Tuesday, November 15th we left Pablo Creek and
headed for St. Augustine. When we were
approaching the inlet the current was with us. When we went through the inlet
the current was against us. Traveling at
9.2 knots was a lot more fun than the 2.9 knots after the change. We fueled up
at the marina and then picked up a mooring.
In the afternoon we walked to the Sailors Exchange with our wish list of
boat parts hoping to find affordable second hand parts. The only part we
managed to find was a piece of stainless steel tubing to replace a piece of the
bimini that is bent. We spent Wednesday
morning doing laundry and ordering boat parts. We need a new part for the
windlass and an adapter for the propane tanks to make filling them easier,
especially when we get to the Bahamas.
In the afternoon we walked about a mile to the nearest small market in
search of milk, fruit, and some meat to grill.
It is hard to find necessary items within walking distance of the
waterfront in tourist towns. After our errands we spent the afternoon wandering
around the city playing tourist and visiting the fort.
Thursday we left St. Augustine and headed for Daytona Beach.
Overall a surprisingly uneventful day considering the strong current and
shoaling through the Matanzas inlet.
Friday we saw hundreds of pelicans in the mangroves and on
little islands. Sadly we saw many boats aground and in the mangroves. The
hurricane did a lot of damage in this area.
In the afternoon the boat we were following, DAGNY, called
us on the radio to let us know there was a manatee near one of the channel
markers. I was very excited to see a
manatee, and Bill was relieved I finally saw one. Here is a sample of the bulk of our
conversation for the last few days.
Susan, “Bill! Look, look, a manatee!”
Bill, “That is a mostly submerged buoy.”
Susan, “Bill! Look, a manatee!”
Bill, “That is another mostly submerged buoy.”
Susan, “Bill! Look, a manatee!”
Bill, “That is a ripple in the water.”
Even though we could only see the manatee’s head
occasionally emerging from the water, and it looked like a cross between a seal
and a cow, it was still cool to see.
We anchored in Titusville for the evening south of the Max
Brewer bridge. This turned into a
surprisingly nice place to stay. There were dozens of dolphins fishing around
the boat. After dark the bar near the
bridge had live music so we had Friday night entertainment.
Saturday we had a nice, sunny, warm trip to the Eau Gallie
Bridge, just north of Melbourne. We
anchored early in the afternoon. The water was very calm and warm and the sun
was hot so Bill spent some time in the dingy scrubbing CORRET’s waterline. Again, we were surrounded by camera shy
dolphins fishing around the boat.
NASA was scheduled to
launch a weather satellite at 5:42. Due
to an anomaly they did not launch until 6:42 which made it even more impressive
as it was dark. Watching the horizon
glow bright red the seeing the fireball climb into the sky was amazing.
After midnight the wind came up to 20-25 knots. The anchor held fine, but the waves were the
exact distance apart to cause the boat to hobby-horse all night. It was so uncomfortable in the v-berth we
slept (or at least tried to sleep) on the settees in the main saloon. Considering the waves were only 1 to 2 feet
this was a lot of drama for not a lot of weather.
Sunday morning we left the anchorage at 7:30 a.m. What a change in temperature! Yesterday I was wearing my bikini in the
afternoon. This morning it was back to long pants, fleece jackets, and wool
hats. The nice thing about the cold
north wind was that it was from a useful direction and we were able to use the
jib all day. We pulled into Vero Beach
at noon and fueled up. In Vero Beach rafting is expected on the moorings. We
tied up next to REFLECTIONS, one mooring away from TAMURE.
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