12.09.08 sunset at St Lucie Inlet, Stuart, FL

Just had to post these. Diane enjoying the sunset and the island we are tucked up to.

12.09.08 Sunrise in Ft Pierce, FL

I guess most of you know by now…I am partial to sunrises and sunsets.

We anchored near the A1A bridge at Ft Pierce…marker R184. It was a lumpy night until the tide changed direction and went the same way as the wind. Then we had a great night’s sleep. It was worth it for the sunrise. We watched this big sailboat dance on the anchor for several hours.  At times it looked like he was going to ram us and then his anchor would take him back the other way. A hot cup of tea and a candle made for a pleasant evening.

We had a very lumpy run down to our current anchorage. We are almost in the St Lucie river…tucked up behind an island. We had to get advice from a local boat on how to get around the sandbar, but once in here we had 6 ft of water…at low tide and the sandbar is between us and the ICW channel so it breaks up the worst of the waves the big boys put out.

This is one of the big boats that passed us…slowly…and we thanked him for his courtesy. Tomorrow we are going to head across the Okeechobee Waterway toward  the W coast.

This is a picture Larry took of Jim and I in Jacksonville. He thought Jim carrying my purse..was..'”precious”. Since I very seldom get pictures of us…the ones Larry takes will probably be out of sequence but I like to put them in so you know we are really out here.

12.07.08 Vero Beach,Fl

We moved on down the ICW, yesterday, into Vero Beach Municipal Marina. Marker G139. We are sharing a mooring ball. $12 a night….not bad…they have a dingy dock…showers..laundry..and the local bus service stops at the marina. We took it into town for groceries yesterday. Free!! and the bus system can take you most any place. Just be sure to get a schedule from the driver.

We took a dingy ride just before sundown..to check out the boats.  the bridge was lit from below and made a beautiful setting for the boats. This was our view as we cruised under it.

There are some beautiful boat here. We sure look small.

12.04.08 Fins Marina

Beautiful day to be on the water.  We are anchoring near Fins Marina. Very skinny water getting into the anchorage and then only a bit over 4’ at low tide. Enough for us. It wasnt a good place for sleeping. Too many boats going by and we couldnt get far enough out of the channel to get away from the wakes. We’ll be moving on. This boat was anchored in front of us. Pretty unique. We had fun dinking around looking at a boat that was high and dry. Thought I should post one of us so you’ll know we really are out here. I love watching the crabbers work…no matter the weather …they’ll be out there. Wakes like the one below are one of the things you have to be aware of out here.  This boat slowed right down and gave us a slow pass. You can see the difference in his wake as he went by us.We always try to acknowledge our appreciation of a slow pass…It’s amazing how easily things get can broken or a person hurt when they hit you with a big wake.       

How the other half lives…there are so many beautiful homes along the ICW…this one caught my eye because of the stonework at the water’s edge.

12.03.08 just cruising

We felt as though we were in a boat parade most of the day. We must have been passed by a dozen or more sailboats and several trawlers…all headed S. This was just one of many. Our weather is getting much warmer.

12.02.08

We spent the night at anchor….not really restful…sometime during the night the wind picked up and a cold rain hit….I noticed the dingy doing a dance…and we didnt want a repeat of it flipping again so Jim went out…hauled it to the rear and removed the motor. As soon as he went out the rain really started to fall….quit after he got back in. Our timing with rain hasn’t been the best.  Larry and Diane had anchored ahead of us in 4’ of water…then let out anchor line until they were alongside and we tied up for the night. So we checked to make sure all lines were secure…then back to bed and a peaceful night.

The next morning they unrafted from us and hauled themselves up to the anchor….and into a sand bank. The tide had gone down 2’….Larry used the dingy to take his anchor to deep water but couldnt budge the boat…so he took a line from us and we towed him off.  We’re even…both have been aground and towed…one to one…hope the count stays that way, but with the tidal ranges out here…I’m not very optimistic.

11.30.08 beautiful sunset

Had a peaceful night at anchor…guess everyone went home…thank God!!  We had a beautiful sunset I spotted this boathouse.  It was big enough for us to live in. We called my daughter, Tammy, when we got near G109 in Palm Coast.  It was getting pretty windy and a storm was brewing. Heard there was a tornado warning in Oviedo, where we live, but heard later it had passed with no trouble.

It has been an eventful day on the water.  Lots of big….go fast boats…that pass at high speed…big wakes…in a narrow channel…giving you no time to recover before the next one went roaring past.  We anchored near Bings Landing…Larry was able to get River Nomad inside the channel. We dingied over to the dock to see Tammy & Kip. She and Kip took us to town for groceries. Jim stayed with the dingy. While we were gone…he took Raisin back to the boat. While he was aboard several boats went flying past creating huge wakes…evidently one caused the front of the dingy to lift up and the wind caught it and flipped it upside down. ….motor and all….needless to say..Jim was not a happy boater. He did manage to get it running enough to get us back to the boat. Kip called a marina, a few miles down the ICW, and got us slips for the night. As we were pulling into the marina it started to sprinkle….as we were setting the dock lines we got a cold torrential downpour. We were soaked!!!. Kip, Tammy, Shaina (my granddaughter) and my great-grandson, Matthew came aboard for a visit. Once everyone got dry clothes on, we went out to dinner. Had a great meal….good company and conversation. All in all…the day ended well.  (we’ll see how the dingy motor runs later).

Jim picked up a larger steering wheel at Sailors Exchange in St Augustine. He finally has it installed. Now he can stand and rest his hand comfortably.