Our nemesis over the past week or so finally got a name – Tropical Storm Sean. This slow developing low has been hanging out between Bermuda and the Bahamas with a weather system in the States blocking it from moving on. We are being battered with strong northerly winds that preclude venturing anywhere out on the Atlantic. Many boats have decided to just hunker down until things improve, but we feel protected from the worst weather on the ICW and keep moving on.
Northeast Florida starts out much like Georgia. We are still winding through a labyrinth of creeks, man made canals, and marshes (or if you’re getting a little bored, they would become swamps). We continue to be challenged by water depths, requiring that we plan to be in certain known shoaling areas at high tide. And, the high tides are currently before sunrise and closing in on dusk, limiting the time you can be safely underway. We just aren’t making much progress south, but even at this slow pace we begin to see a change in our surroundings. At the St. Johns River, which leads to Jacksonville, we pass a boat yard filled with Azmut Super Yachts being serviced or refitted. These mammoths are in the 150 – 200 foot range and it challenges our imagination to think who might own them or be aboard. We pass by St. Augustine, stopping for an hour to await a bridge opening. The fort on the waterfront beckons but we will continue on, hoping to see it on another trip. The waterway begins to straighten out; homes look less “deep south” and more like south Florida architecture with tile roofs and stucco exteriors.
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| Rainbow over Palm Bay |
The high condos of Daytona Beach can be seen a few miles in the distance. There are more palm trees and less live oaks. And, finally, the sun comes out and it gets warm. Yes, we’ve made it to Florida.
We spend a night anchored at Cocoa Beach and see two manatees off the dinghy dock.
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| Just the tip of a shy manatee |
A walk takes us to the old town populated by trendy restaurants, art galleries, boutiques, and the largest hardware store on the east coast. Guess where we spend all of our time! Burt asks why would you want to be anywhere else when you can browse the maze of aisles to find 5 foot crescent wrenches, pith helmets, polypropylene line at least 4 inches in diameter, and an amazing assortment of stainless steel hardware, all covered in years’ worth of dust. What can I say???
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| Burt in Nirvana |
Our surroundings change again as we enter the Indian River. If you would look out at this river you would see a wide expanse of water, but don’t be fooled. Except for the dredged channel of the ICW, everything else is only 1 – 5 feet deep. Again, there’s no opportunity for daydreaming when you are on the helm.
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| Indian River vista |
The Indian River takes you past Cape Canaveral where you can still see the shuttle infrastructure that is now obsolete. But, most of our path is through the Merritt Island National Wildlife refuge. On one small island we see a large flock of white pelicans spotted with the bright pink of a number of roseate spoonbills which I initially thought were flamingos. Ibis, brown pelicans, egrets, herons, and osprey are a dime a dozen and dolphins are everywhere.
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| Community of Brown Pelicans |
At one point we are adopted by a dolphin which stays within a foot or two of our boat, next to where we are sitting. It certainly is trying to make some sort of contact and leaves us only when we have to slow down for a shallow area.
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| Getting a picture of a dolphin is always a challenge - here's our friend |
Our next destination is Melbourne where we will attend another Seven Seas Cruising Association Gam.
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| The Goodyear Blimp flies over our anchorage welcoming us to Melbourne |
The anchorage is windblown so our nights are fairly bouncy. Days are spent attending seminars on cruising topics and socializing with others who share similar interests. It seems to be an entirely new group of people as we see few familiar faces from our previous gam in Annapolis. That isn’t an issue though as, once again, we meet many friendly people. It’s a diverse group with new cruisers like us, people who have done multiple circumnavigations, and everything in between. We gather much information that will make our upcoming trip to the Bahamas easier, and being newbies to the cruising life, people are very willing to offer their assistance and encouragement.
Our pace is slowing now. We travel one day south from Melbourne to the mooring field in Vero Beach where we will stay until after Thanksgiving. Along the way, we marvel at the huge estates on John Island – it’s getting pretty ritzy around here.
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| Typical home on John Island |
Vero Beach has been nicknamed Velcro Beach as the marina and mooring ball facility are so nice and accommodating that people have a hard time leaving. After weeks of struggling to find water, fuel, groceries, and laundromats, tying up here will be a pleasant change. We see many of the boats we have met or heard on the radio along the way and happy hours with other boaters become an almost daily ritual. Many are also staying for Thanksgiving as this is a major event here. The cruisers put on a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, via the pot-luck method, at a nearby pavilion. We have been told that typically the mooring field will be jammed and several hundred people will attend.
We have a lot to accomplish while in Vero. Routine maintenance and housekeeping get done. Our repaired radar is awaiting us when we arrive, and Burt gets to take a trip up the mast to install it. He is also finally able to resolve the battery charger issue with a trip via rental car to Fort Lauderdale. We will have to fight to get them to honor the warranty on our defective unit, but at least we now have a new one to install and can feel a little more relaxed about our electrical usage. With Burt gone for the day to Lauderdale, I do my first solo operating the dinghy. Winds are gusting in the upper 20’s, and the anxiety must be apparent on my face. Others on the dinghy dock shout words of encouragement and jump to help me tie up. I am busy provisioning for the Bahamas, and it is a little easier as I can use the rental car for a few hours. Also, the city has an excellent free bus service for when we are without a car. Word is that you need to pack the boat to the gills as foods that we are accustomed to are hard to find or very expensive in the Bahamas. My shopping spree for provisions for 5 – 6 months just about breaks the bank, to say nothing of our backs, and we will be finding supplies stored in some very strange places in the boat. A spreadsheet of the inventory is a necessity to avoid the “lost onboard” syndrome.
We also take some time to enjoy Vero. The marina/mooring field is adjacent to a very nice, established neighborhood, and it’s less than a mile by bike to the ocean beaches. After so many days inland from the ocean we enjoy the opportunity to wiggle our toes in the sand and wade along the miles of beaches with breaking Atlantic waves. It’s warm or perhaps even downright hot, and we have reason to finally break out the sunscreen.
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| A windy day at Vero Beach |
Across the street from the ocean are the trendy shops and restaurants of Vero Beach. You know it’s a pretty upscale place when the majority of cars in the grocery store parking lot are Mercedes or better.
We have traveled over 1200 miles since leaving Annapolis. Staying put for a while is a nice sensation. We better take care as we’re starting to sense the presence of velcro.
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| At sunset a heron stands watch over the dinghy dock at Vero Marina |
