Rafting in Vero

When you are in Vero Beach, you should plan on having another boat or two sharing your mooring.  There are only 54 moorings in the field and hundreds of boats, so rafting in the thing to do!  You normally don't have your choice of who you will have as your neighbor, unless you request to be on with someone and then it's only a "request"  We are fortunate to be rafted to another Caliber sailboat, which is something rare as you seldom see Calibers around unless you are at a rendezvous.  Calibers are semi - custom boats made in Clearwater Florida and since the company stated in 1981, there have been only 196 produced.  It is a small company but very big on personal service and help if a problem arrises.  You always see Hunters, Catalinas, Island Packets and others since they produced in large numbers and there are many around this can be good and bad.
 So, we are currently rafted with "Round About" which is a 1996 40' with Merritt, Sandy and their little dog, Cayly aboard.  Like us, they are heading to the Bahamas. 
 Vero is one of the many places to meet people and on Tuesday night a few boats literally met each other by bumping into each other.  As we were sitting in the cockpit right at dusk we heard alot of noise and noticed three boats behind us - two facing one way and the other directly in front of the two.  We waited a few minutes and then jumped in the dingy to see if we could offer assistance.  They broke loose from the mooring!!!  We requested that they throw us a line so we could attach it to what was left of the mooring.   The whole top of the ball containing the line for the boat was missing.  Its such an unusual event because the city of Vero Beach maintains the balls on a regular basis, checking them for damage and changing the lines.  Everything settled down after this event and all the excitement turned into a restful night enjoyed by all.

Week Three

We are into our third week here at Vero Beach and constantly busy.  Got some Christmas shopping done and packages wrapped.  We even got into the holiday spirit by having our friends Sue and Ian from "Kokopelli" and Vince and Linda from "Fortnight" over for happy hour.  Ed made his famous tortellini with sausage and olive oil, which was delicious!

We invited Will and Muffin from "Antares" over for dinner before they headed out and again Ed impressed us with his skirt steak and famous "secret sauce", potato pancakes and vodka green beans. 

 On Friday evening, we were invited to happy hour on "Fortnight" since they were heading out on Saturday morning for Miami, where they will be taking a 5 day cruise on NCL.  We also got to meet Phil and Satya from "Brydyl Ankar" who are on a Catalina 42' with their 4 children, who will be going on the same cruise with Linda and Vince.

Next week is Thanksgiving and we are expecting our new crew member, Alice.  She will be arriving on Wednesday, just in time for Thanksgiving dinner at Vero Beach!  Alice will be traveling with us a we journey to the Bahamas. More on that later!

Provisions

This past week was a bit crazy with the high winds we had but the weather has changed for the better and more and more boats are coming into Vero as some others are heading south.  On Tuesday evening, we were invited for dinner aboard Antares with Will and Muffin serving a great gourmet meal complete with dessert.  Great cruisers for sure with a spice rack even Emeril would envy complete with capers! After taking the bus several times during the week and trying to carrying packages on and off, we decided to rent a car and do some major provisioning over the weekend, making it much easier carrying the cases of beer and gallons of boat oil not to mention a 5 month supply of canned foods.

We even took a ride to Fort Pierce and found the marine store that everyone at the marina was talking about.  Ed did find a few little things, but nothing really exciting and nothing at great prices.  After running so much these past two weeks, Eva decided we needed to treat ourselves to dinner at Carrabba's Italian Grill...another $90.00 --- Ed would be happy with a slice of Sam's Club pizza at $1.88 with drink included and all the grated cheese packets you can carry!

More and more

The cruisers are coming, the cruisers are coming!  Between Friday and today 14 more boats pulled into Vero Beach Marina including friends of ours on Antares, Sapphire, Mattina, Prior Ties, Party of Two and Fine Lion.  Some will be staying here for Thanksgiving, others plan on being in the Bahamas for Thanksgiving. The dinghy dock is getting full, but our dinghy from Delaware always finds a spot! The weather is nice - who can complain of 80 degrees, sunny and a bit of a breeze? Actually it is more than a breeze, its winds of around 20 knots!  

The past several days since we arrived here was very productive --- getting laundry done, oil changed, a new stern mounted cleat for tieing up the dinghy, grocery shopping, even got to the mall and Eva got a much needed haircut. With the free bus service, it is so convenient.  Ed and I have always just taken the bus to the grocery store and to Walmart, so Eva decided that we needed to explore Vero Beach.  We got on the first bus, then transferred to the second bus, taking us around the hospital and airport area, then onto a third bus which took us to "other areas" of Vero Beach, reminding us of the islands with run down shacks acting as homes and the local hangout bar with crates for seats and broken tables where the cards were being played. The sign said:  ox tails, chicken, or burger with fries for $2.99.  We passed on getto lunch.  Very interesting what you can see just riding the bus and not to mention the people that get on and off the free local transportation!  But its all an adventure - something we have never done before while noting that Vero Beach is not really the prime real estate investment area as a whole but a friendly city by all means.

Vero Beach, FL

Our final leg of the trip for a few weeks is Vero Beach, FL - known to cruisers as "Velcro Beach" mainly because everything you need or want is here!  The city provides free bus transportation right from the marina to WalMart, Home Depot, West Marine, Publix grocery store, the mall, the movies, even to the hospital and doctors offices.  So convenient! We are currently on a mooring ball alone, but in a couple of weeks, there will be more boats than mooring balls, so they will be rafted to each other.  It's nice having a neighbor once in a while! We have never been here for Thanksgiving, but have heard that it is a really great event with hundreds of people, so we will see.  While we are here we will once again clean out Makai of "stuff" we have not used for awhile.  Seems this needs to be accomplished every few months for some reason. "Stuff" has a way of building up very quickly.  Then we will start to reorganize and restock for the Bahamas.  Provisioning for 5 months is no easy task!  Eva makes list after list to make sure we have everything that we could possibly need or want while in the islands from batteries to q-tips, she has it covered! We are not cruisers who live with little or no refrigeration.  Canned meat is not on the menu here.  We do have a refrigerator/freezer big enough to store a good amount and assortment of food.  The temperature inside is as good or better then a home unit with freezer holding at about -4 degrees fahrenheit. Buying fresh meats in the Bahamas is expensive, however in most places the meat is frozen and looks like something we would throw out if we found it in a dark corner of the ice box.  Meat is not supposed to be grey in color so we stock up here in the states before we leave. We will also get all our mail sent to us here and send out Christmas cards and packages while we have the opportunity. We are planning to do some boat maintenance while here like an oil change and replacement of the valve cover gasket to stop an annoying oil leak ever since we had service at Deltaville Boat Yard. Always something to do!

Moving on

We had planned on leaving St. Augustine after a days stay, but when we woke in the morning, we were fogged in!  Anchored only yards from the Bridge of Lions, we could not see the bridge!  Even with navigation lights and radar, we decided not to attempt to "feel our way" so we stayed another day.  We were glad that we did as we got to see our friends on "Prior Ties" - Fran, Floyd and their yorkie, Bailey.  The following morning, we could see alot clearer and headed down to Daytona where we had a nice relaxing evening at anchorage. 

Then, on to Titusville.  Another great day on the water with no problems.  We pulled into the anchorage that had only 3 other cruising boats - a surprising small number.  We dinghied to a small park and had a play day with Rylee in the park.  



The most exciting day of the trip down to Florida this year was from Titusville around the Melbourne area.  There were an exceptionally large number of dolphins in the waters and it seemed like they were all in a playful mood.  They played in our wake and around the boat for over an hour!  We even got to see a manatee which glides through the water at such a slow pace.  We are currently at anchor off the ICW at Coconut Point, leaving us only 25 miles to get to Vero Beach.

