Day before Departure, Saturday, March 12
After loading the boat with provisions from CostCo and packing up all of our personal items, I took a moment to take a few snaps of Port Hudson Marina which had been our home since we bought the boat in December.
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| Here is Warren, our boat mascot. He's named after the broker we worked with on "The Belle". Both are full of hot air but our Warren smiles. We found him floating in the canal in front of our apartment and it seems he is in for a longer tour than he may have initially expected. |
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| Jamie, the great guy at Port Hudson who was always willing to assist us and always had a great smile. |
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| Kerm resting up before we shove off |
There was a birthday party at Jake and Debbie's house on Saturday night so we had a chance to say some goodbyes to friends and neighbors before our early morning departure.
Sunday, 3/13 Bugout Day #1
Left Port Hudson Marina early in sunny weather, calm seas. Some dolphins played in our bow wake to wish us bon voyage. Went all the way down to Pass-a-Grill on the outside and saw the Don Cesar Hotel (ornate, pink resort hotel) from the sea. Turned in to the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway and found a berth for the night at the Tierra Verde Marina. Went 48 nautical miles on our first day.
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| I am going to try to get a picture of all the places we overnight. Here's the first one. Not too fancy but a safe, cheap place to stop. |
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| Kerm and Warren before we leave Tierra Verde |
Monday, 3/14 Bugout Day #2
We woke up early and prepared the boat to depart. There was a very strong current pushing us against the dock. Kerm had to use some fancy boat handling skills to get us away safely. I was a little befuddled but the captain was performing well!
We decided to use the Gulf InterCoastal Waterway rather than the open Gulf of Mexico to be on the safe side. We are new to this boat and we haven't seen the sights to the south of Tampa Bay, anyway.
We crossed Tampa Bay and saw the Sunshine Skyway bridge marking the furthest Kerm and I have been on the water in Florida. After this, it's all new!!
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The Sunshine Skyway Bridge from Tampa Bay. |
After logging 10 hours of Hobbs time (time the diesel engine is actually running) we pulled in to The Palm Harbor Marina for the night. Kerm did a spectacular job of docking so the day ended well.
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| Kind of a ritzy place |
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| Warren enjoying the pool while Kerm and I clean the boat and make dinner. |
Tuesday, 3/15 Bugout Day #3
Slept well and got an early start. Many dolphins again and I saw a flying sting ray...my first ever.
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| A house Kerm liked |
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| another view |
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| Fort Myers Yacht Basin from our Flying Bridge. |
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| Warren trying out our new dinghy, which finally caught up with us in Fort Myers after a shipping snafu from the dealer in Clearwater. |
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| boat owie |
Set off early and traveled the Caloosahatchee River which is part of the Okeeckobee Waterway that crosses Florida from Fort Myers in the west to Stuart in the east. It is a system of rivers, canals, five locks and one really big lake.
Cleared the Franklin Lock at 11:20am and the Ortona Lock at 3:15pm. Proceeded to the Municipal docks at Moore Haven by 5:20pm for the night. Cheap and quiet. Traveled 66 statute miles today and we are tired.
Thursday, 3/17 Bugout day #5
Breakfasts have been peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,easy and nutritious. Same again this morning. Cleared the Moore Haven Lock at 8:00am and entered Lake Okeechobee by 8:30. Crossing the Lake took 4.5 hours and the seas kicked up to 2-3 feet with small white caps for much of the passage. Okeechobee is similar to Mille Lacs in Minnesota in that it is shallow and can be very wavy. We cleared the Mayaca Lock on the eastern side of Okeechobee at 1:30pm
Less than an hour later I saw an eight to ten foot alligator on the starboard shore...very cool. Kerm didn't see it, but at 4:09 he saw an even bigger one and pointed it out to me. We weren't fast enough to get a photo.
We cleared the last lock of the Okeechobee Waterway, the St Lucie Lock, at 5:30pm. We wanted to meet up with friends, Dick and Nancy, from the St Croix Sailing Club who are wintering in Fort Pierce. They were kind enough to drive all the way to Stuart to meet us. After very briefly running aground, we grabbed a mooring ball in the Sunset Anchorage at Stuart and rowed the new dinghy ashore (it worked great). We had a wonderful time with Dick and Nancy. We enjoyed the camaraderie and good advice they shared since they are experienced cruisers and they know so much.
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| The Sunset Anchorage from our flybridge |
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| Warren perusing the boats at anchor |
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| Having a good time |
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| trying out the dinghy for the first time |
Friday, 3/18 Bugout Day #6
Dropped the mooring ball at 7:15 and started off again. By 8:40 we reached the end of the Okeechobee Waterway and joined up with the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW) heading NORTH!! Passed Fort Pierce, Vero Beach, Malabar and stopped at Melbourne Harbor for the night at 5:40pm. Long day, ten hours...but we feel the tax man on our heels. The deadline for us to be out of Florida waters is March 20 and we don't think we can make it. Kerm says he thinks John Cacciatore is going to be hanging off one of the buoys waving affidavits at us as we go by!!
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| Warren playing in the bushes, oblivious to our bugout problems |
Out by 8:00am and steaming northwards past Eau Gallie, Merritt Island, JFK Space Center Bridge, Titusville. We could see the Vehicle Launch Buildings for the Space Shuttle in the distance on the starboard side for a long time...huge. As well as dolphins, we began seeing round, cantloupe-size jellyfish all over.
Our engine stopped twice today and had to be restarted...worrisome.
Made it to New Smyrna Beach Marina at 5:49 pm after 9.7 hours and 71.8 miles.
Sunday, 3/20 Bugout day# 8
Had to get pumped out so that held us up a little and we didn't leave until 8:36am. Went by Port Orange, Ormond Beach, Daytona Beach, Flagler Beach and Crescent Beach. Engine stopped again once. I told Kerm it was because she's an old boat and she doesn't like getting pushed along so fast. Stopped for the night at St. Augustine at 5:45pm after travelling about 70 statute miles.
Monday, 3/21 Bugout day #9
Since we are already over our deadline we figure we'd better just take a little time to diagnose the engine problem and take a breath ourselves. While Kerm did his thing, I went shopping on foot in St Augustine. It was delightful. Found a great little bakery tucked away in an alley and chatted with the baker about the special selection of Spanish cheeses they offer. He gave me free coffee with my order, which was wonderful because I hadn't made any for days.
We added some fuel to the tanks along with Marvel's Mystery Oil and an algae-eating additive. By the time we shoved off it was after 11:00am. Sometime after a late lunch, I tried giving Kerm a heart attack by going around a buoy on the wrong side...oops. (I still had 14 feet of water under me but I know it's bad form). On the ICW the usual 'red right returning' maxim doesn't apply so you can get confused if you're not careful. We couldn't find a great place to stay so we ended up at Morningstar Marina on the St John's River. The tides were running really fast and big boats were heading out to sea so it was a pretty bumpy night...expensive marina and they didn't even have restrooms. I was not impressed. However, the dock boys were cute and nice.
Tuesday, 3/22 Bugout day #10
Woke up to yet another sunny day, we have been very lucky with the weather. Left the marina at 7:52am heading for Sister's Creek. Cleared Nassau Sound by 9:45 and entered the Amelia River.
At 11:48 we entered Georgia waters when we passed the green "23" marker. To our relief, Cacciatore was not staked out at the buoy waiting for our arrival.
Not too many places to stay after St. Mary's so we pushed on to Jekyll Island. We safely crossed St. Andrew's Sound and landed at the Jekyll Harbor Marina at 3:49pm. It was quite windy but docking was okay. Decided to stay two nights and tour the island by bicycle.
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| Here's Warren in Georgia |
Toured the Island by bike, did some shopping, checked oil, water and fuel levels...all okay. Very, very windy. Waves pinning us to the dock and bouncing us around. We are going to leave tomorrow morning and head a little further north...maybe to Savannah.
Stay tuned
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| Pictures don't do it justice...loud and bumpy |
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