April 12-18, 2011 (Week 28, Day 190-196)

Tues. Apr. 12, 2011 (Week 28, Day 190) Destination: Lake Worth (Florida’s Gold Coast—Mile 1014.2) Weather: hot & humid (L=73F, H=90F), mostly sunny with some clouds Winds: calm am, S wind gradually increased late am to 15K, 1-2 ft. chop
Last evening’s SW winds died to calm. A celebratory double egg & toast for breakfast. We launched the dinghy with such ease + the dinghy motor. We had a pow wow at 0800 hrs. & the Morrows were moving on today via the ICW towards Vero Beach while ‘Sea Mist’ & ourselves have to visit Customs & Immigration (0800-1600 hrs.). If the weather permits we would go outside tomorrow to Vero. Lots of dredging equipment here in Lake Worth. We dinghied to Riviera Marina & paid our $10.00 per day fee (privilege to use washrooms, showers & laundry-> $1.50 per load). There were no customers at Customs & Immigration shortly after 0900 hrs.; we completed both check ins in about 15 mins. & with no charges. We walked very slowly, at least I did & in pain despite my knee brace to Boat Owners Warehouse (5 blocks) & purchased a new VHF unit; West Marine > 3mi. away. Lynn phoned re Patric & Dave--> anchored in North Palm Beach waiting for Dave’s boat part. We had lunch at Tiki Bar. Now the wind had whipped up to 15K & we indeed have a slightly wet ride home. Graeme took a couple hours to install the VHF. We dinghied to Peanut Island & walked the perimeter on a wide interlocking path of this nature park--> several benches, many shelters with picnic tables, BBQ pits with water spouts, sandy beaches, designated camping area, water fountains, washrooms, outdoor showers, designated swimming areas with lifeguards, areas to snorkel & garbage receptacles everywhere; well worth seeing. Another wet dinghy ride home. Supper = leftover tamale noodle beef. Graeme made a big pot of popcorn to bring to Bette & Bill’s boat; a few hours of chatting & getting to know them more. A glimpse of the setting sun was seen behind a bridge in the western sky; the winds decreased. We returned home well after 2200 hrs.. Slowly the winds clocked to the west. The many city lights dulled our view of the half moon & stars.
Wed. Apr. 13, 2011 (Week 28, Day 191) Destination: Lake Worth (Mile 1014.2) to Jensen Beach (Mile 981.4--- Florida’s Treasure Coast) Departure: 0755 hrs. Arrival: 1510 hrs. Mileage: 32.8SM Weather: warm & humid (85F), sunny with ominous rain clouds in the am only, spattering of rain then blue skies Winds: N <5K, increasing to 10-12K then 12-14K, NE 8-10K after sunset Happy Birthday Colleen! A very quiet night. We slept in; so much for a real early start. We checked the offshore winds with NOAA--> NW only 5-10K increasing to 13K & 2-3 ft. seas. Graeme would not go outside with that northern component, so I guess it’s ICW & contending with all the bridge openings (7). We were back to the sightings of pelicans & our 1st osprey at Hobe Sound. A few dark clouds to the NW at the get go which provided only drops of much needed rain, then warm sun & blue skies.; it was noticeably cooler than the Bahamas & South Florida. North winds did not shift & we continued to motor in a north direction, although we were able to fly the jenny for about 3 mi. before turning to drop the anchor south of Jensen Beach Bridge. We had hoped to make it to Ft. Pierce but that was a bit too far & there was nothing between Jensen Beach & Ft. Pierce. Today we traversed from Florida’s Gold Coast to the Treasure Coast. We anchored in 7 ft. with 80 ft. chain. We met up with ‘Artful Dodger’ & ‘Firecrest’ as well as ‘Sea Mist’ who abandoned their plans for Ft. Pierce. We invited all for Happy Hour. We made reservations for Vero Beach City Municipal Marina (mooring ball) for tomorrow. Larry phoned from Vero. A warm less humid evening, gorgeous lighting from the setting sun & a ¾ moon already high in sky. A clear night with stars followed.
