St. Augustine to Stuart – Thanksgiving in Vero Beach

Ships Log - Monday, November 15^th we were up early (6:30 am) and underway to Titusville 39.5 nautical miles away on the awesome Indian River. This section of the waterway is chocked full of wildlife. The North Indian River, south of New Smyrna has dolphin, manatee, eagles, ospreys, pelicans and many, many other species of water fowl. It is one of our favorite stretches. We arrived in Titusville by 2:30 pm and had showers on shore and dinner on the boat. We ran into Santa who was having a little R&R before making his run on Christmas.

 

Tuesday, November 16^th we stayed at the dock as there was supposed to be a front coming through. It was a gorgeous day and we walked to downtown area for lunch at a local diner. We hit the Save-a-lot for a few items and I got a much needed hair cut on the way back to the marina. We messed on the boat listening to news, music and reading books. I went below for a nap and Ginny was on the aft deck reading a book when Mike and Barb from s/v Goose Bumps came to see us. They were heading back to Daytona for a few more months of work before they hit the Bahamas in February. It was great to see them again and they stayed onboard for a couple of hours swapping stories with us.

Wednesday, I was up early writing and just after day break I heard something so I stuck my head up and found Mike leaving the light we had loaned them and taping a note on our door. We chatted for a few minutes and he was off to weigh anchor and head back to Daytona. We feel very fortunate to have met Mike and Barb and look forward to seeing them in the Bahamas. We were with Mike and Barb in the spring when we saw the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis.

I listened and read all the weather reports I could get and decided we would shower and shove off to Melbourne as the weather was forecast to blow hard starting on Friday. We ran down the Indian River with a 15 to 20 knot wind on our back all the way to Melbourne and anchored south of the Melbourne Indian River Bridge causeway. This was the night we earned our wings (see our previous post about the Osprey).

Thursday we weighed anchor early and moved down to Vero Beach. It was a good run and another good day on the water. On this section of the ICW the homes are awesome and we always enjoy gawking at them. We picked up mooring #57 in the north mooring field, our favorite spot at Vero. We like this spot because of all the wildlife and the views.

The next few days we enjoyed hanging out at the marina, hitting the beach and shopping. Monday, November 22^nd Bill Bartlett on s/v “Memento Mori” arrived in Vero. We spent part of the summer in Brunswick on dock 7 with Bill and will never be able to repay him for all the car trips and selfless deeds he did to help us. It was good to see Bill again and we looked forward to celebrating Thanksgiving together.

Vero Beach Municipal Marina was packed to the hilt with cruisers heading south. On most moorings there were 3 boats rafted together. We signed up for the cruisers Thanksgiving Dinner which was held at the Riverside House. It was amazing to see how this event came together. 140 + people celebrated together with everyone bringing a covered dish. On Thursday before Thanksgiving there were only 4 people signed up on the signup sheet! The food was awesome and the event was a very memorable one indeed. Our table was #8 and we had crew members from “Sirius Endeavour” (Don and Ellen Freeman), “Memento Mori” (Bill Bartlett), “Precosious” (Susan and Wayne), “Talisa” (Joan and Duncan Ellison) and “Wind Dust” (me and Ginny).

After Thanksgiving and while we were still in Vero we enjoyed having dinner with Bill Bartlett (Memento Mori) and his visiting sister Carolyn.

 We also met a new couple who rafted to us for a few days on sailing vessel “Odissea XX” (Laurie and Blair Aston) from Toronto, Canada. A great couple with lots of great stories and a beautiful Morgan 461. 

UPDATE: The Night We Earned Our Wings

Ships Log Wednesday November 17, 2010: Anchored safely south of the Melbourne, Florida Indian River Bridge causeway, we had just finished dinner and were getting ready to watch the TV show Survivor (at 8:00 pm) when we heard this loud noise. It sounded like the chain paying off our windless. I thought to myself “how could this be?” The anchor set well and the rope snubber was providing a cushion, the GPS says we are not moving so what in the H is going on. I went forward to have a look at the chain and snubber and to my surprise they were fine. As I turned around to go down below, I discovered the source of the sound. About 25 ft above the deck at the 1^st spreader was an Opsrey. The Osprey apparently landed in our mast rigging and got his talon caught between the two steel cable stays on the starboard side of the boat (these cables are attached to deck fittings and hold the mast in place). When he tried to fly off he flipped over and broke his leg. He was hanging upside down and couldn’t free himself.

