St Augustine to Vero Beach
Lydia Fell
03/22/14
Nettles Island Marina, FL
It has been such a long time since I've sat down to collect my thoughts and put them “on paper”, that I don't really know where to start. I saw this coming – I knew the longer I waited the harder it would be – but I was waiting for inspiration which didn't come readily. On top of that, sitting isn't what I do best, and after a while, it's just uncomfortable, particularly on a boat. I like to move around, so the prospect of spending days below decks (arghhh!), trying to recall the last five months in front of a laptop isn't exciting to me.
However, here we are on a dock in Nettles Island Marina, imprisoned in our boat because we can't let Greta out. All the ports are open and I just recently cleaned and polished the lexan in our overhead hatches, so the cabins are light and bright and happy. So, now is the time, I figure, to catch up this log. For me, it's wonderful to stop and watch the weave of our lives since we left our first boat yard seven years ago, and it's fun to be able to read about the details we've already forgotten.
When we were in St Marys last summer, and had several waves of family come and visit – (that was so fun!) - we discovered that our high pressure fuel injection pump on the engine was losing diesel, and we needed to have it rebuilt. By recommendation from a geek friend of Skip's, we began talking to a guru of Perkins injection pumps, who lives in Stuart, FL. This is why we're here, in this marina, so that John could (and now has) remove our old pump and rebuild it.
It's an odd feeling to be sitting in a dock with an engine that can't currently run. I don't like it :)
Meanwhile, on our way here on the ICW from Vero Beach, our fresh water pump on the engine started failing, and we had to take it very easy (not above 2200 revs) to avoid overheating. Fortunately, Skip is confident he can fix it, (the persistent optimist) but we need to be back in Vero on the mooring ball before we take it off! It's never a dull life!
My last log had us just arriving in St. Augustine, a really vibrant place for cruisers with lots of things to do and see. We hadn't been there since 2009, but we were so busy with repairs at that time and focused on getting to the Bahamas, that we didn't slow down to enjoy the experience. This time we did. We loved walking everywhere in order to sight-see and grocery shop, and were overjoyed to find a Pet-Co-type store next to Winn-Dixie. Each time we'd go shopping, we would visit the kitties who were in their cages and up for adoption. We got attached to a little Tortoiseshell called Skittles, and were there when she was (finally!) adopted by a lovely couple – a great relief to me!
Since we were in St. Augustine through the Holiday period, we were able to enjoy the spectacular Christmas decorations, which were incredibly elaborate. We attended a Sunday morning service with Ric and Linda at the gorgeous old Presbyterian Church (acoustics!), and wandered around the historic sites and buildings. There was a cruiser's gathering every week down town at one of the eateries – and cruising friends to bump into and reconnect with after months and sometimes years of seeing them.
While we were there at Hidden Harbour Marina, we began a serious search for some senior living options for mum. We had some great help in beginning our education on what we should be looking for, and we explored options in Jacksonville and St Augustine. In the end, the search got cut short when we found the Florida Baptist Retirement Center in Vero Beach, not 3 miles from where mum was living with Mark, whose Driver came and picked her up for a tour. And that was the end of that. Mum loved it, made her decision, and all we had to accomplish was moving her in.
We left St Augustine on a sunny Christmas Eve, with a much easier exit through the inlet than we'd had coming in. Once out in the ocean again, we headed south and enjoyed a glorious, fast trip to the Fort Pierce Inlet, the wind on our backs the whole way. “Fast” usually translates to “lumpy” because in order to get fast in this heavy old boat, you need a lot of wind, and when you get a lot of wind, you're going to have bigger seas. The talent is to pick the right window – with Chris Parker, the weather guru, looking over your shoulder. We thought it was a great trip, but poor Greta was really seasick; it was punishing to watch :(. I remember when Portia was aboard, (who didn't much like sailing either), the sound of the anchor chain running out was a relief signal for her, and she was up on deck, rejoicing :) On the contrary, as soon as she heard the chain come up, she knew to hunker down. Fortunately, cats live in the present moment; Greta recovered quickly and adjusted to her new universe on a mooring ball in Vero Beach with obvious delight.