Thurs. Apr. 14, 2011 (Week 28, Day 192) Destination: Jensen Beach (Mile 981.4) to Vero Beach (Mile 951.7) Departure: 0700 hrs. Arrival: 1145 hrs. Mileage: 29.7 SM/22.5 NM Weather: warm, sunny, less humid & blue skies Winds: E5-8K, increased to 10-13K
A quiet night & morn. I had set the alarm for 0530 hrs. so we would have an early start. Two boats departed at 0600 hrs. With breakfast out of away & the sun poking over the land & trees to the east, we up anchored at 0700 hrs. with not a great deal of mud on the anchor as anticipated. The house batteries were not charging& the knotmeter not working! A wire on the alternator had once again fallen off. What gives? And the manual switch Patric had installed way back in Dec. was somehow tripped. Graeme reattached the alternator wire, but he thinks it was not charging at it’s normal rate, & the knotmeter was cleaned of crud & back in business. We took advantage of east winds flew our jenny as we headed NW at 5.7K for 30 min. Then just our luck the winds shifted to the north, on our nose; furled the jenny. Until we reached Ft. Pierce we were assisted by the current as much as 2.5K, but once past the inlet we fought the current. Fortunately, the winds shifted back to the east & increased & we unfurled the jenny again; we were able to hold it right to Vero Beach & this helped to offset the opposing current. We were assigned to the same mooring ball as the Morrows, #10 in the southern field. Lines attached to Larry’s cleats as well as a line through the mooring ball. We chatted for a while then arranged a laundry project & dinghied to shore. We registered & while Graeme did fuel duty, I was lucky to get 3 washers ($2.00 X 3) without waiting, followed by 2 dryers ($1.50 X 2), but unable to connect to the internet during the intervals. I was done by late afternoon, back to the boat then over to the Morrows who hosted Happy Hour with ‘Artful Dodger’ & ‘Firecrest’ as we all caught up in each others’ news. A pleasantly cool evening. Supper= pork chop, celery & dill pickles. A lightly clouded night where moon still visible but not stars.
Fri. Apr. 15, 2011 (Week 28, Day 193) Destination: Vero Beach (Mile 951.7) Weather: heavily cloudy day with rain periods in the am sometimes heavy, warm & humid Winds: calm SE
Lynn & I organized ourselves to be ready for 0830 hrs. when Graeme dinghied us to shore & we caught the 0845 hrs. bus #1 to Humiston Park down by the ocean beaches. We walked south 1 block to Beach Barber Shop & we were immediately taken for our haircuts; Caron (owner) cut Lynn’s hair & Janine cut mine--> a good job; $20.00. We were finished by 0930 hrs., walked to the bus stop when the rain began; at 1000 hrs. we took the #1 bus back to the marina. Our car rental was arranged by Lynn yesterday for today (noon to noon); no specials but rather an increase in rate because this is Spring Break here--> N.B. always the week before Easter. We attempted to dodge the heavy rains at about 1130 hrs., then went ashore & were picked up by Enterprise; to the office to do the paperwork for a Toyota Camry. Then Larry drove us due south to Ft. Pierce then Port St. Lucie as we tried to find the propane filling place; car’s DC plugs discovered not to be working & thus we ran the GPS & iPhone batteries low--> a few good laughs over this whole incident. Then further south to a Panera for lunch, Total Wine (Port St. Lucie), Sam’s Club, West Marine (Ft. Pierce) & they exchanged my foul weather jacket for a new one as the lining of the original was deteriorating & not providing wet protection, mailing post to send off an Easter card to Ottawa & a parcel to Ft. Lauderdale. We returned to the marina to shed & shuttle groceries to our respective boats & make room in the trunk for more supplies. Then it was off to WalMart (Vero) & Publix. Finally at 2100 hrs. we sat down for a great Mexican dinner at the Publix Mall, getting home at 2230 hrs. And this was Lynn’s first outing since falling ill nearly a month ago in Marsh Harbour! And she lasted the whole day! Despite being tired, ¾ of the groceries were properly stored away, the remaining ¼ groceries (canned & dry products) were left in the trunk of the rental car till the morning. I must admit I did not pay too much attention to the night weather conditions other than calm, warm & humid, mostly cloudy with only a few visible stars.
