TerBarb “North”

Part 9

We have SE winds at 8 mph as we begin our trek north. Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon are flat. We travel through Haulover Canal which connects these two bodies of water and there are just a few fishing boats anchored in this narrow channel and there were a few manatees. After crossing these two open areas, the rest of today’s ride is basically in an enclosed area – you can see land on each side and it is narrow and more protected from the wind. Off New Smyrna we pick up rain and this stays with us until north of Ponce Inlet. It is a light but continuous rain. Since it is warm out (80 degrees) the rain is warm, not damp. Does that make sense? Our stop is Halifax River Yacht Club in Daytona. This has got to be one of the best stops on the trip. Everyone is friendly, dockage is reasonable, they have a great clubhouse, and the food served at the yacht club is excellent; plus they have WIFI. Dinner at the yacht club on Thursday night was excellent.

We are flying our MTOA flag (Marine Trawler Owners Assoc) and we meet another couple who traveled down from Palm Coast for the weekend who are also MTOA members and members of Halifax Yacht Club. We meet for drinks and go to dinner later Friday evening at the yacht club. Tonight is the seafood buffet – New England clam chowder, mussels, you peel shrimp, catfish, shrimp and scallop linguine, prime rib, new potatoes, creamed peas and onions, an excellent salad bar and carrot cake or blueberry cobbler (or both) for dessert.

We were planning to leave on Sat. morning – that did not happen as it is pouring rain in the morning. Later we walked over to the Farmer’s Market for some fresh picked strawberries, peppers, corn on the cob, and some other vegetables and more Honey bell oranges. Everything just tastes so much better when it is fresh picked, not bought at the supermarket. Bob particularly like Honeywell oranges. They don’t ship well, therefore you can not get them out of Florida and the growing season is short for this fruit.

On Sunday the weather cooperated and it is beautiful - meaning sunny and warm (75 degrees) with light winds (5-10 mph out of WNW). Really, when you are traveling, warm temperatures are nice but light winds are what we hope for. There is not a lot of current in most places; however the wind plays a big part. The winds controls how flat the water is but also how much water is under the boat and since in a lot of places there is only 4-5 feet under the boat, you do not want a blow out tide. Also, in a lot of places it looks like you could go forever, but the depth of the water may only be 1 ½ - 2 feet outside of the channel. In some cases, even in the channel there is not a lot of water – and you need to make sure you stay mid channel and have a rising tide to transit the area. As I said, today is Sunday and we try not to travel on the weekends especially in Florida, if possible. Today is like the Chesapeake Bay in the middle of July, everyone is out enjoying their boat. People are swimming along the banks of the ICW, some people are water skiing, and some are fishing or relaxing enjoying their day off from work. We are tied up at Oyster Creek Marina in the San Sebastian River, which is on the back side of St. Augustine. The marinas in the San Sebastian River are more protected then St. Augustine Municipal Marina which is located directly on the ICW, just south of St. Augustine Inlet and the Bridge of Lions. This marina is also close to a food store (1/2 mile) and about the same distance to downtown St. Augustine. On Monday we change the oil in the engines. We have about 150 moving hours on the engines or over 1350 miles since we last changed the oil.

Today, Tuesday is supposed to get really nasty in the afternoon so we get an early start. We are disconnect the electric and are underway at 7:00 am making our way north to Palm Cove Marina, just outside of Jacksonville. This marina is approx ½ mile off the ICW and very protected. The skies are cloudy, there is light fog, but the winds are calm. We cross St. Augustine inlet on slack water, so it makes for a calm crossing. We have the winds pushing us (SW @ 15-20 mph). When the winds are pushing you, you don’t feel them. We are in short sleeve shirts, but the people on the boats heading south are in jackets with their hoods up. We fuel up and are securely tied before the rain comes in at 1:00 pm. Did I say RAIN. It was more of a deluge!! It is raining sideway and we have white caps in the marina. Also today, more than half of Florida lost electric power due to a sub station going down. Luckily, we had electric.

Again, we delayed our departure on Wednesday. We have temperatures in the 35-40 degree range and winds are at a constant 25 mph with gusts about 30-40 mph. Since we need to cross the St. John’s River and Nassau Sound, we will wait for a better day. Thank goodness, we have the heater fixed or we would freeze. We are at Fernandina Municipal Marina which is located in downtown Fernandina Beach. Lunch at a really nice restaurant on the main street in town. We are tied inside the bulkhead so it is fairly calm (no bouncing) and just a little windy.

We are underway on Thursday and it is a beautiful day. The sun is shining, winds are out of the East at 10-15 mph, and temperatures are in the mid 60 degree range. Just after leaving the marina is Cumberland Sound and we are stopped by the US Coast Guard. A submarine is exiting Kings Bay heading for the Atlantic Ocean. What a sight to see!! He is moving fairly slow, so we only have 1-2 feet waves coming at us as he passes us. Also, when crossing Cumberland Sound the red/green markers are reversed and this continues as you cross in front of Kings Bay. Moderate chop as we cross Jekyll Sound. On this sound you need to go out into the ocean to round a buoy before heading back in toward protected waters. This is a must as there is shallow water in the center of the sound. When we were heading south we took the alternative route (Umbrella Cut) to avoid crossing Jekyll Sound as it was rough due to wind stirring up the surf. We are safely tied up at Brunswick Landing Marina, where we left the boat over Christmas, on Feb. 29^th. We are welcomed back by the staff (Sherry) and our former dock mates. As a reminder, this marina is managed by all women. It back to cocktails every night on the dock at 5:30 pm and dinner once a week, with the people who live aboard full-time. We have met a lot of people who live at Brunswick full-time, meaning they have sold everything. They do not own a home – they have put everything in storage. We have been told that the “storage thing” lasts about 1 year and then they have a yard sale to get rid of all the stuff that they never use and really don’t need anymore. Sometimes it is just hard to let go all at one time. We have heard, “Not sure if we will like living onboard full-time”, “Can I get use to living in such a small space”; Most of the time the reason they let go of everything on land is for economically reasons. They just can’t afford to keep up 2 homes, i.e., 1 boat and 1 house. They figure if and when they tire of living onboard (or health reasons) they will just sell the boat and either rent or buy a small home or condo. They do not want a large home, because of the upkeep and cost.

We will be staying here at Brunswick Landing for 3-4 weeks waiting for warmer weather north of us. It is a great stop as we can walk to the farmer’s market (Tues., Thurs., & Sat.), drug store is a bike ride away, and the library is close, convenience store across the street and nice people. The only drawback – a real food store (Winn-Dixie, Publix, or Wal-Mart) is not within walking distance. We will be renting a car during our stay. While we are here at Brunswick we relax – nothing earth shaking to report. We do general maintenance – take the teak on the bridge down to bare wood and reseal is about the only project we have scheduled. During our stay the weather is still on a roller coaster. Some days it is in the 50’s (chilly), and other days it is in the 80’s; some days it is windy (25-20 mph) and other days it is calm (no breeze, and then we get the “no seeums), It is still chilly overnight (40 degrees) but most days the temperatures climb into the 60-70 degree range. We ride our bikes or walk every day.