Those of you that know me and Ginny know how much we love animals. When we realized what had happened and the sober realization hit us that more than likely this bird was going to suffer and die, we began to get sick to our stomachs. We watched and listened to the poor bird trying to free himself to no avail. His high frequency screech for help was ear piercing and each time drove a stake through our hearts. We began to hear another Osprey calling him from a distance with the same high shrill call and each time he would try to free himself.

Thinking through our options, I couldn’t come up with many that would be good for the Osprey. I decided to tape together boat hooks and pvc pipe to see if I could rig something long enough and sturdy enough to push his talon out from between the stays. From the top of the pilothouse, I steadied myself and began to try to push on his talon. The Osprey looked into my eyes as if to say “thanks for helping me”. He stayed calm and didn’t move while I tried to release him. I could barely reach the lower spreader tip where he was caught. It was apparent this was not going to work. From my bosons chair I wouldn’t be able reach him way out on the end of the spreader and even if I could I didn’t have talon gloves so I decided to call for help. As I climbed down from the cabin top, the Osprey let go a shower of you know what and the wind helped deposit it on my hat and shirt. I thought to myself this is the true definition of a shitty day.

I could hear my sweet wife praying for the Osprey as I changed hats and shirts. With new found determination, I decide to call the Coast Guard on the VHF radio to see if they could provide the phone number for Florida Fish and Wildlife. I called the Fish and Wildlife and luckily, they had a waterborne officer on duty about 45 minutes from us. While waiting for the officer to show up, I decided to see if I could rig a more sturdy pole that we could use if the officer didn’t have something more adequate. We found another boat hook and I was able to tape them together with Gorilla tape.

The F&W officer arrived around 10:30 pm and tied his boat up alongside ours. He came on board and I explained what had happened. We used spot lights and binoculars to get a better look at how the Osprey was tangled. We both agreed, the only hope was, to use the extension rod I made and see if we could push his talon free. I climbed back on top of the pilothouse and began to try to push the talon free. It was not working. The officer suggested that I push up from the opposite side just above the Osprey’s broken leg. I had thought of that earlier but couldn’t bring myself to do it. This was our only hope. I extended the rod a few more inches and got into position. I was thinking this is really going to hurt the Osprey. With a deep breath I gently pushed up on the Osprey’s thigh. About one hundredth of a second into the push the Osprey started flapping his wings and “poof” he was free and flying off into the night. I could see his broken leg as he flew away. Calmness filled the air as we all realized this was a happy ending to what could have turned out very differently for the Osprey.

The F&W officer told us the Osprey would be alright. He said he had seen many birds with only one leg and they learn how to survive just fine. We thanked the officer profusely for coming by and helped him shove off into the darkness of the Indian River. I looked at my watch and it was 11:30 pm. Ginny and I decided to have a glass of wine to help wind down from the events of the evening. As we discussed what had happened Ginny looked and me and said, “you earned your wings tonight”. Our efforts to help the Osprey fly another day made us feel really good as the rain began to fall.

UPDATE: Brunswick to St. Augustine and Great Weather

Well, Monday, November 8^th we said goodbye to summer long friends at Brunswick Landing Marina and started our 2010-2011 adventure to southern latitudes. We will miss all of our new friends we spent part of the summer with and especially friends at Dock 7. Each of the 15 docks has a covered entry way that we call the porch. It’s a great gathering place for afternoon chats, cocktails (coined “hooley dooleys”) and a great place to grill. One of the long time boat owners on dock 7 named our porch “the porch of knowledge” because many of us would come up and discuss repairs and upgrades to our boats. I think everyone who participated in the discussions benefited by expanding their knowledge base. Many thanks go out to the staff of Brunswick Landing Marina for making our stay very comfortable.

Our run from Brunswick to Fernandina Beach was a good one. We timed the tides for the trip about optimal. We stayed on a mooring in Fernandina Beach and the weather was awesome. Tuesday morning we were up and underway by 7:30 am. Our goal was to anchor north of St. Augustine Tuesday night and then move down to St. Augustine on Wednesday morning. We ran the section between the Fernandina Beach and the St. Johns River (Jacksonville) at a leisurely/cautious pace due to shoaling in the ICW. 

