Titusville - Melbourne - Vero Beach & Nettles Island.

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! 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

 



Space Park



JFK

Aerospace Park



Palm Coast - Daytona Beach & New Smyrna Beach

Wild life close up

We continue our casual cruise down the northeastern section of Florida's intracoastal waterway.  After our stay in St. Augustine we moved onto Palm Coast Marina located approximately halfway between St. Augustine and Daytona Beach.  Palm Coast is a medium sized marina connected to a rather large condominium complex.

Palm Coast Condos

 We discovered that many of the boats are seasonal return guests who travel from points farther north to winter at Palm Coast.  The marina is very well maintained and the staff treat you has though you've been their guests for years.  On 1/19/11 we left Palm Coast for the 34 mile trek to Daytona Beach.

Daytona Beach- Getting warmer!

 Daytona Beach represented one of those milestones in our journey.  We used to visit Kris's Mom and Dad in Daytona Beach before we owned Dalliance.  In those days we visited Inlet Harbor and the Marina adjacent the Boondocks restaurant in Daytona Beach Shores.

Boondocks Restaurant at Adventure Yacht Harbor

  At this time in our lives we had only distant dreams of someday setting sail and tying up at the various marinas in the Daytona Beach area.  Once again on 1/19/11 our dreams became reality and we tied up at the Adventure Yacht Harbor in Daytona Beach Shores adjacent to the Boondocks restaurant.  The two days we stayed at AYH were sunny with cool temperatures in the morning but warming into the 60's by mid - afternoon.  We were able to spend sometime on the beach, catch up on some reading and re - provision the boat thanks to Paul on Irish Rover.

Beach Club Condo

One afternoon we took a walk around the Shores and took photographs of the various condominiums Kris's Mom and Dad had stayed at over the 25 + years they wintered in Daytona Beach Shores.


Sea Shell Villa- Party central

 It was a pretty nostalgic experience.  We tried to meet an old friend of theirs Ray Barkey who still lived aboard his sailboat at AYH.  The morning we left we stopped by his boat but Ray wasn't aboard.  We were anxious to get underway on the morning of the 21st.  Over the Xmas holiday we had exchanged phone numbers with Kris's uncle Jack who was staying for a few months in New Smyrna Beach.

Dorothy, Kris & Jack at City Dock

 We spoke with Jack after our arrival in Daytona Beach and told him we planned to be in NSB by Friday the 21st.  We were anxious to get to NSB to see Jack and his lovely wife Dorothy.  We arrived at City Marina in NSB approximately noon.  The short trip down had been a wet one due to a steady rain.  We quickly secured the boat, took hot showers and called Jack and Dorothy to meet for a late lunch.  Jack recommended the Steakhouse restaurant and no one left disappointed with their meal.  After lunch Jack took Kris and I on a tour of the NSB area.  We gained a great deal of knowledge from Jack regarding the real estate in the area and the numerous condominium complexes along the ocean and river.

Home Show on Canal St

Canal Street

On Saturday morning Kris and I did breakfast at Jason's on historic Canal St.  After breakfast we took in the Home Show and Farmers Market all happening in the open air of historic downtown NSB.  We found a Sports Bar "Merk's" around noon and watched with disappointment as Syracuse got beat by Villanova in the Dome.  Of course the couple sitting next to us were from Philadelphia and took every opportunity to remind us of this fact.  Jack stopped by the boat for a few minutes on Saturday afternoon and confirmed arrangements to pick Kris and I up for Sunday Mass.  Sunday was full of surprises.  Jack got us to Mass a full half hour before it was scheduled to start.  He said it was to get his seat closest to the exit leading to the coffee and bagels in the parish center after mass.  Kris and I suspect he felt we needed the extra prayer time after months at sea.  We made plans after mass to meet Jack and Dorothy for a late lunch at "Merks" and watch some of the Green Bay - Chicago game.  When Jack arrived at 2:30pm he brought Molly and Howard Waddell old friends from the DDSO over to see us.  Kris and I knew Howard and Molly were in the Daytona - NSB area and had mentioned their names to Jack on Friday.  It was by complete coincidence they stopped by to visit Jack and Dorothy while we were in NSB.  It was a nice reunion and both Howard and Molly look fantastic.  Kris, Jack, Dorothy and I went onto "Merks" to watch the game.  The place was packed but Jack got us a table.  It turned out later the owner took a "shine" to uncle Jack.   We plan to leave NSB early tomorrow morning and head down to Titusville.  We'll leave with memories of a great time with Jack and Dorothy.  If we've learned anything on our "Journey" it's the value of family and friends.  Thanks for everything Jack and Dorothy.  We love you!