Sat. Apr. 16, 2011 (Week 28, Day 194) Destination: Vero Beach (Mile 951.7) Weather: hot (90F+), & humid, mostly sunny with cloudy periods particularly in the am & clear by nightfall Winds: calm am, SSW gusty winds by mid afternoon & SW at nightfall
A semi long marina shower that felt so-o-o-o good! I think I lost a few layers of skin & a few shades of colour! We retrieved the remaining groceries from the car rental. By 0900 hrs. the 4 of us were on the road to Verizon for Lynn & WalMart for a neat DC adapter with 2 USB ports for easier & quicker charging capabilities. Then we had brunch at Panera before returning the car. Enterprise was very busy--> $50.00 each which included gas fill. Back at the marina Graeme did several water jerry can runs from shore to the boat tanks. I packed away the rest of the groceries, started preparations for supper, formulated a tentative route schedule northwards, unloaded my bike from the garage to use to ride to church this afternoon, & dressed appropriately for church. HOT despite the increased winds. I attended the 1600 hrs. Passion/ Palm Sunday Mass at Holy Cross--> well attended. On return I worked on a few more supper preparations & helped prep the dinghy for our departure in the morning. We had a nice quiet social with Lynn & Larry, sharing our travel schedule; they are waiting for a Fed Ex delivery of medications then will depart ASAP & we will adjust our northward progress accordingly. A late supper until it was a bit cooler= corn on the cob then coq au vin. A very warm evening with a gentle SW breeze, full moon, clear skies & stars.
Sun. Apr. 17, 2011 (Week 28, Day 195) Destination: Vero Beach (Mile 951.7) to Cocoa (Mile 897.8—Space Coast) Departure: 0725 hrs. Arrival: 1550 hrs. Mileage: 53.9 SM/45.6 NM Weather: warm, humid in the am & in fact less humid & cool mid morning on till evening, but only sun Winds: N 5-8K --> NNE 8-15K then NE 10K
An interrupted sleep last night between being too hot & sticky & abdominal cramps. Yah, I was off a bit today-->? flu & very sleepy. We said our goodbyes to Lynn & Larry & departed at 0725 hrs. entering the Indian River. A short distance from Vero my day was made as always when we sighted 3 dolphins, then an osprey in a nest on the channel marker feeding the youngins in the Wabasso Beach & Pine Island areas, Pelican Island National Refuge. As we moved northward the north wind dried out the humidity in the air & seemed to drop daytime temps although the sun, out of the wind, was nice & warm (79F). The wind increased to 8-15K early in the afternoon & shifted NNE to NE, permitting us to motorsail. We moved nicely today at 5-6K allowing us to anchor at Cocoa, a different anchoring spot for a change; Graeme was skeptical. The thought was to explore some of Cocoa for a few hours in the am, then move on making Monday a short travel day. For a warm & sunny Sunday, the water traffic was surprisingly not too busy. A simple supper= leftover tamale noodle beef & bun for Graeme & chicken noodle soup & bun for me + banana & strawberries drizzled with chocolate sauce. The moon was full & fiery orange & up before sunset. The sky was an amazing hue of red after sunset; mosquitoes were present. It was a Gravol & early bedtime for me tonight.
Mon. Apr. 18, 2011 (Week 28, Day 196) Destination: Cocoa (Mile 897.8) to Titusville (Mile 878.2) Departure: 1214 hrs. Arrival: 1530 hrs. Mileage: 19.6 SM/16.41 NM Weather: mostly sunny with few clouds, great warm temp (80ishF) Winds: ENE 10-13K
We woke near 0700 hrs. & I was feeling 90% better after a good night sleep. A boat shower after breakfast for me. We dinghied to the Cocoa city docks about 0900 hrs. & walked the boardwalk to the lovely park along the shore. Then we easily found the infamous SF Travis Inc., an unbelievable multi building, 2 level hardware store, then briefly walked through Cocoa Historic Village on Breward Ave., Whatnots General Store & finally the library. Lunch was on the run. Dolphins gracefully broke the water surface as we motorsailed with our jenny northwards. There was plenty of room as we anchored in the Titusville anchorage field--> 7 ft. & 80 ft. chain. Larry phoned with news that Lynn’s meds still had not arrived, nor had the mobile dog groomer they had arranged an appointment with. It saddens me that we must continue on & not knowing when we will meet up. Supper= corn on the cob, leftover coq au vin. A red sky after sunset, mosquitoes & clear night sky filled with stars & full moon.