March 31, 2017 3.6+3  Colorado Cat Voyage Date

Today was a non moving day.  We decided to spend another day at the Acosta Creek Marina on the St. John's river because of another slight electrical problem.  This time it was a chord, and the wind let us know it was still alive and blowing.  Those to things have been our anchor where ever we go.  I hope we just are about to put that anchor away.  We could have gone on with the wind blowing, but why?  The further up river it means more bugs, the river gets narrow, and more shallow.  We did want to see gators, but not that much.

Jim changed oil and I did some major house cleaning. By 11:00am we were done for the day.  This marina is not like a yacht club.  Here everybody works on their boats, at a yacht club the members watch from the bar people working on their boats.  Can't really complain about the cost either.  Acosta Marina is $1.00 a foot,

the marina in Marathon was $4.50 a foot, but the best deal is the yacht club, one night free.  Our sunset was something very different.  A fire started somewhere and the sky was full of smoke, and the sun was blood red, even the water reflection was red.  I am glad we got to see it.  Tomorrow we head back north or down the St. John's river and hopefully by April 9th we will be out of Florida.

March 30, 2017  3.6+2  Colorado Cat Voyage Date

This morning we woke up to the national Anthem being played over a very loud sound system.  It wasn't our yacht club but from the naval airbase that was right next door.  We couldn't leave for our adventure up the St. John's river until 10:00am as the tide was too low.  The St. John's river is one of the few rivers that flows south  to north.  Most go  north to south, so we are traveling up river but back south.  I don't know if I will ever get out of Florida. The further south you go the narrow the river becomes.

St. John's river  where we are now

 We made it about 120 miles out of 160 up stream, not sure we will continue. Have to see what the weather and fate brings us tomorrow.

Palatka's Yacht club

Jacksonville's yacht club

 

St John's river

Naval air station

March 29, 2017   4.0  Colorado Cat Voyage Date

 

To me the date should be 3.6+1, because we started in Feb. a short month. So I am not celebrating our 1 month anniversary until April 1st, or April Fool's Day.  By then we should know if the day says it all.

I have to admit there have been a couple of days that made us wonder if we were doing the right thing, or 

just way over our  heads.  Today was a good one and we had a very enjoyable ride to Jacksonville.

We traveled 50 miles and it took about 5 hours.  I didn't realize that Jacksonville had so many big bridges.

We must have gone under at least 8 before we finally reached yet another yacht club.  This is the last one we 

Sunset

will be able to stay in Florida.  I am very glad it was our last because it was and is a beautiful and very friendly club.  It is also the oldest one  in Florida, started in 1876.  and the second oldest in the United States.

I am so glad we got to see it.  We traveled most of the day in rivers and we had an experience this morning I thought was pretty cool.  We saw the sun set on one side of the boat the the sun rise on the other side of the

boat.  It is had to tell which is which.  We had friends take us out to dinner, and the food was great, but the company even better.  Thank you again, Jack and Kathy.  Tomorrow we begin our quest up the St. John's river.  It is 160 miles of unknown waters for us, so kinda stressful.  Cross your fingers and your toes.

Oldest yacht club in Florida

Sunrise

March 28, 2017   3.6 Colorado Cat Voyage Date

We left Dayton and headed toward St. Augustine.  The ICW  travels between rivers and man made 

canals.  You can tell when you are in a canal or  a river.  The canals are usually straight and a certain 

depth.  The rivers are full of curves and fluctuating depths.  The ICW also has houses built on the shore while the rivers have no house or only on one side.  The rivers are wide and the canals narrow.

I like canals.When we reached Ft Matanzas we were on the Matanzans river.  The inlet from the ocean had silted up the river so badly that the channel markers did not match the ones on the charts.  The state was busy trying to dredge the channel, but I don't think you can change Mother Nature. We couldn't get to the fort but waved to it as we chugged by.  Instead of dolphins following us we have manatees.  I can't say they escort us but lift their heads in acknowledgement to our presence.  We passed by St Augustine and kept going.  The winds were blowing, the current the swift, and I didn't want to have to catch a mooring ball, with 

Our anchorage

a lot of other sailboats.  We chose to stop at a small lagoon by Pine Island.  It was dead low tide, so instead of 12 feet of water we are surrounded by oyster beds, saw grass, and extremely low water.  Guess Jim is sleeping by the instruments again.  Fortunately we will be leaving on an in coming tide.  Tomorrow we go off our marked charts and into the St. John's river.  I hope it isn't like the movie African Queen.  The scenery will look the same.  If I have to get out and pulled the boat through the water like Kathryn Hepburn, I QUIT.

canal

St. Augustine lighthouse

Fort at St. Augustine

river

March 27, 2017  3.5 Colorado Cat Voyage Date

Today was a very short day.  We were up before dawn, and ready to take off for our

trip to Daytona.  Only problem was we had to wait for daylight.   We took off at 8:00am

and finished at 9:30am.  The dock master said we would be here around noon.  When we called for directions, he told us to slow down for 20 minutes so he could help us dock.  So here we are

settled in at another yacht club for the day and night.  Yesterday we caught up with a boat that was in the Marathon City Marina on a ball.  They anchored next to us.  Then this afternoon the sailboat that 

turned us onto the yacht clubs pulled into the yacht club.  Small world, and getting smaller.  Jim got to

spend his morning washing down the boat, and I got to wander the streets of Daytona.  I even did

some Christmas shopping.  We do have hopefully a small problem, we think the alternator is going out.  Another electrical glitch, but the repairman is coming this evening.   We are going out for Pizza.

  I thought I would share some pictures of things along the way yesterday and today.  There must have been a terrible storm, because we saw at least 12 boats aground, big and small .

The mechanic is not giving us good news.  Found  more than one problem.  May

be here awhile.   

Ponce Light house

On our way to Daytona

March 26, 2017  3.4  Colorado Cat Voyage Date

Today was an interesting day.  So many new things to see and try to remember.  The first thing

that I noticed was the water.  There wasn't a breeze, current or any movement.  It was like running on 

ice.  The water looked like velvet and was the same color as the sky.  You couldn't really tell what was water or sky.  The next thing were the birds.  They fly fly in small flocks of maybe 20 but close to the water in a straight line.  There had to be at least 10 flocks that fleew by.  The most unusual thing I noticed was the lack of houses.  Between the west coast and south Florida there are no end to the houses and high rises.  Not today.  It was like Florida when it was discovered in the 1500's.  We went by the Merritt Island National Wildlife Preserve, and the Kennedy Space center, so that is probably while there were no people.  Today reminded of me of driving across Kansas and the vast flat land with nothing to see.  We went into a small cut called the Hang Canal cut.  That was one busy place.  Big boats, little, swimmers, fishermen, manatees, and whatever could float.  A few days ago we were where the 1% lived, today we were where the 99% lived and played.  They called southeast Florida the gold coast.  Today was the aluminum coast,  pontoon boats and trailers.

We made it to New Smyrna Beach, 71 miles and called it quits.  I asked to anchor close to shore but this is too close.  Tomorrow we will try for Daytona,  20 miles away.

March 25, 2017  3.3    Colorado Cat Voyage Date

Today was a very pleasant day.  We left the Moorings Yacht club with dolphin escorting

down the waterway to our next stop, 39 miles north, to the next yacht club. The Eau

Gallie is in Melbourne Florida and is easy to get into and park the boat.  We are becoming very spoiled

and when we leave Florida we loose our connection.  We sailed by a beautiful sailboat under 

sail only and the lady captain made it look so easy.  After we were settled in our slip, Jim got to put on his

work clothes and change oil in the generator.  Another good reason to be a girl.  The seas are 7 ft.

out in the Atlantic so I guess we will stay in the ICW and stay at yacht clubs as much as possible.

Life is very comfortable at a yacht club. Hope all is well with everyone, we miss you all.

Hope the sea gods are smiling at us

Jim enjoying the view while I steer

Now he has to work

.

March 24, 2017  3.2 Colorado Cat Voyage Date

This is the life

Today we traveled 39 miles and done by noon.  I guess we are getting into the   

retired laid back mode. We made it to the Moorings Yacht Club and called it a day..

The weather is not very good out in the Atlantic, but in the ICW it is choppy but

very doable.  The Moorings is a very nice club, and more in our type of people.

When we checked in the dock master thought we had a very large boat.  I guess he

hasn't been to South Florida lately.  We will spend tonight here and then off to another port.

We did have another first today, I gave Jim a haircut on the boat.  Not very yachty, but 

no one ever called us yachty.  I guess we are the Beverly Hillbillies of Florida. We are in Vero 

Beach for those who are tracking us.

Blow wind blow

Waves breaking on jetty a mile away

Shave and a hair cut two bits

March 23, 2017   3.1  Colorado Cat Voyage Date

We woke up to a cloudy morning and the weather report was not sounding good.

The decision was made to move on to a more protected spot.  As we were turning

into the inter coastal waterway, ICW, we received a call from our friends that live

in Stuart.  We had gone by their house three times and they invited us to stay in their 

protected waters tonight.  

After a long voyage of 17 miles we dropped anchor and made our way to shore

to an day on land.  Barb, Cheryl and I had a nice lunch at a local restaurant, Jim

cleaned filters on the boat.  It pays to be a woman now and then.  Jim picked us up in the 

dinghy and we showed them around the boat.  Durning our visit we experienced our first

rainstorm.  Fortunately it didn't last long and we went back to the house for dinner.  we

did have to come to the boat in the pitch black of night which was another first, but made it

with no problems.  It is nice to have friends all over, to stop and visit.

Sunrise to a stormy day

Cheryl

Storm is brewing

Barb

Safe in our boat slip At Last !

March 22, 2017  3.0 Colorado Cat Voyage Date

Three weeks on the water and we haven't thrown either one of us off the boat.

Today was another day of the ultra  mega yachts and houses, and I am sure the rich and famous.  We went through Palm Beach, West palm Beach, Lake Worth and Jupiter.  Along the way we chugged by an ultra mega yacht boat show. OMG  One of the yachts was the Lady Kathryn V, a 200+ foot  and $60 million dollar price tag.  The tenders were as long as  Jim's fishing boat.

It took 3 cities to accommodate all the mega yachts in the show.  Some were still being delivered and wrapped in shrink wrap.  We went by a freighter that had the mega yachts on the top of the ship as their cargo.  That ship was from  Amsterdam.

Around Peanut Island the boats were running around everywhere along with the paddle boards, swimmers,

tiki hut boats, some with slides, and even a drive up bar.

In the afternoon we did run into slight problem.  We were off to another yacht club for the night and we got lost in the St, Lucie River channel.  We had a very calm and patience dock master to walk us into the dock.  Thank goodness we made it before dark.  We are planning to spend a couple of nights here as of course bad weather is rolling in.  What is a week without  a bad northern wind? We wanted adventure and we got it.

Lady Kathryn V

Tiki Hut boats

Shrink Wrapped Yachts

March 21, 2017  2.6 Colorado Cat Voyage Date

  

We spent the day on the Gold Coast, and I do mean Gold Coast.  We thought the

boats, or I should say Yachts yesterday were big, nothing like today's. Unbelievable.

The further north we went the bigger and fancier the houses and yachts became.

We docked for the day in Boca Raton at the Royal Palm Yacht Club,  We were the 

poor boy on the dock.  George HW Bush's fishing boat was here.  He doesn't own it anymore but

the presidential seal is still on the boat.

Spent the afternoon with an old friend of Jim's from high school, and had a picnic in the dinghy

at sunset.  Jim got the inverter fixed, so I guess we leave the rich and famous behind and head north

to another adventure.

Our slip mate

George HW Bush's boat

Hard to believe tomorrow we start our 3rd week.

Sunrise on the million dollar strip

This one is from Denver