It’s been a while since I wrote what we’ve been up to. Mostly because we are finally resting and still in Vero beach after 2 months of BUSY. I left David in Georgia on the 5Dec so I could visit family , kids and see my sister just outside of Truro NS during the Christmas season. David joined me on the 22nd Dec. and we flew back to Orlando on the 2Jan. It was a smooth flight with no issues or delays!!! I love West Jet and Porter and the american airlines. I will not fly Air Canada or Flair anymore if I can avoid it. They seem to cancel flights that are not filled up and leave you without any viable options to get home. to get back to Ottawa, I had to cancel my flair ticket , which was a deal, and say no to their 2 day delay. I flew Allegiant, (awesome american airline) and rented a car in Rochester and drove to Ogdensburg where Corn (my good friend) picked me up. We are not allowed to drop off american cars in Hertz venues in Canada.
I had an amazing Christmas with the kids and family, and just loved , loved my week with my sister in her new amazing home overlooking the Bay of Fundy. I was able to spend lots of time with my mom and stepdad and had many meals together.
David had been a busy camper while I was away and the boat was pretty well ready for splashing on the 4th except a small air leak in the gas line. It avoided detection for a while and gave us a few issues. David , did his mcgyver trick. We used a bulb to figure out where the tiny hole was in the fuel line. It worked well!! Thank you Boat US for the tip!
The LAUNCH BACK INTO THE WATER 5JAN2023
Bye bye St. Mary’s boatyard in St. Mary’s Georgia! We left at 7:15 , a quick launch by the superb marina owner who oversees and does all of the launching , Rocky and his sidekick Jay. Amazing team who know how to treat boats and never take shortcuts. We love this marina. It’s a working marina, not posh but just our style. Plus everyone is helpful and you can work on your boat. The rates are amazing as well.
We were both anxious to be back in the water as we had arrived in such awful circumstaces in late November after being adrift for several hours in rough seas. But the saying it you have to get back on the horse asap! In no time, we both felt our comfort return and started to enjoy the challenge of navigating the rivers, canals and inlets that make up the ICW.
7 to 9 Jan 2023 – St. Augustine
I can’t say enough about St. Augustine! It is the oldest small city in the US! It has the oldest church in North America (1565). The history here is amazing and the architecture is jaw-dropping. It is also knows as the Christmas town as the city core competes with who can decorate the best. The atmosphere is like that of my dad’s village in Spain, Rota, during tourist season. It was so happy, lively , vibrant and gorgeous. It kind of transitioned us from our 5 months of working hard (since July, pre-launching) to finally feeling like we were exploring new places. David and I had not taken the time to enjoy the sights much as our goal was to head to Florida and then further south. I felt finally we were just relaxing and not fixing something or planning navigating to our next spot.
We anchored just outside of the historical core of the city and admired the lights and the music party boats that would entwine through the moorings with groups of people drinking , dancing and blasting music as they passed. I was so happy to see people enjoying themselves, mixing, no masking, no fear and letting loose.
David and I splurged and had an amazing mexican meal in the best seat of the house overlooking the moorings and we could see our TC. We walked all over for a couple of days, the nights were packed with people and lights and music and food smells. The days were much quieter but we could see the amazing architecture and read the history. Love St. Augustine!
The architecture was reminiscent of my beloved Spain!
9 to 12 Jan2023 – From St. Augustine to Vero Beach (aka Velcro Beach)
On the 9Jan we left St. Augustine heading towards Daytona. We motored a long 9 hrs having to constanly squeeze the bulb as we could still not find the leak in the fuel line. We later saw that David had fixed the fuel line but there was another tiny leak where he had inserted the bulb! That was easily tightened and the motor ran superbly after that. We anchored in Daytona, just off the ICW . We passed our friends from NS on Calista and found that Annik (Gilles wife) had fallen down the companionway stairs and broken 7 ribs and punctured her lung. She had returned to Canada to recouperate and Gilles stayed with the boat. She would join him later in Vero beach.
10Jan2023 – Another lesson
We left Daytona and had the bright idea of going offshore to Canaveral inlet. The winds were going to be mild 5 to 15km from NW so we knew we would have to motor somewhat to get there before dusk. We erroneously thought it was faster than the ICW as it was straighter with no shoaling to navigate through, less stress and focus and more relaxing. WRONG. We forgot to take into account the time it takes to exit a VERY tricky inlet just south of Daytona and then the more than 1n hr to get far enough offshore that you can put your sails up. After about 3 hrs , and sailing very slow, I found that we still had to navigate a lock at point Canaveral after getting inside the inlet at night . Smart people correct their errors and we turned around and navigated a very shallow and dangerous inlet a 2ND TIME. David was so nervous that he called Boat US and had them stand by. We ended up having no issues and lots of water never under 13 ft this time as we could go directly to the ICW . When we came from Daytona to exit offshore, we had hit about 6ft of water in some spots, and our TC takes 5.3.. We were sweating bullets as we have to contend with currents and tides that make it difficult to just back off the sand if you ground. Coming back in though was a breeze. I took over for the captain in these tight spaces as you need to see the digital charts while you steer and then look out at the navigation aids at the same time. David needs his glasses to see in close and then has to take them off which gets to bee too hard to do all at the same time as steering in these close conditions.
We anchored shortly after entering back on the ICW , at Smyrna beach a beautiful place to visit, quiet and with a gorgeous beach. (tons of dolphins)
Our lesson we will remember: Only exit offshore if it is good SAILING conditions for TC and incorporate the time it takes to enter, exit inlets and how far you have to go off shore before you can put your sails up as some inlets are very shallow. When all is counted, the ICW is sometimes the faster and easier way south.
11Jan to 12 Jan Smyrna to Point Canaveral to VERO BEACH (aka Velcro Beach)
We left Ponce de Leon anchorage on the ICW and arrived in Titusville (at Point Canaveral) at 14:30. We could see the NASA space launch sites from our spot north of Addison Bridge. It was a wide open anchorage but if the conditions are calm, it’s wide open with amazing sunsets.
We arrived in Vero Beach on the 13th of January. We decided to anchor on the north end of the moorings at the City Marina. there is still room to anchor but its a little tricky as it gets shallow fast, especially around the small mangrove islands. It had been an easy motor today and we arrived just before dusk from Titusville. The ICW was wide open here with absolutely gorgeous islands with small beaches that we saw many motorboaters just anchor close to. A sailboat would have to stay a little further away but you could dingy to the beaches and have your own little island for the day.
I know why Vero beach is nicknamed Velcro Beach. The temperature is amazing for Canadians right now, in the 20s and then drops at night. Buses are fast, on time and FREE.. There is a most amazing beach here without tall buildings. We use the bus system to get round for grocery shopping. Bob and Carol, our friends who have been waiting for us since Nov., lent us their bikes and we have been biking around. The other day, I trusted David who said Home Depot was 34 min bike ride. After 1hr and 30 min in the mid -day sun, we arrived at Home Depot . The worst part was knowing I had to cycle back. The reward was KFC for lunch. No one makes chicken like KFC. David turned his nose until he saw the chicken and then ate half of my lunch.
Our good friend Rob arrived last monday and has been with us for just a little over a week. It’s wonderful to have a 3rd person to chat with and share. We decided that its a bit late to go to Bahamas as we have to be back in March and there is a fee to stay in the Bahamas. We we hope to do that next year when we don’t have to bring the boat south as it will just stay here for the summer.
We are just enjoying Vero Beach, singing in a church (Christ by the Sea) choir with an amazing orchestra and pianist puts a latin spin on all the hymns!!! We also have discovered PICKLEBALL. and LOVE it. It’s an older person’s tennis. It is competitive or fun depending on who you play with. We are playing 2 times a week and meeting amazing people. I am one of the few who really go for the ball and yesterday almost took one of the nets down and then later did a graceful fall, tuck and roll.. embarrassing and a little sore today but looking forward to next Pickleball day.
Below are some extra photos I took including some of the Brevard Zoo (40 min from Vero).