and 2 other sailboats tonight.I can`t believe I am in Florida-shorts in the daytime the past few days but cool nights.    Chris

Jekyll Harbor

We are now at Jekyll Island , Georgia, our last stop before we get to Florida! Chris is doing some laundry and we used the courtesy car from the marina to go to the local grocery store. There is a nice restaurant/Bar here "Sea Jay's" where we will have dinner and listen to a musician who is playing tonight. We spent last night at a great anchorage at Mile 651.3 on back river behind Doboy Island lots of swinging room and room for multiple boats just off the ICW.

At Anchor, Doboy Sound Georgia.

We left Isle of Hope Marina at 06:30 this morning so that we could catch the 7 AM Skidaway Narrows bridge opening. After traveling about 50 miles today we are now anchored out in the Back River just off of the Doboy sound, Georgia. We are just north of Brunswick GA. and hope to be at Jekyl Island tommorow afternoon, and then on to Florida Sunday!

Savannah

This morning we took the city bus to Savannah and toured the city. The bus stop was only a block away from the Marnia and just a short walk. We did a lot of walking around Savannah, visited most of the shops on River street, saw a lot of great houses, Chris bought some pralines and other candies, and we got on the list for lunch at Paula Deens restaurant Lady & Sons. We then watched the Vetrans Day parade for a while and did a lot of people watching. After a great lunch we then took a trolley tour as the city is too big to see in the limited time we have. There is a public dock downtown that is free for 3 hours if you want to do a quick visit and is $1.50 a foot if you want to stay overnight.  We took so many pictures that I made a separate slide show that has a link on the left side of the page.

Isle Of Hope,Ga.

We arrived this afternoon at this marina that is right out of a storybook-it is just past the cemetery from the Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil movie with tree lined streets of old cottage homes.We took the loaner car to Walmart and are relaxing before taking the bus to Savannah in the morning.Today we had many dolphins playing alongside the boat and a few eagles on posts watching the water.We chose the I.C.W. for just this reason, secluded anchorages,wildlife,strolls through small town America,dinner and conversation at  pubs with the local people.I have learned so much history of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars as we tour the towns and museums.We go just 5 to 7 miles per hour so you see so much more than in a car.100 days have gone by so fast and I wake up each day excited for what comes next. I do dream of the ocean crossing to the Abacos when we reach Lake Worth,Fla. but for now I am so glad that we chose this route.   Chris

Beaufort, South Carolina

We arrived here around 10:05 and as we got to the swing bridge 15 minutes late for the 9am bridge we had to wait until 10am for a opening. All the guides we have say that the bridge opens on the hour and half hour, but the bridge tender said that the bridge is on a restricted schedule and now only opens on the hour. This is another port that you have to be careful about when you dock as there can be considerable current if you are not arriving at slack water.  After we mailed some packages,  we met with a good friends brother who lives in the area, and had a great lunch at a local restaurant "Plum". We then walked the town some more and looked at some beautiful houses and churches. The waterfront here is really nice and is definitely worth a visit.

Bumper Boats !

We left Ashley Harborage Marina around 8:15 this morning for the 9:00am Wapoo Creek Bridge. That was too soon as there were at least 15 Sailboats waiting for the bridge in the current. Everyone was circling and backing, trying to keep from being carried too close to the bridge. It only takes about 15 minutes to get to the bridge from the marina, so next time I will leave later and not have to circle for 35 minutes. As we left the bridge it looked like a parade as all 15 sailboats passed the bridge and started the southward migration. We are now at anchor about 15 miles north of Beaufort, SC in a beautiful creek just off of the ICW in 13 ft of water at low tide. We will leave here at first light and hope to be at the Beaufort Town Dock Around 9: 15 am.

As a side note, 100 days 11 hours 11 minutes 19 seconds since we started cruising (2010-7-31 08:00) and Chris still is with me!!

Charleston day two

Cold weather and winds meant a second wonderful day here.We slept in then after doing laundry we rode the marina van into the city.After a walk among the old homes we found lunch at Justines-there was a line aound the building but in 20 minutes we were seated in the cozy restaurant featured on many food channel shows.Gracious southern hospitality and Sunday style cooking like my grandmothers made.My father would never beleive that I chose split pea soup with ham, Mike had pot roast dinner and followed by warm pineapple bread pudding with vanilla glaze and Mike had berry cobbler a la mode.ALL food was wonderful.We arrived back to find Changes had arrived-they are from Grand River yacht club and we have been following each other via blogs.They are very energetic and friendly-nice to finally meet in person.We caught the afternoon van to West Marine and while Mike shopped there I shopped at the grocery store next door.Fully stocked we plan to move on after the bridge opens at 9am and anchor out tonight then Beaufort tommorrow night.   chris

Charleston, SC

We spent all day touring Charleston today, and plan on heading south again tomorrow. We started with a Horse and Carriage tour, and after that we started walking. we saw a lot of great homes and buildings, Did a some window shopping, had lunch and continued sightseeing. I took so many pictures that I put them in a separate slide show. The link is on the left side of the blog about halfway down.

Rain Day

This was the low tide before we reached Isle of Palms yesterday afternoon. Rain and fog today so I decided to stay here at Isle Of Palms and then head over to Charleston South Carolina tommorow and spend a day or two exploring the city. After that we plan on continuing south and anchoring out for a night before we head on to Beaufort.

swamp treck

Tuesday we spent the night in Georgetown,S.C. This town had so many gorgeous restored homes from the 1700`s and 1800`s.The people were very friendly,loads of small shops,antique stores and restaurants on the main street. This town seemed healthier-less closed businesses and you had to go about a mile to find run down area. The only disapointment was the Piggly Wiggly grocery store-after a mile walk it was less than clean and yukky produce-fortunately we are still loaded with groceries.Today we motored in light rain at times through mostly protected wetlands-swamp for many,many miles with many shallow spots and extreme current at one inlet but the current mostly pushed us forward and we are at Isle Of Palms marina outside of Charleston,we missed the last bridge opening by a half hour and cruisers that did make it say Charleston docks are full of cruisers waiting out this rainy weather.Just like Ohio the wind forecast is mostly wrong-supposed to have been 20-25 knots but only had wind and waves the first hour. This marina is very updated with nice restaurant/bar,wifi free,free cable tv,laundry and super showers-yeah. The price was 1.50 per foot with Boat U.S. discount and included a 10 dollar coupon for restaurant-also a marina grocery combo store. 

Sad Day

Last night we enjoyed a wonderful meal at a restaurant with fellow cruisers-Partners in Paradise but when we arrived back at the boat we had a call that fellow dockmate and friend Paul Duncan had passed away suddenly.Paul was the one person at Geneva Marina that you could always count on.When a storm would come up he would leave his cozy boat and check everybody`s lines and sails and could be counted on for a tow or engine ,electronic or fishing advice.Paul loved the Lake and boating and loved his wife Virginia.He had been fighting to change recent insurance changes that threatened smaller-honest-auto body shops.Although he battled illness last year he was full of hopes and dreamed of a great trip similar to ours soon on his power boat.It is such a loss of an honest,moral,fun loving man.Rest in peace Paul.