Statute Mile 1007.6

Off-duty watch relaxing underway

When last I left you-- 10 days ago-- we were anchored at Pine Island, taking a short day so the captain could perform the 350 hour oil change on our engines. As all good plans go, this one also went astray for want of a quarter inch hex wrench, so the next morning we found ourselves in St. Augustine, walking to a hardware store for same. Mission accomplished toolwise, and after several hours in the engine room, the captain also proclaimed the oil change accomplished. My more extensive walk around town made me rethink my previously rather negative attitude towards St. Augustine-- probably due to a truly awful dinner with surly service after a too long walk too late one night last year. We’ll stay over in the spring on our way north and perhaps give you a revised opinion!

Frosty morning in Ft. Pierce

Our trip went smoothly the following days despite gale warnings and rainy forecasts. We proceeded down the long stretch of the Indian River, a wide open body of water with a narrow channel of navigable water. 

We’ve always found this stretch difficult because it 

requires close attention to stay in the not always obvious channel, yet there is little scenery and after the first day, it can get pretty boring. Luckily the dolphins seemed unusually active, amusing us by surfacing and diving in our bow wave and swimming in groups of up to a half dozen under the bow for a mile or two at a time. Besides the usual herons and egrets, pelicans plunging head first into the water for fish also provided entertainment for the action starved!

On the last day of this stretch--a gray, very windy and rainy day--  we left our anchorage in Daytona, traversing the Mosquito Lagoon past Port Canaveral and Cocoa  with salt spray splashing over the bow as far as the aft deck. With the chop continuing to develop in the shallow waters, we tucked into the Banana River through the swing bridge at dusk and immediately found ourselves completely protected and cozy, with Christmas lights twinkling in the houses around us.

Sunset arrival behind Dragon Point, Banana River

Still in the Indian River, we made our way through beautiful Hobe Sound to Fort Pierce, suddenly finding ourselves in gorgeous aqua water and despite the frosty weather overnight, we began to feel like we were in Florida. We saw the first manatees that we’ve ever seen while underway as we were navigating the three Jupiter bridge openings, controlled by the grumpiest bridge tenders on the waterway. After that frustrating experience, it was a short trip to our marina at Admiral’s Cove, statute mile 1007.6, according to our cruising guide-- that is,1007.6 land miles from Norfolk, where the ICW mile markers start at 0.

Over 887 nautical miles logged since passing through Norfolk on November 2-- Now that feels like an accomplishment!

Pelicans at Day Break

Another Shrimper

Laundry Day