We blew into Fort Pierce Inlet on Christmas Day around noon, with brilliant cold front skies and the current and tides in our favor to continue up the ICW to Vero Beach. It's such a beautiful way to leave and arrive anywhere – with no resistance from nature. We were with mum and Mark for dinner, a wonderful surprise for them!
The first thing we did in Vero was to buy another $2K vehicle - this time a van, perfect for moving mum. We spent the next month or so helping her move into her independent living cottage at FBRC, and we all had a wonderfully memorable time doing it. It was great to see Mum having so much fun buying her furniture, decorating her cottage with pictures and nick-knacs and getting her kitchen sorted out. She quite literally wore us out for the first week, and then thankfully, she took a rest so that we had a chance to recover! Her cottage is adorable, and the old estate grounds around her are beautiful. Portia, who moved in with mum and became an indoor kitty, has windows everywhere to watch the wildlife, which includes the flock of Ibis who reside on the estate. It's quiet, and peaceful, and has an “old Florida” style to it with lots of windows and screened porches – it's quite lovely.
Once mum and Portia were settled in, we drove up to Georgia, visiting with all but one of our kids, spending precious time with their families and all of the grandchildren, and welcoming the 11th and 12th ones for the first time. We also learned that our 13th grandchild is cooking :). Our families are still growing rapidly, and blessings abound! We had a ball visiting with them all, and six weeks later, happily returned to our cosy boat.
No sooner had we climbed back aboard, we were spotted by Flying Fish and Majiks, both tied on mooring balls having just returned from the Bahamas. While not going last year was disappointing, we feel blessed to be in Vero, with mum not 3 miles away, friends who sail in and out to catch up with, an inlet to the ocean a reasonable distance away, and a warm climate. Maybe we'll make it next year, God willing :)
As I write, John is back aboard the boat and beginning the reinstall of the rebuilt pump. All being well, we should head back to Vero fairly soon. It's been blowing a clocking gale since we arrived in this marina; this has been the strangest weather year, even for Florida.
4/3/14 – Vero Beach
John was the guru that we had hoped for, and did a great job with our pump installation and in time to get out of Nettles Island Marina on a south wind, blowing us right up the ICW on a staysail only, so that we didn't have to run the engine (dying fresh water pump, remember!) We had a really lovely sail up to Ft Pierce, but clearly need new local knowledge to get in behind Causeway Island, because we went aground in what was charted as 13 feet of water.
It made me pause and wonder how often our charts need to be updated as the weather world wide changes, and ocean currents shift.
We called TowBoat US, and a charming guy with a beaming smile was there within 15 minutes, clearly gifted in dealing with people in distress. We weren't in distress, but we were happy to see him and he wasted no time pulling us off the sandbar we'd come to gently rest on. Normally we likely could have maneuvered our way off with engine help, but because the water pump was dying, we couldn't tax our engine and reverse hard without overheating.
So we get a lovely tow under the two Fort Pierce bridges before weather alerts for 40 knot squalls and a tornado watch come over the VHF radio. It doesn't take too much thought to turn around and go back to our anchorage, hopefully gaining new local knowledge in doing so.
The squall was impressive and photo-worthy :) I was so happy to have the rain water wash off the salt water from constant clocking wind at Nettles Island, but it was a sharp temperature change as the front blew through of about 10 degrees or more in a minute or two. Impressive!
The next morning, our trusty TowBoat US guy came back – such a nice man – and towed us up to Vero Beach, now with the N wind on our face. We got back on our mooring ball, and started preparing for new batteries (ugh) and a new fresh water pump. Until those things happen, we ain't goin' anywhere.
So, yet again, here we are, and it's OK. It's better than OK – it's beautiful, and still bug-free, and perfect temperatures; life is good.
Hope this finds your life good, too. I'll try to write sooner next time!
Love, Lydia
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry