Christmas at Vero Beach

Vero Beach is a large mooring field, with 50 mooring balls. However, since Vero Beach is a popular place, there are sometimes up to 3 boats on one mooring ball. We shared a mooring ball with a woman and her golden retriever. Our first night there a group of kayakers were paddling around the anchorage singing Christmas Carols. Some of them were wearing Santa hats and had their kayaks decorated with Christmas lights. That was a fun welcome. There was also a lunar eclipse that night, so we all tried to stay up and watch that. Some of us were more successful than others. :)

One reason why Vero Beach is so popular is that there is a free shuttle bus that which stops at Wal-Mart, grocery stores, West Marine, Lowes, Best Buy, and a mall! So the first few days we were there we did lots of provisioning for our time in the Bahamas. We couldn't find a small Christmas tree so we decided to wrap garland and light around our mast and hang some ornaments there. It was quite festive. We also made a gingerbread village, which Tazzie proceeded to eat two days later! Needless to say, Tazzie was not very popular that evening.

We had a nice Christmas morning on the boat, and the weather was actually warm enough for Mom and Christine to take a walk on the beach. At 2 o'clock(or 1400 hours, or 4 bells), we all attended a cruisers Christmas potluck. Dad and Erin joined two other musicians and played carols and other songs.

On Monday we had a nice visit from the Bruckels. They are a couple we met many years ago when we volunteered at TrawlerFests. Mom and the girls would work the registration table with Esther. Michael, at age 7, was Dennis' assistant. His fondest memory was setting up the beer coolers! The Bruckel's are still a lot of fun, and they brought some games and snacks (crab salad-yum!). They also brought some brain teaser puzzles to keep us out of trouble! We laughed a lot as they shared stories from their years of cruising.

Taking advantage of access to a mall, the kids went shopping on Tuesday! They were loaded with Christmas money from all of our generous relatives. Of course they had to keep their purchases small to fit on the boat!

Wednesday morning books were delivered to us from The Operation Bahamas Project. This a group who coordinates the delivery of schoolbooks to children in the Exumas. We only had space for 3 boxes, but it feels good to be able to participate. Wednesday afternoon, we left Vero Beach, and anchored out halfway to Lake Worth.

Thursday we arrived at Lake Worth, which is were we will wait for good weather to cross to the Bahamas! Tonight is New Year's Eve, and we are having some friends over that we met in Vero Beach. Michael is planning on jumping off the boat and into the water at midnight! Check back next year to see if he was actually brave enough! Happy New Year!

(edit: I was hoping to put up more pictures, but I'm having trouble with the internet, so I can only get these two. Check out the Picasa link in a few minutes for more pictures!)

Our "Christmas Tree"

Dolphins!

Shorts Weather...Finally!

Temperature hit 70 degrees in St. Augustine and we were actually able to wear shorts for a few hours! Woo-hoo! As we tied up to the mooring ball, St. Augustine's water-front began to glow with Christmas lights. All of the buildings were outlined in white lights – it was beautiful.

We enjoyed walking around town Friday night. We saw Santa and purchased a few Christmas tree ornaments to decorate our tree (which we still have yet to find)! Saturday morning we went to The Sailors Exchange, which is a huge marine consignment shop. To get an idea of how big it was, this was a table that was filled with all different types and sizes of screws.

We left 2 hours later with our arms loaded! On the way back to the boat we stopped for a snack in a courtyard where a man was playing Christmas carols on his accordion.

Picture of our "Snack"! Mom, Christine, and Erin split this...

When we first arrived we noticed a boat with kids next to us, so we went over and introduced ourselves. They just started a three year cruise and have a 11 year old girl and an almost 13 year old boy. We enjoyed walking around town with them, and may see them again in the Bahamas.

We enjoyed our lay-over day, but Saturday morning we left at first light. We left at first light and enjoyed another beautiful sunrise on the water.

After a long day we anchored near Ponce de Leon inlet. There was an ocean beach nearby, so the kids and mom took Tazzie in the dinghy over for a walk on the beach. It turned into quite an adventure! On the way over we hit bottom and had to climb out and pull the dinghy off of the sand bar. Then we had to inch our way along, with two people watching out for shallow water. We finally made it to the beach and saw some dolphins near shore. We saw some dark clouds rolling in, so we hopped into the dinghy to head back to our boat. This time, it was close to dusk, so we had a hard time seeing the bottom. Since it was to dark to tell depths, we decided to hop in the channel and head back up to our boat via the ICW. By this time, the dark clouds were over-head and it was beginning to rain. By the time we got back to the boat, we were cold, wet, and sandy. Thankfully, Dad had a hot meal ready for us, and we played another game of Catan! It was a rolly anchorage that night, due to the wind and opposing current from the inlet. In the middle of the night the snubber line came off of our anchor and a few feet of anchor chain was pulled out of the boat. It sounded like a freight train and woke us up. We were happy to leave that anchorage in the morning, even though it was another cold, gray, and rainy day.

Because of the lack of sleep last night, and windy conditions, we decided to stay in a marina near Cape Canaveral. As soon as we arrived, mom took Tazzie to a pet exercise area, and there met a boating couple from Havre de Grace! They live on their boat in the City Yacht Basin near Tidings Park in the summer, and travel to Florida in the winter. It's a small world!

Picture of the back of our boat from where Erin was sitting on the boom.

We're in Florida!!

We decided to stay another day at Isle of Hope because of the incredibly cold temperatures and wind chill predicted. The marina had a loaner car, so Dad and Michael went to Walmart and stocked up on groceries. After school, we got the car again, so we went out to eat and did some Christmas shopping.

We achieved a record temperature during our second morning at Isle of Hope. It was 39 degrees in the boat when we woke up. The wind had been blowing steadily all night, so we were really glad we stayed in the marina. We left around seven, and started our long day toward through Georgia. There is one marina 13 miles south of Isle of Hope, but no more after that for about seventy miles. Mom and Dad were going to stop at that marina, because the temperatures were supposed to dip into the 20s again, but we convinced them to let us tough it out, so we could get further south.

We anchored at Duplin River, 65 miles north of Florida. There was a ferry landing there, so Michael and Mom were able to take Tazzie for a long walk on land. The area was not developed, but the University of Georgia has a marine research sight there. Before the sun set, it was warm enough to sit out on the deck, provided you had enough layers on. But it was nice to be outside, even if it was only for a little bit.

It was a cold morning to be pulling up wet anchor lines Wednesday morning. But our trusty anchoring crew, Dad and Erin, got us underway bright (well, not really bright) and early. It was a very calm day on the water, and we were even tempted to go out into the ocean at St. Simon's inlet, but we realized it would be dark when we had to come back in, so we decided to stay inside. Around four o'clock, we crossed the border into Florida. We tied up to a mooring ball at Fernandina Beach. While we were exploring the town of Fernandina Beach, on Amelia Island, we were quite depressed to see a snowman in front of one of the shops. That was not the kind of Florida welcome we were hoping for! At least it was melting.

Mom, Michael and I took Taz on a walk in search of the ocean beach. It was two miles and just about dark when we got there, but it was still nice to be on the beach.

Unfortunately, our desire to get south overruled any thoughts of staying at Fernandina Beach, so we left early, hoping to get to St. Augustine before dark. Seven years ago, when we were last here, St. Augustine had a huge marine consignment store, as well as a nice downtown area and the St. Augustine fort. We plan to spend tomorrow here at St. Augustine, exploring the town, and enjoying the predicted 60 degree weather.

South Carolina to Georgia!

We spent several days in Hendersonville, visiting Grandma Tellup and painting her living room. Then we returned to the boat and headed south. We thought that by the time we got to South Carolina, we'd be warm, but it's still cold here. We left Osprey Marina Thursday morning, and anchored that night in the South Santee River. That night we put on Christmas music, and while I made cookies, Mom and Erin made origami snowflakes to decorate our boat with... it's starting to feel like Christmas! Poor Tazzie didn't get a pit stop that night, because the guide book said that the waters were infested with alligators. Unfortunately, we didn't see any.
    We were hoping to get through Charleston, and all the way to Church Creek, which is a place we anchored on our last trip, but we heard an announcement from the Coast Guard on the radio that the swing bridge just before Charleston was stuck in the closed position. They said they could manually open it at six am and three pm, but we planned to go through about one o'clock. Luckily, around eleven o'clock, the Coast Guard announced that the bridge was repaired, and we made it through the bridge and through Charleston, and dropped the hook at Church Creek at dusk. It was interesting going past Fort Sumter, but in our attempt to get warm, we decided not to stop this time. 
     We had a rainy day Saturday and it was very challenging trying to navigate with raindrops on the Eisenglass. We are getting lots of schoolwork done on these long, cold, wet days, since it is nicer to be down below, inside the boat. We anchored at Beaufort, and my dad found a movie theater that was showing The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Michael and I have been looking forward to seeing it since Prince Caspian came out in 2008. Erin bought our tickets as an early Christmas present, and she and Mom went to see Tangled. It was a two mile walk to the movie theater, but we needed the exercise. Thankfully, the rain had finally stopped.
   After a beautiful sunrise this morning, the clouds rolled in and the weather people said we wouldn't see the sun till Wednesday. The wind was gusting to 50 knots all day, and we had a very bouncy ride across Port Royal Sound, on our way to Georgia. Mom and Dad actually turned around, thinking it was going to get too rough on the sound, but we decided to try it, and we realized it was doable. Just as we were crossing the Savannah River into Georgia, the clouds dispersed and the sun came out! However, the wind is still blowing ferociously and the forecast is calling for lows in the 20s tonight, and a wind chill of 15. So we are tied up now at Isle of Hope Marina, with our space heaters on full force.
     When we first arrived it was still light, so Michael, Mom and I borrowed bikes from the marina and rode around the beautiful community of Isle of Hope, outside of Savannah.

There are huge antebellum houses here, so it was fun to ride around and admire the architecture. The streets are lined with old oak trees covered with Spanish moss, which gives the town a cozy feel.

We're not sure where we're headed tomorrow, the weather is supposed to be just as cold and windy.

From Oriental to Myrtle Beach, SC

      After two nights at the free dock in Oriental, we moved our boat out to the anchorage. We were able to get a lot accomplished in Oriental and had a great time visiting with our friends. Tuesday morning, we sailed to Morehead City, and tied up at The Sanitary Restaurant, which usually allows boats to tie up there for ten dollars a night. However, the restaurant was closed for the season, so no one came around to collect the dockage fee. We knew there was weather moving in on Wednesday, so we decided to stay put, and we're really glad we did. The winds howled all Tuesday night and into Wednesday, so we walked around town, did some Christmas shopping and played a marathon game of Catan.

Tazzie, who usually goes training with plastic boat fenders, was in doggie heaven at the Ace Marice Hardware store

Wednesday evening, Michael and Mom took Tazzie to a little island. They explored paths through the woods and Tazzie enjoyed running on the beach.

We were hoping to go 'outside' in the ocean from Morehead City to Wrightsville Beach, but the waves hadn't calmed down from the front yet, so we decided to stay 'inside' on the ICW. Thursday morning we were escorted out of Morehead City by a pod of dolphins! We saw some here and there throughout the day on Bogue Sound We tried to stop for fuel at Dudley's Marina, but it was low tide and we hit bottom. We backed off and headed to another marina in Swansboro. We fueled up and decided to wait there and explore the town for a couple of hours. The marina also let us take showers there. 

     The reason we aren't in a hurry is because tonight we are anchoring at Mile Hammock, which is right in the middle of Camp LeJeune, a Marine base. No one is allowed to go to shore, so it could be a long night for Tazzie. We wanted to give her as much land time as possible before we get to Mile Hammock. On our last trip when we came through here, four large black inflatable boats came speeding up the channel toward us. They landed on the beach and Marines jumped out and crawled on their bellies firing their guns at an unseen 'enemy'. We didn't have quite as much drama this time, but we did see and hear lots of low flying helicopters and a military aircraft called an Osprey, which Dad and Michael found fascinating. Thankfully the helicopter drills ceased, and we had another quiet night for our rousing game of Catan.

     We left at first light and traveled down the waterway to Southport where we anchored during 'last light'. Seven years ago we had come to this anchorage and we were the only ones there. Us kids enjoyed playing on the beach in the sand. However, lots of boaters have found out about our secret, and we could hardly find room to anchor the boat. 

     We left at first light again for another long day in our quest to find warmth in the south. We've been having highs in the 30's and lows in the 40's and even though we just crossed in to South Carolina, the weather forecast is calling for a cold front to come into the area. Our friends in Oriental sent us a picture of snow that fell around their house yesterday, so winter seems to be chasing us down the coast. We've been planning to visit Dad's mom when we got to Charleston, SC, but we decided to go now to avoid the cold snap. We're leaving our boat at Osprey Marina, just south of Myrtle Beach.  We'll rent a car and drive to Hendersonville, NC, to be land-lubbers for a few days (and to enjoy the heated house).