The anchorage on the Tolomato River we had picked was crowded so we moved down river to another anchorage picked as our bailout point. When we arrived we poked our way back into the anchorage and set the hook for the evening. We enjoyed an awesome sun set and Ginny cooked a great meal. Just after sunset and with enough light to still see, a waterman on a small boat passed by and said “it doesn’t get any better than this”. I was thinking the same thing and felt very lucky to experience nature at her finest.

We weighed anchor around 10 am and ran down to St. Augustine. A couple miles or so north of the Vilano bridge Customs and Border Patrol were practicing chase maneuvers. These guys were “hauling some butt” as they chased each other on their patrol boats equipped with (4) 250 Hp outboards engines. Rooster tails were flying high as they made tight turns and crossed their own wakes. I thought, this looks like a job I would enjoy until I remembered bullets could be added to the fun. Hats off to our CBP for the work they do to keep us safe.

We picked up our mooring at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina just before noon and lowered the dink for a run to shore. A hot shower and quick downtown tour was followed by a great late lunch at O.C Whites which we highly recommend. As forecast the wind picked up and we were glad to be on a secure mooring. The city recently constructed two mooring fields near the marina. The small field on the north side of the Bridge of Lions and the larger field on the south side near the marina. The construction of the mooring fields have done a great deal to make safe and to cleanup the area as many derelict vessels use to be anchored in these areas. The city removed the derelict vessels and has created a much safer environment for cruising vessels. The mooring fees are $20 per night and include the Marina facilities. 

Thursday morning we went ashore to the serendipitous fortune of seeing the 122 ft Schooner “Lynx” come to the main dock at the marina. “Lynx” will be staying in St. Augustine for 3 months and will be available for touring and cruises during her stay. This vessel was built in Rockport Maine and launched July 28, 2001. She is owned by The Lynx Educational Foundation and serves as a sailing classroom. If you are in St. Augustine, step back in time and visit “Lynx”. Gee – That almost sounds like a commercial. Maybe they will consider sending us some kitty cash if they see this. Lol.

The south mooring field in St. Augustine is surrounded on the east and south by shoals and on the west by land. Deep draft vessels have to enter and exit the field from the north end. Every morning while we were there, vessels would try to exit to the east and would be warned by fellow cruisers before running their vessels aground. Saturday morning one sailing vessel slipped past everyone’s attention and ran aground. Now mind you running aground here is not the end of the world. It usually only hurts one’s pride and creates a few minute delay. Well in this guys case all was good until he backed off the shoal and over one of the new heavy duty mooring balls. Somehow the prop sucked the mooring chain into the prop and wrapped it around the prop and shaft. With a loud thud (which caught Ginny’s attention) that was the end of their trip for the day and several others days until the boat could be freed, hauled and the prop and shaft repaired. They were very lucky they didn’t hole the boat and sink. We felt very sorry for the misfortunes of this couple. Regardless of our feelings, their calamity must be filed in our LLWWONOB file (Lessons Learned While Watching other Non-Observant Boaters – pronounced “el-wo-nob”). 

Friday we found an awesome Pizza Restaurant called “Pizza Time”. It’s Brooklyn style pizza by the slice on St. George Street in downtown St. Augustine. Hands down the best pizza I have had in years. Not to mention their very reasonable prices. A must try for Pizza lovers if you are in St. Augustine. 

Brunswick, Georgia 2010 Rockin' Stewbillee

UPDATE: Ready to head South, Brunswick Rockin’ Stewbillee First.

Since our last post we spent a lot of time trying to stay cool, visiting friends and family and doing boat projects while waiting out hurricane season in Brunswick. The cold weather moved in this week and our insurance company will now let us move south so we are outa here till next June. The plan is to do Thanksgiving in Vero Beach, Florida and Christmas in the Abacos. From there we plan on heading down to Eleuthera and the Exumas for the winter. We scheduled leaving today however pulled the trigger and decided to wait a couple more days to allow the weather to settle down a little. This morning we attended the Brunswick 2010 Rockin' Stewbillee on the water front. Lots of fun. There were 31 entries in the stew contest and we sampled most of them. Very, very good. The band started at 10am and laid down some good soulful grooves that fit the festival nicely. The event started with a dog show that was adorable. Across the tracks were classic cars and bikes from around Brunswick. Here are some photo's from the Stewbillee: