Up The Coast Of Florida

Tuesday, April 19 - Our departure from Ft. Pierce was uneventful.  Fortunately, the wind finally died down enough for us to leave.  It felt great to be on the move again!  It was an easy day of cruising, just 45 miles to Melbourne Beach.  There were only 2 other sailboats at this anchorage.  It was very quiet.

                                              Sunset At Melbourne Beach


Wednesday, April 20 -  We left the anchorage by 8:00 a.m. and again had another easy day of cruising (43 miles) to Titusville Marina.  A major milestone occurred while cruising to Titusville.  We reached the 3,000 mile (half way) mark on our Loop!  Below is a picture of our chart plotter showing the 3,000 miles (Gnd Trip 4) that we have traveled.  Note also the depth of 9.4 feet.  That's normal for Florida and the ICW. 

                              3,000 Miles On The Loop - Only 3,000 More Miles To Go!

The Titusville Marina was a nice marina with clean bathrooms.  When we checked in we mentioned that their marina is managed by the same management company (SG Marina) that manages our home marina (Reefpoint Marina in Racine, WI).  We were very surprised when we were told that our dock fee was being comped!  A free night in a marina doesn't happen often.  Titusville is where the Kennedy Space Center is located.  We visited the space center the week before by car.

Titusville Has A Lot Of History

                           View Of NASA's Vertical Assembly Building From The Shore

 

While we were at the Titusville Marina, we were pleased to learn that fellow Loopers Bill and Bobbi Haag on Mist arrived shortly after we docked.  Bill and Bobbi are from Reefpoint Marina and started the Loop shortly before we did last September.  We met up with them and enjoyed talking about our experiences over dinner at Cracker Jack's Restaurant.

Thursday, April 21 - We left Titusville by 7:40 a.m. on a rising tide.  Our goal for the day was to travel 50 miles to Daytona Beach.  As we travel north, there are areas of "skinny" water where there is a lot of shoaling and if care is not taken, it is easy to go aground.  We went aground once and would like to avoid going aground again.  With our charts, both electronic and paper, and other various sources of information, we managed to navigate through a couple of "trouble" spots.  

Interesting Tow Boat We Saw Along The Way - It Was Painted Gray So It Looked Like A Military Boat

We planned to anchor out overnight and ended up staying just north of the Seabreeze Boulevard Bridge.  When we pulled in there were only 2 other boats anchored.  By the time it was dark, another 2 boats arrived and set anchor.  Our anchorage was not quiet because we were in Daytona proper and close to a highway bridge.  But we did have a beautiful sunset and there was a full moon that evening.  There was also a fireworks celebration for some event so we sat on LeeLoo and watched the fireworks!  Beautiful!
 
Friday, April 22 - We were underway by 7:20 a.m. - again on a rising tide.  The tide is important to note because it is better to travel on a rising tide, especially when going through skinny (shallow) water.  We traveled 54 miles to St. Augustine.  We had many trouble spots to navigate through, although we did so successfully by paying attention to the warnings and by going slow!  Of course, going slow also means good fuel economy.

                                        One Of The Many Bridges On The ICW    

We arrived at the St. Augustine Inlet (to the Atlantic Ocean).  We had to go very close to the inlet, then turn to the left towards Comanche Cove Marina where we had a reservation.  The current as we got close to the inlet was very strong and we both had to really pay attention.  Fortunately, boat traffic was light so that wasn't an issue.  Once we made the turn towards the marina, we still had to go through some very strong currents to get into the marina.  Once we were past the marina breakwater, everything was fine.  Once again, Captain Carey demonstrated his excellent boat handling skills!  

                               View of the St. Augustine Inlet To The Atlantic Ocean

Comanche Cove Marina is a nice marina.  Good facilities and a restaurant on site.  There are a lot of boats here and the boaters here are very active.  Boats are constantly pulling out or returning.  We saw 3 pontoon boats come return late afternoon today carrying at least 50 college students who had been out partying on the beach somewhere.  Well - it is Saturday!    

We took Uber to historic downtown St. Augustine this morning.  The last time we were here was probably 25 years ago when our boys were young.  We enjoyed seeing the sights and even visited the fort.  It was free today.  The weather was very pleasant - low 80's.

                                      Castillo de San Marcos Fort In St. Augustine

We are spending 2 nights here and will leave tomorrow (Sunday) to continue our cruise north.  We have more trouble spots to get through so it will be a 55 mile day of really paying attention and using our navigation and boating skills.  Next stop - Fernadina Beach!



 
 

Welcome Tug LeeLoo!

Monday, April 18 -  On Friday, April 15 we drove to Stuart, Florida and closed the deal on our new boat.  Welcome Tug LeeLoo!   Closing went well, but when it came time for us to meet the sellers on our new boat, we had a terrible thunderstorm that delayed getting the keys from the sellers until after 5 p.m.  By the way, Friday was also Carey's birthday so what better gift than a new boat!   As everyone knows, Carey has wanted a bigger forever and he finally got his wish.

Now that we own 2 boats, our immediate goal is to cruise LeeLoo to New Bern, N. Carolina and leave her with our boat broker to sell.  We were hoping to leave on Monday, but the weather is not cooperating (what else is new!) so it looks like we will be leaving on Tuesday.  We will take LeeLoo to New Bern (a little over a 2 week cruise), then rent a car and drive back to Tug LeeLoo in Ft. Pierce.  After a week or so of learning the new boat, we hope to start the trip north again.  As you can tell, our plans are constantly changing.  Stay tuned to see how this new plan works out!

For the last few days, we have been transferring our "stuff" from LeeLoo to Tug LeeLoo.  We are leaving a minimal amount of our belongings on LeeLoo to use while we cruise to New Bern.  It will be bittersweet as we go north because this will be our last cruise on LeeLoo. 

                                                  Introducing Tug LeeLoo!

 The Captain Becoming Familiar With His New Electronics

 The Admiral's Side of the Pilothouse

View From The Salon Into The Pilothouse

The Salon - Port (Left) Side of Tug LeeLoo

 The Galley - Starboard (Right) Side of Tug LeeLoo

           The Captain Removing The Old Boat Name On The Underside Of The Dinghy

Time Spent In Ft. Pierce

Thursday, April 14 - It has been a busy week here in Ft. Pierce.  The weather has been great - in the high 70's and low 80's every day.  Considering the cold weather back in Illinois, the warmer weather is really appreciated!

We rented a car on Tuesday so we could do a little sightseeing while we wait for closing on our new boat.  (In a previous posting, closing was scheduled for April 28th.  After the survey we found out that closing could be moved up to the 15th.)  Harbortown Marina is a great marina since it has both a grocery store and drug store within walking distance, but a car is needed to go much further.  We wanted to have the flexibility of a car for a few days.

Tuesday afternoon we went to the Navy Seal Museum which is located in Ft. Pierce, Florida.  The predecessors to the Navy Seals (UDT "frogmen") started training in this location back in WW II because they had access to beaches that were similar to those in Europe (D-Day) and the Pacific (Iwo Jima).  The museum was very well done.  Outside the museum building were different vintages of landing craft and seal delivery vehicles (submarines as well as surface craft).  There was also an obstacle course similar to the ones navy seals train on (minus the smoke and real bullets, of course).  Captain Carey was able to complete about 1% of the course.  He says that he guesses they don't want overage,overweight individuals to apply.

                                                       Who Says Being a Seal is Hard?

We took a day trip to Titusville on Wednesday to visit the Kennedy Space Visitor Center.  The Kennedy Space Visitor Center is completed supported by tourists.  It was a wonderful day of seeing the various rockets, satellites and of course, the Atlantis Space Shuttle.  There was a bus tour of the grounds past the big NASA building where rockets and shuttles are assembled and also past the launch sites.  Things that we've been seeing for years on TV, but this was up close and personal.  After the bus tour, we went back and saw the main exhibits.  Seeing the Atlantis Space Shuttle up close was definitely the highlight of the day.

It should also be noted that that a wildlife habitat also runs through the NASA property.  Because the wildlife is protected, we saw at least 3 alligators in their natural habitat while on the bus tour.  This was the first time we have spotted alligators on the Loop!

Vertical Assembly Building.  It's so big that without a special ventilation system, it will have its own weather inside, including rain.

                        The Early Rockets Used for Manned Space Flight Were Small

                           Atlantis Space Shuttle - Up Close and Personal - Awesome!

On The Way To Ft Pierce Where the New Boat Awaits

Monday, April 4 - We left Marina Bay Marina on the New River in Ft. Lauderdale last Thursday.  We left our slip at 8:30 a.m., and then immediately discovered that the railroad bridge was down!  We radioed the bridgemaster and found out that there would be a 15 minute delay in raising the bridge because work was being done on it.  So, we turned around and tied up to a T-dock at Marina Bay Marina and waited it out.  

The cruise down the New River was rather uneventful.  We had lowered LeeLoo's antennas and bimini to make her as short as possible to get under all the bridges without waiting for them to be raised.  It was an easier trip and boat traffic was light as we entered the ICW (Intercoastal Waterway).  

Our cruise north on Thursday was to an anchorage in Boca Raton.  The plan was to meet up with Vicki and Tom Blaser on Grand Baron who were cruising south.  Our cruise went well, although we did have to wait for bridges to open.  And there are a lot of bridges in Ft. Lauderdale!  We met up with Vicki and Tom just as they were entering the anchorage.  Our timing was perfect!  We anchored successfully and took the dinghy to their boat where we spent the afternoon and early evening talking and laughing about all our experiences.  

                                            LeeLoo Anchored In Boca Raton

The next day (Friday) we said goodbye to Vicki and Tom and continued our cruise north, destination Harbortown Marina in Ft. Pierce.  We were glad we got an early start as we encountered a lot of bridges.  Some were tall enough for us to go under, but many we had to wait for them to open up.  As we cruised north, we went by many huge beautiful homes along the ICW as we passed through Boca Raton and Palm Beach.  Who lives in these huge homes?

                                 Beautiful Homes Along The ICW Near Palm Beach

The landscape of the ICW changed a lot as we cruised north to Ft. Pierce. After we left the Palm Beach area, the homes were smaller and we even saw an "upscale" trailer park! 

                                                  Tug Boat On The ICW

Boat traffic didn't build up until we got to Jupiter.  Because it was Friday and the weather was sunny and warm, there was a lot of boat traffic.  Navigating and watching for other boats was a bit of a challenge, but we managed ok as we headed north.  The ICW in Jupiter is Caribbean blue because Jupiter has an inlet to the Atlantic Ocean.  But, as we went further north to Ft. Pierce, the sun disappeared and the water turned more brackish. 

                                                      Lighthouse In Jupiter

There were a lot of big boats cruising the ICW and we were worried about wakes from the bigger boats.  Fortunately, there were also Manatee zones where you have to slow down so the wakes from the bigger boats (for the most part) was not a problem. 

                                      No Homes Along This Section Of The ICW

We had one more night of anchoring along the ICW before we made it to Ft. Pierce.  We anchored in Peck Lake alongside about 5 or 6 other boats in a howling wind (20 mph).  Fortunately, by nightfall the wind died down a bit. 

Monday, April 4 - We are now in Ft. Pierce at Harbortown Marina waiting for the survey of our new boat which is scheduled for Wednesday.  Harbortown Marina is a very nice, clean marina.  It has great facilities (clean bathrooms, nice boater's lounge, decent WiFi, workout room, a restaurant on site, etc.) and we are enjoying our stay.  This morning we even saw an otter that was fishing alongside the shore.  That is the first otter we have seen!  Unfortunately, it was a very "short" sighting and there was not enough time to get a picture of the little guy.

 Captain Carey On LeeLoo In Her Slip At Harbortown Marina (notice the short finger pier)

We hope to leave on Friday and continue north on LeeLoo with the plan to drive back to Ft. Pierce for the closing on the new boat.  The weather has been a problem lately with rain and a lot of wind.  Our next major stop will be Titusville, although there will be another night of anchoring in between. It's funny to think that when we started the Loop, we had literally no overnight anchoring experience.  Now we both really enjoy anchoring out, although we hope the wind dies down a bit!