North, and Back South

When we left Peck Lake we returned north to Vero Beach and managed to stay only three days!  We made a grocery run, enjoyed jazz brunch, happy-houred with friends, and indulged one more time in the BEST orange/vanilla soft serve ice cream at a favorite beachside taco joint.

With wind blowing ESE, we were able to motor-sail up the ICW and decided to take a detour east to Port Canaveral to visit the Kennedy Space Center.  Passing through the Canaveral Barge Canal requires waiting for 2 lift bridges and a lock. Timing the bridge openings is always fun. The first bridge opens on the hour and half-hour and we were going to miss it by 5-10 minutes, so we slowed way down to avoid sitting in place for 20 minutes.  The canal is narrow, and we were greeted with derelict boats and dolphins along the way. We saw no manatees, despite the posted signs. The lock and 2^nd bridge open on demand, and we only had a short wait for a boat in the lock to exit before we entered.

The Port Canaveral Yacht Club was half the cost of the other marinas – then we found out why! PCYC has metal fixed docks and 10 ft long finger piers. With a 4 to 5 ft tidal range we were glad there was a ladder on the end of the finger! The rest of Ritual’s length was secured between large posts. We don’t like this type of dock (vs. a floating dock the length of our boat), but it was worth it to meet other cruisers, use the nice clubhouse, and enjoy a Friday night dinner here. The marinas are in a basin closest to the lock. The rest of the canal hosts giant cruise ships and some industry and opens to the Atlantic Ocean, and many of the cruisers had great stories and info from the Bahamas and beyond. 

We managed to score a car for a couple days (rentals have been in short supply), and the Kennedy Space Center did not disappoint!  Our favorite things were the events we remember best – the last Space Shuttle Atlantis and the Apollo/Saturn V to the moon exhibits. Changes in the space industry are quite evident when you see the huge Blue Origins (Jeff Bezos) assembly plants and the building and launch area for the NASA/Boeing Artemis rocket project (Return to the Moon).  Two days later we witnessed our closest SpaceEx launch. Their Autonomous Spaceport Droneship on which the booster engine lands is named “Just Read the Instructions”.  That should be the title of several things on our boat!

Weather dictated that we follow our tracks back west to the ICW to continue north. We had hoped to go “outside” in the ocean, but strong winds and 6 to 7 ft seas put us off.  We made our way to an anchorage near New Smyrna Beach and had a quiet night. As we motored north in the morning we noticed a huge drop in oil pressure, and an inordinate amount of oil in the engine pan.  The NSB marina made room for us and we doubled back to take a slip and troubleshoot. After sucking a gallon (!) of oil out the pan, we were afraid this was it for our old engine, but after some calls and closer inspection, Fred found loose bolts on the raw water pump. Once tightened, things were much better!

We hung around to explore this town which we had bypassed earlier. The main street on the west side of the ICW is small and charming and we enjoyed meals and the art gallery exhibit by the local high school, as well as close-up manatee sightings! The east side (ocean beach side) caters more to tourists and is a sandy strip of bars and shops. Their claim to fame is being the “shark bite capital of Fla”. For 20 bucks you can drive your car on the beach, which is very wide and flat with hardpacked sand, and therefore lined with cars, food trucks and lots of people, creating more of a carnival-like atmosphere. Interesting, but we prefer our beaches sans cars.

Spurred by our recent oil incident, we began looking harder for a mechanic closer than Annapolis, and we lucked out in St. Augustine. The yard highly recommended a man named Edsel who actually returned our call and would take on the job.  And the best surprise was when we pulled into Palm Coast Marina to spend a night on our way there, and Edsel helped tie us to the dock!  Upon inspection he thought we could leave the boat in the water and install the new seals, etc. in Palm Coast, saving us a ton of $$ by not hauling the boat out, and cutting out his travel time to St. Augustine. We set a date for May 15, which gave us 2 weeks to kill, so we headed north to meet cruising friends in St. Augustine, then continue north to visit Fernandina Beach, FL and Cumberland Island, GA – an area we had skipped on our first trip south.

After 2 nights in the wild marshlands of the ICW, we took a mooring ball at Fernandina Beach, FL.  Fifty blocks of the town are designated as a National Historic District.  The town is charming, with a beautiful main street and many old Victorian homes.  Unfortunately, the marina sits between two huge paper processing plants, and the mooring field can be noisy and smelly with the right wind.  Just across the St. Mary’s River inlet lies Cumberland Island National Seashore, and after a couple days of good food, Pirate Punch at the Palace Saloon (oldest bar in FL), and hot showers, we headed to the island anchorage.

Cumberland Island was named as a national park in 1972 (our own Sleeping Bear Nat’l Lakeshore was 1970) and is only accessible by boat. It has a fascinating history as the home of natives, then Spanish and English/Scottish troops, post Civil-War settlers including Nathaniel and Caty Greene, and finally as the luxurious yet wild private island of the Thomas Carnegie family (brother of Andrew – Carnegie Steel Co). The competing interests of the Carnegie descendants, private landholders, environmental groups and park service are ongoing.  It boasts 17 miles of unspoiled beach, wild ponies, and several mansions and ruins of the Carnegie era.  Much of the area is designated as wilderness.  We hiked a half mile to the beach, completed the 4.5 mile trail around the south end, and took a van tour north 16 miles to see the Plum Orchard Mansion and Settlement area where the First African Baptist Church is located. John F. Kennedy, Jr was married in this church – but that is another story!

We walked along shaded paths under huge twisted live oaks, lined with saw palmettos, and spied spring wildlife including fawns, baby turkeys and wild foals. We reveled in the solitude of the beach and dunes, and wondered at the opulence of the Carnegie homes carved out of this wild space. We did not see any sea turtles, although this beach is known for them.  We watched the tides rise and fall in the marsh as dolphins swam past the boat. We even saw one alligator – in a northern pond, not near the boat!

We made a quick stop in the town of St Mary’s, GA, an hour up the river and the location of the NPS visitors center, island museum and ferry boats. They have a pretty waterfront park overlooking the marsh, and we could easily see Fernandina Beach, 5 miles across the grasses.  Before we knew it, it was time to head back south to see Edsel and get this engine tightened up!

Fair winds, Lisa and Fred