St. Augustine, March 31

We stayed in St. Augustine another day. The marina is a very nice one with a courtesy car available for boaters to use. We, along with Bob and Margaret went shopping and then did a little sight seeing.

We went to see the Castillo de San Marcos fort, which was for many years the northernmost outpost of Spain’s New World empire. We also drove around the town a little. This is a place we would like to spend more time in.









The picture of us coming into the marina yesterday is courtesy of Margaret. We think it’s a nice looking boat.


Margaret and Bob are coming over to dinner tonight. We hope to get an early start tomorrow.

Daytona Beach – St. Augustine, March 30

Pulled anchor at 7:25 this morning. The day was overcast and cooler. It kept looking like we would get rain, but never did.

The look of the shoreline kept changing. We went through some less inhabited parts of Florida. Some of it was reminiscent of Minnesota lakeshore, while other parts remind us of the Mississippi River area.

We were going into a headwind and the current, so we went slower today than in the past.



We arrived at Comachee Cove Yacht Harbor in St. Augustine about 3 p.m. It was nice to get in, the wind was increasing and the water was becoming more choppy, not to mention that it was getting colder. Bob and Margaret were here waiting for us. We hope to see some of St. Augustine tomorrow. St. Augustine is the oldest city in Florida.

Fuzzy and the Brown Pelicans

Fuzzy is amazed by all the different kind of birds he sees in a day. One of them is the Brown Pelican. Here is a picture of them.




They eat fish and it’s really exciting to watch them. Brown Pelicans have very good eyesight. They fly high in the sky and as they look down they can see a school of small fish or even a single fish. Diving straight down into the water, they may go completely under the water or only partly—depending on the height of the dive—and come up with a mouthful of fish!
The Brown Pelican is the only pelican that sky-dives for food.


Nana took a picture of one diving into the water and then the splash of entry!





















Hayden, do you remember last year when you visited Nana and Papa in Florida and went on the boat and saw the birds go “splash” into the water? Those were Brown Pelicans.

Fuzzy thinks this is so interesting and hopes you do too.

NASA Causeway Bridge – Daytona Beach, March 29

We got underway about 7:30 this morning. We traveled through one of the most beautiful areas so far this trip. These are pictures of the Haulover Canal, with the bridge at the far end. The pictures don’t do the area justice. There were many people fishing, one man was getting ready to fish from an overhanging limb of a tree.

The ICW was very narrow. Notice the birds

standing in the water, only about 30 yards to

our right.

Instead of a car drive through for McDonalds, we found a boat drive through. Pull up right alongside it, place your order and get your food!

We saw many dolphin today. Unfortunately they didn’t stay long enough for Beth to get pictures.

We had current going with us for a time. What a change! We were going 8.7 mph for a while. Then back to regular speeds.

Darrell did some more work again today while we were underway.

When we got to the Daytona Beach area the boat traffic really picked up. They were also going pretty fast so we had an uncomfortable ride at times. We don’t know if there’s heavy traffic because it’s Saturday, or because it’s still Spring Break for some.

Stopped for the day just north of the dual Seabreeze Bridges in Daytona Beach. Anchored at about 3:30 p.m.

Vero Beach Marina – NASA Causeway Bridge, March 28

We left at 8 a.m. today. We are motoring on the port engine only, just as a precaution. We were still able to go about 7.2 mph. We did use both engines for maneuvering and anchoring.

We were still traveling the Indian River, but started out in much narrower channels. The day was beautiful and calm, the water like a mirror.

It was very picturesque, with small marinas and medium sized houses. Eventually we were in a wider part of the river and saw little islands here and there. Some had boats anchored near them and we guessed people were exploring the island. We saw one small island with a man, a dog and a tent on it. We also saw a sailboat which had run aground.

There was more boat traffic today. We could tell the week-end is almost here. We have also seen more dolphins, but not close enough for pictures.

Beth was at the helm for a few hours this afternoon while Darrell caught up on some repairs and maintenance.

We arrived at 5:15 and anchored at the NASA Causeway Bridge, which is very close to the Kennedy Space Center. This is the NASA vehicle assembly building. It’s one of the largest buildings in the world and covers 8 acres and has 130 million cubic feet of space. (Double click to enlarge the picture).

Vero Beach Marina, March 27

It was nice to stay in one place another day. It allowed us to get some more shopping done, as well as give the boat a good cleaning. There was a cable connection at the dock so we had several choices of television channels.

This is a picture of our marina taken from the bus we took. There are several mooring balls as well as dock space.

The marina has a lending library, so we were able to pick out a book or two to take along.

Manatee Pocket – Vero Beach Marina, March 26

We got underway about 8 this morning. Today was very uneventful. Most of the ICW was through Indian River, which is a wide open area. Not much to see, and not much boat traffic either.

We arrived at Vero Beach Marina at 1 p.m. It is a well run city marina which offers free bus rides to shopping centers and stores. We took advantage and were able to pick up some groceries at Publix as well as have a late lunch/early dinner at an Irish Pub.

We are going to stay here tomorrow night also, although after that we are going to try to get to Charleston as soon as we can, in order to have the transmission looked at. Darrell talked with a mechanic over the phone and it seems like we may have to have it re-built.

Every wise boater remembers the saying – don’t drive your boat where you see birds standing.

Lantana – Manatee Pocket, March 25

It really got quite cold here last night. In fact, the weather forecaster used the words “wind chill”! I know what you are all thinking, however, for us it was a shock! Remember, boats aren’t well insulated!

Darrell spent some time this morning working on the starboard transmission. We lost reverse in it yesterday and he attempted to fix it. He was unsuccessful and thinks the clutch plate is worn out. Luckily we have 2 engines, so still have 1 reverse which works (knock on wood).

We left about 10:30 this morning. We went through Lake Worth, which was very wide and choppy, then back into the narrow waterway. Palm Beach, North Palm Beach, Juno Beach, Jupiter and Hobe Sound. More views like yesterday, beautiful homes and boats. We saw part of a West Palm Beach golf course.

We followed a Coast Guard work boat for quite awhile. We passed it when it stopped to repair a marker.

The waterway system down here is very interesting. There are canals branching off of the main waterway, just like streets. Almost all the homes have a dock with boats in front of their houses.

Tiger Woods is supposed to have a home in Jupiter. If we saw his house we didn’t know it, there was no sign of his 155’ yacht “Privacy”.

So much of the ICW today was posted “idle – no wake”. That meant we were only going 5-6 mph. We ended up in Manatee Pocket, an anchorage about a mile from St. Lucie Inlet.

Fuzzy and the Cold Day

Fuzzy was sad to see Uncle Greg leave. He had a lot of fun when Uncle Greg was here. Fuzzy also really liked talking on the phone with Emma.

It was pretty cold and windy today, so Fuzzy had to wear his jacket. He hopes it warms up, because he doesn’t like the cold.

Miamarina to Lantana - March 24

We left Miamarina at 7:45 this morning, just getting to the first lift bridge at 8 when it opened. We traveled up the ICW (Intercoastal Waterway) through Miami, North Miami, Hollywood, Ft Lauderdale, Pampano Beach, Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach before anchoring at Lantana at 5:00 p.m. A long day.

The waterway is pretty narrow. We could see the beautiful homes, high rises and hotels on either side of us. North Miami and Hollywood had areas of unkempt homes and broken down sea walls. We were alongside of the Ft. Lauderdale shipyards, then through areas of super yachts and huge estates. Many of the homes were for sale.

There were a lot of bridges along the way. We were able to go under about half of them, without needing them to open. Most of the lift bridges are on a schedule and open on the quarter hour, half hour or every 20 minutes. So depending on when you arrive at the bridge you may have quite a wait. Waiting for bridges really adds to your travel time, especially when you are only traveling 7-8 mph. It also adds to your distance for the day, since sometimes we run in circles while waiting for the bridge opening. At times we were running against a 2-3 knot current, which also slowed us down.

We are looking forward to getting a good nights sleep.

Miamarina, Miami - March 23 - Easter

Greg had a 6 a.m. flight this morning so we all got up at 3:40 a.m. The airport is only 4 miles from the marina so we had a taxi pick up Greg at 4:00. It was about 4:10 when he left. It was nice having Greg with us, even though it was only for a few days.

Yesterday we found that the First United Methodist Church of Miami was just across the street from the marina and was having a 7:00 a.m. sunrise service right in the Bayside Marketplace. We reset the alarm for 6:15 and got a little more sleep before getting up for good. It had rained off and on all night and stopped just in time for the service, but I think it kept many people away. There was a good sermon and a lot of music performed by “Lighthouse”, a group of young people. Nice, but not any of the traditional Easter songs you would expect.


Darrell made temporary repairs to the railing and we will have to decide where to have permanent repairs made. We are under a time limit of sorts because we are flying home from Charleston on April 11 for one week. They say the one thing you never want to do when cruising is to “have” to be somewhere at a certain time. We can see why.

It started raining again this afternoon. We are staying at this marina one more night and will probably leave early tomorrow morning.

Key Biscayne to Miamarina, Miami - March 22

We pulled anchor about 9 a.m. this morning. We only had a few miles to go to Miamarina in downtown Miami. There was another big kids race going on.

We arrived Miamarina at 10 a.m and got our slip. We had been here before when attending the Miami Boat Show. This was where the “Strictly Sail” portion of the boat show was located. Bayside Marketplace is a large shopping center here with many shops and restaurants. We had lunch at Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Shack. Check out the order of onion rings! Greg did some shopping for gifts for Jackson and Emma.

Check out the Banyon Tree. It is over 100 years old. Very unique. There was also live music in the pavilion.

It started raining about 3 in the afternoon. I think it may continue for the rest of the day. Thunderstorms had been forecast. We plan to go out for dinner tonight so hope it lets up a little.

Beth got better photos of the Miami skyline and bridges .

We had a minor accident with boat as we were leaving the pump out dock. I had to make a 90 degree turn to go down the channel. I didn't realize there was a large cross current in the marina from the out going tide. I didn't have enough speed on and the current together with the wind pushed me into a Large Cruiser at its dock . The rear corner of my starboard railing caught on his anchor and it popped the railing out of the stantion bases and bent it up pretty good. I plan on making some temporary repairs for now and having it permanently fixed when we get to Charleston.

Jewfish Creek to Key Biscayne - Friday March 21

We pulled anchor and left at 8:15. We went through the Jewfish Creek liftbridge, the first of the many bridges we will need opened for us on our trip.

The weather was overcast with 20 knot winds gusting to 25. We took a lot of spray, even up on the flybridge. The forward berth got wet from the spray coming in the vent of the overhead hatch and through the anchor locker. This is probably the largest chunk of “open water” we’ll go through until the Great Lakes.

The maps show places like Lake Surprise, Blackwater Pass, Snake Point, Turkey Point, Dildo Key, Fat Deer Key, No Name Key, Midnight Pass and Featherbed Bank. It makes you wonder who came up with the names and why.

It’s hard to believe how shallow the waters really are here. The channel in parts of Biscayne Bay was very narrow and only 8-10 feet deep.





We dropped anchor in Key Biscayne about 1:30. Here are pictures some Optimist Dinghy races we saw. The captains were kids, probably ages 8-12.



This is the view from our anchorage.

Here is a video "view" from our at anchorage at Key Biscayne.

Tiki Bar (Thursday, March 20)

We did find the Marley’s Tiki Bar. Had drinks and dinner. The dinghy dock was really poor. Darrell had to use Greg as a stepladder.

Lignumvitae Key to Jewfish Creek, Key Largo - March 20

We left our mooring about 9:45 a.m. We decided to go to Jewfish Creek and anchor. We went through Cowpens Cut (see picture) and mazes of mangroves. It’s interesting to see them so close up. Arrived about 2 p.m. and anchored. We were a little concerned about drifting into the channel if the wind changed. There is a marina near by with a Tiki Hut. We will dinghy in and check it out.

Greg spent a lot of time yesterday and today updating Beth’s computer. In an effort to make Beth’s life easier he got her set up with tabbed browsing, RSS feeds, Picasa, MS Photostory and who knows what else. He also worked on our blog. You can thank him for the additions of the slide show and the map which shows our route, as well as any other improvements you find. He has now introduced us to “Web 2.0” (whatever that means) in an effort to get us into the 21st century. Now, the trick will be if Beth remembers any of what Greg showed her!

Burdines Marina, Marathon, to Lignumvitae Key - March 19

We got back to the boat with our son Greg about 1:30 a.m. this morning. Went straight to bed, but we didn’t sleep in very late. Darrell did some work on the engine while Beth showed Greg a little more of the islands before turning in the car.

We noticed this sign while waiting to leave the dock.

We took on water and fuel and left about noon. The wind was still blowing hard and the first half-mile or so was very difficult. The water was very rough and the boat was really rolling and tossing about. Finally, we were able to turn and the ride got much smoother.

We will be making our way up to Miami. We have a slip reserved for Saturday night at Miamarina at Bayside. It is a very pretty area. We were there few years ago when some friends of ours were down for the Miami Boat Show.

We arrived at Lignumvitae Key at 4:45. It is a State Park and offers free moorings. We were able to get one. Flank steak for dinner!

Fuzzy and Uncle Greg

Fuzzy was very excited that Uncle Greg would be coming for a few days. He likes Uncle Greg and was hoping to spend some quality time with him.

Uncle Greg got to the boat very late Tuesday night (or very early Wednesday morning) and Fuzzy was asleep. But he saw Uncle Greg first thing Wednesday morning and was happy.

It was about noon on Wednesday when we left the dock to motor to our next anchorage. The wind was still blowing very hard and the waves were big. Fuzzy was a little worried because the boat was rocking so much. So he sat with Uncle Greg and felt very safe.

Marathon - March 18

We are renting a car today to drive to Miami to pick up our son Greg at the airport. He is taking a few days off to come down and do a bit of the loop with us. His plane doesn't land until 11 tonight so it will be quite a long day for us. We didn't want to dinghy to a mooring at 2 or 3 in the morning, especially with the wind that's predicted, so we moved to a dock this morning. We are now at Burdine's Waterfront, which is also at Marathon.

We are hoping to do a little sight seeing on our way to Miami, as well as pick up some supplies we need.

Marathon - March 17

Today started out as a nice, quiet day where Darrell would make repairs and install things he hadn't had a chance to before we left. Beth was going to straightened up and try to find places for all of the things that hadn't been put away yet.


The wind had picked up during the night so we had a very nice breeze. It felt good. The wind continued to build (we discovered later it got to 30 knots) and suddenly we noticed that either our anchor was slipping or the rode was stretching. In either case, we were getting closer to some of the boats permanently anchored with 2 or 3 anchors holding them.


We had to move quickly. Darrell called the City Marina to see if they had any moorings available. Luckily they did. We hauled the dinghy and engine out of the water, pulled the anchor and motored over to the mooring. Beth picked up the pennant on the first pass and we were secured. With this wind we certainly felt more comfortable at a mooring than anchored.


A little later we dinghed into the marina to pay for the mooring and to shower. The water was pretty rough and Beth got pretty wet. She was not happy. Then back to the boat to finish the projects which had been started.


Lloyd and Carolyn Heim invited us to Amelia Rose this evening. Art and Jean will also be there. Hopefully we won't get too wet in the dinghy.

Marathon - March 16

We were able to sleep in this morning. No need to get up and get moving. That was nice. Bob and Margaret left about 9:30 this morning. We re-set our anchor, then took off in the dinghy for a ride. We looked around the bay and found quite a few interesting boats. There are a lot of live-a-boards here. You can tell by looking at the boat. Click to get a closer look at the catamaran. Note the pots of cactus.



We tied up at Jeanne and Jerry’s boat (we met them last night when they visited Bob & Margaret). They had offered to let us leave our dinghy at their boat to get closer to the grocery store. From their boat it was about 15 minutes walk each way and was hot.

It is a small world. As we were in the dinghy coming back to the boat we saw the boat Samana, from Lake City. Art Howard and Jean Harris weren’t there at the time. Then, after unloading our groceries and on our way to the seafood festival, we saw the boat Amelia Rose, also from Lake City. Lloyd and Carolyn Heim were aboard and we talked for a while before continuing to the festival. There we dined on conch fritters, conch soup, beer and wine.

On our way back we stopped at Amelia Rose and Samana and invited them to our boat for drinks and snacks. They accepted and we had a very nice time.