May 13th and 14th- Fernandina Beach, FL to Jekyll Island, GA

We left Fernandina Beach, went down the Amelia River, and crossed Cumberland Sound to Georgia. Fernandina is a little noisy due to the large pulp factory on the waterfront. There is also a big gravel factory but I don’t think they were running at night.

Noisy factory.

Another cruise ship, mothballed due to covid-19.

Futuristic little vessel.

Coast Guard buoy tender working in Cumberland Sound.

Kings bay Submarine base. Security vessels but no subs visible.

Toward the end of the day we crossed over St Andrew Sound. This area is plagued with shoals. The depths go from 50 feet to almost nothing. It’s pretty on a nice day. It’s ugly when the winds are up. Today was bouncy but Catalpa powered through unscathed. The wind was less than 20. Over 20mph would be tough.

The Little Cumberland Island Light.

We pulled into Jekyll Creek and anchored in our spot. At about the same time another boat was headed to our anchor area. The area I anchor in is charted at having less than 4′ at low tide. To shallow for most sailboats. It’s actually closer to 15′. I know this due to my guide book from Bob (The 2018 Cruising Guide by Bob423). So who was the other vessel pulling in? Bob. We didn’t get to talk due to social distancing. Maybe next time. Later I read in his blog that the problem with writing a guide book is you give up all the best spots and that someone (us) got to his spot just before him (sorry). Thank you Bob. We use his guide and “Anchorages Along the Intracoastal Waterway ” by Skipper Bob (Skipper Bob passed away several years ago). If you’ve been reading this blog, these are the books I collectively refer to as The Books of Bob. They’ve been very helpful when trying to figure out where to put Catalpa at the end of the day. Fleetwing (Bob’s boat) left this morning. She is much faster than Catalpa so we won’t likely see them again on this trip.

Last night was a very quiet night. Through most of Florida we were accompanied by road noise, trains, and air traffic. Even though the Keys you can hear the traffic on route 1. Fernandina Beach had factory noise all night. This portion of our trip gets much quieter at night.

Today (the 14th) we’re staying in Jekyll Creek. We went in to town to get a few groceries. We’re also stocking up on diesel, ice, and water. Frisbee is also on the agenda. Into the wildlands of Georgia tomorrow.

View off the back porch.

May 11th- St Augustine to Sisters Creek, Jacksonville FL

We spent a restful weekend in St Augustine. Most of the time we were on the boat due to heavy winds on Saturday and rain on Sunday. It’s probably for the best as there weren’t many people taking any kind of precautions.

Tiki boat. We’ve seen these in other ports.

We searched out some quiet streets to walk on.

Flagler College (closed)

These birds were pink. It doesn’t show well in the picture. I don’t think they are flamingos.

We were going to stay in St Augustine for an extra day to take care of a few things but we couldn’t reserve the mooring for another day. There was a chance that we could benefit from a cancellation but we decided to move on.

The trip to Sisters Creek was an easy one. We picked up some favorable current along the way. When last we were anchored here there was only one other boat. Today we were one of 4. The free city docks were full.

May 12th- Sisters Creek to Fernandina Beach, FL

Wake up! Where are we going today?

We moved on up the ICW to Fernandina Beach. The marina was closed on our trip down but recently reopened. The mooring area is on the Amelia River. It’s a rather open area with a lot of current. Catalpa is dancing around on the mooring and occasionally slamming into the mooring ball. The town looks nice but again, not many people taking precautions. The ice cream shop looked great but there were too many people milling around. We skipped it.

What’s everyone looking at?

Impossible to get everyone looking at the camera when this is rumbling by. Olliver did not like the horn.

Retake. Everyone smiling.

Around town.

We’ll be back someday to see more of Fernandina Beach. I managed to buy a hat. Lynne found a nice dress and some fresh shrimp for dinner. We’re actually a little chilly here. Last night was 57 degrees. Today around 70, with a north wind. We are acclimated to much warmer weather. We’ll have to slow down our north-ward progress if it gets much colder. This is our last stop in Florida. On to Georgia.

Ollie doing some frisbee work in Fernandina Beach.

May 5th- Melbourne to Titusville, FL

We’ve been in the habit of sleeping late but are attempting to reverse the trend. The days are much longer now with the sun setting around 8:00. Still, it’s nice to get a few hours in before the sun is blazing. Today we experimented with leaving our harbor awning up while motoring along. We can’t use the main sail with the awning up but the shade was much appreciated. We mostly just use the jib when motor-sailing.

Sunrise at Melbourne.

We had another entomology lesson today. Lovebugs (Plecia nearctica) is a species of fly native to South America and southern Florida. They’re hatched in May. Luckily they are vegetarian and don’t bite poor sailors.

