Last Days in Vero Beach to First Days in Stuart

Blue Heaven Rendezvous #17
Vero Beach Completed

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Another free bus ride to the Publix grocery store to purchase the things we could not carry on the last trip on Tuesday. Worked on the blog, went down to the exclusive shops along the beach for some window shopping while Al stayed back and watched a football game in the cruiser’s lounge.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

We did a first today. We rode our bikes to church. They even had a bike rack for the cruisers. The wind was blowing quite a bit, so we got a work out going against it. Coming back to the marina was a cinch.

After lunch we were going to go to shore but the clouds rolled in and it rained. When it stopped, we took our chances and went in to get our bikes which we have had t the bike rack since arriving. We needed to break them down and pack them since we are leaving for Stuart tomorrow. After one load of laundry and packing the bikes, back to the boat we went before the worst storm hit. Wind and rain in buckets came while we were safe and sound on Blue Heaven. So it does rain in paradise. Look at the streaks of rain being blown across the water!

Now there is something I have been meaning to write about since North Carolina, but kept forgetting. We are thankful that Jeannie on Estelle mentioned it the night before we heard our first weird sounds in the boat. Otherwise, I think we would have thought we had a rodent or cockroaches on board. Usually at night you can hear a very distinct snap and crackle sound. Sort of like Rice Krispies without the pop! If you put your ear near the floor it is even louder. We were told it is krill or shrimp feeding off the growth on the bottom of the boat. It is something helpful, while I know I would have thought our boat was infested if we had not been told. It is so loud at times in Vero Beach, I thought it might keep me awake, but the fresh air just seems to knock me out.

Monday, December 1, 2008

We motored all the way to Stuart, FL where we will be staying for December and January. Somewhere along the way, we were not even sure when, but the water changed to a pretty shade of blue. We got into our slip at Harborage Yacht Club and Marina around 1:30pm. Luckily, the winds were not blowing but the dockhand had to encourage a manatee out of slip until we could pull in. Luke and Jeannie McLaughlin from our sailing club were there to greet us.

Later that evening we celebrated our arrival going with three couples to a restaurant that serves the most delicious ribs. One of the couples was Trudy and Dave whom we met back on the street in the Solomon Islands in October!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Luke and Jeannie who rented a car showed us all around the area to give us our bearings of where things are. There are the typical stores such as Target, Kohls, CVS, Home Depot, Wall Mart, and Kmart which are out on the highway for anything you might need. The actual town of Stuart across the bridge from the marina has a lot of quaint stores and interesting restaurants.

Al and I biked over to the town and did the river walk and stopped at the Chamber of Commerce for information about the area and the maps we will need.

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Once again Luke helped by taking us to get our propane tanks filled. Later Al and I biked about 3 miles to a hardware store to get coaxial cable for our TV since the marina has cable available at each slip. Now we will be able to have 97 channels. I don’t feel we are quite in paradise anymore! We are definitely back to civilization for a while.

This will be my last blog entry for awhile. Once we get back (we are going home to Lancaster for the holidays) and start moving south again, probably around the end of January, I will start again. Hope you have a wonderful and healthy holiday.

Arleen

Thanksgiving Cruising Style

Vero Beach Continued

November 26, 2008

This morning’s mission was to get to the laundry before everyone else. I sent Al over at 7am to do four loads and shockingly it worked. He was able to do all four at once at the marina and was done it record time, two hours.

While he did that job, my job was to make an apple pie for the Thanksgiving feast. Yes, I baked an apple pie on the boat and it turned out surprisingly well.

After lunch we took the bikes ashore rode all around the beach area which tired us enough to lead to a quiet night on board.

Thursday, November 27, 2008 (Thanksgiving Day)

“Over the river and through the woods” to the community center in the park we went by way of dinghy bringing our contribution for the potluck cruiser's Thanksgiving dinner. I had the apple pie, but I also made mashed potatoes and gravy because there was a plea on the notice at the cruisers lounge.
Take 75 great cooks, add 75 significant others and some children, add beautiful, sunny 70 degree weather plus cruiser camaraderie and you have on fantastic Thanksgiving meal. I must admit I had a twinge of missing family, but knowing I will be home for Christmas helped. I also must admit, I did not miss making the entire meal myself!

As you can see we did not go hungry!

