Slow Down Ol Man!!

WOW - making great progress heading north. All the way from Vero Beach to St Augustine in just 4 days. We will hang here for a day or two to enjoy the place and rest a bit. Hey it's Easter Sunday tomorrow and Karen needs a new bunny!!

The wind finally died down after midnight last night and we had a peaceful evening on the hook in Daytona. Ian and Sharon braved the wind chop and came over for an evening of Euchre. It was cool to play with some veterans. Wayne and Jill - we have some tricks to show you now.

We left early to make the bridges in Daytona before their schedules kicked in and we had to run 54 miles which is a LONG day. We left in a pack of boats - probably a dozen in all spread into 3 groups. Unfortunately the morning was marred by Ian on Celtic Cross running aground at the main St bridge and had to call Boat/US to get off. Love that tow insurance!!

We had a nice run to Palm Coast where we went into the marina and filled with Diesel - 28 gallons and topped off water - about 50 gallons. Water is free here and diesel was $2.02 a gallon.

Back on the waterway we had both favorable wind for part of the way - to the Matanzas Inlet and current the rest of the way - 7+ kts!! We made St Augustine by 3:30pm. Not a bad run and a bit crowded but the hook stuck first time and the spacing looks good.

We will stay here certainly for tomorrow and maybe a day or 2 longer.

Everyone is whipped tonight plus the sea breeze is still blowing hard so we will wait till tomorrow to head to town and probably spend the whole day there.

Snow Birds -- Heading back North

Another fine day on the ICW. The nice thing about Florida is that for every mile you go North or South it is nearly a full mile in that direction. Thus a 50 mile day is another 50 miles north where in Georgia you go only about one third the total distance traveled.

We left early this morning – m7am expecting to get to Daytona around 4 – 5pm. Well we had a GREAT following wind through the Mosquito Lagoon that powered us along at 7 kts at time. We entered an anchorage near R44 in Daytona at 2:30pm. WOW a great day.

Hey and the gang is all here!! It is a large pool here that accommodated the complete Canadian Contingent, ourselves and other boats. Try it some time when passing through Daytona.

Be forewarned that the holding is excellent mud yet the vagaries of wind and current have the boats going in all different directions. A bit disconcerting but no pesky tugs on the hook.

Tonight with so much time on our hands we plan to play Euchre with Celtic Cross. Should be fun.

Last night we had everyone aboard for drinks in snacks and it was a great time. Everyone enjoyed the conversation and time spent. We plan to all arrive in St Augustine tomorrow and stay for Easter – Hopefully we can finds a nice restaurant to feed us all – I don’t think anyone will want to cook for Easter.

Last night was a very nice evening in Titusville. Another clear sky and a HUGE moon rising over Cape Canaveral. Should be interesting here tonight.

Easy day in Titusville

Last night was really nice on the hook. We had a beautiful full moon and clear sky. There were some folks on the beach setting off some fireworks which looked really cool in the moonlight although being RANK AMATEURS some of the fireworks took real erratic paths. I think one chased a couple of them on the berm.

We had a mild evening and left about 8am. It was a nice easy run of about 30 miles to Titusville and we anchored by 1pm. After a quick lunch I ruined the nice day by trying to work on the dinghy motor.

I took the carburetor off the engine and stripped it down to its components and cleaned all passages with spray carburetor cleaner. I reassembled it and - this is the hubris - put away the tools - then tried to start it. Ohhh man it did not want to start. Actually acted like the cylinders were full of gas and would not crank!! I checked the plugs and they were wet. There was also some gas in the water.

I took the carburetor back off and examined the fuel pump. I had marked it before taking off so I couldn't get it back together wrong --- WRONG!! One gasket was flipped 180 degrees. I reassembled and tried again. It fired up but ran no better than it did before I started. Darn. I hate it when that happens!!

We cleaned boat and got ready to host the Canadian contingent tonight. WE have the whole group coming over at 4:30pm today to trade stories, laugh at my dinghy engine, and plan the next couple of days.

It should be a great time and looking forward to the near full moon rising over the Vehicle Assemble Building at Cape Canaveral which is visible from this anchorage.

Got to run.

Finally heading North!!

Ohh YEAH - On the move again. We finally pulled away from Velcro Beach this morning. It is tough because it is so comfortable. The only fly in the ointment was that I was waiting on a UPS shipment of a repair kit for a pump that is giving me some problems. I expected it Monday but it did not show up till 9:30am this morning so we delayed our departure.

We had a nice run up to the Causeway just pass Dragon Point. It is called Palm Shores and has protection from North/South Winds depending on the side you anchor - pretty much wide open but with 5kts from the SE to SW tonight - should be fine. It was 38 miles but a good run for a late departure.

Tomorrow we will make it to Titusville and meet our Canadian Contingent for some cocktails and tales - should be in early enough. We are currently traveling with Celtic Cross, Sand Castle, Sweet Chariot, and Water Parke.

Tonight we dropped the hook after 5pm so it will be showers, dinner, then bed and up early to get an early arrival at Titusville tomorrow.

