Travelin' to Titusville

Carlton & Becky with Capt. Larry and a conch sandwich

The pelicans line up for a free meal

Throw me somethin', mista!

On what we thought was our last day in Fort Pierce, we rode our bikes to a nearby restaurant to have lunch with Carlton & Becky. The special of the day was 1 pound of boiled crawfish for $9.99. Capt. Larry asked if that was peeled or whole, and the waitress said whole, she was a little insulted when we told here that in Louisiana the standard was 5 pounds for about the same price. We said that we would not know what to do with just 1 pound of crawfish! After lunch Jane took off and found a fisherman cleaning some fish and being hounded by a group of pelicans. They would come up and stab his leg with their bills until he threw them a scrap. That night Carlton & Becky came aboard Bavarian Cream and we grilled steaks. We ended up spending an extra day in Ft. Pierce due to weather. It started raining the night before we planned to leave and rained pretty much through the entire next morning. Although it cleared by noon, we decided that such a late start would not really serve us well, so we decided on an extra night. Besides Ft. Pierce is just about our favorite place on Florida's east coast.

The next morning with clear skies we cast off and headed for Melbourne. The plan was to stop at Jone's Fruit Stand and Dock to tie up for the night with Seamoore and Goofin' Off, with Rich & Lin from Troy, New York. We were the first boat out, and when we got to Jone's Dock, it looked deserted. We hailed a neighbor who informed us that the 85 year-old owner had passed away. We called Seamoore and told them the news and decided to head on to Melbourne. We arrived at Melbourne and anchored in the protection of a barrier island causeway. After a steak & shrimp dinner, we listened to some music, watched Todd Melancon's donated DVD, Pirate Radio, and had a pleasant night on the hook. The next morning the NOAA weather forecast sounded pretty ominous with major storms predicted to cross our path. We decided to head for Titusville and hunker down in a marina, rather than try and weather the storm at anchorage.

A manatee pair eating algae on the boat

Looking for a drink of water

Getting a drink as we cleaned the anchor

Water! Water!

We arrived at the Titusville City Marina and secured the boat for a good blow. The weather was still pretty decent, so we got the bikes down and rode to a nearby CVS pharmacy to pick up a few things. We got back to the boat and watched the manatees. The marina has a population of about 40 manatees, and they were milling about our boat, eating algae from the neighboring boat, and coming up for a freshwater drink when we cleaned the anchor chain. About an hour after we returned, the storm rolled through the marina. We were experiencing 50+ kt. winds and torrential rains. We weren't sure how the boat would do in such conditions, but she held her own. The sailboat berthed next to us was listing so far over in the wind that we began to worry if the mast would hit our boat.

Osprey on a mast

The sailboat three berths down from us didn't get the jib sail completely furled and the wind tore the sail to shreds. The problem was that the sail flapped in the stiff breeze virtually all night long and kept us awake longer than we needed. Since the weather forecast was lousy for the next day, we thought it would be a good time to rent a car and go see the NASA space center and Cape Canaveral. However, when we arose the next morning, the storms were still coming so we decided on boat chores and an early happy hour to pass the time. We plan to go to the space center tomorrow.

Crossing to Florida's Atlantic Coast

Early morning in Moore Haven

On Lake Okeechobee

Port Mayaca Lock

Jane working the lock

Happy hour on Sun Cat

The next day involved crossing Lake Okeechobee. We likened this 30+ mile leg to crossing Lake Pontchartrain, but where Pontchartrain has an average of 12-13 feet, Okeechobee, with the current drought conditions, runs about one-half that. Odyssee, Cassandra Jade, and Bavarian Cream left Moore Haven and locked through our third lock, the Moore Haven Lock. Since Cassandra Jade was a 65 foot trawler with a deeper draft, we let her blaze the way across the lake. Her length also gave her a faster hull speed and the other two boats would periodically go up on plane to catch up to her. We hit the Port Mayaca Lock a little past noon and settled in for a leisurely cruise down the St. Lucie Canal to our last lock on this waterway, the St. Lucie Lock. The problem was the St. Lucie Lock was over two hours away and on the odd-hour locking schedule. We were about 5 miles away with one-half hour to go for a 3:00 p.m. lock-through, and Capt. Larry was almost certain we were not going to make it. However, if the westbound side locked through first, we would be good. We were still about one-half mile away when we heard the lockmaster told a waiting eastbound boat to enter the lock. We radioed the lock and told the lockmaster that we were bringing up the rear and made our way in. Because we were last we had to go to the opposite side and Jane was beside herself that she had to move the fenders. We locked down about 12 feet and cruised on to Stuart. While we were in the lock we noted that the first boat in was Abrejojos, a fellow looper that we had been told to be on the lookout for. We radioed them and introduced ourselves. They were going to stay at Sunset Marina in Stuart for about a week, so we figured that we would meet up with them again. We also went into Sunset Marina which turns out to be a really huge marina and mooring field. We had a little difficulty getting into our slip because of a really stiff wind, but finally made. Jane joked that the marina was so big the restrooms were in another zip code! We met another current looper, Godspeed, from Slidell, LA on our way in.

Having a great time!

We were invited to join a group of former loopers aboard Sun Cat for happy hour and met a lot of new couples. The whole group went to a really great Italian restaurant for dinner, then settled in for the night. Between walking to the restaurant, walking to the happy hour boat, and walking to the restrooms, Capt. Larry's knees were spent.

Some really BIG fish camps!

Containing the fire

The next morning we had coffee aboard Odyssee. We received a lot of good tips and anchorages from Chuck and Claria and were invited to visit them at their home when we arrived in Beaufort, SC. We left the marina a lot later than we usually do, but only had a 25 mile run up to Fort Pierce. Leaving Stuart we passed some astoundingly large homes, and came across some really skinny water. We also got to see the Atlantic Ocean through the St. Lucie Inlet for the first time. We cruised slowly to Ft. Pierce through the Indian River on the Atlantic Intracoastal Water Way (AIWW) that would be our route for the next several weeks. On the way to Ft. Pierce we came across a large brush fire with a helicopter dumping water on the fire. This further emphasizes just how dry this area is. We arrived at Ft. Pierce City Marina and got tied up in our slip. Jane checked us in and lined up our social calendar for the weekend. We ate on the boat and turned in for the night. The next day we spent doing boat chores and riding our bikes to nearby stores to

Dinner with Carlton & Becky

re-provision. In the afternoon we noticed that a new boat was berthed behind us, and when we checked her out we found out that it was Seamoore with Carlton & Becky from Decatur, AL. They also were doing the loop and came up from a wintering stay in the Florida Keys. We had met them at the first Port St. Joe mini-rendezvous, and after getting reacquainted, decided to have happy hour aboard their boat, then go out to dinner. When we returned to Bavarian Cream for a nightcap then turned in.

At the farmer's market

Jane and a sticky bun

The next day we went to a farmer's market and craft show in a park just outside the marina. We had a delicious breakfast and bought some great vegetables and fruits to have during the coming week. Jane wandered the craft show and walked three blocks to the downtown area, while Capt. Larry found a hardware and auto parts store to pick up some things he needed for the boat. We refueled the boat because we felt the need to become about $800 poorer, and spent the rest of the afternoon napping and working on the blog.

Sunrise over the AIWW

Movin' on to Moore Haven

The name says it all!

At the Edison & Ford Winter Estate

Travelling 1st class and in the middled of the marina!

We  wound down our stay in Ft. Myers with a bike ride that took us to the Edison-Ford winter estate museum. The grounds were really magnificent and one can only imagine what interesting things went on here when Thomas Edison and Henry Ford were in town. We left Ft. Myers and headed east through the Okeechobee Waterway, Lake Okeechobee and the St. Lucie Canal and River on our way to Stuart, FL on Florida's east coast. This is a really interesting part of the trip as we proceeded through the Caloosahatchee River, some  man-made ditches and canals, Lake Okeechobee, some more man-made ditches, and finally the St. Lucie Canal and River.

Beautiful Island RR Bridge

Bavarian Cream in her 1st lock

Shy manatee in Ortona Lock

Jane's tools for locking gets rave reviews!

Yes, that is a pontoon boat for a dinghy!

Orange groves everywhere

I think I can, I think I can!

Just out of Ft. Myers we hooked up with two other boats, Odyssee with Chuck & Claria from Beaufort, SC (that's pronounced bow FORT like the weapon in SC vs. bew FORT in NC. This is apparently very important as it represents the English vs. the French pronunciations and coming from Louisiana we were corrected several times before we finally got it right!) and Cassandra Jade with Bob & Carol from Toronto, Canada. We passed up both of these boats before Odyssee radioed us and told us not to be in a hurry because the the locking at the first lock would only occur on the odd hours due to the drought conditions and low water levels. We slowed down, but arrived at the lock, first in line, and had no idea what we  were doing. After all this was our first lock. We radioed the lockmaster who also didn't provide use much useful information. We finally saw the signal light turn green and proceeded into the lock. This was the Franklin Lock and would take us up approximately 2 feet. Jane put out the fenders and took a line at bow and Capt. Larry got a line at the stern. And we held on it seemed for dear life. Locking up creates a lot of turbulence in the lock which occurs when the upside lock gates are partially opened to let the water pour in and raise the level in the lock. And being the first boat in (stupid us!) we probably got the worst of it. But we were successful and Jane was so elated that she started to toss Mardi Gras beads to the lockmaster. We found out there will always be spectators at the locks which adds to the pressure for Capt. Larry, but presents and audience for Jane and her locking tools. And on we went to the next lock, but this time we were last in (fast learners). Our second lock was the Ortona lock which took us up about 8 feet. The lock was interesting because we discovered that a manatee was going to lock through with us. We could see it in the water, but it never came to the surface to pose for a picture. We continued on finally ended the day at the Moore Haven City Dock where we spent the night.

Odyssee and Cassandra Jade at Moore Haven Dock

Heading Down Florida's West Coast

Getting Fuel at Our Slip

Jane's Painting for Ted

After spending four days in Tarpon Springs, it was time to move on. We had become good friends with Ted, the marina harbormaster, and he was constantly helping us out. We knew that fuel would be needed somewhere before we reached Fort Myers, and when we asked Ted where would be a good place to buy fuel, he said that the best place would be the commercial fuel dock in Tarpon. And because he was good friends with the owner, he said that he would give him a call and have a fuel truck deliver to our slip. We were really happy with this arrangement and it was the easiest fueling we've had. To show our appreciation, Jane painted a picture for Ted's  wife. We said goodbye and headed out.

Coming into Clearwater

We were a little apprehensive about this stretch of the journey, because it runs through some notoriously skinny waters. The intracoastal waterway has a project depth of 12 feet, but we rarely saw more than 9-10 feet, and quite frequently the depths were down to 6 feet. Get outside the channel and you will likely go aground. This makes running this stretch very tedious and one has to be constantly alert as to where the channel runs. After we cleared the Anclote River entrance, we found ourselves almost immediately with 3-4 feet of water below the props.It was going to be a nerve racking run to Clearwater. But we did see some really great scenery and some very magnificent homes. We went on to Dunedin and stayed

Some really fine fish camps

at the Dunedin Municipal Marina. This is a really fine marina that charged all of $0.90 a foot, but had the best facilities we had encountered on the trip so far. It is located in a beautiful park and is well maintained and secure.We quickly made friends with two other boats and had happy hour aboard a Bluewater that was berthed next to a boat named Dunwurkin, which we thought was a really clever name and would work for our German-built boat. Happy hour went way too long and we staggered back to Bavarian Cream and crashed for the evening. Beginning to wonder if the liver will hold up for another 9 months.

Jane likes the big Norfolk Pines

We see dolphins everyday

Sunshine Skyway Bridge

Tampa Bay ship channel

Yikes! Let's get outta here!

Closer than it looks!

The next day we got an early start, hoping to knock off a substantial leg on our way to Ft. Myers. Again we saw some beautiful scenery and interesting cities. The big challenge today would be crossing Tampa Bay. Maybe we would have been better off to follow our fellow boaters advice and stay in Dunedin for the St. Patrick's Day parade that passed within a couple of blocks of the marina. But since we were pretty sure that we would be back to Florida's west coast, we decided to push on so we could spend time in places we would likely not visit again. Tampa Bay proved to be really interesting. After approaching from the north, we entered a long channel that runs parallel to the to the Sunshine Skyway bridge. Capt. Larry crossed this bridge on a motorcycle trip with a westerly 40 mph wind. The channel wasn't necessarily any more reassuring, as it was a cut through an extensive shoal with 1/2-2 feet of water on each side of the channel. As we approached the the bridge, things got really interesting as the channel crosses the Tampa Bay ship channel. We watched a large ocean-going ship cross in front of us, but neglected to see an equally large ship approach just as we were crossing the channel. It is really remarkable how deceptively fast these ships move and Capt. Larry had to put us up on plane to make sure we didn't get run down.

Blowing the dink up in the cockpit

Capt. Larry setting up the dinghy

Local sunbather cruising the anchorage

We decided to go into our first anchorage. The marinas were proving to be a lot of work getting into and out of, and we wanted to move on the next day. We read about a great anchorage off the ICW in in Skipper Bob's book on the gulf coast, and decided to try it. We left the ICW and sounded our way into the anchorage at Longboat Key which is just off Sarasota Bay. We anchored and Jane took a nap while Capt. Larry decided to haul the dinghy out of the engine room and get it set up. We took a dinghy ride into the gulf inlet. We met another boat flying a gold AGLCA burgee, which means that they had completed the loop, so we dinghied over to talk to them. They recommended some other anchorages and marinas along our route. We returned to the boat and had supper. The anchorage was absolutely beautiful and so much quieter than the marinas. We slept like babies.

A swing bridge opens for us

Albee Road bascule bridge

Fishing the black mangroves on the ICW

Bavarian Cream at anchor

Sunset at our anchorage

Full moon setting over the anchorage

The next morning we weighed anchor and headed south for Englewood, FL to go into another recommended anchorage. Along the way we encountered a number of bridges, most of which we could easily clear, but a few we had to request openings. We got to the anchorage and had very little water beneath us. After feeling our way in we were able to anchor in 9-10 feet of water. We had a long day so we decided to dinghy over to a restaurant for drinks and supper. However, it was low tide and the restaurant docks we about 7 feet above the water level. With help from a couple of barely sober restaurant patrons, we were able to haul ourselves out. We had a great supper but limited ourselves to one drink, because we were worried about getting back into the dink. When we saw another boat pull up to the dock we asked if it would be OK to pull the dinghy alongside their boat and use their higher boat to board the dink. We got underway and started to head out for Bavarian Cream when we suddenly found ourselves on a shoal with about 6 inches of water beneath us. The outboard was kicking up mud and bouncing all over the place. We got out the oars and got off the shoal and managed to return to the boat. Never did we think that our first grounding would be in the dinghy.

A osprey pair nesting

R16- Southernmost point of the loop

Downtown Ft. Myers

Steel drummer at the festival

"Memphis 56," very entertaining

The next day we headed out for Fort Myers. On our way out of the anchorage we followed a boat named Cigona with Covington, LA listed as its home port. Since this is in our back yard, we radioed and him and told him where we were from. He said he was headed back toward Louisiana and hoped to get there by the 4th of July! We made our way towards Ft. Myers and only was temporarily "lost" once. We passed a milestone as we approached Ft. Myers which was the southernmost point of the loop. Going into Ft. Myers on a pleasant Saturday afternoon proved to be daunting. We had never seen so many boats heading out to the barrier islands for time on the water. We must have passed over 200 boats in a two hour period and were practically the only boat heading toward Ft. Myers. We got settled into the Legacy Harbour Marina which is a really fine facility and were told to head to downtown for the Music Festival. This is a monthly event where 12 local bars and restaurants sponsor bands that perform in the street. We visited several bands before we stumbled upon a group called "Memphis 56" that was a rockabilly band. They played Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Johnny Horton, and the lead singer uncannily sounded like the real McCoy. But the real star was the bass player who played an electrified double or upright bass. When he started thumping that instrument the crowd came alive. Jane was moving so we danced in the street until Capt. Larry's knees gave out. He is paying for it today, but it was a really wonderful event.

Jane's blooming air plant