Afterwards we biked to work off some off that turkey dinner. Later we enjoyed an evening of solving the world’s problems with the parents on Bird on a Wire, Gotta Life and another couple from Miakoda who also had two daughters. The girls chose to do something a little less intense which was beautifying each other with new hairdos. I think I should have been down below; I could use a new hairdo about now!

Friday, November 28, 2008

Bird on a Wire and Gotta Life left this morning to head south. Bird on a Wire is heading through Lake Okeechobee to the west coast for the holidays (They are lucky because their mast is low enough to get under the bridge which ours is not), while Gotta Life will be heading to the Bahamas soon. We will miss the activity being all alone on the mooring.

We spent the morning doing a simple task of getting a prescription filled. It took the better part of the morning to ride the bus to CVS. We had to transfer buses but it also gave us the opportunity to go to the small farmer’s market in the park where the transfer station is located. We got some good reasonable vegetables.
After lunch I went to the beach to enjoy the sound of the surf and warmth of the sun. It was nice to just sit and read and relax as well as walking the beach. Al stayed back at the boat to putter around. Another couple stopped by to invite us to go to happy hour at the Riverside Café which we did and ended up staying for a light dinner.

This is the way we end our days in Vero Beach with beautiful sunsets. What a life! We have alot for which to be thankful.

"Velcro Beach," I mean, Vero Beach

Blue Heaven Rendezvous #15
Vero Beach, FL
Monday, November 24, 2008

Some of the homes along the ICW are a wonder, but the ones close to Vero Beach are even more so. As you motor by, you wonder from where all that wealth came. We arrived in the famed Vero Beach, known to all cruisers because of the great mooring field and free bus service to about whatever type of store you need. This is where many leave to go to the Bahamas. However, many call this place “Velcro Beach,” because they stick and cannot get away from it for a long time because it is so nice.

We were assigned to a mooring with two other boats, Bird on a Wire and Gotta Life. Both boats have families on board, each with two middle school-age girls. We had seen both of these boats at other places along the way. It was nice to finally meet them.

After getting tied up and a line on the mooring, we headed in to check out the facilities and to go for a walk to give us some bearings of where things are. Once back at the boat we were invited to share dinner with the others on Gotta Life. We ate like kings with steak, spicy potatoes, Mandarin orange and almond salad and Raisin Spice Bars for dessert. It was nice to get to know one another over a delicious meal.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Up and to the bath house for a long shower (something we don’t get on the boat). After breakfast we caught the bus to go grocery shopping. Of course, the bus does not go direct, so we saw a bit of Vero Beach along the way. At home grocery shopping takes an hour. Here it took two and one half hours and that was only half our list. You are only allowed to bring on the bus what you can carry and put at your feet and on your lap. We will do another trip later this week.

When we came back to the boat, the young girls were having their music class. It was like having our own private concert. Erin and Geneva on Gotta a Life have four instruments on board. They have a saxophone, flute, keyboard and clarinet. I wonder where they put it all. And Al complains about my rug hooking supplies!

After lunch Al napped while I tidied up the cabin. Then we went ashore to explore. We found an art museum, the beach, and of course a cooking store. (I think I have found one in almost every place we have been!) When we came back to the boat the girls entertained us by jumping off the high dinghy davit platform on Gotta Life.
For dinner it was a dinghy ride to Riverside Café just past the bridge to the entrance of the anchorage.

Happeings in Cocoa, or should we say, The Non-Happenings

Blue Heaven Rendezvous # 14
Heading to Cocoa, Fl
Saturday, November 22, 2008

After some hot showers (that little Honda generator is nice!) which made us feel better after the uncomfortable night we had or I should say, I had, we headed to Cocoa.

When we arrived at Cocoa we were a bit confused. Claiborne Young, in his book about Eastern Florida cruising, said to anchor between the land and the power lines. Skipper Bob, on the other hand, said to anchor south of the power lines. Since all the boats were south, we followed their lead and anchored south. Not one boat ever anchored in the other spot. Now, we are a bit skeptical about Young’s suggestions.

Yesterday afternoon I had called Enterprise Car Rental to be sure they would pick us up in Cocoa if we rented a car to be able to go to the Kennedy Space Center. I called the one in Cape Canaveral, because the one in Cocoa closed at noon and were not open Sunday to return the car. I told her we would be in Cocoa at the municipal dock, but she said to call an hour before we were to rent the car, and give them directions. After getting into Cocoa and having lunch we went ashore. We walked around town killing time until we could get the car. We saw all the shops and especially the one store Al liked, was SF Travis Co. It was the largest hardware store we have ever been in. It was two stories high and went from one room to another, to another, etc. It had a wrench that was almost as tall as me! The only thing the sales clerk said they did not carry was wood, because they have termites.

Finally it was time to call the rental agency and when we did, the young lady said, “We cannot pick you up in Cocoa that is a half hour away.” I said yesterday you did not have a problem with it, and today you can’t? She said we could have the car if we could get to the agency. So we cancelled the car and there went our plans for Sunday. It was too late to call another agency, so we figure we will do it on our way back north.

At the park off the municipal dock they were having a special day, because the Christmas tree lightning and boat parade were that night. There were little ones playing in man-made snow and people were ice skating at the rink they had set up. It was a great place to soothe ourselves after our plans were foiled by the mean Grinch lady at Enterprise!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

We took our bikes into Cocoa and found a bike friendly road that followed the water. It was a lovely ride and gave us the exercise we so badly needed. We also checked out Cocoa Village Marina for future reference.

Back to the boat we went for a leisurely afternoon. While sitting in the cockpit I looked up to see a racing boat raising its spinnaker in the anchorage. I said to Al, “They are going to hit that anchored boat!” Sure enough the bows came together and the spinnaker caught on the anchored boat’s spreaders. There was no one on the anchored boat. A lot of the boats in the anchorage are what Al and I call “derelict” boats. Boats that you can tell haven’t been moved for a long time. The growth along their waterline tells it all. One of the racers hoped on board the anchored boat while the others dropped the spinnaker. He gathered it up and then hopped on board the race boat. Off they went, raising their jib to continue the race as if nothing had happened. Luckily, no major damage was done as you can see by my pictures of the incident.

Not some of Our Better Days

Blue Heaven Rendezvous # 13
From St. Augustine to Cocoa

Thursday, November 20, 2008

It is funny this is posting is #13 because today we had some bad luck. We left St. Augustine before 7am to make the 7:30am bridge opening. Al called the bridge to let him know we were planning to go through and there was one power boat in front of us. Meanwhile, a catamaran called the bridge tender asking if he would hold it open because they were just around the bend, but we did not hear his response. We saw the bridge go up and the powerboat went through and just as we were about to enter we heard the horns blowing which usually indicate that the bridge is going down. Our hearts were in our throats as Al did a 180 ◦ and was frantically calling the bridge tender. All he could say was “Sorry, he was a little fast on the horn” and that we should come on through the open bridge. So we guess he wasn’t going to hold it open for the catamaran, but by the time we got straightened out to go through, it gave enough time for the catamaran to catch up and through the bridge they went. A few minutes later the catamaran hailed us on the radio and thanked us for the maneuver at the entrance to the bridge which of course helped them. Not too long ago we heard the Alligator River Bridge did close on a sailboat and de-masted it, so that is why we had heart palpitations aplenty!

The rest of the day was a motor down the ICW. After checking fuel prices on the internet, Al decided we would stop at Halifax Marina in Daytona to fuel up. We started to head in and ran a ground (bad luck #2) because somehow we missed seeing an important mark. Luckily, it was sand, because Al motored us back into the correct channel with only our ego’s bruised.
At least we did not ground Blue Heaven like the boat in the picture!
Not far from the marina we anchored by 4pm between marker 40 and 44 with several other boats. Our excitement for the night was me giving Al a haircut. I just had to get rid of his little flips!


Friday, November 21, 2008

We were up early again to be out of the anchorage before 7am. To me, this is getting old. When it is so cold outside, I just want to stay under the covers. Al wanted to leave early to possibly make Cocoa today.

We were able to motor-sail and eventually got some decent sailing in with the winds blowing 18 – 20 knots. They pushed us along quite nice at 7.2 knots. Even though we had plenty of time to get to Cocoa, Al decided with the wind direction that it would be better to anchor on the south port side of the Addison Point Bridge. He thought it would have more protection than Cocoa. He was wrong! There was land there which protected us from the wave action, but there was nothing high on the land to protect us from the wind. The wind howled at 20 knots and we continually swung on our anchor. The worst part was the snubber line (a line that takes the load from the anchor chain to the cleat and gives some stretch from the anchor to the boat) was making all sorts of loud noises. I gave up sleeping in the v-berth and finally fell asleep in the main cabin. Sporadic sleep (you women would know about that), while all the while Al snored away. I don’t know how men do it! This was the first night out of 36 that was not pleasant sleeping, other than our over-night ocean passage, so I guess we are doing pretty well if you look at it that way.

The clincher came by way of email from Estelle that said they had a quiet night at Cocoa!

St. Augustine

Blue Heaven Rendezvous #12

Tuesday. November 18, 2008

We had a quiet night behind the protection of Pine Island, but as soon as we got into the ICW, it was blowing twenty knots. I was glad we were not too far from St. Augustine. We left at 8:45am and were tied at the dock in Camachee Cove Marina by 10:30am. After getting checked in, which was once again a long walk to the office and back, we had lunch on board. We pulled out our folding bikes to see the sights of St. Augustine. It was a 1/12 to 2 mile bike ride. Our first stop along the way was The Mission Grounds. This is where the very large cross is located that can be seen from the water. The grounds are kept very nice with various paths and a pond where we saw sea turtles that had come in from the inlet from the waterway. There also was a very friendly resident Blue Heron who was not too scared of people as you can see by my picture.

We biked past the fort and along the waterfront to check out the municipal marina for future stops here. We then toured “The Oldest House” on the east coast which had quite a story behind it, from a family with twelve children to eventually a tavern and brothel.

Afterward we rode back to the marina. It was a bit chilly. I had on three layers and did not get overheated the entire bike ride. Al, are you sure you headed south and not north!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

We awoke to freezing temperatures outside, but were warm and cozy inside due to being plugged in at the dock and using our heat pump. We did some chores in the morning and then used the marina courtesy car to go to the grocery store for just a few things. After lunch we once again biked to see the Lightner Museum in St. Augustine. The building used to be the Alcazar Hotel built by Floridian entrepreneur Henry Flagler. When it went defunct, Lightner, a very wealthy man from Chicago purchased it to house his personal collections. Lightner was a publisher of an arts and antique magazine who took advantage of the stock market crash, buying up all that he could from the wealthy who had lost their fortunes. His collections ranged from unique furniture, cut glass dishes, to cigar band collections, toys and more. It was amazing. There was something for everyone to enjoy seeing. Also, the former hotel was phenomenal in itself for what had been built back then. It had the largest indoor swimming pool, steam rooms and special baths. as well as ball rooms and other beautiful rooms.

This is for my rug hooking friends. There were two hooked rugs in his collection. How would you like to have this in your house when relatives come for Thanksgiving!

Back to the boat we went and used the courtesy car to take us to a “real” Italian restaurant for dinner. Nothing fancy, but the real Italian homemade sauce makes it

Blue Heaven Rendezvous #11

Monday, November 17, 2008

We have 48 miles to cover today, so we were up at 6am and off the mooring ball by 7am. We wanted to get under a bridge below Fernandina Beach before high tide. When we got to the bridge, it was 67 feet, so we were fine with our 61 ft. mast. With 8 foot tides, you really have to be careful about bridges with extra high tides and where you anchor.

Today going down the ICW there were some wicked currents at spots. At one place you could see the trawler in front of us being pulled side ways. Coming off the St. John River we saw dolphins actually jumping out of the water which was quite a site.

We were anchored behind Pine Island by 2:30pm. We got in much earlier than we expected, because the currents were with us a lot of the way. We were the second boat in and then around 4pm five other boats came in, one of them being Estelle. We could not resist one last cocktail hour together, and once again we said our good-byes.

Since there wasn't much to describe on this long motoring day, I thought I would share some thoughts and feelings about the trip so far.

A lot of former cruisers told us it can be stressful in the ICW. We haven’t found it to be so, but we know it is because we found our experienced cruising buddies, Jim and Jeannie Lea, at the start, and have basically been following them. We don’t leave it all up to them. Al does check the weather and looks at charts for upcoming anchorages and comes to his own conclusions, which happen to usually be the same as the Leas. This has boosted his self-confidence in this area. Now that we are on our own, we will see if it is more stressful

Al checking bridge openings.

Secondly, we have not met much commercial traffic which can be a concern. Only once, were we a bit worried when a tug and barge came through a bridge very close to us due to the narrow channel.

Lastly, I was worried about being with Al twenty-four hours a day after so many years of 5 days a week gone from 7am – 6pm. I think it would have been difficult if we were home. Here it just seems like a long vacation! He has also helped with galley and laundry chores which we
seem to have more, since we have no dishwasher or washer and dryer on board. And according to him, “He has been a total prince.” Well, I don’t know about that



Arleen working on her rug.