Crabby Joe's at the Daytona Beach Pier



On the Move!

We're underway once again!  We stayed an additional week at the Palm Cove Marina in Jacksonville Beach because we really liked the area.

Jacksonville Beach Pier

Several days were warm enough for us to get down to the beach and enjoy the sunshine.

Happy Captain

It's off season down there but most of the shops and restaurants were open.  Sneakers is a sports bar located on the beach where Kris and I stopped by to watch the NFL playoffs.  We had a few items shipped to the Marina office and used their fax machine to conduct some land based business.  We left Palm Cove on Sunday morining 1/16/2011 and took the ICW south to St. Augustine where this blog entry is being posted. 



Dalliance at the Bridge of Lions



Historic District land transportation




Fort Castillo de San Marcos by sea

 Yesterday afternoon and evening we took in the sites of St. Augustine's historic district.  The last time we visited the area was in 1995 on a family vacation.  Kris and I both were anxious to see if it was as nice as we remembered it.  We weren't disappointed.

Downtown at Night

Last night the temperatures warmed up and we were able to walk the streets well past dark in the warm evening air.  It felt real nice!



King St and Charlotte St

Progress on our home in Belize has been significant over the last couple of months.  We should be able to stay in our home the next time we go down which will be sometime early spring.  Kris and I have formulated a basic plan to make our move to Belize.

Fort Castillo by land

 We will bring Dalliance to the Indiantown Marina on the Okeechobee Waterway just west of Stuart Fla.  We expect to be there by early February.  We're going to take our time getting there planning to make stops and stay a few days in Daytona Beach, New Smyrna, Titusville, Vero Beach and Stuart.  While at Indiantown we will assemble all of our personal items for shipment to Belize.  These items will include our car, household appliances and furnishings.  We'll look to pull Dalliance out of the water in late spring and store it in the Indiantown area.  We're hopeful Indiantown Marina will be able to accommodate us.  We plan to remain in Belize until December 2011 at which time we'll return to Dalliance and make final preparations to sail her to Belize.  We expect this will be early in 2012.  Kris and I are both enjoying our journey more than ever.  So much of the uncertainty about our future plans has vanished.  Our home in Belize is a reality and we're actually going to be able to stay there although much finish work remains.  The pace we've set on Dalliance is leisurely and relaxed.  There's really no pressure or schedules we need to meet.  As a result we're seeing much more of Florida's east coast and enjoying every minute of it.  The weather is warming up down here and this only adds icing to the cake.  That's about it for now.  We'll be sure to keep you posted as we work to complete final arrangements for our move to Conesjo Belize, CA.  Stay tuned for our further adventures.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all our family and friends!  We had a wonderful Christmas Holiday back in central New York.  The whole family made it back to spend Christmas together.  It was a great time.

The Tilbe's

Special thanks go out to our hosts for the holidays Kathy and Mike Rosselle.  The accommodations and service at Hotel Rosselle is definitely five star.  Thanks again Kathy and Mike.  Kris and I returned to Dalliance on 1/4/11.  We're still at Palm Cove Marina in Jacksonville Beach Fla.  We're going to complete some routine maintenance and continue south on or shortly after 1/8/11.  Stay tuned for further posts as our journey continues.

Kris' mom and dad-Aggie & Percy Bush

Hotel Rosselle Host - Mike





The hostess with the mostest - Kathi

Christmas Day with Shannon's Family

The ICW Part V - St. Mary's con't, Fernandina & Jacksonville Beaches

Hello All!  It's been a couple weeks since our last post and we thought it would be a good time to check in with everyone.  We stayed at St. Mary's, GA. for twelve days.  This certainly wasn't planned but we really liked the place.  We also realized we were within a long days sail to our Christmas lay up at Palm Cove Marina in Jacksonville Beach, FL.  Why stay so long in St. Marys you might ask?  The last of the Thanksgiving cruisers had not yet left the harbor when the town held it's annual Christmas Tree lighting.

