This is a picture of Steve & Sue's cabin in Idaho. Hard to believe they would leave this for the sunny warm climate of Florida.

All photos at Blue Springs State Park

Wednesday 1/14/09
Ever since we have entered Florida waters we have been experiencing “Manatee Zone – Slow Speed” signs on a daily basis. We always obey and reduce boat speed to a crawl from our normal “slow walk” pace, and look for Manatees, the large, docile and much protected mammals. We have never seen a Manatee. We learned that they are very sensitive to water temperature and during cooler weather periods congregate at places where they can bask in 72-75 degree waters. We were told there is a state park (Blue Spring) off the St. John’s River near Deland, FL where Manatees can be found this time of year, so off we went. Deland is only about 30 miles from NSB so we jumped in the KIA and headed west to find the Manatees. They were there.
Blue Spring is a neat little park centered around the natural spring that gushes out millions of gallons of fresh, clear, pure 72 degree water every minute (or hour – I don’t remember) and they have a wooden walk way constructed along the creek, so you can observe the Manatees. There were plenty of them to observe – they just kind of lay there on the bottom and slowly drift around looking for vegetation to munch on. They are big and docile and friendly looking creatures and we saw a few that had scars on their backs apparently from boat prop incidents. Hence the “SLOW SPEED” zones. We spent an hour or so watching the Manatees then drove around Deland a bit before heading back to the marina. On the way we saw a large flea market set up on a fair ground along Rt. 44 so we stopped in. There were hundreds of vendors selling everything fruits and vegetables to used washing machines.
Back at the boat we started packing the bikes and our clothes into the car to get ready for an early AM departure for our drive to Marathon. It seemed strange to be packing for a vacation from our boat.

Polly next to big tree in Blue Springs Park

Steve, Sue and Polly enjoying wine from the O"Bryans

Monday & Tuesday 1/12-13/09
We drove north to the Port Orange / South Daytona area to find a Super Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club. It’s only about 15 miles from NSB but is a typical metro suburb with any kind of shopping and stores you might need. After the list was all checked off we headed back to the boat where I (RCB) did some cleaning up and Polly did some food prep things to get ready for guests that evening. The Morris’ came aboard as scheduled and we had a lovely evening exchanging histories and sipping wine. We all made tentative plans for a kayak outing when we get back from Marathon – neither Sue or Polly have been in a kayak (yet).
Tuesday came with a slight overcast, and cool-ish temperatures. I walked to Canal St. for a hair cut at Andre’s and Polly had an appointment at a salon for early afternoon. Andre bought the old barber shop just 2 years ago when he moved here from Gaithersburg, MD, following a divorce - he got the vacation home in Ormond Beach and she got everything else. He had a large shop in Maryland which he sold and came to Florida to figure things out. He saw the shop on Canal St. which had one chair and a “for sale” sign in the window and agreed to buy it the next day.
Back at the boat and all trimmed up, I installed the new mirrors on our bikes we set off for a little ride to test them out. About a mile from the marina my rear tire went flat, but no big deal since I had remembered to bring the tool kit and spare tubes. We were back on the road in 15 minutes and biked on south to the village of Edgewater which is a pleasant residential area between the ICW and Route 1. Soon after we got back to the boat rain showers arrived and we just read and napped for the remainder of the afternoon.
We had been so pleased with the breakfasts we had at Jason’s Corner that we planned to have dinner there while still in New Smyrna Beach. The showers seemed to be over so we walked the few blocks to the restaurant and were pointed to a nice table by the front window by Jane, our waitress. Dinner was excellent and Jane turned out to be very entertaining and kept up a witty and humorous conversation with us for the entire dinner. We both had seafood dishes (PMB – seared scallops on spinach with roasted vegetables RCB – shrimp & scallops carbonara with pasta) and we both declared our respective meals were as good as any we have ever had. We learned that Jason’s Corner is owned and operated by two experienced chefs who had worked in up-scale hotel dining rooms and wanted to have their own place and do their own thing with food. Jason’s Corner was an old deli and they have reconfigured it into a pleasantly furnished comfortable local spot with great food at reasonable prices.

Full Moon -

New Smyrna Beach

White heron doing a balancing act.

Friday thru Sunday 1-9 thru 11-09
Very nice WX again this AM. We walked to Canal St. for breakfast at Jason’s Corner and then out the North Causeway bridge to the fishing pier at the west end of the draw bridge, about 2 miles from the marina. This is the bridge the ICW passes beneath coming south into NSB. We had arranged for a rental car and the guy from Enterprise picked us up about 1:00 PM. After we finished with the paper work we drove the nifty little (red) KIA to the local Walmart (poor) and Publix (pretty nice) where we shopped for some provisions. Publix is a nice chain of grocery stores in this area. We really appreciate the portable GPS that our son Matt gave us last year, even in a new and unfamiliar area we just fire it up and press few buttons to select a shopping or restaurant destination, and a gal’s voice commands us where to turn, how far it is and what time we will arrive - SWEET.
Back at the marina we set up our bikes and locked them to the rack at the office so we could be ready for a nice ride in the morning. At that point it was time for dinner so Polly just added the leftover chicken we had, to a Caesar salad kit we got at Publix and dinner was served. It was delicious and, NO pots or pans to be cleaned up!
We enjoyed our breakfast so much yesterday that we walked “up town” again to Jason’s Corner this morning, and again, it was great. There was a hot air balloon festival being held at the local airport and we saw the balloons rising into the clear sky as we walked from the marina. We planned to ride our bikes out for a closer look later today. After breakfast we strolled through the weekly farmers market that sets up just off Canal Street every Saturday. We were blown away by the variety and freshness of the produce and ended up buying a bunch of vegetables and fruit (right from growers) as well as some freshly caught shrimp being sold by a father and son who operate their own boat. Our Saturday evening dinner menu was now all set.
After Polly stored the things from the market we hopped on our bikes and headed out of town toward the airport. Apparently the balloon thing was just a very early morning affair because there was no sign of anything balloon related. We continued on north along Rt. 1 until we found a road that ran along the airport boundary and eventually connected to other roads that allowed us to completely circle back toward New Smyrna Beach without much exposure to Rt. 1, which carries a good bit of high speed traffic. When we finally had to cross the busy road, we spotted a Dairy Queen and that reminded us that our breakfast had been pretty well used up by the 10 or so miles we had pedaled. PMB had a hot fudge sundae kind of thing in a waffle bowl and RCB had a small vanilla cone and a hot dog. So much for our healthier life style, aboard the boat.
By the time we were back at the boat and cleaned up, it was time to check out the classic car show that was to be held along Canal Street. Every couple of weekends NSB has some kind of event that is held along the fancied-up section of Canal Street – they close off the 5-6 block section to traffic and turn the entire area into a pedestrian mall. This week it was old cars – about 200 of them were parked all along the street and on some side streets. The beautiful wheels ranged from very old antiques to restored muscle cars. After an hour of browsing we returned to the boat and grilled up our fresh shrimp for dinner.
Sunday morning brought another beautiful day, so we biked across the causeway and out to the end of road where we discovered New Smyrna Dunes Park. The park occupies the entire tip of land that makes up the south side of Ponce Inlet to the ocean. The park features an elevated wooden walkway that loops around for 1 ½ miles following the shore line of the ICW out to the inlet and returning by way of the ocean shore back to the park office where we left our bikes. There are also some short board walks that lead to elevated overlooks and even a few that have steps down to the ocean beach. The beach can also be accessed by cars and SUV’s from streets within the town area – many groups were fishing in the surf with their vehicles parked nearby. We encountered a number of other walkers as we toured the dunes and of course, Polly has to say hi to everyone, in particular a man and two women who were stopped along the walkway. When we returned to the marina from our 8 mile (plus 2 mile walk) bike ride we decided to go to town for a sandwich. As we were leaving the boat, Polly thought she recognized a couple walking near our dock as the people we saw at the park – sure enough it was them. We chatted for nearly an hour and a fast friendship developed. Sue and Steve Morris have a sailboat on a lake where they live in Idaho, but grew up in the Philadelphia area and are wintering with a sister in NSB. They visited us aboard FLIGHT for drinks the next evening and we promised to get together again when we returned from our upcoming car trip to Marathon where we will have some time with granddaughter Libby and her parents. We wrapped up our day with left-over tortellini soup for dinner, aboard FLIGHT.

Hi, from New Smyrna Beach. This picture was taken this morning - BUT it will be about 60 today. The temps here are the lowest - long term- that they been since the 80s - according to one local.
Things are going very well. Just does't seem that there is time to blog. Ralph is keeping up his Captain's log and does PLAN to share things we've been up to. We alsohave loads of pictures.
New Smyrna Beach is a great stop, Flight has been here for 2 weeks, while we took a side trip to Marathon to have a vacation/ visit with Kate, Matt and Libby - great fun!

