We left New Smyrna Beach at 8:40 on the morning of 1/24. The weather continues to warm and we were able to take the Bimini down and catch the sunshine by early afternoon. The intracoastal waterway is wide and well marked in this section. We saw more dolphin on this leg of the journey than we have at any other location. Kris also spotted a flock of flamingos on a small island in the Indian River. This is the first time we have ever seen these birds in the wild. Quite a sight!
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| Titusville Memorial Park |
We arrived at the Titusville City Marina at 1:35 in the afternoon. Titusville is on the western shore of the intracoastal waterway directly across from the Cape Canaveral Space Center. Several parks dot the coastline of the waterway commemorating significant achievements of the United States Space program. A memorial park dedicated to the astronauts who lost their lives in the Apollo 1 fire in 1967, the Challenger explosion on January 28th 1986 and the Columbia disaster on February 1, 2003 is maintained by the City of Titusville. While we were there the City held a large memorial service at the site commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Challenger explosion.
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| Gregory Jarvis Memorial Plaque |
Gregory Jarvis a graduate of Mohawk High School a small town near our home in CNY was a technician aboard that flight. While in Titusville we had a chance to talk with our friends from the Fair Haven Yacht Club Tom and Ruth Lee. Tom and Ruth are wintering at New Smyrna Beach and we just missed a chance meeting at the Farmers Market we visited while in NSB. As always it was nice to catch up with old friends and rewarding to know they enjoy reading our blog postings. We're spending several days at each stop on the Florida intracoastal and enjoying every minute.
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| Beautiful Telemar Bay |
After leaving Titusville on the morning of the 27th we continued down the ICW approximately 35 miles to Telemar Bay Marina located just north of Melbourne, FL. This little marina had been recommended by a fellow sailor (Dan The Man) we met at the Castleton Yacht Club. He told us he had lived at the marina for several years while residing in Florida and it catered to sailors. He didn't steer us wrong. We mentioned "Dan The Man" to the marina staff and although it had been several years since he resided there his legacy lives on! Melbourne FL. sits in the middle of a great fruit and vegetable farming area. Each morning we would visit a small vegetable stand a couple operated near the marina. The tomatoes and strawberries were picked fresh daily and were out of this world! We continued on to Vero Beach on the morning of the 29th. We had been looking forward to Vero Beach as we had been told the City Marina had moorings at reasonable rates, free shuttle transportation and was well maintained. We found all the reports to be true. Highlights of our stop in Vero Beach included a reunion with John and Ann the couple we travelled with for 10 days while transitting the NC ICW. John and Ann were staying with friends in Vero Beach. We got together for a wonderful evening which included dinner at Bobby's, conversation about family, friends and our continuing travels.
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| Marc & Ihor |
Our son Marc drove up from West Palm Beach for a visit the following day. We had lunch, walked the beach and streets of Vero Beach, and took a ride in Marc's car to see a little more of the surrounding area. Vero Beach is a very classy community and we liked the area very much. Kris and I once again feel the need to express how much we value our family and friends. Somehow our journey continues to heighten our awareness of how blessed we are to have such wonderful people in our lives. Our original plan was to leave Vero Beach and head directly to Stuart Florida which is located at the beginning of the Okeechobee waterway. However in looking at the charts we realized we would be passing by Hutchinson Island. I had heard a great deal about this island from a former co-worker who vacationed here several times in recent years. Being in no hurry we decided to stop and check it out. We found a small marina located on Nettles Island at Jensen Beach. This area is actually part of Hutchinson Island's intracoastal coastline. We arrive on the afternoon of 2/1. The marina sits in the middle of a gated residential development called Nettle's Island Estates. It's less than a half mile walk to Jensen Beach.
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| Deserted Beach on Hutchison Island |
The ocean side beaches in this area comprise a section of Florida's Atlantic coastline called the Treasure Coast. We're told the many shipwrecks off this section of Florida result in various treasures being washed ashore after heavy storms and hurricanes. In conversation with a fisherman I met on the beach he told me that the beaches were actually closed by law enforcements after the most recent hurricane until the debris had been sifted through. Historic artifacts such as gold coins or relics from sunken ships routinely wash up on these shores. Marc and his friend Ihor came up on Saturday the 5th and stayed overnight on the boat. We had dinner at Shuckers on the beach Saturday night, went to church at Holy Family Church in Port St. Lucie on Sunday and walked a deserted section of beach on the northern section of the island looking for shells and relics Sunday afternoon.
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| Beachcombers |
Great time! Tomorrow 2/8 we'll be moving down to Stuart FL. We plan to stay the next month at the Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart. What's been left unreported in this blog is the time we're spending finalizing arrangements for our move to Belize. Stay tuned for our next posting where we'll share specifics on our plans and timetable to make this move.
MISCELLANIOUS PICS
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| Space Park |
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| JFK |
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| Aerospace Park |
