Florida East Coast
On Monday, Ap. 7, we left the Stuart marina to begin our way up Florida’s east coast. There was no lingering at this marina, as they made sure you were gone in a timely fashion! The nearby lift bridge opened for a few of us to pass, no doubt frustrating motorists on both sides of the bridge given that they have to stop.
Along the way were many grand homes with adjacent docks and a good number of marinas …
… as well as an anchored boat we just happened upon called the “Ultim’ Emotion 2,” a high-performance racing trimaran whose top speed is 42 knots. It holds the world record for the fastest south Atlantic crossing!
It is extremely shallow in spots throughout this area (pictured below) so especially important to stay alert and in the channel!
You know that you are in the ICW because of yellow markers on both green and red aids to navigation. (Note the inclusion in the picture of one of the ever-present crab pots!)
We passed where the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian River, and the St. Lucie River converge. First Hutchinson Island then Orchid Island were barrier islands between us (in the AICW) and the ocean for a good portion of the trip.
Because there was no room at the Vero Beach City Marina, we stayed at Loggerhead Marina, a ways away from downtown. It was low tide when we were docking, and the winds were extremely strong. During the docking maneuver, we both heard a metallic, crashing sound and immediately suspected we’d hit something with the props. Aborting the attempt to dock at that dock that would not have worked well for our boat anyway, we ended up staying the night at the gas dock.
Once at the fuel dock, Dennis donned snorkel gear and dove to check the props. (As a side note, the no-see-ums which are most active at dawn and dusk were out in force behind the boat where it wasn’t windy that evening! Yikes!) As there didn’t appear to be anything amiss with the props, we were mystified. Later, while putting away the snorkel gear up on the bridge, Den solved the puzzle. From the angle at which he was standing on the bridge, he saw that our antenna had fallen down against the solar panels. Doubtless the strong wind caused the antenna to slam against the panels thus making the loud metallic sound! We were very relieved! However, it was a tough night, as we remembered the hard way that no-see-ums can come through screens. The items below are now necessities to have onboard.
On Tues., Ap. 8, we were able to move to a slip and set up air conditioning! Dennis’s mother’s cousin, John, who lives in Vero Beach generously picked us up and took us to Publix then to his house for a quick visit with his wife, Barbara.
The next day, Wed., Ap. 9, we worked on changing the transmission fluid in the right engine but were not able to sufficiently empty it so had to later revisit that project. I was able to use one of the foldable bikes we now have onboard to bike back to the store for a couple of items. Saw this guy on my return trip.
Owing to continuing strong winds, we stayed another day in Vero Beach which allowed us time to research and employ a different approach to draining the transmission fluid on the right engine. Dennis shared a ride to the auto parts store for additional supplies with the captain of neighboring boat, “Fluidity,” (Doug and Michelle – soon to start their Loop). Success!
Tried to be sure to obey the warning on the following sign!
Fri., Ap. 11, found us up and at the fuel dock at Vero Beach at 8:00am sharp. Soon underway, we made good time, truly “riding the tide” doing 8.5 kts. quite easily! “Fluidity” passed us near Melbourne, and I took pictures of their boat and sent them to Doug’s email listed on their boat card. We later chuckled over this, as Doug was a professional photographer who had worked for a boating magazine prior to retirement!
The east coast of Florida seems to have considerably more boat traffic than what we experienced on the west coast. Also of note, our path here is leading us by many very large homes that are situated across from what must be protected areas (e.g., mangroves – with the occasional osprey).
A sailboat near a bridge called to ask us to be certain to slow down, as they had a man working on the top of their mast.
Passing by the city of Rockledge via the Indian River, we recalled that years ago while renting an Airbnb there, we’d sat on the banks of the river and thought, “Hey, one day we might actually do the Great Loop and travel by here.” Sure enough! Spent the evening at Cocoa Village Marina and enjoyed revisiting many sights in town.
On our way Sat. morning, Ap. 12, we could see the NASA building at Cape Canaveral for miles. We passed under the NASA railroad bridge just past Titusville.
Often we see crab boat pilots attending to their lines of crab pots. They will throw overboard what they cannot keep or use, and it attracts seagulls. We were followed by some hopeful seagulls who eventually learned we weren’t going to feed them like the crab boat pilots do.