Seagulls following us looking for fish

Thursday 1-8-09
We spent two peaceful nights at Harbortown where we set up arrangements for a slip and rental car at New Smyrna Beach as well as a hotel reservation at the place the kids will be in Marathon. We got away early and proceeded north in nice sunny weather expecting to reach NSB by mid afternoon. It was another pretty day, the frontal passage scrubbed the atmosphere to crystal clear and there was a light wind out of the NW. There were very few other boats that we passed but one of them happened to be a couple we know from Spring Grove, Dan and Martha Bliss who are almost neighbors. They were taking their sailboat to the Keys. Tuesday, on the way to Harbortown Marina, a trawler passed us going south and after it was by, I got a call on the radio from Merin, the captain saw our hail port and told me they were from York and left their boat at Harbortown while they went home for Christmas. They had just returned and gotten underway that morning heading to a rendezvous at Stuart. Small world.
By 1:45 we were in our slip at New Smyrna Beach City Marina – the same slip we were in a week or so before.

It was a slow day - so... more gull pictures

Small island along the way

1-5-09 Monday
The offshore forecast was for pretty calm seas so we decided to have a look and possibly save some time and aggravation (speed control zones) by cruising down the coast to Lake Worth. As we reached the Ft. Pierce inlet, the tide was running out pretty strong and there was a pretty good breeze from the east opposing the current. This created some pretty steep and uncomfortable rollers as we approached the jetty, so we did a 180 and went back to the ICW. As we cruised southward, we discussed how we were again feeling like we were on a quest to make daily distance and had some disappointment in the lack of relaxation and general fun that this whole trip south was supposed to be for us. We decided to make a major change in our overall plan – we do not have to go to Marathon. We turned the boat around and began thinking about alternatives and decided that we would head back to the last place that we really enjoyed being at, and rethink what we will do for the remainder of the cold season.
New Smyrna Beach and the City Marina were very nice in many ways, so that is where we would go to regroup. We will stay there for a couple of weeks, rent a car and join our Bahoric kids in Marathon for a few days of their vacation and return to NSB. Then we will go wherever we decide and at any pace that suits us on any particular day. That is now the plan.
The short term WX forecast contained a strong cold front passage by Tuesday night and Wednesday with very high winds so we decided we would hole up at (well sheltered) Harbortown in the Canaveral Barge Canal, to ride out the bad weather. I had read an article about the town of Melbourne which painted it as a lovely, idyllic waterfront community. It was on the way to the canal so we decided to have a look. The only thing that was accurate in the article was that it is a very snug little harbor. Traffic noise, train noise, jet aircraft noise and derelicts shouting from a nearby bridge, were not contained in the magazine piece. You can’t always believe what you read.

Relaxing in Melbourne, amid the noises.

Catching up on the Melbourne news.

Sunday 1-4-09
Another early start before official daylight, because this would be another long day of 75+ miles, to Ft Pierce. As we left the marina we noticed that the trees that lined the breakwater to the canal, were full of roosting pelicans – maybe a hundred. It was a very strange feeling to see these big birds clinging to trees as we passed just 30-40 feet from them. We seemed to be all alone again as we cruised south on the Indian River, but by 10:00 AM the fleet of local small fishing boats were out in full force. They were with us all the way to Ft. Pierce, zigging and zagging and anchoring near the channel in many places. I understand now why Jim Fisher told us that they never travel on weekends. Ft. Pierce City Marina showed up about 3:30 and after filling up at the fuel dock and moving to our assigned berth on a nice T-head dock we were all settled in by 4:15. The marina is quite nice with a great staff but the shower & toilet facilities are in poor condition and not very well maintained.
We decided to have dinner out at one of the dockside restaurants and had a chef’s special of mango glazed grouper and it was pretty good. As we dined, we noticed some Christmas lights come on in a waterfront park that is adjacent to the marina. As it became darker we heard some music playing that sounded like a Mannheim Steamroller Christmas album that we play a lot at home. It was part of a super light show that was starting and the music was electronically synced with lights wrapped around about 100 palm trees planted in the park. When dinner was finished we walked to the park and spent a half hour strolling among the trees as the light display flashed and changed colors in time to the music. It was spectacular.

Little home under construction!

Railroad Bridge - usually open - Cape Canaveral in the background.

Saturday 1-3-09
We got underway at 07:30 in cool but very nice conditions. During the first 2 hours we were in confined and shallow waters that had many reduced speed zones due to the presence of Manatees. They are large mammals and I think they are sometimes called sea cows. They must be very prevalent in this area because there are many signs and speed zones labeled “Manatee Zone” – there are some incidents where they have been injured by boat props particularly in the shallow waters. This particular stretch also had numerous “fish camps” located along the waterway – fish camps are smaller marinas used mainly by trailerable boats that have bait and fishing supplies. It was Saturday and that meant there were many, many smaller fishing boats along the waterway. We saw a whole lot of fishing but not much catching.
Our route took us south into a body of water called Mosquito Lagoon which is very shallow and wide and at the south end is Cape Canaveral and the Space Flight Center. We could see the huge space shuttle assembly building and launch towers on the horizon 15 miles away. Before we reached the bottom of Mosquito Lagoon, the ICW jogged west, through what is called, Haul-over Canal and into the Indian River. The name of the canal comes from the fact that many years ago vessels had to be hauled out of the water to go across to the continuation of the waterway. It was a really beautiful day and there were a lot of families along the mile and a half canal, fishing from the banks with picnic set-ups. I always enjoy seeing kids fishing with their families; it brings back images of my own childhood.
Once in the Indian River the course was straight for miles at a time and the water was nearly calm. We just let the autopilot steer as we sat back and enjoyed the day.

Our destination was Harbortown Marina located on the Canaveral Barge Canal in Merritt Island, FL. The barge canal connects the Indian River with the Banana River and continues out to the Atlantic. Farther east in the canal is Port Canaveral where some cruise ships sail from. Once again the marina’s ad in the guide embellished the physical conditions a bit but all in all it was quite adequate and the staff and permanent slip holders were very friendly. It was a fairly long day and we planned an even longer one for Sunday so we treated ourselves to blackened grouper sandwiches and (of course) mugs of Fosters lager, for our dinner. Since we were leaving as soon as there was enough light in the AM, we filled the water tank and took care of a few other boat chores so we could be ready to go. When that was all complete it was still too early for bed even for us so we popped in a Brit comedy DVD my sister loaned us and then turned in about 8:30PM. Tomorrow may be a 9 hour day on the water as we want to make it to Ft. Pierce.

Swing Bridge

Friday 1-2-09
Today’s destination is to be New Smyrna Beach, about 44 miles south. As usual we got an early start but not too early to have some help with our lines. Jim and Joan from “Longhaul” were up and about and very willing to lend a hand. Some of their family had come for a visit and were sleeping a bit later than Jim and Joann were accustomed to – they had plans to take a cruise up to St. Augustine and wanted to arrive at slack tide.
Conditions were fairly calm but cool because there were some clouds and with the breeze, we were in long sleeves all morning. The waterway is narrow for miles south of Palm Coast with many homes along the water. This required a relatively slow speed to minimize wake that might disturb small boats at the private docks. Many of the homes water sides were still decorated with Christmas lights and figures and some were quite elaborate. Coming from our cold PA climate we still find it odd to be in warm temperatures and seeing signs of the holidays – it would probably take a while to get used to not associating Christmas with cold and snow.
New Smyrna Beach sounded like a pleasant small water way town and we thought it would be nice to do some walking so we arranged for a slip at the City Marina. It proved to be a good choice, the docks were brand new and of the floating type, part of the renovations done in the past 2 years resulting from storm damage. The marina is smallish but has very nice facilities for boaters and the town was pleasant with shops and a few restaurants situated on Canal Street, just a few blocks from the marina.

The same harbor that the City Marina is on is also home for several charter fishing boats and late in the afternoon one of them returned with about 2 dozen large (18” – 30”) fish that they hung along a sign board so the fishing party members could have their photos taken with the catch. After the photo session the boat crew spent about an hour filleting the fish. There are many pelicans in this area and as soon as the fish cleaning began pelicans swarmed the edge of the dock where the cleaning tables were located and the men doing the work would toss the head and skeletons into the water for the birds. It was fun to watch.

There are also a lot of Dolphins – sightings have become very routine for us and we saw several of them right in the marina area not more than 15 feet from our boat.
We weren’t terribly hungry when dinner time arrived, since we had a mid afternoon snack and two Bud drafts at a little waterfront shack bar near the marina, soon after we arrived. We decided to keep dinner simple with salad and a couple slices of the pizza left over from the night before.

Pelicans!

Thursday 1-1-09 New Year’s Day 2009
Weather was not great since a front was passing and the forecast included very high and gusty winds, so we stayed tied up at Palm Coast Marina for the day. We rested, did some boat chores and Polly went with Kathy to pick up a few items at the store. A few calls to family back home with New Year wishes and even a nap rounded out the day.
Later in the afternoon we walked on a park path that followed the ICW for a few miles and had dinner at a super pizza restaurant that was within walking distance. The waitress persuaded us to have a large size pie because they seem to come out better and only cost a dollar more, so we had plenty left over to take back to the boat. The weather looks good for tomorrow and we plan to head on down to New Smyrna Beach.

This is just one of many abandoned boats along the waterway.

St. Augustine Waterfront as we passed by

Wednesday 12-31-08
It is New Years Eve and we learned that a number of MTOA friends are wintering at a marina about 56 miles south at Palm Coast. We called the marina after we got under way and made a slip reservation – no problem. The weather was great again so we left Palm COVE early and with the benefit of a higher tide there was no bottom plowing getting out of the basin. The weather made the miles tick off quickly and we arrived at Palm COAST by 2:00 PM. Friend Kathy Fisher had learned from the marina that we were coming and was at the dock to help with our lines. Jim and Kathy Fisher have been living aboard their boat full time for about 4 years and have very kindly mentored us on cruising the ICW and Florida. We barely had the boat tied up when we were invited to join a group of MTOA couples who were going to dinner that evening. There are four couples that we know from the MTOA group that are wintering at the marina and two other couples who have homes in Palm Coast. MTOA is the Marine Trawler Owners Association, a national organization of cruising boaters.
Several of the wintering couples have their cars at the marina and we got a ride with the Fishers to a great Italian place that some of the locals had discovered. Dinner was nice and it was fun being with some friends on New Year’s Eve. The Kipnis’, one of the couples who have a house in the area were with us for dinner and they invited the group to come home with them for dessert. Their home is beautiful and in a neighborhood where all houses are located on a canal – Barb and Barry keep their boat at a dock about 50 feet from their back door. Even with all the fun of dining and visiting with friends, we were back aboard FLIGHT and in bed by 11:00.

Palm Coast Marina

Jekyll Island Hotel as seen from the water

Tuesday 12-30-08
At 07:30 we were underway again backing out of our slip as neighbor Werner, stood by in case we needed a hand with lines. Later today we will get a look at the U-boat place (Kings Bay) where he lost his mast, which still hasn’t been replaced on his boat. The weather was just perfect but the sun rising in the east created a blinding glare that resulted in temporary blindness whenever we would have to look at the chart plotter. A Catalina sail boat named Martini, left the marina about 15 minutes ahead of us and the owner was a local from Brunswick and was taking some friends for a little cruise down the ICW to Fernandina Beach. Fernandina is the first Florida town you find along the ICW heading south. It seems to be very industrialized with paper mills and some other heavy industry visible from the water. The town waterfront has been spiffed up and there is a municipal marina which makes it a popular local boater destination. I had met Martini’s owner and knew he had a lot of local navigation knowledge so we just followed him into and through the narrow and shallow creek that has to be navigated behind Jekyll Island. Even though we were passing at near high tide, there were some spots where we had only about 10 feet of water – that is not much when you have a tidal range of 8 feet.

Martini leading the way

In spite of the shallow water it was a wonderful ride along the length of Jekyll and into Cumberland Sound, the body of water that separates Jekyll from Cumberland Island. The ICW route took us nearly into the ocean before we turned and followed the markers behind Cumberland Island. Cumberland is accessible only by boat and is a park and wildlife sanctuary.

Many boaters have told us they have anchored behind Cumberland for days and went ashore by dinghy to walk the beaches and explore. Maybe we will have a look at it when we are Northbound in the spring.

Sailboat caught in outgoing tide.

The perfect weather combined with our desire to get on down to warmer weather entice us to push on farther than we planned so we cruised on past the St. Johns River and onto to Jacksonville Beach. We had decided earlier that we would take a slip in a marina for the night and made a reservation at Palm Cove Marina which turned out to be just OK – the photos and description in their ad contained in the cruising guide must have been based upon the place when it was brand new, three owners and two bankruptcies ago. We had some trouble getting into the basin the marina is in due to the low tide at our arrival – we actually had to plow through bottom mud with the keel dragging and the prop dinging on shells and stones. In fairness, the tide was unusually low, but the marina people should have had some info to share with incoming transients. If we make a stop in that area in the spring, it will be at Beach Marine, right across the waterway from Palm Cove.
The disappointment with the marina, coupled with tiredness from pushing a bit too much (72 miles and 9.6 hours), left us both kind of out-of-sorts, and dinner was a shared can of soup and some toast. Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve and there may not even be anyone near enough to hear the noise makers we bought in Brunswick when we were provisioning. Anyway, we are in Florida.