1.24.12

Yesterday afternoon I was walking Raisin, and another woman was walking her dog. Both dogs are over 15 years old and losing their eyesight. Perhaps they sensed that in each other. Neither was intimidated by nose touching and sniffing, they got along rather well, which is unusual for Raisin. When another dog approaches her she will generally show her teeth to warn them off, and if they don’t leave then she yips and snaps at them.

During our conversation, I learned she lived aboard her sailboat and was single-handing. It made quit an impression on me. I’ve dreamed of living aboard.

This is her 33’ sailboat, Talespinner.

We were supposed to meet Larry and Diane at 9 am, this morning, for a trip to Sailor’s Exchange and breakfast. At 0730 they slid up in their dingy and said they were hungry. They walk a bit slower than Jim and I, so while they started out, we got dressed, walked Raisin on deck and closed up the boat.

It’s quite a hike to Sailor’s Exchange and the diner is on the way. We caught up with them a few blocks from it, had a good breakfast together then continued on to see if there was  anything we couldn’t live without at the Exchange.

Jim wanted a compressor for his air horns…I couldn’t find anything I needed. We had a few other stops to make on the way back, so Larry and Diane took a taxi back to their dingy.

Back at the boat, Jim hooked up the compressor and was very disappointed. It only blew one horn, not both. We took a short rest and headed back to Sailor’s Exchange to “exchange” the one Jim bought for a larger one. While there…I found 2 folding seats. They are about 4” thick and hinge in the middle so you can take them up on deck and have a soft seat with a back rest. They work great in the cockpit for reading and I was very comfortable driving with one on the captain’s seat. Normally I sit on my feet to get up high enough to see, and then have to stand after they go to sleep. Today was wonderful.

Because they had a bit of “history” as the salesman told me, we got them for $15 each. History is good!!!! A bit of upholstery cleaner and they’ll look like new.

I did some searching on the internet…and found them at www.sportaseat.com  for $114.95.    So the trip back was well worth it. Isn’t “history” great?

While out in our dingy today, I told Jim I would like to stop if the “single-handing” lady was aboard her boat and see if she keeps a website or blog that I could follow. I am very interested in her travels. As we cruised around Talespinner, we noticed she was aboard, stopped and hailed the boat.

When I asked her about a blog or website, she said she had both, gave me a card and told me she was a mystery writer.  Her web page is http://www.christinekling.com/   from there you can go to her blog. Be sure to check out the books she has written. They take place aboard boats, with strong female characters.

I am currently reading “Wreckers Key”. Since I’ve met the author, and know that she is living life aboard, I find the story that much more interesting. She has a nice sized boat, but it’s not huge or real fancy. She has a wind generator and a solar panel that keep the batteries up for about 2 days. She then has to run her engine for about an hour to charge them. Being a writer, her computer is on most of the time and that is a battery drain.

We’ve owned 2 sailboats, a 22’ Catalina and a 26’ MacGregor power sailer. Neither required the maintenance that Talespinner needs. The bigger the boat, the more work required to keep her in safe shape, and I have Jim doing all the motor or engine maintenance. Like I said, I really have a deep appreciation for her ability to sail and maintain her boat…alone. Except for Chip (her dog), of course.

Another beautiful sunset…the bridge at St Augustine, FL.

Again….as I swing the camera around to catch A Dollar More at her mooring….the color changes.

I’d like to say we had a peaceful night but that would be untrue. The first couple of hours after sundown there were a series of small boats roaring thru the channel and under the bridge. It’s amazing how big the wakes are from some small boats. We rocked and rolled for at least 2 hours before everyone was off the water and it settled down. I think the wakes were made even worse by the sea wall that we were moored near. The waves couldn’t dissipate, as they would  on shore….they just bounced back. We’ll find a new spot next time.

It’s funny…as bad as the bouncing was, it put me right to sleep. When I woke up at 1 am, with flat water, I was unable to get back to sleep…so I read a few more chapters of “Wreckers Key”.  I find myself looking for things in it that she’s taken from her life aboard…like taking the dog ashore in the dingy…hanging over an engine compartment fixing a leak or several days running, without crew.  Of course, being on a boat as you read, makes it even more special.

