Pursuit

Friday, January 20, 2023

We left the Melbourne Yacht Club dock at 8 AM weaving our way out the creek and passing a sailboat coming in with two gentlemen on board in full foul weather gear. Possibly an all night passage? Rain was in the forecast.

We had a beautiful morning. The wind picked up a bit as we traveled North but nothing to cause concern. Oddly, there is an area around Cocoa Village where we did not have an existing path on the GPS. We previously had turned down the barge canal over to Cape Canaveral and then traveled the Banana River South so we had skipped a small portion on the ICW.

We couldn’t help but notice the two anchoring places near the Melbourne causeway that we got rocked out of last year were pleasant and calm this year. This was a stop for a couple nights on a fabulous cruise with the Rinne’s to Peck Lake. So very memorable —Paradise. We will be meeting them on Thursday for lunch. They keep their boat in the New Smyrna City Marina which is where we met them— possibly in 2016. They have a beautiful new puppy named Lily so we are going to have a doggie meet and greet as well.

We arrived in Titusville about five hours later. There is a large mooring field outside the city marina. We can see several of these anchored boats succumbed to either Ian or Nicole and washed up on shore. We radioed the marina and were directed to our slip. A dock hand was waiting to assist us. The slip was pretty narrow with pelican poles to tie to and a short pier. Most people back their boat in but we enjoy our cockpit away from the dock for privacy. This does make it a little more difficult getting on and off the boat but we are such nimble seniors 😬

Once we got the boat settled in we were more than a bit chagrined to note the boats on either side of us were quite derelict. One was a yellow Chris Craft. Whoever designed the boat was most likely fired that same year. Horribly ugly design. Well we figured we were not going to be here that long so we would live with it. We closed our curtains. We could hear some type of a radio program from the yellow boat all day long. Annoying.

The third morning the decision was made to ask for a new slip. Bright and early the occupants on the yellow boat were having a very loud Effen Hymer filled domestic. Enough is enough. The really odd thing is we actually never saw the occupants on the boat. I got a glimpse of a male bald head one evening from a part in the reflective window covering. But the fight was with a woman. We still haven’t seen any people on that boat but they are there. You can see lights on. Odd and rather scary. The harbor master was very agreeable to moving us. We are now out on the dock with bigger sailboats and have a much nicer view all around.

This is a City run marina. It has newly remodeled bathroom and showers and a very nice office and boaters’ lounge. The walking areas are incredible. There are large parks on either side of the marina and a dog park on one side. There are walking paths, exercise stations, a kid’s playground and splash pad. Next to this Marina is Westland marina and boat yard where many people on this side of Florida haul their boat out to work on it. The docks here are in pretty sad shape but my understanding is the dock we are on is getting ripped out and replaced soon. It apparently suffered some damage in Ian as well. We would stop here again.

Joe spent the better part of one day trying to find the gremlin living in our old generator. Last year we couldn’t get it to turn over at the end of the season. Of course this year it popped right off but would not stay running. Possibly an electrical issue somewhere. He worked on the electric fuel pump where the wires had pretty much disintegrated around the fittings. Nope, still no luck!

We had dinner one evening at an Irish pub here in Titusville with a very interesting waiter. We were dining alfresco so Miss Coconut could join us. Wonderful beer selection and great food. Our waiter probably had the best rescue dog story ever (better than Coconut being found knocked up in Fargo). He was on his way to go look at a dog at a shelter when he found an abandoned puppy at his land; he was in miserable shape. He wondered how the poor thing had survived the alligators! I believe there is a special place in hell for people who abandoned dogs or any animals in this manner (My sister-in-law Donna rescued a sweet little kitty right on the road by our old house). He nursed the puppy back to health and says this dog is now his best friend.

Yesterday we drove out to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, just north of the Space Center. It was a sunny, but very windy and cool day. First stop was the visitor’s center with its raised wooden walkways. Placards are placed throughout with descriptions of trees, shrubs, etc., we have been here before but it was many years ago. A nice walk. We did see a species of small bird that was not familiar to us. It had a green back and red breast with a black head. We have not been able to find it in an online search. The visitors center was not open (even though it said it was) so there was no one to ask. We couldn’t get a picture of one either but are trying to find one on the Encyclopedia Google.

Driving toward the coast to Playalinda beach, we went through an area marked as “Scrub Jay habitat”. The Jays are in very specific scrub habitats with small trees. The Florida scrub-jay is only found in Florida, its population in decline and severely limited by lack of habitat. We felt fortunate to see them.

We drove out to the Playalinda Beach area of Canaveral National Seashore. We learned that this is the longest stretch of undeveloped Atlantic coast line in Florida. It’s composed of Dune, hammock and lagoon habitat. There are ancient Timucua shell mounds. We have seen these mounds up in new Smyrna Beach.

At Playalinda, there are 13 boardwalks. The last one, number 13, is the infamous nude beach. We only made it to the first boardwalk. Like I said it was cold and windy. So because this is a National Park, it does cost money to get into it. However we have an official “old person‘s card” that allows us to get in for free. The normal fee is $20. So, if you want to go see a bunch of naked people, you could pay $20 and go down to boardwalk number 13. Possibly a good spot to see a rocket launch 😳🙄

Dogs are not allowed on the beach and we were not tempted. It was brutal out there with the wind.

We spotted this guy on our way out of the park.

The weather this January has been much better than last year. It’s warmer and less windy. Not saying we haven’t had windy and cooler days but last year we extended several stays in marinas because we didn’t want to venture out in big winds and waves. We know better than to complain it’s cold here but….. when the temp drops and especially if the wind is off the water the locals wear lots of gear!

We have explored the town a bit and drove halfway between here and New Smyrna to meet my brother and Wendy and then friends Cindy and Jeff. Coconut has a new friend. We have spent a bit of time chillin’ on the boat but there is always boat projects and things to do.

We leave here Monday morning (1/30) and will travel about 3 hours to the marina at New Smyrna Beach. We will spend only 2 nights there. We could not get a slip long term. Next, will be Daytona for the month of February.

The heart of man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths, it has its pearls too."

-Vincent Van Gogh.

January 15, 2023

MYC is Melbourne Yacht Club. This will be our first destination after leaving Cocoa Beach. Our last few days have been spent cleaning the boat and putting her back together.

We also watched a spectacular rocket launch on January 15 from the 520 Causeway in Cocoa Beach. A perfect viewing spot.

It was a Space X Falcon Heavy rocket which launched the USSF-67 Mission for Space Force. This is a classified mission for US Space Force. It went off at 5:56 PM as scheduled. There was also a subsequent dual booster landing at Cape Canaveral which is close to where our boat was stored.

This was a 230 foot rocket containing a military communication satellite and 5 smaller pay loads to orbit. These rockets produce more than 5 million pounds of thrust equal to approximately eighteen 747 aircraft. Falcon Heavy can lift nearly 141,000 pounds to orbit.

The sun had just set so the reflections of the Rocket’s contrail were dazzling.

I was just reading a bit about these rockets and see that another SpaceX launch of a GPS III SV06, called Amelia Earhart, is scheduled to launch at 7:24 a.m. on Jan. 18. That is two minutes from now! We are in Melbourne on Crane Creek off the Indian river. I doubt we would be able to see it but maybe we will hear it since it is set to launch in two minutes.

OK, we did hear something rocket-like but it is hard to tell because we are very close to a bridge and it is morning rush-hour here in Melbourne. A website called “space.com” contains more information on this USSF – 67 mission.

So our cruise to get to Melbourne was extremely nice. We feel so fortunate to have this beautiful sunny 65° weather. We have completed this path two other times so it shows up on our Garmin. There were an extraordinary amount of birds, a scattering of dolphins and very few boats. There were a couple cruising sailboats heading north.

Our destination is the Melbourne Yacht Club, right across the creek from the Melbourne Harbor marina where we stayed in last year.

We were met on the dock by Phil and Jim. Jim is the yacht club’s harbormaster which I learned later is a volunteer position. Phil…now this is kind of an interesting story…. As some of you know, we own a 30 foot Bayliner flybridge boat named Swell that we keep in Menominee Michigan on Green Bay of Lake Michigan. This is our new summer adventure after we sold our beautiful sailboat Moonlight in Bayfield, Wisconsin. So, on the very last day of the season last year, Joe left with the boat to move it 20 miles south for winter storage. I was wandering around the marina with Coconut and killing time before driving down to meet Joe. A couple, Phil and Brenda, were also wandering around the marina so we began talking. It turns out they were in the area to go to the Packers game and lived in Melbourne Florida. We got to talking …..

We kept in touch over the winter. They were kind enough to send us pictures of our boat in Cape Canaveral after the first hurricane went through. At any rate we were invited to stay at their yacht club in Melbourne. So here we are.

Right after we arrived on Tuesday, the four of us went to a Cuban restaurant at Indian Harbour Beach. Hard to beat the lunch special of a grouper sandwich and lobster bisque! It was interesting that our travels and theirs have been similar. A very nice time indeed.

One of the reasons we were looking forward to a stay in Melbourne was that there are a number of large parks along the river front that the Coconut loves. There are paved paths and grassy areas dotted with palm trees. These are family parks with playgrounds and pavilions. And, squirrels that tease Coconut until she makes a lunge for them. Never caught one “but if I did…” Oh, Boy!

Wednesday, Joe’s brother Bob and wife Donna came up from Fort Pierce for lunch on the deck at Drew’s Brews. We had a great meal, al Fresco and enjoyed the weather.

After a quiet night, ha,ha—we counted seven trains that night. Each train is, of course, announced by a series of long, loud blasts of the horn and each of the hundred cars thunders past no more than two football fields away. Light sleepers don’t last long here! We are actually quite used to trains as they run all the way up and down the coast of Florida just like ICW.

Thursday morning started off with a stroll to the Post Office and a walk through the shops in Downtown Melbourne. This is a multi-block long street with a combination of touristy shops, restaurants and local businesses. It was fun to window shop along the way and see the buildings that have housed the many generations of businesses that have made Melbourne what it is today.

We learned that after Melbourne was settled in 1867 and Melbourne Beach, on the barrier island was settled in 1883, the two towns were connected by ferry across the Indian River with a short railway connecting the river pier to an ocean pier that helped bring in supplies to construct Melbourne Beach. The barrier island became known for the pineapple farms that took advantage of plenty of sunshine and abundant water. In fact, our friend Phil and his wife still are able to grow a few pineapple plants in their yard on the island. They harvest one once in a while and replant the top portion to keep the “crop” active.

After our walk downtown, Phil and his friend Carl invited Joe to join them for an afternoon sail on Phil’s 30 foot J-boat. I impressed them with my knowledge of nautical terms on the boat… Left side, right side, pointy end and blunt end. I fit right in. After leaving the dock, we mixed up some Cruzan rum and Cokes and got to business. We headed off across the river using a tall building on the beach as a landmark and zigged and zagged our way up and down the river while Phil pointed out all the bouys and marks that he has raced around for many years. Fun times…

After sailing it was time to head over to the other reason we wanted to go to Melbourne. Cafe El Ambia Cubano. An authentic Cuban place owned by a former Cuban refugee who flew himself out of Cuba in an airplane in 1994. The plane is still in his possession and apparently is being turned into a food truck. He also has on display a Yellow Submarine that he built just to prove he could. Wow! Unstoppable. Our meal was fantastic as usual and we left happy. Happy enough to join in at Happy Hour and a bit of Trivia Night at the yacht club. Don’t ask…

Saturday, January 14

This morning I’m wrapped in a blanket next to mom. I don’t know what’s happening now. I was promised when we left home, I wouldn’t have to be in the snow and cold. Fulfilled. After a couple long days in the back seat of the big car (with stuff encroaching my area), I was warm. No more silly sweaters. Green grass; although, I hate to complain but this grass isn’t as nice as at home. They took me to a little beach at Cedar Key and we finally got to walk around. Then, “stay here, be a good girl” and I’m back in the car while they go off without me. Thankfully, they’re usually only gone 10 minutes—at least that’s what they tell me.