Jacksonville/St. Augustine

We left Fernandina on a rising tide which happened to be at noon so we didn't travel very far that day.  We anchored off the ICW a little past the St. Johns River in the Jacksonville area. We had just finished a great dinner of Chinese bbq chicken and the fixings and decided to play a few hands of cards as we were waiting for an approaching storm.  Rylee started barking - which he does when he hears, sees and smells dolphin. Ed and I both thought that was what it was until we saw blue flashing lights around Makai.  Eva went to the cockpit and noticed a coast guard boat circling us.  She asked if everything was alright and they stated - just checking to see if you were o.k. as they saw the flashing lights on Makai.  The lights are an auxiliary anchor light that are solar powered attached to the stern arch. We did have a few squalls with some lightening and thunder and heavy rain, but all was fine.

 We left  the anchorage Wednesday morning and made our way to St. Augustine.  We were able to anchor right after noon just north of the Bridge of Lions which is being restored to it's full glory by dismantling it and rebuilding it on and off site. This bridge has served the city for over 80 years and it has been and will be again the prettiest bridge on the ICW.  As construction is going on a new temporary lift bridge was built there  to let boat traffic pass and will be completely removed after all construction is completed.  St. Augustine is the oldest city in Florida and another one of our favorites.  We are going to find the "Fountain of Youth" so we both can stay young a little longer! 

  

There are so many places and things to see in St. Augustine, one being the Great Cross.  It is a massive structure made of stainless steel and rises 280 feet above the marshes of the Matanza River. The cross weighs 70 tons and to prevent any damage from hurricane force winds, the lower 65 feet is filled with concrete.  It has lights shining on it at night. One can easily stay here for several days and not see everything.  St. Augustine is the oldest city in Florida and surely one of our favorites. 

Survival!!!!

Second Attempt for Outside the ICW

Up early on Monday morning.  Captain Ed checked the weather on line and Eva spoke with Chris Parker regarding going out the inlet and down to St. Augustine. The winds were to be N 10-15 changing to NE at 10.  Seas were 2-4'.  Eva also  checked on the St. Augustine inlet as we have never gone in or out of it.  Everything looked fine, so the line was dropped from the mooring ball at 7:15 am and we headed towards the St. Mary/Fernandina inlet.  Going out was fine with a very light 5 knot north wind. There are jetties on both sides that extend out a couple of miles.  As we got past the breakwater the waves grew to 9-12' with short intervals. Waves came crashing over the bow and another came from the side into the stern and cockpit.  Captain Ed got soaked and poor Rylee (wearing a tether) quickly jumped to get off the deck and avoided swimming in water.  At that point we turned south to remove ourselves from the current in the channel hoping for relief.   A couple miles south of the inlet the seas calmed down somewhat to 8-9 feet. The waters were still too rough (no thanks to the NOAA weather forecast and buoy information)  We noticed another sailboat going in the inlet and Eva contacted them on the radio asking if it has been rough while they were out.  The answer was yes! They stated it had gotten worse the last few hours so they were coming in.  Well, we had to make a decision. We were heading back turning the boat around like the survival turn in the movie "Perfect Storm".  Our comfort is more important than being able to sail offshore.  We are currently back in Fernandina and will continue on down the ICW in the morning as the winds will shift more easterly.

Fernandina, Florida

We made it to Fernandina Beach FL, a part of Amelia Island on Friday, after a very tiring day.  The last section of Georgia had the two worst spots on the whole ICW - Little Mud River and Jeckyll Creek.  We had to leave the anchorage a bit later than normal, waiting for the waters to rise in order for us to pass through the areas without hitting the keel of Makai.  Captain Ed made magic and glided Makai right through with out a blink of an eye!  We are on a mooring ball at Fernandina Harbor Marina and we will take a break from traveling and enjoy the city for a few days.    One of our stops will be to visit northeastern Florida's oldest continuously operating bar, the Palace Saloon.  It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Built in 1878, what started as a haberdashery, it was purchased in 1903, stocked with booze and named the Palace Saloon.  The mosaic floors, tin ceilings and a 40-foot bar are just some of the relics found in this treasured location. In 1999, a fire swept through the Palace, but the saloon was restored and is still a landmark in the community. The Rockefeller's and Carnegie's were just some of the famous names that were regulars at the establishment. In 1905, the hard liquor bar was the first of its kind to serve Coca-Cola.

  One of the neatest places for breakfast or lunch is T-Ray's. Just ask any local for the best place to eat and they say - the gas station!  It is a former Exxon gas station and the interior has not been changed.  It has a counter and six tables with mix matched chairs, plates and silverware from the 50's and 60's.  There is also outdoor seating, right next to the gas pumps. You place your order at the counter and they bring it to your table.  T-Ray will walk by your table, ask how your food is, and call you honey.  He noticed that Eva did not have grits on her plate and questioned her as to why not! You are also responsible for clearing your dishes and putting them in the bin for washing.

Georgia

As stated in the Skipper Bob books, "The USACOE does not have the funds to maintain the ICW in lower South Carolina/Georgia area."  In other words, they can't afford to do any dredging!  Many of the areas are becoming so shallow, they are practically impassable. Hands down, Georgia remains the most difficult stretch of the ICW to navigate.  The problem is shoaling, and that is likely to remain the case until the state finds some environmentally acceptable spoil disposal sites. Georgia has 139 miles of ICW and many cruisers choose not to go on the ICW, but if you "play the tides" and watch the depths, it isn't all that bad.  Our first anchorage in Georgia was the Vernon River, which is large and deep.  We were able to rest peacefully before attempting Hell's Gate, Florida Passage and Creighton Narrows.  Our second nights anchorage was on the North River, which was only a few miles from the beginning of the next leg which was Little Mud River, Altamaha Sound, Buttermilk Sound and lastly Jekyll Creek. Little Mud River and Jekyll Creek rank first and second, respectively, for the worst shoaling on the 1,200 miles of ICW from Norfolk, VA to Key West, FL.

Cumberland Island is the last section of land in Georgia and is known for the "wild horses".  We were lucky enough to see several of them walking the beach.
Throughout the Georgia portion of the waterway we'd seen very little development and often few signs if any of people in Georgia!  The ICW winds back and forth but it does so through much virgin land and it is very pretty.  All in all, we loved Georgia---it is one of our favorite parts of the ICW!

Anchorages in South Carolina

After the Bull River anchorage, we by-passed Beaufort, SC and anchored in Cowen Creek right before the Port Royal/Hilton Head Inlet.  We found a great housing development being built that we were able to dingy up to a floating dock and take an nice relaxing walk with Rylee.  After the sun set, we sat and watch the stars beginning to twinkle in the fall sky. We again discussed the possibility of going on the outside.  Captain Ed checked the weather and East winds were predicted.  Did not feel like taking the 6-8' waves on the side of the boat, so we made our way through some more dreaded "trouble spots" like Ramshorn Creek, Walls' Cut and Fields Cut.  Unless you travel these areas when the tide is high, you will be sitting aground --- we had no problem!

South Carolina High Tide Marina

This marina was an easy stop for us and was very inexpensive .  The utilities are at a distance but at $.75 a foot what a deal.  The only drawback is you can not leave until high tide.

South Carolina

Two things you must keep in mind while on the water...
1. You don't make a time schedule
2. Plans can change at any time making a need for an alternate plan. (Plan A & Plan B)


As we sat at anchor in Charleston and listened to the weather forecast on Saturday it seemed like it would be fine to plan an outside run on Monday.  Well, Saturday evening and all day Sunday, the winds blew.  After taking Rylee to shore on Sunday evening and getting drenched from the rough water in the process, we took the motor off the dingy and secured everything up for the outside run. Ed and I were both up early on Monday to listen to the weather and get an up dated report.  Winds were still blowing 18-20 knots and the seas had 6' waves. Even if the winds died down a bit it would take awhile for the seas to calm down. So plan B was being put into effect. We were going to stay inside and follow the ICW down. It will take us more time and more stop overs, but it is the more protected route. On Makai safety is first!  So, the anchor was pulled up and we headed out.  Was able to catch the favorable currents for the majority of the day and had no trouble in the "trouble spots" noted on the charts.  We had the whole anchorage at Bull Creek, which is 16 miles north of Beufort, SC all to ourselves! The sun is shining and we are ready for a beautiful sunset.  The difference between a sunrise and sunset is...nothing!  Same thing - as we were told some time ago from an old Salt.

Going Green

With the environment such a major concern Makai vows to do her part.  We plan on following the "3 R's" - Reuse, Recycle and Reduce.  Eva has plenty of canvas bags, so when we go to the grocery store we forego the plastic bags.  We have also stopped using styrofoam and now use only paper plates and cups when necessary.  We separate our trash and when possible place the recycles in the bins at the various marinas.  In the islands, we will separate trash into three bags - one for burning, one for recycling and one for the landfill.  There are islands where you are not permitted to leave trash at all as they have no way of getting rid of it.  Last season Ed installed two solar panels which generate energy when the sun is shining, more so down in Florida and the Bahamas rather than up north!  This season he installed a wind generator which has been working great with all the strong winds we have encountered this trip.  Between the two systems our batteries are at full charge eliminating the need to use the gas Honda generator we also have.

Charleston, SC

After several great evenings at fantastic anchorages we made our way to Charleston.  The last bridge that we needed to open was the Ben Sawyer Bridge.  It is another old swing bridge in need of repair.  Repairs are slated for the second week in November and will be closed to waterway boat traffic for approximately ten days.  This is a "on request" bridge that opens at any time without restrictions.  As the bridge started to open all hell broke loose. We were almost ready to pass through when the bridge started to close causing us to quickly change our course. Then all of a sudden we heard sirens!  We both looked and saw fire engines and emergency equipment needing to cross the bridge.  The bridge tender then radioed to us that as soon as he got the permission to open, he would do so.  In the mean time, Makai was fighting the current and shallow sides.  We sat and waited.  It was a delay of an hour.  As we started our way into Charleston harbor, it started to rain.  Not just a drizzle but a downpour!  So with rain gear on we continued to the anchorage which is directly across from Charleston City Marina. The anchorage is dotted with old boats that seem to be abandoned.  The other problem that we have had is the black birds.  They seem to be attracted to the boats every morning and every evening. You need to be on "bird watch" and chase them away!

The city of Charleston is a peninsula bordered by the Ashley river on one side and the Cooper river on the other.  These two rivers merge into what is called the Charleston Harbor, and follow a common channel out into the Atlantic.  The harbors entrance which is most impressive if Fort Sumter.  There are two other historical forts that were built to guard the harbor at different times in history --- Fort Moultrie and Fort Johnson.  Fort Sumter is the fort where the civil war began in 1861 when Confederate troops fired on the Union garrison manning the fort.  This was the first shot fired in the Civil War.  We enjoy the city and will wait out the rain and hopefully head outside for an overnight trip down to Fernandia, FL.

Little River/Waccamaw

   We were the first boat to leave the anchorage at Wrightsville Beach, knowing it was going to be a long day with 60 miles to travel.  We had the current with us as we traveled the Cape Fear River, permitting Makai to make 10 knots - which is a first!  Normally we have a speed of around 6 1/2 knots. 

   We had several bridges to pass under and only one that needed opening (Sunset Beach Pontoon Bridge).  This bridge is a single lane, wooden deck pontoon, that is reported to be the last of its kind along the entire east coast. The opening involves the bridge tender to stop all vehicular traffic.  Then he walks down a spiral staircase to the engine room. There sits this huge German-built diesel engine, with a back-up engine as breakdowns are common.  The bridge opens and closes with the use of cables and hydraulic controls atop a platform off of the engine. Once the alarm sounds, boats are free to pass by the bridge. Boats must wait for the signal from the bridge tender to continue through or the propellers might get caught on the cables that sink to the bottom of the waterway.  In the event of an approaching hurricane or tropical storm, the bridge tender has to wait until everyone is evacuated (only mandatory evacuations) to secure the bridge to protect it from high winds and surf. The bridge cannot be operated during winds higher than 40 mph. Even though this old bridge is strong and well-built, it can be severely damaged in hurricane or tropical storm force winds. It will not open in low tides as it needs water to float.  The bridge is wearing out, and is scheduled to be replaced with an unmanned high-rise bridge that will open in 2010. Hopefully the polite bridge tender will be able to retire or be relocated to another location.

   We passed the North Carolina/South Carolina border. There was no welcome sign just confederate flags flying proudly. Soon afterwards, we pulled into the Calabash River, a few miles north of Myrtle Beach and anchored for the night.

   South Carolina is interesting. The waterway is loaded with tree stumps trying to snag your boat. We passed a tremendous amount of development in the Myrtle Beach area.  Golf courses and beautiful new homes line the waterway and more are actively under construction, but there are also a large number of homes with for sale signs.  We continued through a 4 mile stretch called "the rock pile". The banks are rock ledges that are invisible at high tide water, so you MUST stay in channel if you don’t want to rip the side out of your boat! It’s noted in the cruising guides and they advise you to call ahead on the VHF to check for any north-bound tugs before starting through it, since it is so narrow.



  It started to rain early this morning and turned a bit chilly, making it a miserable day to travel - but we pushed on.  We are at anchor in Thoroughfare Creek, a really nice spot for the night but more stumps so caution is necessary.

Inside Makai

If you are a boater and own a boat then you know what a boat looks like inside. If you have no clue as to how we can live on a sailboat well then - step inside Makai.  Makai is a 40' long range cruiser. She is 13' wide with approximately 225 gallons of fuel enough for about 1600 miles of motoring when the sails are not up.  She has a complete galley (kitchen) with a microwave, stove, sink, fridge and freezer.  We also have 2 staterooms (bedrooms) each with queen size beds.  And there are 2 heads (bathrooms), both having a stand up shower. The salon (living room) has two couches and a dining table.  We also have a flat screen tv, stereo system and over 200 DVD's and over 150 CD's to watch and listen to.  The stereo can even be played outside in the cockpit (back porch to Eva) if we are entertaining.  Everything that we had in the house, is here in the boat - well, maybe not everything!  But we do have a full set of pots and pans, baking dishes, mixer, toaster, pressure cooker, dish service for 8 and even crystal wine glasses! We have plenty of storage as the seat cushions lift up and things are under there as well as the back cushions.  Even under the bed opens up for storage! Outside we have the largest swimming pool you can imagine! There is one rule regarding "things" --- every thing has a place and we always put things away, not just put them down!  Makai is a vacation on the water.  Most pleasurable most of the time with great memories of the cruising life

Jump Outside

The alarm went off at 4:30am...pretty dark! Coffee was made and Rylee got one last walk in the park.  Conditions were right so lines were cast off and Makai was out of the slip at 5:00am and heading to the Beufort Inlet for an outside (Atlantic waters) ride down to Wrightsville Beach. We opted to go outside to avoid the shallows of the waterway (Swansboro) and delays at the seven bridges. Winds were out of the Northeast and the waters were calm with only less then 1 foot seas.  We were under full sail and enjoying the ride. The afternoon winds changed and the seas grew to 4 to 5 foot. Thank goodness I gave Rylee a sedative as he gets very anxious when it is a rough ride!  Makai, Capt. Ed and myself handled the conditions well and were at anchor in Wrightsville Beach at 4:30pm where we will stay for a day or so. 

Wahoo

We may have missed the Annapolis Boat Show this past weekend but we were able to see the Annual Wahoo Fishing Challenge held in Morehead City, NC.  There were 48 boats registered and they were all vying for the grand prize of $75,000 for the largest Wahoo caught.  The winner came in with a 51 pound fish!  We also saw several vendors and Captain Ed spotted a new fishing pole and reel he just had to have --- so, an early christmas gift for him!  Now we have no reason not to catch fish while cruising the Bahamas.