Thanks Christine, for taking the time to visit with us. I am looking forward to reading the rest of your books. Oh…by the way….that is where I am headed right now….back to “Wreckers Key”.

 

1.23.12

Another early start with a nice sunrise.

Here is A Dollar More. The bridge street lights are still on. The pillars have beautiful work near the bottom of Manatees and Dolphins.

You can just make out the blue area near the bottom. It makes for a very pretty bridge, but wonder at the cost of the maintenance of such art work.

This is a very colorful boat.

Here’s another dream in trouble.

The C Dory is one of my favorite little trailerable boats. A  boating blog with a lot of trailering information is: 

  http://cruisingamerica-halcyondays.com/

They have cruised all the places I would like to. (We did do Lake Powell.) I believe he was a geologist and there is a lot of interesting information on the canyons etc. in that area. It’s a good site to check out if you plan to do any “trailer sailing.” They’ve done it all.

This is one of Jim’s favorites….another boat that we cant afford, but often dream about.

Our anchorage for the night is a mooring ball in St Augustine, FL. It is too late to do anything ashore, so we will stay 2 nights. That will give us a whole day to explore Sailor’s Exchange, and pick up a few supplies.

1.22.12

We had a pretty sunset in Titusville.

The night was much better once the boats were off the water for the night.

Jim and I have been watching old Lone Ranger TV episodes. That is our evening entertainment.

Greeted by another beautiful sunrise. it was so flat, you could almost turn some of these pictures upside down and not know the difference.

 

Our wake….

As we got closer to the Haulover Canal, there were a few fishermen. One had a dolphin for company.

We saw several Dolphin, but none came to play in the bow wake.

The sun is finally up, and it is beautiful. The sky and water change depending on the direction you look.

As we passed the next island I caught the sun behind it. It has changed from red to golden.

I love the sunrises as well as the sunsets. We are usually underway before the sun gets over the horizon so we get to enjoy them. It is so beautiful on the water, especially when it is so flat, and the reflection just intensifies the colors.

It was only 8 am when we got to the entrance to the Haulover Canal, but there were already several people setting up their spots, and several fishing boats. You can see at least 5 behind A Dollar More and I believe there is one by the fender.

Once out of the Haulover Canal we headed up the Indian River North towards New Smyrna.

A few of the houses had nice places to view the ICW.

This was my favorite.

A lot of people having fun on this one.

I’m not sure what this man was picking up…clams? oysters? he had something on a line that floated along. You can see he has a pile of something on it.

Someone has a problem. I don’t remember seeing this one on our way down a few weeks ago, but it may have been here. There is a sandbar between us and the boat behind, and she’s stuck on it.

We anchored on the S side of the rt 92 bridge in Daytona Beach, FL. No rafting up tonight. The boat traffic is heavy and the wakes are huge. It was rock n’ roll until after dark.

Another nice sunset.

Once the sun was down and the boat wakes lessened, Jim and I watched a few more episodes of “The Lone Ranger”. One of my favorites as a kid.

 

1.21.12

This is the sun setting on our anchorage in Cocoa.

Our sunrise as we headed out.

Jim spotted dolphins in front of our boat…so I grabbed the camera and went on deck. I stood on the bow sprit and waited for them to come to the boat….and they did!!

I counted 3 at one time under the bow. They seemed to be having fun and I loved watching them…hated to see them go. They have most likely been playing there in the past and we just never knew it.

A few more hours and we were crossing under the NASA Causeway. We could see the tail of the Shuttle and there was deep water on the N side of the bridge so we cruised over and anchored….dropped our dingys and headed towards shore, to see if we could walk up to it.

Well….it can be walked up to….but you have to cross this stuff….kinda made me think of a cow manure pile. Jim opted to guard the dingys. Sometimes he’s smarter than I think he is.

After you cross the brown stuff..sometimes sinking over your ankles and coming up without a shoe…you get to walk thru the grass…I think Larry is trying to stomp some of the muck off his shoe.

You have to cross the highway…then it’s another 1/2 mile or so to the road going in….

Once I got in front of the shuttle I decided to head back and wait with Jim. I read the sign saying they had a G Force training simulator and decided I’d wait until we could come down and do the whole thing.

Jim was hiking the shoreline when I got back.