Catalpa was covered.

The bugs eventually left. Our destination for the evening was Titusville. The marina recently reopened from its covid-19 shutdown. Onward.

May 6th- Titusville to Daytona Beach, FL

Another sunny day. Ollie to shore. Start the engine. Drop the mooring lines. Coffee in hand and off we go.

Haulover Canal. There are tons of fish in here. I believe NASA runs the bridge.

After Haulover we spent a few hours sailing down Mosquito Lagoon. No mosquitoes today. It’s a very scenic area with lots of sandy, wind swept, islands.

Our destination for the night, Daytona.

Can we go to the PARK!!!!

A fiery sunset.

Catalpa anchored in Daytona with a nearly full moon over head.

May 7th and 8th- Daytona Beach to St Augustine, FL

Today was another long haul. We got out early.

New Bridge being built.

Today was forecast to have some heavy North winds. We are going north. Prudence would have had us stay at Daytona for the day. Our Daytona anchorage is kind of seedy so I decided to push on. The wind blasted us all day. For several hours we traveled at only 3 knots. Part way through the day we started looking at other anchoring options. I didn’t think we’d make it to St Augustine. We had reservations but the marina closes at 8:00pm. We both were looking forward to being there for a long weekend. Catalpa pressed on. Upon entering the Matanzas River we picked up a favorable tidal current which pushed us along at over 6 knots. YAY! We smashed through the wind and chop. We arrived at the St Augustine marina around 7pm. Filled up with diesel, ice, and water, then went through the Bridge of Lions to our mooring for the next few days.

Today (the 8th) we lounged around Catalpa for most of the day. The night was great for sleeping as it was cool (upper 50s) due to some kind of Polar vortex. We’re here for the weekend to relax.

Some scenes from St Augustine.

The fort is right off the back porch.

Me and Ollie on our morning walk. Lynne took this shot from the boat. (She takes most of the good pics)

The fort is pretty empty in the morning. No leash needed. Happy dog. He cleared the moat of all pigeons.

Catalpa moored in St Augustine.

May 4th- Vero Beach to Melbourne, FL

We left Vero today. We’re a little sad to leave but it was time to go. I’m glad we spent the extra time here. Coronavirus made things difficult but we still had some fun. Florida is relaxing much of its restrictions so maybe that is another reason to mosey on. Having a car for a week was a real luxury.

Some scenes from Vero-

Ollie looking for squirrels on the power lines.

The green machine.

Some evening shots of the marina the night before we left.

Me and Ollie getting water and ice after our last pizza dinner.

Tired from playing with Maggie. Ready for sleep. (I love this pic)

We got Catalpa ready most of the day yesterday and still had a few things to do in the morning. Eventually we announced our departure to the marina, dropped the mooring line, paraded around the mooring field a bit, and hit the ICW.

Goodbye Vero

The marker at the entrance. I have a G139 sticker on the dinghy motor now.

Finally on the ICW again.

Osprey nest with a chick.

Finally our destination for the night. The Melbourne bridge.

Today was a short 6 hour trip. Melbourne bridge is not a very scenic spot but an adequate anchorage with a spot to land Ollie. Catalpa ran well and I was able to do a little sailing. We actually passed 2 sailboats today. The zipper on the sail cover broke so I have to do something about that at some point. Olliver is a little sick so he’s going to have some rice and turkey tonight. Lynne and I are having shrimp!

April 30th- Vero Beach, FL

We are still floating around in Vero Beach Harbor. The problem with social distancing during a pandemic is that it doesn’t leave the narrarator with a lot to write about. We occasionally get together with other boaters (at a distance). We had a nice Easter dinner a few weeks back. We all brought different plates of food. A fun time was had by all.

We’ve enjoyed our time in Florida but it’s time to start the trip North. The temperatures are regularly hitting 90 during the day. Catalpa is a buggy mess. I finally resorted to chemicals in an attempt to reduce some of the crawling critters. The flying critters keep us on our toes in the evening.

Ollie is still getting lots of exercise (us too). His leash walking has improved. We go on long walks in the morning. He’s got another girlfriend. Maggie. They play in the evening when the marina is quiet. Both dogs race around the trees at top speed.

Warm day activities.
I spent some time working on the genoa repair. I reinforced the machine stitching with some old-time hand stitching. I believe it’s all set for the remainder of our journey.


We’ve had a rental car for several days. Catalpa is fully stocked up. We toured the area around Vero. There are many parks and beaches. Unfortunately they are all closed. Since we haven’t had a car in months, it’s nice to just take a drive around.  The local fish market recently reopened. We had some of the best sea scallops (dry) since leaving the New Bedford area. They’re probably from New Bedford. We’ve also had cocktail shrimp for a few days. Mahi or Grouper for dinner tonight.