St Mary's Christmas Tree

Santa arrived in a white carriage with Mrs. Claus by his side.  At each intersection on the ride down the main thoroughfare lights decorating the trees would illuminate making for a truly magical entrance.  Of course when Santa touched the large Christmas tree located in the middle of the downtown square the tree lit up. The lights on the tree blended into a background of several sailboats with their rigging adorn with Christmas lights.  We'd only seen such a nautical Christmas scene in Holiday cards.  It was beautiful!

Nautical Decorations

Kris and I had not really thought much about Christmas until this night.  Thoughts of family and friends were on our minds and we both confessed to feeling a little homesick.  A visit from our son Marc was just the medicine we needed to take the blues away.

Marc's visit

Marc drove up to St. Mary's from West Palm Beach and stayed with us on Dalliance for two days.  We had a great time together.  Marc had a car which enabled us to do some provisioning.  We went out to dinner at the Silver City Steak House (one of the best T-Bone steaks I've ever had) and took the ferry over to Cumberland Island a must see if you're passing through this area.

Dungeness Ruins

The highlight of the Cumberland Island tour is the ruins of Dungeness, the former estate owned by Thomas and Lucy Carnegie in the late 1800 and early 1900's.  Horses roam freely around the island and in this very small ecosystem you'll see Oak lined lanes, a maritime forest, and white sand beaches.
Marc, Kris and I had a great time exploring the island and I think we were all a bit sad to see the sunset on the ferry ride back to St. Mary's.

Cumberland marsh

 For the remainder of our stay we enjoyed the company and hospitality of the residents of St. Mary's and the small town holiday atmosphere.

Cumberland Island Beach

 We left on St. Marys on Monday 12/6 and did a short ten miles to Fernandina Beach, FL.  Fernandina is located on Amelia Island bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and the Amelia River.  As you may be able to tell by it's name Spanish explorers settled Fernandina and it remained a Spanish military outpost well into the 18th century.  The town's architecture and historic points of reference highlight Spain's influence on the area. Fernandina boasts as being the home to the Palace Saloon famous the oldest bar in continuous operation in the state of Florida.  Of course Kris and I had to stop by to check it out.  We weren't disappointed.  The very attractive 20 something bar tender gave us information on the saloon's history.  We met Tony a local who really gave us the low down on the areas economy, real estate and restaurants.  The bar is famous for it's "Pirates Punch".  This drink is made with a combination of (7) different rums and fruit juice.  We were told one is not enough and (2) is too much!  Kris sampled the drink and endorses this recommendation.  Once again we reconnected with friends we met on the trip down.  Jim and Carol aboard White Lillie were in port.  We first met Jim and Carol in Oriental, NC.  We had not seen them since and were happy to get reacquainted.  We enjoyed a relaxing dinner together at O'Kanes Irish Pub and shared a little about our families and future plans.  We're almost sure that everyone we've met on the way down will be in the Florida Keys and the Bahamas when we return from the Christmas holidays  We're at Palm Cove Marina in Jacksonville Beach, Fl. at this posting.  We're preparing Dalliance for a month lay up and plan to fly out of Jacksonville on the 14th of December.  The weather hasn't been the best in Florida, but Kris or I are not looking forward to the severe winter weather we've been following in Central N.Y.  However, maybe McCauley Mountain will be open!  Kris and I want to wish all our friends and family a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!               

Armadillo

ICW Part IV - Isle Of Palms to St. Mary's Georgia

Charleston wading fountain

It's been awhile since our last post and we've really got a lot to talk about.  We left Isle Of Palms on the 15th of November and went to Charleston, SC.  We had debated for several days whether or not we would stop at Charleston and finally decided to do so.  Our main reason to stop was to catch the tides and bridge openings to pass safely through Elliott's Cut a particularly nasty section of the ICW just south of Charleston.  We are so glad we stopped.  Charleston is a beautiful old southern city with a rich history and amazing architecture.

Dock Street Theater

 Our friends Jeff and Marjorie aboard Far Niente were also in Charleston.  We met for cocktails and appetizers at Tom Condon's Irish Pub located in Charleston's historic district.  This is the first time we'd caught up with Jeff and Marjorie since the Chesapeake and we had a lot of catching up to do.  We had planned to stay only one day but the winds the next morning were 35-40 mph so we stayed another night at the Charleston City Marina.





 We left early in the morning on the 17th and made our way through Elliott's Cut on a rising tide.  The current in the Cut is very strong and at times it is running at 4-5 kts.  If the current is behind you you're flying through the Cut at 8 kts.  If it's on your nose you're looking at shore thinking you're being pushed backwards.  Another very tricky section on the ICW is a very short channel called Fenwick Cut leading into the Stono River.  We saw depths in this section at mid tide of 5-6 ft.  We were worried we might run aground but the depths rose quickly once we entered the Stono River.

The Rutledge Home

  The evening of the 17th we anchored in the South Edisto River about a quarter mile off the ICW.  We were the only boat in the anchorage and we realized we were many miles from any civilization.  It was a truly beautiful night at anchor.

Edisto River Anchorage

 The next morning it was off again bright and early to make Beaufort, SC by dark.  Jeff and Marjorie had taken Far Niente off shore the previous evening and we planned to join them once again in Beaufort.  We arrived in Beaufort within 15 minutes of each other and docked immediately behind them at the Beaufort Downtown Marina.

Far Niente & Dalliance

 This was their final stop until after the holidays.  They will leave Far Niente at the Marina during the holidays and travel home to visit family.

Marjorie & Jeff

 Marjorie's mother Doris lives in Beaufort and she invited us over for dinner that evening.  It was a wonderful meal, great conversation and we were made to feel right at home by Doris and her husband Dick.

Doris & Dick

Shannon, Kris, Jeff, Marjorie

 Beaufort is another charming southern town and a certain stop for us when we pass this way again.  South Carolina is beautiful along the ICW and we enjoyed travelling this section very much.  Hilton Head was our last stop in South Carolina the evening of the 19th.  The next evening we were in Isle Of Hope, Georgia.  By this time Kris and I realized it was possible for us to join our New York friends Rob and Sue in St. Mary's, GA. for Thanksgiving.  In order to do so we'd need to spend two nights at anchor along the Georgia ICW and one night in Brunswick, GA.   While at Isle Of Hope and Brunswick, GA we reconnected with Teresa and Lonn aboard Sapphire.

Teresa & Lonn aboard Sapphire

We first met them at visitors Center in the Dismal Swamp and had run into them several times since.  Lonn kindly shared tide table and chart information on several tricky sections of the Georgia ICW.  We timed our passages through Hell's Gate, the Little Mud River and Jekyll Creek to be sure we were going through on a rising tide.  Thankfully the high tides were mid morning coinciding nicely with our travel time table.  We arrived in St. Mary's at 2:30pm the day before Thanksgiving.  We had a fabulous Thanksgiving meal put on by the town of St. Mary's for the cruisers anchored in the harbor.  The townspeople cook the turkey's, ham and pork roast and the crusiers each bring a side dish.  We're told 300 people enjoyed this years Thanksgiving meal.  We dined with Rob and Sue and a number of new friends we met around the dinner table.

Sue & Rob

  The food was fantastic and we enjoyed the conversation and comraderie very much.

Seagles hosts Cruisers Thanksgiving




 



Moon River



St Mary's Anchorage

  When transitting the Georgia ICW just south of the Isle Of Hope you pass Moon River.  This is the same river which inspired the song Moon River made famous by the singer Andy Williams.  Another point of interest was BlackBeard's Island located in Sapelo Sound and is said to be the pirates favorite hide out.  We've had so many wonderful experiences on the trip it's impossible to list them all.  We do want to point out the fabulous nature scenes we've seen including wide meandering rivers, bald eagles, dolphins and amazing sunsets.  Kris and I had much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. 

Foggy Sunrise at Cattle Pen Creek