I’ve been at Cocoa Beach for a week now. Sometimes in a little house and sometimes on the boat. I wait in the car too. Good thing I’m a champion napper. Again, “stay here and be a good girl.”

Today, I looked outside and see the trees flopping all around. Ick, when you have ears like me, wind is your nemesis. I saw dad wearing his red jacket: the same one he wore when we left Wisconsin. Oh no, that means it’s cold here. I would vote for driving further South but I never seem to get a vote. Mom and dad are looking around for shoes; no sandals today. Wonder if they’ll wear socks. They tried to put socks on me a few times. No way, do you know how odd that feels and how dumb it looks.

Well, thankfully, people are still telling me I’m cute. Mom says she never hears that anymore. Bummer for her but worse is dad, he says he never heard it! Sure hope I don’t get that old. It always makes my day to hear I’m a pretty girl!

I let people get their dog fix by petting me. Apparently, some people don’t love their dogs as much as my mom and dad. I almost always get to go with them. I do stay with Uncle Bob once in awhile. I like it there and he likes me but, I don’t know how to tell him I hate riding in a Mustang! I’m a Corvette girl.

I guess it’s 41 degrees out right now at 8:00 a.m. We have 33 mph gusts of wind. I’d rather go see the waves at the ocean. I bet they’ll be surfers 🏄‍♂️ and kite-boarders. Probably won’t happen, though. Hope mom and dad have a Plan B – todays weather is a doggone shame.

Ok, update… Mom and Dad finally decided to put the boat in the water and head south where there are new paths and sidewalks to explore! Some place called a yacht club. I’m SO ready for a new adventure!

Monday, January 9

Weather wise, a comparison to last year is so different in a very good way! We have had 75° and sunny everyday which is very nice but especially refreshing is that it is not windy. We only feel the ocean breezes as expected. It has been glorious.

We got the boat uncovered and somewhat put together in the yard at Cape Marina. We were scheduled for a splash at 8:00 a.m. Monday morning. The crew could not have been better. All went well with the boat launch. Pursuit’s diesel engine fired right up. We let her sit for a bit to warm up her motor and make sure we had no leaks… then we were off for a very short run south to Marker 24 Marina. First occurrence on the water is going through the lock from the ocean entry to the river. No problem the lock master opened right up for us. You call on the marine radio and then watch for a light to turn from red to green. We were the only boat waiting. This almost never happens, you are normally waiting outside the lock trying to keep the boat in place while fighting currents, tides and other boats!

A few miles south and we were at our next stop. It was a beautiful run. Right off the bat Joe spotted dolphin and several escorted us down the river. Such a joy.

We have had several walks enjoying uncrowded beaches. Coconut is especially happy snarfing around in the sand. The bitter cold of December is now further back in our minds.

We took our beat up boatcover to the canvas shop on Merritt Island. No problem they say! They agree the stitching had let loose in some places from sun damage. However, the fabric is still in good shape and worth repairing. They have 30 years experience! They’re pretty busy with creating things for new boats but are also doing a lot of repair work due to Nicole and Ian, those pesky hurricanes! The cover also took a beating in the two summer seasons it sat at Cape Marina. Brutal sun all day. This year, she will be stored in Georgia with a bit of sun relief due to the rows of trees in the yard. A good thing to have a cover there due to the debris falling from the trees! It’s always something!

We certainly don’t mind if the canvas people have that cover for awhile. It’s always an issue trying to store it. It takes up a good portion of the back of our Tahoe, which isn’t convenient. God knows we have a lot of other “stuff” to keep back there!

We have had several enjoyable meals here in Cocoa Beach between the boat stuff. One thing about this area is there are more places to eat and drink than we could visit in our time here. So many places, so little time.

Right on our road, one block off of A1A, there are several interesting looking stops… better yet, one block off the main drag means they are the locals’ hangouts. Cafe Surfinista, The Tiny Turtle, Jazzy’s Mainely Lobster, Salty Sisters and Fourth Street Fillin Station are the closest. We’ve tried two so far in our hood. Both had great food (a blackened shrimp poke’ bowl was exceptionally yummy) with great service and ambiance. Salty Sisters had live Rock music in a breezeway outside. All had great people watching.

We also were told about a “new to us” dive bar on the Banana River from Scott, the professional fisherman we met last year at Marker 24. We loved it. However, we don’t think Scott knows what “dive bar” means. Island Time Marina and restaurant was big with lots of different types of space—indoors, outdoors, upstairs, tiki bar…. The marina is very small but you can look over it from upstairs onto the river. Very nice way to spend an afternoon. Truth told, we’ve been there twice. Next year we may check in to see if there are open transient slips to stay on the boat for awhile, but eyeing the large, waters edge sound stage makes me think my sleep might not be on the schedule I’m used to!

One other component of Island Time is there is a row of boats that are all airbnbs. Maybe 7 of them. All powerboats. Could be an interesting way to spend a few nights if you didn’t already have a boat or two 😙. We have been to this area of Cocoa Beach several times and never really noticed this fun spot.

Bob and Donna came up from Fort Pierce for an overnight stay with us. We haven’t seen them since they left for Florida in October in their RV. As I said previously, they were the generous souls who came here to throw a tarp over Pursuit’s cover’s hurricane hole. Not an easy task.

We had a few refreshing beverages at Island Time and then walked to Sunsets for a sunset (of course) and dinner. Probably one of the most spectacular sunsets in my memory. It kept amazing us long after the sun went down. Really fun was the saxophone player “Sax on the Beach” that we ran into last year who was the provider of dinner music. He is most entertaining. The food was fabulous — just remember, if they don’t give you the prices on “specials” there is a reason $$$$$ 🥹.

It was a great time catching up and talking smart. Always good for the Longtin boys to get together. Good girl talk for me. We are hopeful to catch up with them again when we head South for a few days to Melbourne.

The boat was pulled out of the water on Monday at Marker 24’s very clean yard. We stopped by Tuesday to check on the progress and could see they were getting ready to sand her. At the moment they were pulling a motor and transmission out of a large 42’ SeaRay Sundancer. This boat has been sitting on the hard for a year and a half waiting for the transmission. It had failed and the replacement had to come from Italy. Covid, shipping delays and God knows what else made for some very bad days for that boat’s owner. She’s for sale …..

By Thursday, Pursuit was done. The yard worker was just finishing up painting her rudder and propeller when we arrived mid-afternoon. Looks good!

So the next step in this fun filled lifestyle is to clean the inside and outside of the boat. With the blown cover and hurricane winds, the outside is a lot dirtier than usual underneath the cover. It appears sand also worked its way to the inside of the boat from the hurricane force winds. We’ve never seen that before. This is not the fun part of boating but a necessary evil. While cleaning, etc., you do go over the entire boat and sometimes find additional things that need fixin’. 🤨

Scott the fisherman also gave us a tip on a metal cleaner and polisher. Pursuit’s stainless is starting to show Florida’s effects. Hopefully a good cleaning and finisher will help. West Marine to the rescue (again).

One thing that really has become an issue since we’ve been down here is the extra surcharge restaurants and bars are charging to utilize credit cards. We never carry a lot of cash but we are starting to hit the ATM a lot more. Fortunately we have a card that gives us free ATM access anywhere in the world. We noticed this additional surcharge a few times in our travels last Fall but now it seems very popular.

I discussed this additional fee with several friends and we’ve come to the conclusion you either have to pay cash or use a debit card. It is also showing up at other places—mostly in the hospitality business. I guess our finances need to be re-figured. We always charge everything and pay them off the next month. Looks like now we will be paying them off the same day we spend them.

One friend pointed out, you lose the points and bonuses you get from the credit card by not utilizing the credit card but I just don’t want to pay the extra fees! Probably a wash in a lot of instances. I especially did not want to have to pay a fee at the marina where the bottom paint is being done as it could be a good chunk of change. We did bit of money management last week, having some money wired from one bank account to a different bank’s checking account. The money appears to be lost… just a bit stressful! Anyway we found out the boat yard does not charge a fee to use a credit card so no worries… Well, maybe worry until they find that money!

Our string of perfect weather just ended. I see rain on Joe’s clean, black truck! We want to get to the boatyard today and strip the remaining varnish (or whatever it is) of that wood rail. It has pealed off about 50% of the way so it should not be too bad of a project. What an eyesore…. the rain is suppose to end around noon.

We also have a cold front coming in for the weekend. High of 68° today but only 51° tomorrow and windy. I know a lot of you don’t feel sorry for us about the 51° but it’s cold by the water! 🤭. Monday it will be back in the 60’s and then 70’s on Tuesday. We are going to put the boat back in the water on Monday and leave for Melbourne on Tuesday morning where we will be the guests of the Melbourne Yacht Club for three nights.

So there is a glimpse into the not so glamorous life of cruising…….

We made it to Cocoa Beach. Thank you all for your concern and anxiety about us leaving in the middle of a big, two day, Wisconsin snowstorm. I think we ended up with about a foot of snow in Amery over the two days. Many areas closer to the Twin Cities received much more than that! It was kind of fun comparing snow depths with friends and family. Of course our southern friends think we are crazy. They just don’t get it 😘

All I can say is the snow was pretty and it covered up the dirty looking older snow. Did you know dirty snow melts faster than clean snow. It absorbs more energy from the sun!

We woke up early on the planned departure day, Wednesday morning (Jan. 4), to see how much more snow we received overnight. Our driveway and road had been plowed the night before. It looked like we got more but it also seemed drivable. It wasn’t snowing….we decided to go for it. It didn’t hurt that we had recently heard from our boating friend Cindy that she had just spent a “Chamber of Commerce day” at disappearing island in New Smyrna Beach. That sounded real nice! We drove straight out of our garage in 4wheel drive and onto our unplowed road. All was well…the main roads were plowed…somewhat!

Our drive was only tenuous from our home to 94 (the freeway). After that it was smooth sailing. We drove two long days and made it to Cedar Key (on the Gulf) before noon on Friday. We pushed the drive to longer days than normal—what else did we have to do…?

It has probably been 20 years since we have been to Cedar Key. Memories fade. The water front area and Dock Street were familiar with the exception of the bar we both remembered was missing. We learned it had been wiped away by hurricane Hermine in 2016. We recalled the condo we stayed in back then was on the waterfront. We couldn’t find it having walked around the entire waterfront circle. Ah, another building was built in front of it. It was really on the waterfront….in the water! 😏

If you never been to Cedar key, it’s worth a stop. It isn’t a beach town but there is one small beach. It consists of a lot of small islands in the salt marshes. There is only one way to get into town. Highway 24. There are no high-rises or huge complexes. It is very quaint. The views are amazing. The town is walkable. There are more airboats than sports cars! Lots to do.

We stayed in a beautiful, stilt home Airbnb. We had a small space but the view was spectacular over a quiet marsh. The tide was very low and our hostess told us it had been for sometime. There was a full moon. We had a very enjoyable dinner at 83 West that night. I got my shrimp and grits fix right away and Joe had grouper. That meal and the view was worth the 2 day long drive. We sat out on the veranda a bit watching the water move in and Coconut gnawed the bone given to her by the owner of the Airbnb. Enjoyable!!

We left for Cape Canaveral early Saturday morning after a café breakfast in Cedar key. We arrived around 11 and began the arduous job of uncovering the boat. The cover is in sad shape. She was ripped during hurricane Ian and there is obvious sun damage to the stitching. We took an inventory noting all the places that needed repair. We do have a canvas shop lined up to do the work. Let’s hope they still want the job after getting a look at it. We were fortunate that Joe’s brother Bob and wife Donna were in Fort Pierce when the cover blew out. They were able to run up here and secure a tarp over the hole. Yes, we owe them big time.

So the plan is for Pursuit to be splashed early Monday morning. We will then move her approximately 3 miles to Marker 24; the marina we spent time in last year. She will then be pulled out of the water and receive a new bottom. I know, a lot of us would like to have a new bottom. She actually will be getting bottom paint.

In the meantime, we have rented half of a small duplex in the town of Cocoa Beach. This is a funky beach area that we enjoy very much. A dog friendly beach and a many small establishments rule here. We will continue to explore the area. The space we rented is very nice so we will have a comfortable stay.

We have a bit of work to do on Pursuit while she is out of the water. She has a wood cap rail all the way around her gunnel. This has been in poor shape with the varnish flaking since we purchased her. The plan is to strip it down to the bare wood and then use oil to keep the rail looking good. The little time we spend on the boat we do not want to have to keep revarnishing. Oil seems simpler. Fingers crossed.

The other project will be to take a look at our ancient Westerbeke generator to see if we can get her going. She quit at the end of the season last year. Joe took a cursory look at it but didn’t find anything. We are told it is worth trying to repair.

So, what is our plan? If you remember, last year’s plan was to go over to the Gulf side but a lock was being worked on so a passage through the Okeechobee waterway was not doable. Call it the luck of the Irish, fate, kismet, karma or whatever, had we been able to go across, we would have most likely have lost our boat to Hurricane Ian. The storage yard where we were storing had a 90% loss of their boats. Our friends John and Sara lost their beautiful sailboat Freebird. This was their winter home. Our hearts break for their loss.

We consider ourselves very lucky to have just suffered damage to a boat cover. The destruction in Fort Myers is incomprehensible. We will be driving over there at some point this trip to see friends Karon and Barrett, long time Bayfield sailors. From what we are reading in boating blogs, it really isn’t a good idea to cruise there yet.

So what will we do? We have been up and down the Atlantic coast from the Chesapeake all the way to Fort Lauderdale. I believe we described last year our reasons for not wanting to go further south into Miami or the Keys. We are thinking that area may be even more crowded and expensive now with the issues in Fort Myers. At this point we have scheduled a month in Daytona. The marina is very nice and we can walk to the town of Daytona, drive to Daytona Beach and explore by car further.

When the bottom paint is done, we hope to go down to Melbourne for a short stay. We enjoyed our time there last year and yearn to go back to the Cuban restaurant. After this, we will head north and hopefully stay in New Smyrna Beach for a bit as well.

We are thinking of either going up to Jacksonville or into Georgia for March. We will be storing the boat in St. Mary’s Georgia in April. We stored there a few years ago and liked the area. Our three months go by so quickly. It is hard for us to believe we started this Atlantic boating adventure in 2016!

So far, we are enjoying 70 and sunny. The thought of the dismal November and awful December (we both were sick and it was bitter cold) are fading quickly while we walk the beach.

Tuesday, April 5, 2022

One last report.  Everything went swimmingly with closing up Pursuit until next season. 

Just as putting the boat together to use, taking it apart takes some time. Most people do not pull their boat from the water unless it needs work. They are left in and a diver is hired to clean the bottom of the “growth”. We feel we are just too far away to leave Pursuit in the water the entire 9 months we are gone. For now, we are pulling her out and storing her, covered, back at Cape Marina. They only had a minimal price increase, had an opening and we will be close to Marker 24 for the bottom work to be done next January.

We basically cleaned off the boat the last few days while at Marker 24.  Off came things we haven’t used, things that broke (like the grill) and duplicative items.  Of course all food items and our over abundance of clothing and footwear.  We never learn with the clothes.  This year, we going to lay out everything we didn’t wear when we unpack and take pictures!  So, the Tahoe is stuffed.  Up goes the roof pack.  Down goes the gas mileage….

We were prepared Friday morning to move the boat an hour north to Cape Canaveral.  Joe moved the truck the night before.  Interestingly, he took a cab back instead of Uber.  So an 8 mile Uber ride at 8:00 at night would have been $80!  A cab = $25.  Head shaker…  

The forecast was for storms and rain on both Friday and Saturday, the two days we had devoted to the final tasks. Friday morning we woke to rain, but miraculously, it stopped as we fired up the motor.  Out boat neighbors Jonathon and Jayne were out to bid us farewell and help with lines.  We previously had a lovely cocktail hour on their intriguing Endeavor Trawler Cat.  Coconut invited herself to the party by leaping across the dock.  Thankfully, their dog Bella was a gracious southern lady. This boat really is amazing with a well thought out, spacious floor plan.  The boat is 32′ long and 15’ wide so fitting in slips isn’t a problem.  Great cruising boat.  We do hope we cross wakes with them again.

Our ride north was uneventful other than a little trouble in the lock with the strong current and an overly long wait time for boats going the opposite way but the boys at Cape Marina were waiting and ready to haul us out.  They got the boat powerwashed and blocked within a couple hours.  We got everything ready for the covering and long storage.  Solar fans set up, cushions and lines stowed, disconnect batteries, package bedding and pillows, bimini frames laid down, davits removed… the list was long and it was hot.  The storms again missed us during our time in the boat yard. We were so lucky.

Even though we were a bit sweaty, we stopped at Coconut’s On The Beach tiki bar in Cocoa Beach for a refreshing beverage.  Good stop. We each had an ice cold pineapple cider, truly refreshing. We split our last mahi taco for this trip. Of course, Coconut was with us.   We met another fun couple who lived in and had been to several coastal towns we visited.  Including Southport, which was destroyed in a hurricane shortly after our stay.  I mentioned to her that there was a restaurant there I would love to go back to for their, giant, perfect, coconut shrimp.  We both said “Fishy Fishy” at the same time, the name of this place.  Happily, they have reopened suffering only minimal damage in the hurricane. We were sorely tempted to travel north with them to Biloxi. They were fun and uplifting. Each had a spouse that had passed away. They were introduced by mutual friends and a second chance ensued. Their motto truly was to live each day like it was your last. But, we still had a boat to cover. We left the bar and made it back to our Airbnb just before torrential rains and a thunderstorm rolled through. Lucky again!

So the next day we did get the boat covered. It took a bit for us to be sure everything was dried out before it got stored. The boat did get another thorough washing with that rain storm. It took about four hours to get the cover on and everything tied down. Of course, it was hot but we got her done.

All in all a very successful cruising season. Thank you for riding along with us.

We arrived back at Marker 24 Marina on Sunday (March 20). Our ride north, up the Indian River and then the Banana River was only a few hours but seemed to take forever. It was extremely windy but for once, the wind was on our nose so it was not an uncomfortable ride. We headed into the Marina’s narrow channel, called the office and up goes the tiny lift bridge. We are back in the slip where we spent the month of January. The manatees are still here!

We counted 20 in the marina one day!

There are some different boats here and the big Sport Fishers at the end of the dock are being used— not for fishing but for partying. Not that there’s anything wrong with that… That group left either Sunday night or Monday morning — weekenders.

After a conversation with the marina’s owner, we found out that this marina used to slip 75 boats—all liveabourds. This means a boat is your primary residence. Most marinas limit the number of liveabourd boats. They can be beneficial, keeping an eye on things for security, emergencies and weather events. However, we have witnessed some of the negative aspects. The boats can be neglected and often accumulate loads of deck junk. Many people inherit a boat or get it free or very cheap and have no idea how to operate or maintain a boat. Some have no insurance so if they cause damage or sink, the marina gets hit with the costs. Cities and marinas try to keep up with license requirements, taxes, etc., but all of this requires manpower. There is also whether or not the boat has a waste holding tank (toilet waste tanks are pumped into a marina sewage facility). This of course is a huge concern. A few of the marinas we have contacted for slips wanted pictures of our boat, insurance information and a general description of the condition.

We have seen marinas where most every boat would never be able to motor on the water. One scary marina up by Jacksonville sounds like what Marker 24 used to be before the current owners took over. People who respect their boats take care of them. You usually pay an extra fee to live in the marina by season or all year round. You shouldn’t be able to tell which boats have people living on them compared to the transients who are temporary residence.

This issue is a bit different up north as living on a boat year round is near impossible due to the cold. Although we did witness a boat in Duluth encased in plastic that had two brave souls living on it in January!

Well, back to this marina, it took hiring a Sheriff 24/7 for well over a month to get the boats out that were the undesirable type. The new owner envisioned a marina for boaters and that was what he built. All new docks and buildings. The only drawback for us is no showers or laundry. Maybe that’s the plan to keep us out long term! We will be back here (God willing) next January to have them do the bottom painting on Pursuit. Hopefully by that time the beautiful restaurant and deck on the riverfront will be open.

We went back to Ellie Mae’s tiki bar; a spot we hit when we first got here. The patio was full but the tables were huge so we sat at the end of an occupied table. A nice couple shared with us but their chairs were turned toward the stage. We got really lucky, the music was fabulous. Just two guys with a great repertoire and talent. We stayed until the sun went down and it got cool. Live music is so appreciated after the covid dry spell. Oh and the drinks and food were so reasonably priced —it was a bit shocking for island prices!

It is more crowded here than in January but so far it hasn’t been an issue for us. We have gone to several brew pubs and restaurants without an issue. The big thing is there are no traffic jams which we were afraid of in March.

Everybody’s talking about the price of fuel… We haven’t had to purchase any yet. The boat was topped off at the recommendation of a dock hand at the Marriott on Hutchinson Island just before the prices surged. And, we had moved the truck back here so it wasn’t available for us to drive. It has 3/4 of a tank of fuel so we probably won’t need any until we leave. Then we too will be sticker shocked! I know we were both still working/commuting when fuel was this pricey before. Was that 2008?

Even though we came back to the marina a bit early to work on the boat, we are enjoying the last days. A little work, a little play. The weather has been mostly extraordinary. Getting a little warm for me though… We’ve been running the air conditioner during the day.

We found another dog friendly restaurant called Crackers Grill, a little hole in the wall along Hwy. A1A. They had an outside, covered seating area so the Coconut could join us. I ordered a pound of peel and eat shrimp (and Joe didn’t). What was I thinking… OK so I had two meals of peel and eat shrimp. No problem.

While at Pine Island, we made a rough itinerary of potential stops between there and Marker 24 Marina on Merritt Island. Of course, all weather dependent. About this same time, we were contacted by some sailing friends, Debra and Loren. They were going to be in the area we would be cruising through. Well, not on our list, but in the memory bank was Cap’n Hirams Resort and Marina. Yes, they had an opening so we booked two nights.

Capt’n Hiram’s resort, fun spot; the marina, not so much. Very old non-floating docks with short finger piers and pelican poles to tie onto. Finger piers are the offshoot shorter docks running off the main dock. These stuck out maybe 5 feet and got narrower at the end. A desirable finger pier runs the whole length of your boat. Joe backed our single screw boat in as if there weren’t wind and waves! He got a 10 rating. We tied a spider web of lines to the poles and the dock and felt the boat was secure. Getting on and off was a bit sketchy but no incidents. Coconut, as usual, was fearless.

The other issue with the marina is that it is totally unprotected. No breakwalls, islands or anything to slow the waves. The river is very wide at this point and the waves and wakes carry a long way. Our only hope was a west wind. No such luck. Our fate was a bouncing boat until the wind died down in the evening. We took The Nut out for a walkabout and discovered a huge Cap’n Hiram complex and a pleasant sidewalk following the river. Lots of people out getting their exercise.

We had a great visit with our friends Loren and Debra. The weather did not cooperate for the cockpit happy hour I had envisioned but the bars were outfitted with plastic curtains to keep the drastic wind away. We had happy hour, dinner and then enjoyed the musician. Apparently they have live music every day at this place.

While we were in the area, we thought that a visit to a real treasure museum was in order. The Mel Fisher Treasure Museum was right down the road, a short hike and small fee entertained us with a movie and display cases full of booty found east of Key West (exact site not disclosed). In 1622, the Nuestra Senora de Atocha, the richest Spanish treasure ship, sank in a hurricane two days after it left Cuba for Spain. The ships manifest was impressive and after a 16 year search, Mel Fisher’s team located the majority of the treasure cargo. It took another 7 years for the U.S. Supreme Court to award full rights to the treasure to the Fishers. Mel’s family continues the search for the remaining cargo of the Atocha today.

In 1985, Divers pulled 40,000 pounds of silver and 200 pounds of gold from the Atocha. The precious metals were valued at about $400 million at that time. The Atocha’s manifest shows 500,000 silver coins were aboard the ship, part of the royal cargo of King Philip IV. The manifest also reported 7,000 ounces of pure gold on board. Fisher’s divers also found gold chains and assorted religious artifacts.

It was an interesting museum with a history of Mel’s determination, the staggering amount of shipwrecks and the amazing relics found. I found the story of the emeralds most fascinating. No emeralds were listed on the Atocha’s manifest but a representative for the company said it wasn’t unusual for valuables aboard ships of the era to go unreported. A lot of contraband was brought in on the ships, gold and so on, to avoid paying the high taxes. The total weight of emeralds carried by the “Nuestra Senora de Atocha” in several chests was estimated to be around 60-70 pounds, equivalent to 135,000-160,000 carats. Out of this only around 6 pounds of emeralds have been re-discovered as of August, 2020, equivalent to about 13,500 carats. This represents about 6,000 uncut rough emeralds. Thus a vast quantity of rough emeralds yet remain to be recovered from the shipwreck. The difficulty in recovering the emeralds was due to the disintegration of the original  chests that contained the gemstones, that was responsible for scattering them over a wide area of  the ocean bed. This is the proverbial needle in a haystack!

And, at the end of the tour you could shop the gift shop and purchase actual treasure pieces. The first coin I looked at was $20,000! Ok, time to go. Maybe we’ll watch the movie – Dreams of Gold: The Mel Fisher Story with Cliff Robertson and Loretta Swit. I will keep hoping that Coconut digs up a coin on a beach expedition.

As much fun as this little Sebastian stop was, it was time to move. Bad docks and unrelenting wind does not good company make. During this time we were also in contact with Cindy and Jeff on Salty Dog. We were fortunate to be able to reconnect with them near Melbourne. Actually, the town is Indialantic. We anchored the boats near the causeway bridge. South side one day and North side the next. Not easy access to shore but we managed two excursions to the beach and a couple fine establishments. Another great adventure….until we meet again….

March 14, 2022

We’ve been at Fort Pierce now 10 days. Time to move on. Guess what, it’s still windy.

Our trip to the anchorage at Pine Island was a short one, only 1 1/2 hours. A nice little trip up the waterway. We tucked in behind a small spoil island south of Pine Island. We had a very small beach for Coconut’s business. There was wilderness behind us but megamansions on the beach side. Thankfully, the island blocked most of them and we had a nice quiet night on anchor. Until the lawn services showed up in the morning for these homes….

During one of our trips to shore with Coconut, a small skiff pulled up and a gentleman jumped out and announced that he was with the state mosquito control division. We had a nice talk about what he does to control the “salt water” mosquitos in the area. Salt water mosquitos are a bit different than the fresh water variety in that they lay their eggs in mud instead of standing water. Apparently, standing water prohibits the eggs from hatching. Spraying the hatch areas is one way to control the larve from developing into maturity but another physical method of control is to use water, lots of it. Our new friend told me that starting in April, the larger islands in the Indian River are purposely flood with brackish water using a systems of dikes and culverts and left flooded all summer. This keeps the voracious biters at bay for most of their season. Who knew???

There were two boats anchored with us overnight. One, a small trawler had a gentleman playing banjo and singing old classics into the evening. I tried the old joke “I hear banjos….” but no one thought I was funny. At sunset he got out a trumpet. An unexpected event at a small anchorage. Very nice indeed.

Everyone everywhere is talking about excessive wind….

We decided to stay in Fort Pierce through the weekend. In watching the weather patterns, we saw that the week promised strong wind, stronger gusts and big heat and humidity followed by a cold front. Even the Harbormaster here mentioned the weekend was going to be a mess. Apparently, not just here…another bomb cyclone is heading through the middle of the country to the east coast. Our plan had been to anchor out for a week or so before we head north back to Merritt Island. That plan is somewhat still in place but for a much shorter period of time. Thankfully, Fort Pierce City Marina extended our stay. We were a bit worried as although it is a big marina, it is a full marina. A lot of boats heading north over night here so we get an ever changing view and new dock neighbors. It is a very nice, walkable town.

Next to us now is a Defever 41, same vintage as ours. They just came back from a three week stay in the Bahamas. A beautiful boat with the same issue as ours… someone needs to work on the wood 😬 We are still discussing the best way to go about refinishing it and are hoping to tackle that and a few other list items the last 2 weeks of March. So many things we have wanted to do since we bought the boat but taking the time hasn’t been a priority. So, the plan is to return to Marker 24 Marina on Merritt Island and work on the boat prior to our haul out date of April 1. Work a bit, play a bit….hopefully!!

We’ve been here long enough now to know the quick splashing swirling movements in the water are not dolphins. Doubt they come in here much its so crowded. You can be sitting in the cockpit on a quiet morning and whoosh, there is that sound. Coconut peers over the side of the boat too. Its fish, big fish, maybe snook. They are really active at night. Fishing is not allowed in or near the marina so I haven’t been able to talk to anyone about it. Ha, just occurred to me that there are 10 professional charter fishing boats here on my dock. I will try to find out!

Fort Pierce. Fort Pierce…where’s the fort? A bit of reading and I learn a few things. It’s official slogan is the “Sunrise City”, sister city to the “Sunset City”, San Francisco. Haven’t seen a sunrise here yet. Maybe tomorrow. The city is part of the Treasure Coast region of Atlantic Coast Florida. The coastal areas north of here are the Space Coast.

A short history lesson:

Fort Pierce, like many other Florida places, traces its name back to the Seminole Wars. A fort was built at this location between 1838 and 1842 and named for Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin K. Pierce who commanded troops at the fort. Pierce happened to be the bother of Franklin Pierce, who was the President of the United States from 1853 to 1857.

Fort Pierce was a significant Second Seminole War U.S. military post built during General Thomas S. Jesup’s winter campaign of 1837-38. Strategically located on a high bluff along the Indian River’s western shore, the fort was constructed by artillerymen from readily available palmetto logs. Fort Pierce briefly served as the Army of the South headquarters when General Jesup arrived with his staff and troops on January 14, 1838. Jesup’s large mounted force included more than 1,000 troops. A nearby freshwater spring supplied water, and the bounty of the river helped feed the fort’s occupants. Fort Pierce bustled with activity as troops engaged in the unsuccessful campaign to force Florida’s Seminole Indians to relocate west of the Mississippi River. Never engaged in battle, the fort was deactivated in February 1842 at the end of the Second Seminole War. The fort was destroyed by fire in December 1843.

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We walked to the Fort today. Not much to see. Since it was built of wood, nothing of the structure survived. There was an Indian Mound and a few placards to read. Not much information. It was actually a located on a “high” point on the river.

Fort Pierce is located between Vero Beach and Stuart.  It straddles the Indian River Lagoon with neighborhoods on the mainland, lagoon, and the Atlantic Ocean barrier island beaches.  We have driven through the whole area by boat and car. We have also determined we have driven practically the entire coastline of Florida by car and navigated the East Coast’s length from the Georgia border to Fort Lauderdale!

Another occurrence during our first visit to Jensen Beach (remember, the place with loud music and louder cars) was that we saw a large lizard. Ok, give credit to Coconut who chased the creature; she saw it first. Anyway, I remember it being big, not iguana big but much bigger than the little gecko🦎 lizards you see everywhere. Joe mentioned it to a gentleman in the park who said they are a new invasive species. We saw them again when we were in Stuart. Then, back at Jensen Beach we saw several scurrying around town. We asked another person about them and he said “yes, they are an invasive species that came in 100 years ago on boats.” Totally different answer. This guy thought they were cool because they don’t bite 😳 and they eat mosquitoes. Well, I read up a bit, and found they have no natural enemies. Soon, there will be more of these lizards in Florida than baby boomers.

They are African redhead agamas.

The male lizards have bright orange heads, dark blue bodies, multicolored tails and can grow up to a foot long. Females aren’t quite as colorful, though they do have some bright spots.

The invasive species has spread throughout Florida’s Treasure Coast and as far north as Duval County (north of St. Augustine) increasing its population at an unprecedented rate in the past few years. 

The agama was first introduced to Florida in 1976 through the pet trade. After escaping or being released or both, sub-populations started growing in Homestead and several areas in Miami-Dade County. South Florida offered the perfect spot for resettlement: a hospitable subtropical climate, a fast reproduction cycle, no natural predators and the lizard cannot be killed with traditional poisons or repellents. They do eat insects but the fear is they may also eat endangered butterflies. A manageable way to eradicate them has not been found. It looks like they are here to stay.

As we mentioned, weather has been a huge influence on our plans this season. We noticed the influence of the ocean weather last year but we weren’t affected as much because we were in a lot of marinas. This year we wanted to anchor out more and we have done that a bit, but the weather is a constant companion that causes us to seek shelter instead. This week’s extended stay in Fort Pierce isn’t the first time we’ve done this. We use weather apps to look ahead at the weather and try to decide which app is right and which app may or may not be quite as accurate. We are always trying to see when the next front will move through and bring stronger winds and change the wind direction. Last week, the Windy app, Marv’s weather buoy synopsis and NWS all predicted the weekend front that would make anchoring uncomfortable. We knew that marina living would be good and we didn’t want be caught at anchor. As we were already in a marina we liked, why move. So we stayed. This coming week looks better so we will head north on Monday.

Last week, when John and I were driving over the causeway, we noticed a very large, sleek super yacht at the new Derektor Boat Yard. It was moored to the pier there and we were amazed at the size. At that time, there was no way to know which super yacht it was. I looked at Marinetraffic.com but no AIS signal was detected. Then, on Wednesday, we saw boat being lifted by the huge travel lift on site and Mona noticed some damage to the bow of the boat. Aha… now it makes sense. An internet search yielded the recap of the story from December of a super yacht colliding with and sinking a fuel tanker ship in the Bahamas. The story is that on December 24, 2021, the Utopia IV, a 207 foot yacht, stuck the Tropic Breeze, a 160 foot tanker ship from behind. The Utopia IV was travelling at over 20 knots and the Tropic Breeze sank shortly after. All 7 crew of the Tropic Breeze were rescued.

https://megayachtnews.com/2021/12/utopia-iv-collision-in-bahamas-results-in-tanker-sinking/

https://www.boatinternational.com/yachts/news/rossinavi-superyacht-collision-utopia-iv-bahamas

This travel lift is somewhat larger than we are used to seeing. That’s 1500 US tons as apposed to the 35 ton lift in Bayfield, WI. or 42 times larger. Yikes! Zoom into the damage on the bow and the two people standing near the rear wheels to get some perspective of the size of this boat.

A Coconut photobomb. The black specks in the sky are windsurfers …. because its windy……