The plan is to leave on Monday (weather permitting). I don’t think Coronavirus is going to disappear any time soon. We’ll just take precautions and keep to the boat. We’ve got a months worth of food on board, so no problems there. We hired a diver to clean the hull again. I think it will be a nice trip up with warm southerlies pushing us along.

Ollie seems to get in every shot.
Flora.


Fauna.


Veterans island.
Scenes from the mooring field.
We see dolphins almost every day. They are difficult to catch on film.

April 10th- Vero Beach, FL

Due to the various shelter orders, marina closures, and general covid-19 mayhem, we decided to spend another month in Vero Beach. We have the mooring until May 2nd. We’ll reassess the situation in May.

We’re still working on our sail repair. Lynne stitched 30 feet of material along the edge. It was difficult work (especially working at a picnic table). We had help from several different cruisers over the day. Social distancing is difficult when people are trying to work together. We tried. I still have some hand sewing to do.

Ollie is examining the area to be repaired. The sail is rolled up so we can feed it through the machine. The whole operation took 4 people.

It’s getting summery in Vero. Yesterday’s high temperature was 91 degrees. It’s been in the upper 80s most of the week. I bought a very light nylon awning (rainfly) used for camping along with some pvc poles. I sewed on some extra webbing to attach some light lines to fasten the whole thing up in the rigging. It throws some extra shade over the deck and keeps the cabin a little cooler. Unfortunately when the wind blows the whole setup has to come down as it catches the wind like a kite.


Catalpa at her Vero Beach mooring with her new awning.  They didn’t have white so I went with brown (the standard Cape Dory color).

Another issue has been noseeums. Noseeums are very small flying bugs that bite. Normal screens don’t keep them out as they can wiggle through the openings in the mesh. We found this out the hard way. I woke in the middle of the night thinking I was having some kind of allergic skin reaction. I was having a skin reaction due to bites. Thankfully we have some special noseeum netting aboard. We had already made a special screen for the front hatch. A few small improvements and that entry point was closed off to the little bastards. We netted off the companion way hatch and closed the rest of the ports, which only have normal screens. It’s a little hotter in the cabin but no bugs. It’s not much of a problem during the day as there is usually some kind of breeze so the bugs stay in the mangroves. At night things calm down and they attack. We also have bug spray, candles, and incense. All of this seems to be working. Olliver hates the bug spray but I hate the bugs MORE.

That’s the news from Vero. Captain and crew are healthy. Catalpa is holding up well. We’ve been getting together with friends at a socially acceptable distance. We had a birthday gathering with the crews of Gelato and Pepromenon. We had pizza delivered. Pepromenon has a freezer. They brought brownies and…. ICE CREAM!! The first ice cream we’ve had since last summer.

Stay safe. Happy Easter.

Some scenes from Vero Beach. Beaches are all closed. Olliver isn’t too happy about that. Maybe we’ll go on an early morning commando raid one of these days.

March 27th- Vero Beach, FL

My calendar says we’ve been in Vero for a week. The weather has mostly been sunny. Mid 80s during the day. Mid 60s at night. We haven’t had any rain since Miami and there is none in the forecast. Perfect weather for two people and a dog, living on a small boat.

We’ve mostly been “sheltering” on Catalpa. We bring Ollie to shore 3 times a day, either to the dog park (his preference) or we wander around the beautiful neighborhood that surrounds the marina.

We have everything we need on the boat. We tend to stock up whenever we hit the grocery store. Most of my nautical library consists of books written by cruisers that have circumnavigated the globe. For a couple weeks on Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound, I’ve been known to resupply like I’m going to the Azores. Catalpa is sitting low on her waterline but I’m glad we have supplies. We go through about 10lbs of ice a day so that is a commodity that is always being replenished. Blocks of ice last much longer than cubes but I’ve not located blocks since leaving New England.

Live oak tunnel.

Bismarck Palm.

Admiral and crew on an outing.

There are a few coronavirus cases in this county but everyone on the moorings and docks seem ok. The marina has shut down the lounge and removed the chairs from the lawn. There is usually a mandatory boat rafting rule here. This means boats tie up 2 or 3 to a mooring. That rule is on hold for now so we are alone on our mooring. The restaurants and bars are closed. The beaches and parks are also closed.

The other day I removed our genoa (sail) to look at the damage. The leech (trailing edge) is torn up and the leech line is coming out of the sail. Mack Sails in Stuart does repairs and normally will pick up the sail from Vero Beach. Due to the virus they are no longer offering that service. In addition they have a three week backlog. I was going to rent a car and bring it there but decided not to. If Florida shuts down non essential businesses my sail might be stuck in limbo. We’re going to do the repair ourselves. Originally we were going to hand stitch the repair but some friends have a sewing machine. Lynne knows how to stitch. I don’t, but I’ll drag the sail around and lend moral support. I think we can handle this.

A shady spot for the sail.

I’ve read that the Florida Keys are shut down. The whole county has banned all tourism. Hotels are closed. The marinas are all closed to short term transients. I think it’s the same in Miami and Ft Lauderdale. So far, the Vero Beach City Marina says they are going to stay open.

That’s the story from Vero Beach. We’re going to stay here for the near future. This is the second time I’ve attempted to post. I lost the first one. I am having great difficulty uploading images. I’m not sure if my Word Press app is not working right or the internet is clogged up. I think it’s the latter.

Stay healthy.

Some gallows humor. This boat is moored near us.

March 18th- Hobe Sound to Fort Pierce, FL

We felt at peace for our couple days in Hobe Sound. I think we needed a little time to process all the pandemic (and economic) information. The weather has been great so there is no need to follow a specific weather window for the time being.

Our Hobe beach.

Our waterlogged pirate.

Golf course, just before the Hobe Sound Bridge (heading north)

We made good time along the ICW today and bypassed our original goal (Jensen Beach). We continued North to Fort Pierce. Lynne made a call to the Causeway Cove Marina and found us a mooring ball for the night. We’ve since found out that the Ft. Pierce city marina is taking no new transient boats due to coronavirus. We are starting to wonder if this is going to become an issue for us. We mostly anchor out but do need to make stops for food, ice, etc.

A cousin to Swampfox?

March 19th and 20th- Fort Pierce to Vero Beach, FL

The Causeway Marina has nice grounds. Ollie got to play some of his games before shoving off. There is quite a bit of current in the area due to the Ft. Pierce inlet. The combination of the current and a southerly wind made for a loud night. Clanging rigging. Occasionally Catalpa would ram into the mooring ball. The hull would resonate like a kettle drum. The bleary eyed captain and crew pushed on to our next destination.

Today was a short day. The wind pushed us along at good speed. We pulled into Vero around 2:00 and tied to the pier to fill the tanks and pumpout. We immediately noticed a change since our last stop a few months ago. The dock hand seemed nervous about the current state of affairs. The marina office was closed with a “takeout window” for registration. Overall, the entire place is much quieter. Many boats have left and continue to do so. We took care of our business and moved Catalpa to mooring ball #29.

Soon after a few of our friends came by to get us caught up on current affairs. We all practiced social distancing. It’s possible that I may have been practicing social distancing my entire life. It was good to see friends and to be in a familiar spot. One is a nurse and gave us some good ideas for staying safe.

Plan A was to move on up to Georgia for April. Change of plans. We are going to stay in Vero Beach for at least a week or two (maybe longer). We want to see what happens in the near future before making any plans. Vero has a good local hospital run by Cleveland Clinic. According to their website, they have been preparing for this problem for a couple months. I think the public transportation may have shut down but we still have feet. We’d most likely not get on the bus if it was available. It’s possible that I might be able to take the dinghy up some canals to get closer to a grocery store. More research on that subject is necessary. For now, we have everything we need. We are mostly just hanging out on Catalpa. We had been using marina showers but have stopped. We have a solar shower bag. It’s not luxurious, but it does the job. We may reassess the shower thing when we understand the situation better.

While here I’m ordering more engine parts. We are also thinking about getting some paint and varnish for Catalpa. Our genoa (sail) has some damage and we are looking for someone to repair it. We need a diver to clean the hull. Boat maintenance must continue!!!

Oliver has already been to the dog park twice. He’s happy to be back in Velcro Beach also. This morning he got to romp around with another border collie of the same age.

Vero Beach City Mooring field. No waves in here. We are surrounded on all sides.

We had a great steak dinner last night. The weather is perfect. Not a bad place to be stuck for a while.

March 15th- Lake Worth, West Palm Beach FL

Another day at the Palm Beach Sailing Club. We were visited by my Father and wife today and had dinner at the club. There was a lot of traffic moving through Lake Worth so I think the decision to stay off the ICW was a sound one. It was nice to relax for another day and get caught up with family.

This is Will from Climate Kayak. He is piloting a 14′ sailing kayak from Miami to Virginia. Along the way he is recording conversations and documenting climate change. This is, by far, the smallest boat we’ve seen traversing the Intracoastal.

All of the cruise ships are now in port due to the Coronavirus.

March 16th and 17th- Lake Worth to Hobe Sound, FL

We navigated our way back up through Jupiter to Hobe Sound. At one point we have to go through 2 bridges in Jupiter inlet. They are about a half mile apart. Due to the flood tide one bridge had a 3 knot current opposing us. The other bridge had a 3 knot current pushing us toward it. Thankfully both bridge tenders are wise to the problem and time their respective bridge openings well. One should not attempt to pass under a 25′ bridge with a 41′ mast clearance requirement.

Jupiter Island on the east side of Hobe Sound.

For most of this trip I’ve managed to avoid television (we don’t have one). I’ve also tried to stay away from the news in general. This was a conscious decision on my part as I generally read the AP news wire every day. With all the disturbing news about the Coronavirus I’ve been trying to keep up with developments in Massachusetts and Florida. I don’t know if this is going to change the way we are doing this trip. Decisions. Apparently things are flying off the shelves at grocery stores. We have plenty of food, water, and diesel (thank you Dennis), so no problems there. I guess we just have to be careful. I hope everyone stays well. Ironically, Lynne and I both recently read Station 11 (thank you Janice). Great book. Don’t read it until all this blows over.

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day. All the bars in Massachusetts are closed. Hard to imagine. We decided to stay another day in Hobe Sound. We are in a secluded spot with our own private beach. We went swimming yesterday and will be doing the same today. Ollie loves it. He is once again a sandy, salty, mess.

Our private beach.

Clean sheets on the bed? Me and Blue Monkey will fix that.

March 10th- Miami Marine Stadium to Fort Lauderdale, FL

We spent several days in Miami Marine Stadium waiting for the winds to subside. The wind was still strong today but we were ready to move on. If it had calmed down a bit more I was going to sail up the coast to Port Everglades. We’d avoid 8 bridges by doing so. Wind and waves kept us on the ICW though and we tried to make the scheduled openings with varying levels of success.

Goodbye Miami.

Back in mansion land.

Our day ended in Fort Lauderdale. We called ahead to the Los Olas Marina and found their mooring field was once again operational. On the way down it was closed. The mooring gave us easy access to a dinghy dock, showers, and the Ft Lauderdale beach area. We decided to stay an extra day. I heard rumors of an excellent French Bakery in town. Lynne did most of the exploration work in Fort Lauderdale. I couldn’t handle the crowds. It’s Spring Break! Noooooo…….

Maybe the sun and beer kills COVID-19?

Lynne also visited the Swimming Hall of Fame. Apparently they used much more material to produce a bathing suit in the past.

This was Lloyd Bridges’ Sea Hunt outfit.

The French Bakery was worth the stop. We loaded up with quiche, croissants, and French bread. A couple of days later, we used the French Bread to grill the best pizza we’ve been able to produce on Catalpa.

March 12th- Fort Lauderdale to Lantana, FL

16 bridges. On the way down South we split the day up by staying over night in Boca Raton. Today I decided to push on to Lantana. We didn’t arrive at Lantana until 7:00. The sun doesn’t set until 7:30 so we didn’t have to navigate in the dark.

While entering the anchorage area I went a little too far in and ran Catalpa aground for the first time. I knew we were going to bottom out and managed to turn around before we stopped. FLANK SPEED AHEAD!! We plowed our way into deeper water and drop the hook for the night. The end of a long day.

March 13th and 14th- Lantana to Lake Worth, West Palm Beach FL

Today we headed up to Lake Worth and anchored near the Palm Beach Sailing Club.

On our trip South there were far more boats anchored in Lake Worth than present. I imagine many have headed over to the Bahamas. This particular anchorage is pretty exposed but the next few days look good. We’ll stay here until Monday. The Florida ICW, from Miami to the St Lucie Inlet, is like the Cross Bronx Expressway on the weekends. It’s filled with small power boats. Many seem to have almost no idea what they are doing. Maneuvering Catalpa in a current, while waiting for a bridge, can be difficult enough. Throw another 15 small power boats into the mix. We avoid moving on the weekends.

Today (Saturday the 14th) Ollie was happy to visit several of the waterfront parks. He seems to remember them all. We are still having some difficulty with leash walking so he and I are getting some practice in. Lynne found a decent grocery store up the road so we stocked up on some fresh food.

Palm Beach Sailing Club.

One of Ollie’s parks. We are trying to cut back on some of the frisbee action until the leash walking improves. That’s today’s idea anyway.

Not sure what kind of boat this is but I believe it’s a fiberglass version of a Munroe design. I’d like to find out more about it. I think I’ve seen one up North also.

Catalpa anchored in Lake Worth.