Ohhh and my dinghy motor is now down to a 2HP motor.. It is running very poorly but is still running. I bought some carburetor cleaner the other day and when I have the time I'll tear it down and see if I can resuscitate. It., Wish me luck.

Windy Windy Windy

NOAA got this one right. Darn it is windy today!! They have Lake advisory and Small Craft Advisory out today.

The day started pretty calm. In fact I was wondering why I had decided not to move today.. Around 9am we took the bus to the Publix grocery for one last provisioning run. Then when we got back it was really blowing hard. I had to angle the dinghy ride back to the boat so I took the waves perpendicular until I hit the tree line on the other side then ride to the boat.

We gathered up all the laundry and made a run in to do a couple of loads. Might be 2 weeks before we do laundry again.

That took awhile and then when we finished Karen had a hankering for some Thai food so we took the bus back to town for some Thai. It was very good at the Siam Orchid.

The wind laid down for awhile this afternoon but it is really honking again now as I write this. All the fenders are creaking against the boat I rafted to - Cherie. The other boat 'Homeward Bound' left today. Oh well when you want to go - you go.

Beginning tomorrow the weather will be better behaved for the next several days although the first 2 are forecast to be in the low 40s for the low but rising to near 70 each day. We expect to move for the next 4 days until we get to St. Augustine then stay an extra day there so Karen can do the museums she missed on the way down.

Not much else to report - just reviewing charts and directions for the next 4 cruising days, preparing to leave and I guess maybe another round of Mexican Train Dominoes with Celtic Cross tonight. In fact all the cruisers we are hanging with right now bought a set of Mexican Train Dominoes this week.

Should be a real traffic jam at the entrance to Vero Beach Marina as most of us leave to head north again tomorrow.

Gone Swim'im ALMOST!!

Just sitting and waiting for the forecast STRONG cold front to come through. Like usual looks to be an after dark event. This is a mean one. We have heard several tornado watches north of here. Strong storms all the way from NC to Georgia descending on us.

In the mean time -- we made another run to grocery store this morning and Karen remained to get her hair cut and styled - looks very nice. We want to provision so we will be good to Charleston, SC or about a week and a few days.

The no seeums are terrible here. Even though we have screens we both were eaten alive in our sleep last night. For some reason they have a real liking to ankles and inside forearms. Hopefully this cold front will stop them for awhile.

Late this morning I went and topped off the water tanks. 40 gallons into the 80 gallon tank and 15 gallons in the 120 gallon tank. That should keep us awhile.

Late this afternoon I was going around the boat tightening up the mooring lines and looking to adjust things for possible strong squalls tonight. Took down the riding sail and adjusted fenders. Removed loose stuff form the dinghy and shortened the painter. I noticed the teak steps on the swim ladder looking pretty grubby so I got a stiff brush out and cleaned them. At one point I kneeled down on the sugar scoop to get the lowest rung and leaned out and lost my balance -- I was heading for the
water!! I quickly realized I was going in so I pushed sharply with my legs to propel myself towards the dinghy -0 got lucky. Top half entered the dinghy and lower half got wet but I could drag myself in. Just as I pulled in to the dinghy I heard a frantic woman's voice - "are you okay?" . I said yes thinking it was Karen below but when I went below she had no idea what had happened. Well someone got a show today.

I think it's time for a GNT and relax the rest of the afternoon now.

Ahhh Pizza Pie!!

Ohhh we had a nice lunch today. Karen had a hankering for pizza so we decided to do lunch at Nina's on the Beach. A bit of a bike ride away. Well about the time I was going to land the bikes on the dock Ian and Sharon came by and said that a relative had loaned them the use of a car - a Cadillac no less. They needed to get some propane tanks filled and would be back to drive us to lunch.

We spent the rest of the morning installing the new Genoa control line and changing the direction of the roll to match the installation instructions to see if it would make the operation easier in a breeze. Unfortunately this puts the sun protection on the inside. For a few weeks should make difference and we can try the operation.

We had trouble pulling the sail up the other track on the furler track. About half way up I had to use low speed on the winch - that is just too much force. I brought the sail down with some difficulty and then we "greased" the sail bead with the zipper snap lubricant and it went all the way up with a lot loess force. Now to try it.

Ian and Sharon were back by noon and we all left for Nina's. Graeme and Laura came along and Laura went to the beach to sun bath and Graeme came along for lunch.

Well disappointment. Nina's doesn't open till 4pm on Sundays!! Well a helpful lady came by and gave us directions to another Nina's across town.. Ohh what the hey - everyone wanted pizza so we went. We saw an Advance Auto on the way and Ian graciously stopped so I could get some carburetor cleaner - try it on the outboard motor. We found the pizza parlor easily. The pizza was GREAT. Then off to the Publix for some beer. Bottles are easy to handle when you have a car and not riding a bus. Well that turned into a bit of a shopping trip so why not go to West Marine - Graeme's desire and hey the dive shop is next door.

Well I didn't buy anything from WM but ohhh I could not pass up a sale price on some Speedo swim trunks - picture will follow.