We hauled our dingy out into deeper water and floated around while waiting for them to return.

One other important item….they don’t open until 1200. It is only 10am so it wasn’t long before they were hiking the muck pile again.

“Is that my shoe in there?”

When we first got here the water felt cold when we got out of the dingy…but it sure felt good after the muck pile walk, and our feet felt and smelled much better.

You can see how shallow it is here. You have to drag the dingy out into deeper water then get in.

It was actually a fun day…sometimes it’s the little odd things that make you laugh your way thru it….but no one wanted to wait and make the trip again at noon.

We upped anchors and headed to the Titusville Marina for fuel. It’s still early but we’ll anchor for the day. The next anchorage is too far to make before  dark.

It’s clouding over and cooling off a bit. We’ve had our supper and are in for the night. Once the boats are off the water and the wakes subside, the water will settle down. Right now it’s a bit bouncy and loud. The waves slam between the two boats. We are rafted up and that 2’ space between them traps the waves.

What a great day on the water. The dolphins were a wonderful treat. I'll be up there looking for them every time I see one in the area.

If you are adventurous..you can make the trip to the Astronauts Hall of Fame. There is plenty of depth to anchor in and the trip over the brown stuff really wasn’t that bad and the walk isn’t very far. 

You could go ashore sooner but there is very little shoulder on the highway.

Just be sure to  wait until noon.

1.20.12

As soon as we could see, we were headed out. The current is in our favor and we want to make the best of it.

No wind to speak of…the water is flat.

It makes a beautiful back drop for all the beautiful boats heading SOUTH…..

Here is a very unique boat.

Jim thinks he could live here….lots of head room….no wood to varnish.

But….this is what we really need…shallow draft…launch at Lake Jessup (1 mile from our home)…and trailerable.

The Pelicans are a favorite of ours.

Diamond Girl  in the diamonds…

But the day was the best day we had for spotting Dolphins. I had one come right up to the front of the boat and swim along while I stood on the bow. What a thrill.

I put several clips of the dolphins in a short video….

We are at anchor near Cocoa.

1.19.12

We were not the only ones making an early start.

I could definitely live here!!!!  She sure is a beauty. I would love to see below deck.

Our run today is only about 15 miles. We’ll pick up a mooring at Vero Beach, grab the bus to Waldo’s for lunch and spend the rest of the day lounging around.

Larry and Diane took the bus to Wal-Mart and back…guess it was quite a busy trip

We spent some time looking at a 32’ Erickson sailboat.  Didn’t look to be in bad shape, only $5000. Wind generator, solar panel, dingy davits, lots of other stuff. If it all works it’s a deal. At least it’s floating right now so there aren’t any holes in the bottom. Unfortunately…it’s 4 1/2 ft. draft would severely limit our use on the river….and it’s not trailerable.

Beautiful day. Quiet night.

 

1.18.12

We are normally off to an early start, and we wanted to open up the slips as soon as possible. Indian Town is a busy marina.

Nice company on the water…

I was impressed with this tree house…spent a lot of my time as a youngster in the tree tops…I wanted to be Tarzan and live with the animals.

Crossing under I 95.

While waiting for a lock to open Jim spotted this Osprey as it caught a fish and landed in a tree to eat it.

I had ribs cooking in the slow cooker all night. It’s time for an early lunch, so I handed off some to Larry and Diane. This is how we do it.

Jim held steady and snapped some photos as Diane guided A Dollar More close enough for Larry to take the hand off.

As we neared the St Lucie Inlet, I got a few photos of the homes on the St Lucie side.

Look at the stone terrace work…

I guess “homes” doesn’t justify these….”mansions” might be a better word.

See that light tan spot?  Sand bar…that motor boat will be passing to the R of the two red markers. That is why you stay in the channel is this area.

Once we rounded the marker at the junction of the St Lucie Inlet and the ICW, we spotted the Coast Guard working on a channel marker.

Then came the parade of sailboats heading south.

Another Sport Fisher….nice slow pass by a beautiful boat. It was a very pale lime green.

We are anchoring for the night about 15 miles south of Vero Beach, FL.

We should be able to get in there early enough to pick up a mooring and catch the bus into town in the morning.

Another great day on the water…..too bad we’re going the wrong way….towards home. Bummer.