| CHAPTER 13 Fort Pierce to Daytona Page 1 |
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MARCH 5
We, along with Highlander, got underway at 8:00. The day turned out to
be beautiful with a light wind and light chop. We only had one bridge that
had to open for us, and the other 2 were over 50 feet high. As we
approached the turn into Vero Beach, we hailed Nancy and Ed. We passed
their house on the ICW and had a chat on the radio. We will see them
again when we both get back to CT and our marina in June.
As we continued on, the ICW became very narrow and we passed beautiful
and very large homes. The rest of the trip into Melbourne was in a pretty
much open bay area, but a great ride into the marina. We went out to
dinner at O'Malley's Irish Pub. Jim and corned beef, Charlie had chicken,
Jeannette and I had chicken pot pie with buttered cabbage...absolutely
yummy. We also had a cup of bean soup for $.18 an old Irish pub
tradition. Lily enjoyed her ride today and crossed her paws for a good
part of the ride!
We, along with Highlander, got underway at 8:00. The day turned out to
be beautiful with a light wind and light chop. We only had one bridge that
had to open for us, and the other 2 were over 50 feet high. As we
approached the turn into Vero Beach, we hailed Nancy and Ed. We passed
their house on the ICW and had a chat on the radio. We will see them
again when we both get back to CT and our marina in June.
As we continued on, the ICW became very narrow and we passed beautiful
and very large homes. The rest of the trip into Melbourne was in a pretty
much open bay area, but a great ride into the marina. We went out to
dinner at O'Malley's Irish Pub. Jim and corned beef, Charlie had chicken,
Jeannette and I had chicken pot pie with buttered cabbage...absolutely
yummy. We also had a cup of bean soup for $.18 an old Irish pub
tradition. Lily enjoyed her ride today and crossed her paws for a good
part of the ride!
CLICK ON THE THUMBNAIL PICTURES TO ENLARGE FOR DETAILS. |
Houses on the ICW Dolphin under the water Lily crossed paws
It is hard to get a good picture
as they swim and jump so fast.
It is hard to get a good picture
as they swim and jump so fast.
MARCH 6
The forecast was for a moderate chop on the ICW, however, we were blessed with water that was
labeled as "smooth". We hardly had a ripple the whole trip from Melbourne to Titusville. It was a
wonderful ride. We passed the Kennedy Space Center which was way off in the distance. We plan to
take a ride there when we get to Daytona. We saw dolphins the entire trip. Several time 1 or 2 swam
along side our boat for a good 10 minutes, with an occasional jump up in the air to show off. It's just
so hard to get a good shot because my camera is not that fast. By the time I click, it takes several
seconds before I can click again, and by then, the dolphin has jumped. The water has now turned to
more of a dark green similar to what we have back in Connecticut. All around Florida so far we have
had aqua colored water, so I guess this is a hint that we are finally heading north!
We docked at Titusville City Marina around 2:30 to find our finger to be loaded with seagull droppings.
It was a mess! Charlie got out his hose and I grabbed the brush and soap, and we washed and scrubbed
the wood. We didn't want to step in any of it even though it was all dry, and of course, we didn't want
Lily to walk in it with her paws. At least we don't have any tides here and the boat will stay at one
level with the dock. It's a little hard for Lily to get off under the rail at her usual place, so she has
to walk a little further on the deck to get under without ducking her head too low. The fingers are
somewhat narrow, but not too bad. We had a delicious lasagna dinner made by Jeannette on Highlander.
The Space Center launched the Kipner rocket at 10:50. We were on the upper deck to observe. We
didn't see the rocket, but DID see the booster rocker just over our boat to the east in a huge flame
that dropped sparks into the air. The picture was taken from our Comcast homepage news. To read
about the blast off check the following:
The article is titled: "Telescope Blasts into Space to Find Other Earths". ( It may say the article is no
longer available, but it is listed on the page under "check out these other stories", and it should open.)
We will be here tomorrow and start our day at the yacht club next door for their pancake breakfast.
It will be good not to have to rush to get up to get underway and have a day to rest and organize the
boat.
The forecast was for a moderate chop on the ICW, however, we were blessed with water that was
labeled as "smooth". We hardly had a ripple the whole trip from Melbourne to Titusville. It was a
wonderful ride. We passed the Kennedy Space Center which was way off in the distance. We plan to
take a ride there when we get to Daytona. We saw dolphins the entire trip. Several time 1 or 2 swam
along side our boat for a good 10 minutes, with an occasional jump up in the air to show off. It's just
so hard to get a good shot because my camera is not that fast. By the time I click, it takes several
seconds before I can click again, and by then, the dolphin has jumped. The water has now turned to
more of a dark green similar to what we have back in Connecticut. All around Florida so far we have
had aqua colored water, so I guess this is a hint that we are finally heading north!
We docked at Titusville City Marina around 2:30 to find our finger to be loaded with seagull droppings.
It was a mess! Charlie got out his hose and I grabbed the brush and soap, and we washed and scrubbed
the wood. We didn't want to step in any of it even though it was all dry, and of course, we didn't want
Lily to walk in it with her paws. At least we don't have any tides here and the boat will stay at one
level with the dock. It's a little hard for Lily to get off under the rail at her usual place, so she has
to walk a little further on the deck to get under without ducking her head too low. The fingers are
somewhat narrow, but not too bad. We had a delicious lasagna dinner made by Jeannette on Highlander.
The Space Center launched the Kipner rocket at 10:50. We were on the upper deck to observe. We
didn't see the rocket, but DID see the booster rocker just over our boat to the east in a huge flame
that dropped sparks into the air. The picture was taken from our Comcast homepage news. To read
about the blast off check the following:
The article is titled: "Telescope Blasts into Space to Find Other Earths". ( It may say the article is no
longer available, but it is listed on the page under "check out these other stories", and it should open.)
We will be here tomorrow and start our day at the yacht club next door for their pancake breakfast.
It will be good not to have to rush to get up to get underway and have a day to rest and organize the
boat.
< Leaving Melbourne
Harbor
Looking ahead to the
Melbourne Bridge >
Harbor
Looking ahead to the
Melbourne Bridge >
The Kennedy Space Center from the ICW > |
One dolphin swam alongside our boat for about 10 minutes.
It's amazing how fast they can swim and keep up with our boat.
It's amazing how fast they can swim and keep up with our boat.
MARCH 7
We started our day with a pancake breakfast at the Titusville Sailing Club a short walk from the
marina. We went with Jeannette, Charlie, and Bob, a gentleman across from us on the dock. He is a
professional Santa Claus! The breakfast was great: pancakes, eggs, sausage, and coffee. We relaxed for
the rest of the day and then took a taxi for dinner to Dixie Crossroads, a popular seafood restaurant.
We never had rock shrimp before, and it was amazingly delicious. They taste like tiny lobsters. On the
way back Jim and Charlie stopped at the park to see the car show. We have a great view of the
intracoastal from our boat since we are right at the opening of the channel. The sky was blue all day,
warm and sunny, and the water calm. Here's hoping for tomorrow when we leave for New Smryna Beach.
We started our day with a pancake breakfast at the Titusville Sailing Club a short walk from the
marina. We went with Jeannette, Charlie, and Bob, a gentleman across from us on the dock. He is a
professional Santa Claus! The breakfast was great: pancakes, eggs, sausage, and coffee. We relaxed for
the rest of the day and then took a taxi for dinner to Dixie Crossroads, a popular seafood restaurant.
We never had rock shrimp before, and it was amazingly delicious. They taste like tiny lobsters. On the
way back Jim and Charlie stopped at the park to see the car show. We have a great view of the
intracoastal from our boat since we are right at the opening of the channel. The sky was blue all day,
warm and sunny, and the water calm. Here's hoping for tomorrow when we leave for New Smryna Beach.
| This is our view from our boat at Titusville Municipal Marina overlooking the entrance to the channel to the ICW. |
Breakfast at the Sailing Club Lily crossed paws My wind pelican I bought This pelican is really
with Bob. checking out the sights. at the Shell Factory relaxing on its belly
with its feet hanging
with Bob. checking out the sights. at the Shell Factory relaxing on its belly
with its feet hanging
MARCH 8
We got underway from Titusville on our way to New Smyrna Beach City Marina at 9:30 to very smooth
water and no wind. The trip was 32 miles, but took us over 4 hours because there was at least 12 miles
of no wake zones because of narrow channels and manatee zones. It was a beautiful, peaceful ride. We
docked at the marina around 2:00 to a nice cement floating dock which is good because there is quite a
tide here. I cooked meatloaf and vegetables for dinner and Jeannette and Charlie came over. We
watched a fishing boat come in and hang their catch for cleaning. The pelicans were all over the place
looking for a free piece of fish. The following pictures show the feeding frenzy they had. They were
trying to grab the fish from each other and playing tug of war. One pair held on to the fish for over 10
minutes. You could see their feathers shaking from the power they were had trying to hold onto the
delicacy. Others were pouncing on each other and using their beaks to grab onto each other's necks. It
was pretty funny to watch, but we felt bad that they couldn't share or take turns grabbing a fish.
We got underway from Titusville on our way to New Smyrna Beach City Marina at 9:30 to very smooth
water and no wind. The trip was 32 miles, but took us over 4 hours because there was at least 12 miles
of no wake zones because of narrow channels and manatee zones. It was a beautiful, peaceful ride. We
docked at the marina around 2:00 to a nice cement floating dock which is good because there is quite a
tide here. I cooked meatloaf and vegetables for dinner and Jeannette and Charlie came over. We
watched a fishing boat come in and hang their catch for cleaning. The pelicans were all over the place
looking for a free piece of fish. The following pictures show the feeding frenzy they had. They were
trying to grab the fish from each other and playing tug of war. One pair held on to the fish for over 10
minutes. You could see their feathers shaking from the power they were had trying to hold onto the
delicacy. Others were pouncing on each other and using their beaks to grab onto each other's necks. It
was pretty funny to watch, but we felt bad that they couldn't share or take turns grabbing a fish.
