December 27th- Vero Beach, FL to Jensen Beach, FL

Goodbye Vero Beach. We enjoyed our stay but this is an adventure we’re on. It’s time to move on. In all honesty, we probably should have stayed a few more days. The current weather pattern is not ideal for traveling. 15 to 20 knots SE winds, interspersed with rain squalls. I think we were in Vero for so long we forgot about adverse conditions and small craft advisories.

Goodbye Vero, we’ll be back.

We made some friends during our stay. We hope to run into some of them during our journey. Others stay in Vero for the winter so maybe we’ll see them on our way back North in the spring. We’ve gotten to know the town well, so it will make a good provisioning stop. Catalpa is loaded up right now. The bottom is clean. The diesel tanks are full.

This evening we are anchored in the lee of a big bridge and causeway. There is a park under the bridge for Ollie’s late day commando raid. Originally we planned on dropping the hook in Manatee Pocket or further up the St Lucie river in Stuart. We opted to end the day in Jensen Beach. Captain and crew were tired. The Indian River was kicking up a lot of spray today. We’ll access the weather conditions in the morning and make a decision about tomorrow’s itinerary then.

December 25th- Vero Beach, FL

Merry Christmas from the Vero Beach boat gypsies. Today’s weather was a mixture of sun and rain. More importantly, it was 80 degrees. We don’t miss the cold weather.

Xmas morning. A brief shower then sun and a rainbow.

This week we rented a car for a few days. Today we drove to Jupiter for Christmas dinner with family. Driving the car felt like piloting a jet. I’ve only driven once in the past 3 months.

We’re getting ready to move on. I’ve gotten a number of boat projects completed over the past few weeks. Tomorrow, more projects and packing gear. We’ve used the rental car to restock Catalpa. We’ve also contracted a local diver to clean the hull and check the zincs. The plan is to leave Friday.

Vero Beach is living up to its reputation (velcro). We’ve been here over a week and it looks like we are staying for Christmas.

Out on the town with family.

Lynne and another cruiser found a Christmas tree at a thrift shop. They set it up in the lounge. They got together the next day to make ornaments with some of the children that are living at the marina. So far we have paper snowflakes, ornaments made from wine corks, mini boats made from walnut shells, etc.

A creative group of tree decorators.

We are enjoying the convienences of marina life. We needed a few pieces of equipment for Catalpa. I was able to order everything and have it shipped here. We’re also having our mail boxed up and sent over. We haven’t had mail in months. The town has a free public transportation system. This makes it easy to get groceries or pick up gear at West Marine. We’re also looking at getting a rental car for a few days.

Vero Beach City Marina.

Nice neighborhood surrounding the marina.

Banyan trees!

Dog park fun. It’s about two blocks from the marina.

The large dog area is 4 acres.

Tonight the admiral and I are going out for birthday dinner at Mr. Manatees. It’s accessible by dinghy, up a canal. I hope we find our way back to Catalpa later.

Catalpa moored at Vero Beach City Marina.

December 10th- Titusville to Melbourne, FL

We thought about staying in Titusville another day but decided to push on. The weather looks like it’s going to be questionable later in the week. I’d like to come back here someday and see the Kennedy Space Center. I’ve always admired the folks at NASA. Growing up, I had a space shuttle model (probably Columbia) along with my Star Ship Enterprise. Space geek.

Calm morning.

I believe this is the NASA shuttle hanger.

Later in the day the wind picked up out of the south. Catalpa is a sloop, meaning it has two sails. We have a big genoa (jib) up front. It is on a roller furling mechanism which rolls up the sail similar to a window shade. Aft of the boom is the mainsail (mains’l). It is raised and lowered with a halyard and is flaked on the boom when it’s lowered. We then cover it so it’s not degraded by the sun. When we are motor-sailing I just unroll the genoa. It’s easier to roll up. The main stays covered on the boom. The other day I was trying to remember the last time I hoisted the mains’l up. The Chesapeake Bay? Would the sail be growing mildew? Could some swamp critter be living in there? Ollie standby for attack!

We finally had the wind far enough off of the bow for a real sail. The course was straight for a few hours, so no problem there. Hoist the main! Real sailing. No mildew. No critters.

The end of the day had us anchored in the lee of the Melbourne bridge.

December 11th and 12th- Melbourne to Vero Beach, FL

Fog. This is the first time we’ve had fog on this trip. We New Englanders are used to fog. Pea soup thick fog. We stayed in the cabin until I could see the bridge. Once it was clear enough, I ran Ollie over to the shore. Eventually it lifted enough that we could get under way.

The fog banks came and went during the day.

A little island, shrouded in mystery.

