Thurs 12/13: We arrived in Jacksonville and had a taxi pick us up and drive us back to Spot’s place. Our plan was to move the boat out of Spot’s inlet when we arrived but the tide was not right so we had early dinner at restaurant that catered to a low income folks. The food was good and the people interesting. We had borrowed the yellow jeep so we got a chance to see some of the famous Christmas lights.
Upon return to the boat we decided to check, oil, filters and generally have the boat ship shape for an early morning departure. Bob thought it would be good idea to check the raw water intake because of the prior grounding and there could be some junk in the bowl. This was a good idea however he may have been a bit zealous when tightening down the very specialized bolts. One broke! After much thinking, Bob checked the other raw water intakes to see if the bolts were the same size. They were not. So, back into the jeep and we go to home depot to find something we could use to fabricate a useable bolt. With some help we came up with a workable solution.
There were lots of christmas lights to admire on our trip back to the boat. It took a while but Bob put together a make shift bolt that finally worked. By this time it was late and we were very tired. We can leave early tomorrow am and catch the tide.
Friday 12/14: 6:45am we head out of Spot’s inlet, made it past the shallow place and headed down the ICW. It was cold, windy and rainy and we were back into winter clothes and rain gear.
The ICW scenery is varied, with an assortment of "live a boards", and many that are past their prime.
It's always a little sad to see the abandoned boats along the waterway.
We made great time, passing other boats until we arrived at the Daytona twin bridge showing 62ft clearance. Not enough for us.
We turned around anchored and watched all the boats we pasted go right under the bridge. There was some discussion about the accuracy of bridge clearance. But, not being familiar with that bridge we waited for a lower tide till 3:00pm. We pulled anchor a bit early and headed for the bridge and cleared it with lots of room to spare, we could have made it the first time. hmmmm
The water was choppy and the wind was up but we made it to the Ponce De Leon inlet just before dark and anchored a little off the ICW. We were very tired, so we threw together a veggie dinner, complemented with wine and music and fell into bed.
Sat 12/15: 7am departure put us on a fast moving incoming tide. The Ponce De Leon looked a bit tricky but there were plenty of boats in the area that must use it. Local knowledge is a must. We came to our first bridge right after the inlet and had to wait around for 20min for an opening. The weather was warm, calm waters (on the ICW) and no wind.
We must have crossed over the no coat line, we actually put on shorts as we went though the New Smyrna area. We liked this part of the ICW, no ostentatious houses, nice reasonable homes along the water.
We checked in with Spot and Barbara and they were going to be in Melbourne City Marina for the night. The weather had delayed their crossing to the Bahamas. We thought we could make it so we kicked it up a bit and were there just before dark.
We anchored near the bridge and took the dinghy in to find them. I guess we should have check out where we were going since our first attempt to find the marina was wrong, it brought us to a boat ramp. The second attempt got us into the hidden marina and Ichabods dockside bar and grille. We found Spot and Barbara, had a drink on board and dinner at Ichabods. Food was good and there were lots of interesting people enjoying the local atmosphere.
Sun 12/16: The early morning at sunrise was a treat. We got out ahead of the rush,
We got out ahead of the rush or so we thought. It didn't take long for the power boats to catch up. At least the Pelicans observed the slow speed signs.
The ride down the ICW calm and warm with usual and unusual sights. The sand bars made for ideal camp sites.
We arrived at Vero Beach City marina around 11:30am, I love it when we make good time.
We had a 7:30 flight out of Orlando, so we cleaned up the boat and took a taxi to pick up the rental car. As we were leaving the dinghy dock we ran into Bob and Barbara on Lady Nelson. We met them in Boothbay Harbor for the Rendezvous at the Shipyard my friend Patti was organized. They will keep and eye on the boat for us. They are also heading to Bahamas, but to the Exumas so we may not see them in Bahamas this year.
We visited with Peg and Herb, Glen and Ann before leaving for the airport. Thankfully we had plenty of time because the security at the airport was a mess. OH, did I fail to mention it was vacation for every kid in the universe, and all of them visiting Disney and whatever other attractions are in Orlando.
We landed in a snow storm and missed the bus (2 buses were there at the same time). Hot chocolate helped past the time till the next bus. We had to scrape the snow off the truck and drive home in a winter wonderland scene. We were very tired. You may have noticed we are tired a lot. But it is so worth it. ;-}
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