Author: Chris McLean

St. Augustine Municipal Marina to a random spot near day beacon 7, Tolomato River, FL (anchored)

January 2, 2023

In 352 days of our year of adventure we have not had to deal with the kind of fog that surrounded us for most of the day. This heavy sea fog made the day incredibly stressful and frustrating, as we only had a few hours of clear travel.

Skies were clear when we woke up this morning and headed out.

Within minutes of leaving the fog started rolling in but we could see the sun, so it seemed as if the fog would quickly burn off.

For a moment, the fog was pretty cool – we could see a fogbow (aka white rainbow) as the sun hit the moisture. Visibility wasn’t great, but we could still see.

The fog kept building and was so dense we struggled to see. We had to cross the ICW to get to a safe anchorage (out of the channel). It’s really disorienting to loose all visibility. Strong currents can also move us off of a course. We crept across the channel and anchored.

Normal fog burns off pretty quickly. Yesterday the morning fog was gone by 9:30 so we thought we could eat our breakfast and be off – but that did not happen.

Five hours later, the fog began breaking up enough that we could see the Vilano Bridge. Fifteen minutes after we hauled our anchor we were back in dense fog.

Luckily there was a marked anchorage close by for us to wait it out. About 40 minutes later the fog lifted and we were treated to yet another fogbow.

In six hours we had gone maybe 4 miles; although it was 2:00 we had another 3 hours of sunlight. Clearly, we weren’t going to get as far as Alligator Pass but we hoped to get another few hours of northward movement in.

Within another hour or so, we could see the fog banks building up ahead. It moved in so quickly! There are no marked anchorages on this stretch of the ICW so we found a spot that we could get out of the channel and anchor. (We actually made the decision to turn around to get to that spot because there wasn’t enough depth to anchor ahead of us).

This anchorage was actually kind of eerily beautiful – very calm water and lots of trees. The day was so frustrating that we were asleep by 8:15 – there was no need to make this day any longer.

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Somewhere around 11:15 I woke up to hear Lailia creaking. John, who has been woken up countless times for noises that I “think” I heard, was a bit grumpy until he realized that what we were hearing was Lailia slowly tilting…as the tide ebbed, we were aground and leaning to our port.

With an hour before full low, John and I kind of turned 90 degrees in our bed (so our feet were against the cabinets) and listened to things slide across Lailia. John got up to secure our watermaker in the cockpit and went to rest on the settee in the main salon while I finished reading a book. Oddly, neither of us was anxious – we were more annoyed. We did get dressed, though, in case we needed to make a quick exit, but even that wasn’t a big deal.

As the tide came back in, we began to get back to normal and headed back to sleep. We have to get out of this spot tomorrow before the tide recedes again so we’re planning on an early departure.

Bright spots of today include learning that there really are things called fogbows and also that I have grown comfortable enough with Lailia that my anxiety wasn’t triggered by Lailia leaning.

St. Augustine Municipal Marina, FL (mooring ball)

January 1, 2023

St. Augustine was rocking last night – lots of lights and sounds as people celebrated New Years Eve. At midnight a ship blasted its horn to let us know we’d crossed into 2023.

Our first morning of 2023 was eerie – foggy and calm. When I went on deck to try to get some photos a discarded New Years balloon came floating by like a sci-fi creature or maybe it was 2022 heading out to sea. We didn’t have a net to catch it, although I wish we did to keep it out of the food chain.

We’ve been following our friend Robert’s adventures as he travels (and hikes) through the United States (you should follow his blog at https://robertthenomad.com/). Our paths finally crossed in St. Augustine.

We walked over the Bridge of Lions and had lunch and shared stories about the adventures of provisioning well and metering our power usage. There aren’t many folks who relish living a roving, minimalist life so when we get together we know we’re in good company.

After lunch, Robert went back to his camp site and John went to catch the end of the Eagles’game so I wandered a bit along the seawall.

Castillo de San Marcos is on the northern end of the sea wall. There were no less than about a million people there but I did manage to get a moment where I could imagine what it looked liked a few hundred years ago.

On the south end of the sea wall is a National Guard station. There are fewer people here and more birds, which is just what I like!

We’re planning to get an early-ish start to the day tomorrow as we head north. Our goal is to get to Alligator Pass (cool name) and anchor.

Palm Coast to St. Augustine Municipal Marina, FL (mooring ball)

December 31, 2022

There’s a well-known stretch of the Matanzas River that’s notorious for shoaling that was on our way to St. Augustine. We’ve transversed this area together three times already while John single-handed the area another time when he brought Lailia to Charleston in 2019.

As we crossed this section today we encountered some traffic (in both directions) and a low tide. Folks were also communicating on VHF really well about the conditions they encountered, including a boat that ran aground just off the track. They were enjoying french toast as they were waiting for the tide to rise and float them off. They also had a dolphin show, so they had some entertainment during their brunch. We’ve had to wait to float off twice over the past year, but never during daylight hours and never with dolphins, just saying…

Once we passed the shoaled stretch we’d hear from boaters heading south asking about the conditions and for any advice we could provide. There’s such a sense of community with boaters.

Although this is the fourth time we have stayed in the St. Augustine Municipal Marina it’s the first time we’ve grabbed a mooring ball here. We’re on the north side of the Bridge of Lions but still really close to the marina itself.

We usually see dolphins near the marina – there’s some current there and I guess there’s a lot of feeder fish there. Dolphins were feeding right in the basin this afternoon with lots of splashing and blowing.

John and I decided to grab an early diinner/late lunch and ate at our favorite pizza place, grabbed some Ben and Jerry’s and then walked to Dog Rose, one the local breweries. Dog Rose is a little off the tourist path and closer to some old residences. We got to peek in a few courtyards along the way…

We’ve seen this mooring field when it’s been really choppy and windblown but we have gotten really lucky. The water is calm and there’s not too much wind hitting us, so our dinghy rides are fun.

There are so many people here for New Years Eve. The weather is mild and there’s a lot to do here even when it’s not a holiday. Tonight, there seem to be many tourist-type watercraft cruising around the mooring field and then waiting to go through the bridge. While I was watching a “pirate ship” and a schooner line up to go through, I was a little surprised by the appearance of yet another boat jumping in line. We are close to the river walk and Castillo de San Marcos, so maybe that’s why we have so much traffic?

The lights in St. Augustine do make this a beautiful place to spend a few nights.

We will be here until January 2 so today we can grab lunch with Robert, a friend who is traveling nearby.

Here’s looking back on 2022 with happiness and looking towards 2023 with anticipation…

New Smyrna Beach to Palm Coast Marina, Flagler, FL (docked)

December 30, 2022

Good thing we had a shorter trip today: we had two mechanical issues that required immediate intervention while we were moving. Once again, John is Mr. Fix-It Wizard but it has been a really long, trying day.

The George Musson Bridge opens on the hour and half hour. It’s just past the marina and we didn’t time it just right, so when we arrived we had to wait about 20 minutes. Normally John is able to sort of keep Lailia in place by alternating between forward and reverse, except today we “lost reverse.” As John went below to diagnose the issue, I had to circle Lailia while keeping her in the channel as we waited for the bridge to open.

Boat repairs are never really easy – things aren’t easily accessible. John knew what had to happen but he couldn’t remove a rusted screw, so he fashioned a fix using a pair of vise grips which he wired in place due to boat vibrations that could loosen them. Of course he had to do this on his hands and knees because this part of the transmission is really low and only accessed through a teeny panel.

A few hours later, an alarm went off. Lailia’s engine was overheating. John shut off the engine and had me take the helm – as if it’s actually possible to steer much when there’s no power. We were in a narrow channel of deep enough water and might have been okay until we got waked by a large powerboat which changed Lailia’s trajectory – we got turned sideways. John was down below changing the alternator/water pump belt as we started floating sideways around a channel marker and potentially into shallow water.

John managed to change the belt quickly and Poseidon kept us off the channel marker. I never want Lailia to get damaged and I especially don’t want to be at the helm if something nasty happens.

After a long, slow-moving day, we got to the Palm Coast Marina. We were given our slip assignment, a slip that’s adjacent to the fuel dock…where a boat was getting fuel. This time John got to make the loop as we went back into the ICW and circled around to give the marina time to clear the fuel dock.

We’re docked for the night in this tiny little marina. We’ve fueled up, done some laundry and disposed of our trash.

There’s some street noise here but our sound machine will take care of that. We have a shorter ride of 25 miles to St. Augustine tomorrow.

Cocoa, FL to New Smyrna Beach City Marina, FL (docked)

December 29, 2022

It was really quiet with no waves or wind in this nice little anchorage at Cocoa – even though we were near a bridge (and probably a train, too). We had a great night’s sleep before an early start for New Smyrna Beach, which is 51 miles from Cocoa.

Most ICW bridges are at least 64′ from the water line and Lailia only needs 53′ to clear. At this point in our adventure, we have lost count of the number of bridges we’ve crossed under – but every now and then I have to remind myself that it’s an optical illusion that we won’t clear the bridge.

I still kind of enjoy watching bridges open for us – especially when they’re “on demand” and we don’t have to wait a long time for an opening.

We have been in proximity to the NASA Vehicle Assembly Building all day. This is the largest single story building in the world and with the flatness of the area, it’s been visible for hours. Going north, our last view of it is when we head into the Haulover Canal.

We saw manatees the last two times we were in Haulover, but the cold front that dropped down last week must have made the area less hospitable to them – hopefully they have found warm water and are doing ok

Ospreys are everywhere – on channel markers, in trees, even on a few boat masts – although we didn’t see any nests yet. In the summer almost every channel marker has a giant nest squished between the signs.

The best reason to stop at the New Smyrna City Marina is we get to see John’s brother, Warren, and his sister-in-law, Linda. We always seem to share a lot of laughs. A huge bonus of our trip is that we’ve spent time with them three times this year. When John was searching for a boat in Florida a few years ago and found Lailia, Warren was with him so he’s a part of Lailia’s history.

After dinner (and before we hit the delicious ice cream parlor) Linda and Warren took us for a quick drive to see some Christmas lights. This house had synchronized music to their light show.

Even the marina restroom had some holiday decorations.

Instead of trying to travel 68 miles from New Smyrna Beach to St. Augustine tomorrow, we plan to go about 43 miles tomorrow to spend the night in a marina in Palm Coast, a new stop for us.

Vero Beach to Cocoa Beach, FL (anchored)

December 28, 2022

Today was just an ordinary travel day although it’s bittersweet: we are heading north. Although we got a late start we traveled 54 miles and anchored before dark.

Prior to leaving the marina, we stopped at the fuel dock to fill our water tank (we have been very carefully conserving water while we were on the mooring ball). John noticed that our alternator wasn’t charging our battery (!!). Fortunately the fuse light indicated the fuse was bad – a quick fuse replacement remedied the situation. (John has spent a lot of time with that alternator this year, I think it missed his attention).

Tomorrow we’ll get up early and head to New Smyrna Beach. We get to go through Haulover Canal (hoping to see manatees and dolphins again) and see John’s brother and sister-in-law when we arrive at the marina – two good things in a single day!

Vero Beach Municipal Marina, Vero Beach, FL (mooring ball)

December 5-28, 2022

We were warned about Vero Beach – lots of cruisers call it “Velcro Beach” because once you get in there, you kind of get stuck. We also knew that it was good place for us to stay for a *few days* so I could do my last virtual visit and John could take advantage of everything in the area.

We didn’t plan on staying as long as we did, but it turned out to be a good decision.

This marina is really protected – there’s a series of islands between it and the main channel of the ICW. We took our dinghy for a ride on our first day just to get a glimpse of everything (and to cool off, because it was a really warm day).

There’s so many boats here so the marina has boats “raft up” – they share a mooring ball and are attached to one another with lines.

Serendipitously, our Delaware friends Ed and Krista were in Florida and drove over to meet us at the marina. After dinner Ed and Krista were able to spend some time on Lailia with us (we hardly ever get company). They also graciously took John to the grocery store while I was working the next day.

That night our friends Chris and Colin took us to dinner in Vero Beach “city”. Vero was already working its magic.

When I am completing virtual visits, I don’t get to do much during the day. John and I decided that we would tack on a day or two to our stay at Vero Beach so we could explore and unwind together before we went further south.

John needed some stainless steel wood screws to repair the rub rail that was damaged in Spanish Cay. Vero has a free bus service that picks up at the marina – we had to take it to the main hub and catch a second bus to get to a hardware store. We got lucky and were able to complete our purchase in the store in time to catch the same bus on a return trip. Publix is also on the bus route, so it’s really easy to grab groceries as needed.

Four days turned into six days that turned into another few days – there’s regular pickleball games with players from the marina here on Tuesdays and Thursdays and John wanted to play. We decided to leave around the 13th so we could head south to the Keys.

During a downpour, we were reminded that one of our scuppers was not draining well so water was backing up on the deck. This had been an issue since we were in Maryland and we were pretty sure that it was due to seeds (all that bird poop) that had gotten into the drain and either swollen or sprouted. There’s an elbow curve in the drain that makes it really difficult to clean out – but we tried with a collection of tools meant to clean out drains. We had little success shoving them down the scupper until we noticed that there was a piece of plastic stuck inside the drain. John fashioned a tool from an old wire hanger and pulled out the plastic zipper pull that had been blocking the drainage. It’s just another boat thing that took a bunch of time and cursing to fix.

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In preparation for heading south, we moved to a t-head where we filled our water tank and equalized the battery. That evening Christmas carolers boated through mooring field making it feel just a bit more festive.

We were in no hurry to cast off on the gray and rainy morning – we also started thinking about our timeline and the holidays. As much as we both wanted to spend some time in the Keys, we made the decision to stay in Vero Beach so we didn’t have to worry about weather windows (it’s not fun to HAVE to travel in crappy weather) and so we would be in a cruising community for the holidays rather than taking a chance that we would be anchored somewhere with no one near us to celebrate.

We headed back to the mooring ball and rafted up with the boat we’d been tied to.

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Three weeks in the same location provided lots of opportunities for interesting photos of the marina and mooring field, as well as the ocean (when we walked to that side of the island).

The winter “bomb cyclone” that dropped temperatures throughout the country impacted us, although not as much as folks further north. Overnight we had an incredible change in temperatures from the upper 70s to the upper 30s. We spent the last warm day outside and at the art museum.

At anchor, we use propane to heat Lailia (our ceramic heaters need a lot of electrical power to run) and were able to stay nice and cozy. It’s just a little difficult to have to jump out of bed to light the heater in the morning!

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We missed spending time with our boys so much this Christmas, our first that without at least one son in 30 years. That was a huge emotional struggle and I don’t know that I was really aware of how difficult that would be. John and I zoomed with the boys but we missed hugging our kids and spending time with them.

The marina cruising community had a small potluck which gave our day some light. A walk with two other ladies, plus some text messages from friends, also helped.

We’ll be heading north on the 28th so I can return to work in Charleston County School District in mid-January.

Titusville to Eau Gallie Bridge, Melbourne, FL (anchored)

December 4, 2022

Some days are just uneventful – not much happens and everything is the same. There’s lots of water, some nice sunshine, some dolphins, but nothing to write a blog about.

Today was one of those days until just before we went to bed, when we did see a cool thing.

We do have a plan and a timeline: we want to get to Vero Beach by the 5th so I can do a virtual visit from the marina there. The area is very accessible so John can get to shore and enjoy the area while I am working. We were there in June and loved how close the cafes are as well as the boater community in the marina itself.

The Eau Gallie Bridge anchorage is about halfway between Titusville and Vero, making each leg of the journey about 6 hours. It’s always a plus when we don’t have to leave at the crack of dawn and anchor at sunset!

This is one of the few places that we had to reset the anchor. The anchor chain was a little “sticky” (not a nautical term) when I first dropped it. By the time it was set, we felt that we were a a bit too close to another boat so we pulled it up. We couldn’t get the anchor to set the second time I dropped it, which is weird because the bottom is muddy and grassy (our anchor was coated the first time we pulled it up). Finally, the third time was right and the anchor set hard.

There are a lot of birds here hanging out on the Eau Gallie Bridge. We know this because they are really, really noisy at night. We think that they hang out on the concrete footings under the bridge and maybe the bridge lights keep them chatty.

We decided to get rid of some leftovers from dinner. As John dumped this over the side, he noticed a lot of activity – we had a giant school of catfish who really like cornbread! It’s not a huge thing, but it’s something different.

We’ll head to Vero tomorrow and meet with some of our friends who are in Florida from Delaware.

Comachee Cove to Halifax Harbor Marina, Daytona, FL (docked)

November 28 – December 2, 2022

(Yet another catch-up post)

Halifax Harbor Marina, with over 500 slips, is the largest marina in which John and I have ever stayed. It’s so large that the dock hand came over by dinghy to check us in. By boat, the marina office is not far – to walk, it’s about a mile.

While we are underway, we can use some small electric devices (we can’t use devices that have high power draws such as the toaster, though). Our crockpot is perfect for when we are traveling – and dinner is ready when we arrive! Today we had a pork and steak stew; we learned this recipe about 35 years ago (that’s really hard to think) when we lived in Illinois.

The best part about this marina is how close we are to Warren and Linda, John’s brother and sister-in-law. Warren and John had breakfast, then Warren took John to get some boat stuff while I was working. Warren and Linda met us for dinner then took us for a ride to get ice cream. We last saw them in January on our way south – this time it was much warmer.

My virtual school visit was with with some schools in Chicago and I had a very international team with colleagues in Mexico, Vietnam, Sweden and Oregon joining me. Time zone and temperature differences were part of our daily morning check-in!

We’ll head south again on Saturday morning – we want to get to Vero Beach in time for my next (and last for a long time) virtual visit that begins on Tuesday. The warm weather and sunshine delight us so much that it’s often difficult to remember it’s already December.

Daytona to Titusville Municipal Mooring Field, Titusville, FL (moored)

December 3, 2022

(Alnost caught up with posting)

Today was a hazy day with very calm water. We also traveled through one of the most magical stretched on the ICW – Haulover Canal, which is filled with cool critters.

While we were in Daytona we had a diver clean Lailia’s hull and replace the sacrificial anode. Sacrificial anodes are attached to propeller shaft where they protect it from galvanic corrosion because they oxidize more easily. When we were in the fresher water of the Chesapeake, we used an aluminum anode. Since we are in salt water now, we switched to a zinc one. I think it’s cool to see how the anodes decay.

Lailia made good time today as the current was behind us most of the way. The water was calm and we were able to see so many dolphins!

Today was the third time we were in the Haulover Canal and this time I was ready with my camera. There are loads of ospreys here but there are also manatees, which we saw in June. We saw more today!

Just outside the canal, in the Mosquito Lagoon, we came upon a pod of dolphins feeding. Their splashing and circling made it really clear that they had surrounded a school of fish. I envy the man on the kayak who had a front row seat to all of this (just as an FYI, the dolphins got close to him, instead of him getting close to them).

We grabbed one of the last mooring buoys at the Titusville Municipal Marina and dinghied to the marina for ice and showers.

We’re planning to anchor in Melbourne tomorrow. The trip won’t be very long and it will get us to Vero Beach on Monday, easily.