Our next stop was Vero Beach. I did not misspell the name in the title. Other boat gypsies refer to it as Velcro Beach. Once you get there, you stay. We grabbed the last mooring ball in the harbor. It’s packed with snow birds. Boats are doubled and tripled on the moorings. We are the only boat on mooring #50 but that may change. The harbor has nice grounds. A nearby dog park. Clean showers. A lounge. There is even an hourly (free) shuttle bus to the grocery store and West Marine (chandlery). Someone called out to us, “You made it! Welcome.”

We’re “stuck” at Velcro for a while.

Today we had plans to explore but we have monsoon rains instead. The weather is warm. Tomorrow is another day.

View off the back porch.

Rainy day Ollie.

December 7th- Fort Matanzas, FL to Daytona, FL

Today’s run was to Daytona Beach. A friend and I drove down there for spring break (many years ago) from New England. It looks us about 24 hours. We just did it in 2 1/2 months on a boat.

Colorful dredge operation.

So far most of the Florida ICW has been long straight runs. Some parts run by houses others are bordered by mangroves. We’ve seen a lot of manatee signs but haven’t seen any manatees yet.

We did see some very festive looking boats today.

Eventually we approached the high rises of Daytona.

Our stop here was brief. I ran Ollie in to a park for a pit stop and some frisbee action. Being Daytona (and Saturday night), things got a little wild in the evening. There was a big procession of decorated boats. I’m not really a big fan of Christmas music ( The Kinks – Father Christmas was a good one). I hope I don’t hear Feliz Navidad for a long time. We were gone at dawn.

December 8th and 9th – Daytona, FL to Titusville, FL

We headed south to Titusville today. We were expecting some rain but it never materialized.

The lighthouse at Ponce de Leon inlet.

Eventually we made it down to Mosquito Lagoon. It is a large shallow bay with little tropical looking islands here and there. Easy to have your own private beach for a day. I suppose the mosquitoes might be a problem but the wind kept them at bay today. Off in the distance we could see the rocket launch towers of NASA and the large shuttle hanger.

We picked up a mooring at the Titusville Municipal Marina for two nights. We were low on everything so we stocked up on diesel, water, and ice. The grocery store isn’t great so we only grabbed a few food items. We’ll take care of that in Vero Beach.

Catalpa moored in the Indian River, Titusville.

December 6th- St Augustine to Fort Matanzas, FL

I had two choices for today. A long day to Daytona or a short day to Fort Matanzas state park. Easy choice. The day was warm and the water, glass.

The fort was closed due to storm damage from hurricane Dorian. We went over to the visitor center. We’ve met a few people from the National Park Service over the past few weeks. They’ve all been super nice and extremely well informed. I met a park ranger today that used to be a delivery skipper before working for the park. I learned a lot. I also learned Matanzas is Spanish for slaughter. The region has a bloody history. I guess it was the times. It is a big nature reserve now.

They gave me some intel on a good frisbee area where we wouldn’t be harassing the other patrons of the park.

Catalpa anchored at Fort Matanzas.

December 4th and 5th- Sisters Creek, FL to St. Augustine, FL

After leaving Sisters Creek We had to cross the St John’s river. It’s a major port for Jacksonville with some major current. We were with the current so we were moving fast. We flew by some sort of Naval drydock. The boat was moving so fast that I barely had time to figure out how to get back on the ICW.

Most of the day was spent going through some long, straight canals and some rivers.

A forest fire?

I wasn’t sure where we were going to put Catalpa at the end of the day. St Augustine has installed moorings in most of their anchorage area. I was told by another cruiser that you need to make reservations weeks in advance. We barely know where we are going to be from one day to the next, so no early reservations for us. We made a call to the marina on the way. They had a cancellation. We picked up a mooring for two days.

We ventured down to the big fort. We can see it from the boat.

Castillo de San Marcos.

After checking out the fort we were famished. We wandered around town. Lots of nice stores. Everything is decorated with a mixture of Pirates and Christmas. Odd combination. Eventually we made it to the St Augustine Seafood Company. We had Minorcan conch chowder and split a blackened shrimp po’ boy. Both were delicious. I hope I can find more of that chowder along the way.

Some scenes from St. Augustine

The whole waterfront is lit up for Christmas. We are very close to all the night time activity. It is a busy place. Ollie is exhausted from all the activity he’s had today. At one point he was surrounded by a bus load of kids at the fort. He handled it well.

It’s difficult to get a night picture from a moving boat.

December 3rd- St Marys, GA to Sisters Creek, FL

We went back down the St Marys river, crossed Cumberland Sound, and finally entered Florida. If it wasn’t so early in the morning, I would have had a shot of whiskey to celebrate. Coffee instead.

We could actually see Fernandina Beach for about a week due to the big industrial plant on its shore.