In addition to birds and crabs, we saw a number of manatees and dolphins today, the latter particularly plentiful in the narrow Haulover Canal. This is clearly a popular spot for vacationers, as well, as there were many people kayaking, fishing, paddleboarding, and just enjoying the area and nearby islands.
This portion of the AICW is another busy area for boats plus there are houses and docks quite close, so we went fairly slowly. Many people were out enjoying a beautiful Saturday.
Lady Liberty was evidently on vacation in Florida.
The route grew increasingly busy through New Smyrna Beach with its many large marinas, but we were able to get a photo of the restaurant we’d visited years ago where we’d watched an amazing dolphin “show.” Our table that evening was right above the area with the rocks, providing a direct view of what was really a dolphin feeding frenzy.
As we approached the southern parts of Daytona Beach, the AICW started to feel like a highway!
When boats are passing right and left, it makes for a rocky ride. Ivy decided to hide.
Because we were so near a beach town, we had an aerial advertising banner sighting.
We anchored near Bethune Park for the night. Throughout the night, the anchor alarm on Den’s phone kept sounding. When he would check the anchor line, he’d find nothing amiss. Eventually, after a good bit of midnight prayer, he thanked God for helping him to realize that he had to move the phone from aft- to mid-boat in order for it to be in the center of the radius. Everyone slept well after that.
Weighing anchor on Sunday morning (Ap. 13) was a muddy experience owing to the clay-like bottom there. We had to rinse the chain and anchor as best we could with the hose and push the mud off the anchor – time consuming but successful. Reaching the L.B. Knox bridge, we learned that it only had one span opening. This doesn’t cause a boat like ours any problem, but it appears that many locks and bridges through this part of the waterway are experiencing operational difficulties. However, there were some very beautiful bridges.
From the Halifax River, we joined the Mantanzas River and motored through the exclusive-looking Palm Coast area. Many large marinas here also.
The Atlantic is often divided from us by a mere spit of land on which highway A1A is generally visible.
One bridge tender in the area cautioned us about manatees by the bridge (which we then saw) plus wished us a Happy Palm Sunday and a Happy Master’s (PGA) Sunday! Ended the day at River’s Edge Marina in St. Augustine. Nelson, having heard a dog bark, took first watch at River’s Edge .
In St. Augustine’s on Mon., Ap. 14, we did a self-guided walking tour of the city to see the Spanish-influenced architecture of many of the historic buildings including a building that was once the Ponce DeLeon Hotel but is now part of Flagler College (named for railroad tycoon, Henry Flagler).
Leaving St. Augustine’s on Tues, Ap. 15, we first enjoyed another view of the city then waited to be able to pass under the lift bridge, the Bridge of Lions.
Once under the bridge, the Castillo de San Marcos fort was visible.
Travelling on, some sandy beaches gave way to marshy lowlands, the latter with countless large homes on the opposite shore. Most of these homes had boat lifts featuring boats with multiple three- to four-hundred horsepower outboards.
As we entered Pablo Creek by Jacksonville, the Mayo Clinic building was to port. Soon, we saw a container ship coming our way – on a creek! However, Pablo Creek was converging with the St. John’s River which leads to the Atlantic, so all was well! We also saw a naval ship in dry dock.
Throughout the day, a U.S. Navy patrol aircraft and a naval warship would call boats on the radio by their coordinates (latitude and longitude) if the boats were in an area of water in which the navy was conducting gunnery exercises. They were contacted and told to leave the area.
The shore in this region is primarily marshy lowland on one side and sandy beach on the other. The first picture below gives an example of one of the many docks stretching at great length from a house over the marshes, and the second shows the necessary height of the docks given the significant tide swings.
As we entered Sawpit Creek, Doug (“Ripple” – met in TN) who was ahead of us saw us on AIS and alerted us about two areas of shoaling where we should take the red on our right instead of left in order to avoid running aground. Very helpful! Safely docked at Fernandina Beach, we joined Doug and his wife Alison for dinner.
We were able to meet Dennis’s sister, Barb, and husband, Kevin, as well as two of their friends for lunch on Wed., Ap. 16. We first visited on the boat and then after lunch took a tour of Amelia Island including a walk on the beach. In addition, they kindly drove us to a grocery store for provisions. Thank you!
Fernandina Beach is the point furthest north on our Florida East Coast tour. Tomorrow we’ll enter Georgia.