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On to Fort Pierce, Florida #43

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We were up before dawn ready to leave Cape Canaveral. There is a basculle bridge one must go through that only opens at 6 a.m. and then not again until 6 p.m. Similarly, there was a lock just past the bridge which would be open once in the early morning and then not again until the evening from 6:30 until 9 p.m. We think there is some sort of construction going on there on weekdays, On weekends they would return to a friendlier schedule. Needless to say, we had no problem being there for the 6 a.m. opening.

Unfortunately, just past that bridge and the lock was another bridge which would not open until 8:30 a.m. Hurry up and wait was the theme for the morning. At 8:30 we were finally out of Cape Canaveral headed across the Banana River, through a canal surrounded by mangroves and into the Indian River where we could turn south and head for Fort Pierce.

Everywhere were signs saying Look out for Manatees. This reminded us of when our daughter, Jenny, was in fourth or fifth grade and she adopted a manatee named Rosie. For a small price she was able to support the care and feeding of manatees and the organization would send her updates on the whereabouts and well-being of Rosie, her very own adoptive manatee. Manatees are actually mammals and look a lot like walruses. They come to the surface to breathe and their greatest enemy is power boats. Many manatees have been injured by the propellers of power boats. We once visited a manatee refuge in Western Florida where we went into a room underwater where you could observe and commune with the manatees. They are really very friendly creatures. Rosie was not there at that time although we secretly hoped she would be.

It was a peaceful trip down the ICW that day except for a few scattered thunderstorms. We put the eisenglass windows up and down several times as the storms came and went.

 

Stephen puts out the lightning strike protection.

We passed Coco Beach where we saw lots of hotels and an anchorage with many sailboats,

Franci was happy to be in smooth waters again and enjoyed doing time at the helm,

We passed many nice homes along the way. Many of them were “winter homes”.

We arrived at Fort Pierce at 6 p.m., a little earlier than anticipated. Docking the boat proved to be a little more challenging than usual because it was a fixed pier, not a floating pier as we are most accustomed to. That means only the boat goes up and down with the tides so it must be secured a little differently.

 

We used a ladder to get on and off the boat. It also varied as the boat went up and down with the tide. At high tide it was pretty easy, but at low tide it was a pretty good stretch for those with short legs or bad backs.

We enjoyed many meals at the local restaurant in the days to come.

Fort Pierce is where we met up with the parts to repair the potty. What we expected to be a two hour job turned into a two day project. A lot of time went into collecting parts. There were multiple trips to two different West Marine stores, Ace Hardware, Home Depot and even a large marine consignment store. The answer finally came from a place named The Plumbrey owned by a guy originally from Portugal. He shared a lot of his life history with Ralph and Arlene, but, most importantly, he had the parts they had been searching so hard to find. Despite the many challenges Ralph always had a smile for us every time we'd see him.

The table once again became a workshop.

Arlene was his assistant throughout the entire ordeal and she also cleaned the entire boat including the refrigerator and kitchen shelves in preparation for our provisioning trip for the last leg of the journey.

 

Stephen and Franci began to feel like Thurston and Lovie Howell on Gilligan's Island. While Ralph and Arlene worked hard they hung out at the very nice marina facilities enjoying lunch with piña coladas and cold beer and the very best blackened Mahi Mahi sandwiches ever, showers, laundry, dips in the pool and time in the air conditioned computer lounge.

This is without a doubt the BEST blackened Mahi Mahi sandwich EVER. It cost only $10.

Saturday morning we arose early as usual. We had breakfast at a local diner, went to the grocery store for three grocery carts worth of supplies, bought ice, turned in the rent car and left Harbortown Marina by 10:30 a.m. headed for the St. Lucie Canal and the Okeechobee Waterway. In a couple of days we'll be in the Gulf of Mexico headed for home.

Life is good,

Fair winds,

Franci and Stephen

 

 

 

On to Florida #42

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Monday, May 27

It was a casual departure from Morningstar Marina near Brunswick, Georgia. We had to wait for the fuel docks to open before we could leave. We took showers, refueled, bought ice and left at 8:30 a.m.

We headed out into the Atlantic Ocean headed for Florida. We put up the mainsail but the winds were not in our favor to sail without the assistance of the motors. For the next 30 hours we would be motor sailing our way out of Georgia and down the east coast of Florida.

Franci took the helm on the way out to the ocean, but would soon realize that she was still not yet totally recovered from her injuries Friday evening.

Breakfast was ham and eggs. Yum.

Stephen put out his trolling line and was happy to be back in the ocean where the possibility of catching a Mahi Mahi or tuna existed. When the trip began the ocean waters were almost glassy. Later in the day the winds picked up and the seas became choppy. We rocked and rolled our way through the night and into the next day.

Capt. Ralph, Arlene and Stephen took turns doing three hour watches. Franci was still recuperating from her fall and tended only to her own needs. Pain management was the name of the game for Franci and she found a couple of places where she could sit comfortably. During daylight hours she found comfort reading her book on her bed. In the nighttime hours she found a seat on the padded cooler forward of the binnacle where she could sit comfortably. Crew members were very kind and thoughtful in helping her with any needs.

Stephen liked to be off shore. When he wasn't on watch or napping he liked messing with the trolling rod and even going out on the deck to make videos. He also found time to do some computer work with the photos and videos. He seemed to enjoy opportunities to connect himself to the jackline and venture about the outer areas of the boat. A jackline is a rope that extends from the bow to the stern of the boat. When one is on the ocean where the boat is bouncing around it's important to always wear a life vest which comes with a harness that shackles to the jackline such that in the event one falls overboard one is still connected to the boat. Of course, the idea is to not fall overboard at all, but it's good to take precautionary measures.

Monday evening Arlene went downstairs to prepare pork chops for dinner. She discovered that we were out of propane and we had sandwiches instead. Oops. There would be no coffee for the night shift and no more hot meals until we could refill the tank.

Although Fort Pierce had been our original destination we made the decision to go ashore and spend the night at Cape Canaveral to give Franci's injury a break from the choppy seas and get a propane refill. She was still having plenty of pain from her Friday fall, now suspecting a fractured rib. Although the x-rays showed no broken bones, the doctor had told her that there was still the possibility of a small fracture in one of the ribs and that she would know in a few days. The continuous pain told her this was perhaps possible.

The excitement of the trip came Tuesday afternoon just before we arrived in Cape Canaveral. Stephen caught a mahi mahi. It produced 2 1/2 pounds of beautiful filets. There's a fresh fish dinner in our near future. Yea. Congratulations to Stephen. Perseverance counts.

We arrived in Cape Canaveral at 5 p.m., just in time to refuel at the Cape Marina fuel dock which was closing as we arrived. We checked in for the night. Ralph and Arlene hosed down the boat which had gotten a pretty good salt water wash during the trek through the ocean while Stephen and Franci took a cab to a nearby Ace Hardware where we were able to refill the propane tank.

Franci was probably the happiest to be ashore and that evening found herself and others smiling at happy hour. We took a cab to Grill's, a local restaurant, for another great feast.

The next morning we would be leaving by 6 a.m, headed down the ICW to Fort Pierce, Floridq.

Life is good.

Fair wind

Franci and Stephen