The goal was Florida but Florida is a big state. We’re going to keep going. Our eventual goal is the keys. We still have about another 500 miles to put under our keel.

During our passage today we received several pictures of snow. To all of our friends and family up north, I’d just like to let you know that we also suffered with you today. Lynne and I both were unable to wear shorts and we both actually had sweaters on. I won’t miss the snow this year.

Today’s anchorage is Sisters Creek which is in Jacksonville. The ICW goes through a big reserve so the city is distant.

Catalpa in Sisters Creek.

November 29th- Cumberland Island, GA

The original plan was to check out a different part of the island today. Unfortunately, Ollie had some sort of stomach problem. Most of the day was spent dealing with it and resting. We put him on a diet of rice and chicken temporarily. He has since improved.

November 30th- Cumberland Island, GA to St. Marys, GA

We left Cumberland for the short journey over to St. Marys. We had arranged to meet up with my father and wife who were visiting the area. It was nice to see family. Lynne and I haven’t seen anyone we know in months. Oliver was very excited. We roamed around the historic streets of the town. Since the town is right next to a big Navy Sub base, they have a submarine museum. This was a priority for me. It was loaded with submarine pictures, models, books, and equipment. There was a working periscope that goes through the roof of the building. Later, we went out to a local seafood restaurant (Fulford’s Fish House) for a great meal with live music to close out the night.

December 1st- St. Marys

I keep seeing Christmas decorations but it can’t be December. I think it was around 75 degrees today.

We all met up for breakfast in town and some shopping.

The wind started to blow. The St Marys river has a strong current. Between the wind and current, Catalpa started to surf all over the place (again). Once again I was thankful for our oversized anchor. A front moved through with some rain. I managed to get a photo of a rainbow over a neighbors boat.

December 2nd- St Marys, GA

The wind continued through the night into the next day. It wasn’t really a problem but then the current started to push Catalpa around. When we’re not pointed into the wind the motion of the boat is difficult. The dinghy started banging into the stern. Every loose rope and object started to make noise. When the wind pipes up, it can get loud. Sometimes I sleep through it, sometimes not. Eventually I went up on deck and tried to get control of the situation. Bottom line: we were both tired today. Tomorrow is another day.

The wind calmed down by sunset. We were serenaded by bagpipes.

The waterfront park is decorated for Christmas.

November 27th- Jekyll Island, GA to Cumberland Island, GA

I’ve never had to think about what to do for Thanksgiving. I’ve always spent it with my family. This year we are spread out over several states and countries.

At some point I heard about the Cruisers Thanksgiving Potluck at St. Marys, Georgia. So that was a logical choice. I’d also heard about Cumberland Island. Cumberland Island is a National Seashore Park. It’s one of Georgia’s barrier islands. There are wild horses and the ruins of a Carnegie mansion. Cumberland Island captured my imagination. The weather is supposed to be good for a few days so we decided on Cumberland.

Cumberland Island is big so we spent most of the day with it on our beam as we headed toward our anchorage at the southern end. We passed by the Kingsbay Navy Submarine Base. We didn’t see any subs today.

They must keep the subs in the large hangers.

I think this is a degaussing station. Its purpose is to demagnetize submarines.

Ollie and I briefly explored the island during our evening commando raid. It really is a special place. The wild horses rule the island. During sunset we watched dolphins swimming around the anchorage. We could hear the distant playing of “Taps” from the Navy base. The word picturesque would be an understatement.

November 28th Thanksgiving- Cumberland Island, GA

For Thanksgiving I’m thankful this island was made into a national park. At one point a developer owned a bunch of land but the Carnegie family and several other organizations got him to sell out to the Feds. If you appreciate nature, history, hiking, and happen to be in southern Georgia, this place should be on the list. We hiked around one portion of the island today. We’re going to check out another area tomorrow. My amature photos don’t do it justice.

The dock and the road in. The forest on the island is filled with live oak, magnolia, and palms.

The road in was filled with horses last night but they moved on today. We turned down another lane toward the ruins of Dungeness Mansion.

The mansion and grounds have a long history. The last family to own it were the Carnegies. It burned down in 1959. Allegedly a poacher was shot by a groundskeeper. The poacher survived and lit the place up.

Some of the residents .

More ruins.

Many of the old walls are built from Tabby. A mixture of lime, shells, and mud.

Greenhouse.

These live oaks are unbelievable!

The restroom is in a building that the mansion staff used.

Onward! To the beach.

We had a good dinner. We have some canned turkey but decided to save it for another day (stranded at sea). Instead Lynne made stuffed chicken breast, carrots and mashed potatoes. The potatoes may have come from a box but after hiking for a few miles, they were devoured.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Captain and Crew of Catalpa.