mvalwayshome

There was a fellow wondering around the marina the other day looking at all the boats and asking questions about the sail boats.  I couldn’t answer any of the sail boat rigging questions.  I have no clue.  BUT he was uncertain about the ICW and the channel coming into the marina. I could help him with that information since we had just come into the marina a day or two ago.  I am sure you all are wondering what I am talking about as well.  They look like road signs on the water.  Looking outward from the marina into the Indian River and ICW, do you see the the red markers are on the port side and the green markers are on the starboard.  Do you see them?

Channel markers – Red on the left. Green on the right

To better demonstrate the channel, I photographed a small trawler as it traveled along the ICW and looking like it was coming into the marina.  It was traveling south ( left to right ).  That little white boat on the left.  Looks like a windy day because of the wavy water.

South bound on the ICW

The boat is still in the ICW channel at this point.  As it slows to make the turn into the private marina channel.

Boat slowing down to enter the marina Channel

The boat has made the turn and is slowly coming toward me on the dock within the marina channel.  The markers are more visible in this view.

Boat coming to the dock in the middle of the channel

The boat is out of the channel and within the marina waters.  The boat looks like it is turning to the side dock for the night.

Boat turning to a side dock for the night

Makes sense?  We have very limited experience but all the marinas we have visited have similar markers to designate the deeper channel for boat travel.  Outside of those markers you can find pretty shallow waters.  I guess you could call these the “driveways” into the marinas.  Nice of them to show us the way?!

For your eyes only:

Sunrise – Coca, FL

Sunset – Cocoa, FL

Surface reflection is pretty cool!

We enjoyed our stay in Vero Beach City Marina.  We are full-time cruisers so it seems appropriate to cruise.  Time to move on.  After a couple of windy days, we picked a particularly calm day to travel north up the ICW.

Leaving Vero Beach Marina – looking toward the mooring field

Cloudy, cool and calm.  Knit caps, multiple layers of clothes and gloves were donned to weather the 48 – 71°F.   We had parts of the fly bridge eisenglass (clear plastic) open so I could use the binoculars to keep Wayne informed about what is up ahead.  Going at 10mph, it seemed that the wind chill alone kept us at a steady 60°F.  Brrrr.

Out of the marina channel, under the bridge, into ICW at sunrise

This part of the ICW is amazing.  A lot wider than I had imagined.  We had these grey skies all the way.  The picture above is the only glint of sunshine I saw all day.

Starboard View – flat calm ICW ( off to the right )

Port side View – ( off to the left of the boat)

Sorry folks.  No rainbows today.  We had several groups of dolphins that swam with us on and off during our 58 mile trip.  The groups looked like family pods.  There was always a young dolphin appearing next to a full sized dolphin.  No pictures because they seemed to arrive when I was driving and Wayne was checking his eyelids for cracks.

We only saw one other boat heading north.  A Sail Boat from the UK.  He was all bundled up and even had a throw rug over his legs.  We could understand.  It was a bit chilly and we had enclosures to keep most of the cold air off our chests.  All the other boaters we saw were heading south.  About two dozen sail boats and a half dozen power boats all heading south.  I guess going north in the winter time is a bit crazy.

It seems that “mansions” are being built where single level dwellings used to reside.  If you can – go BIG!!  Right?  I bet they have a great view on the second story balcony.

Nice house – river side

Like this house with 3 fire places and maybe a guest house to the left.  OR “Mother-in-law” suite.  Very nice.  Wonder if boaters are welcome.

House being built –

We heard on the radio that a “barge” was up ahead.  As we got closer, we realized it wasn’t a barge but a ‘dredger’ kind of water craft.  It was taking up at least half of the channel.  There were orange buoy floats being dragged behind it.  We assume to carry away whatever they were dredging.  We politely informed them we were coming around them, slow and steady to not rock them too much.

Dredger – taking up most of the channel

Dredger with floating pipes behind it

We saw several men aboard.  One gave us the wave!  You know the wave.  The wave that conveys a number of things all at once.   The wave means they are good, they appreciate us going slow, hey there!, and of course… hello to a fellow boater, safe travels, and see you around.  The wave.  Like the head nod for land lubbers.

Dredger – Marking a new channel or keeping this one deep enough

As we had a pretty calm day, it was interesting to see flocks, gaggles, groups of birds just floating around in the middle of the ICW… aka Indian River.  Needless to say, they were not really happy with us disturbing their calm.

Pelican Patch – a gaggle of pelicans floating together

No pelicans were harmed as we motored past them.  They either paddled out of our way annoyingly or actually got up and flew over us and re-landed in their original spot.

Surprisingly, we saw several crab pots that had drifted into the channel… in our water way!!  This is what they look like.  Like a  ball on the water.  We have seen black, orange, red and white balls or buoys.  During our short travels, we have seen these crab pots near numbered markers.  We presume that is so the buoy-ball owner can remember where he put his crab pot/ cage.  We have also seen balls lined up in a row right on the edge of the ICW channel.  This is the first time we had to keep a look out for buoys in the ICW waterway channel.  We certainly don’t want to run over one of these buoys because their chain/rope can get wound around our propeller.  Things to be concerned about.

Crab pots – in the middle of the channel

One of the 65 ft bridge we motored under.  I was amazed at all the birds lined up along the cement pilings.   Convention in town?  Like soldiers all standing in line.  Hmmm… the weather was cloudy but reasonably calm so I couldn’t figure out why they were just standing about.   Maybe they were giving us “the wave”?!  Or waiting for Alfred Hitchock to yell Action.  Really interesting and mildly creepy.

Birds lining up on the Bridge supports

We arrived at the Cocoa Village Marina.  Winds were still calm and the river pretty flat making our entry into the small marina relatively easy.  Wayne radioed ahead for instructions.  The Dock Master, Kelly, told us to motor around and pull in with our stern to the dock.  Wayne had never backed in Always Home and said so on the radio to give the dock folks a clue that we were nervous.  Kelly said she and Ken would be there to give guidance and to catch our lines.  They did not believe this was Wayne’s first time.  He pulled into the channel, pivoted the boat, and expertly backed up the boat in the slip.  I threw the lines to the dock hands and held my breath.  Expertly!!!  Amazing.

Arrived and settled in our slip.  Our back door view – Indian River and the ICW

We were actually advised by boaters at the Vero Beach City Marina that we should practice this backing up maneuver.  Sometimes, backing into a slip or anchorage is the only way to get to where you want to be.  We didn’t know this advise would so apropos.

Before the end of the evening, we had visitors coming by to say hello.  They had already heard about Wayne’s first time.  It is the talk of the marina.  It makes me wonder if in a previous life Wayne was a sailor.

Sunset – Cocoa Village Marina, Cocoa, FL

Still calm waters for our first night in Cocoa, FL.

The trees are awesome around the marina.  Less than a half mile from the marina is a dog park.  How nice is that for Vero Beach residents and all of us transient boaters with dogs.  There are a lot of boaters who have dogs aboard, by the way.

Vero Beach Dog Park

We talked briefly to a gentlemen raking the grounds.  He said it took 12 years to make this dog park a reality.  The first 11 years there was no fence so his dog always ended up down at the water’s edge rolling in some dead fish carcass.  No longer.  It is completely fenced in.  There were lots of big dogs and big dog owners.  We enjoyed watching the dogs romp and play.

The second most impressive thing:  “GolineIRT” (http://www.golineirt.com).  The impressive thing?  The bus is free.  Clean.  On time!!  Very nice.

GoLine bus

Route 1 goes right by the Vero Beach City Marina and takes us either to the beach OR to the city.  The city route is just one of many.   Without having to go the the “Hub”, we got off at the Publix grocery store.  Across the street is a West Marine Express store for you every Marine need.  How convenient is that?  Our first foray using the GoLine was to Publix.  We have never shopped this fast in our life!!  The rule posted on a placard on the inside of the bus is you have to carry your goods onto the bus in one trip.  No multiple trips to the curb and into the bus.  That makes sense.  We don’t want to inconvenience other bus riders, right?  We shopped for our goods and got back to the bus stop in less than 25 minutes!  That included repacking our food into Wayne’s backpack and my cloth bags.  I think our timing was superb.  We really didn’t know that the bus came back within 25 minutes.  Wayne said this was his “first” ever city bus ride in his 60+ years of living.  Another “first” to write home about!!  We forgot the tomatoes.  Maybe another trip via the bus is in our near future!

It was such a pleasant trip, the next day we took Route 1 bus again, transferred to Route 14 bus and walked to Walgreens.  Then back again directly at the front door of the Vero Beach City Marina.  This bus service makes it so convenient for transient boaters.  We didn’t have to rent a car to ‘stock up’.  Very nice.

The beach route?  Yes, we did got to the beach.  It was windy and cool.  No pictures, though, of sand and surf.  I was feeling sorry for all you ice, snow, sleet family and friends and didn’t want to rub our wonderful weather in your face.   OR… I just didn’t see a good shot?!  We didn’t actually walk in the sand or dip our toe in the water.  Maybe later.  We had lunch at a ocean side restaurant that was so-so.  Nothing special really.

BUT, I did see some artwork that was fascinating along our walk from the bus stop to the restaurant area. Looks like the Ponce deLeon story.  This was outside of a hotel.  No story to go along with the art.  As a kid growing up in Florida, you had to learn the story of “the discover of America with Ponce DeLeon” and the quest for the fountain of youth.  yada yada yada.  Can’t remember too much of the story since grade school has been long gone in my memory cells.  Suffice to say, those helmets give it away.  Conquistadors!!  Coming to the New World all in the name of Spain.  The angel in the sky?? Guardian angel that hovers over us all?!?!  Pretty neat 3 D casting.

Conquistators

Right around the corner was this artwork.  It is a tile piece imbedded in concrete wall.  But, around the wall, you can’t tell anything significant.  Just a side of a building selling Tshirts or a restaurant.  Something definitely touristy.  So, why here?

Asian artwork inset

Again. No story.  Just a random piece of art that I just cannot explain, fully.  Distinct.  I thought it was unusual enough to catch my eye.  I looked around and didn’t see any other insets in the side of buildings.  One of these days, I will have to find out what this means.

In the meantime, as we were waiting for the bus today, we saw at least 3 dozen of black birds? or crackles? or something congregating at the top of this tree.  Of course, “The Birds” movie by Alfred Hitchcock came to mind.  As it always does when we see birds congregating randomly in large numbers.

Birds congregating

Ka-Kaw.  Ka-Kaw!!

Lastly, tonight’s shot from Vero Beach, Florida.

Vero Beach – Night Time

Night- Night

The most striking visual for me at Vero Beach City Marina are the trees.  They look old, weathered, and wonderful!  I am sure you may think I am a bit crazy but coming from Arizona, these trees are awesome!!

Grand Tree

The spanish moss waving in the slight breeze gives this whole area that old world flavor.  As if their beards are just getting too long?!  We can easily imagine that the trees have been growing here for years and years.

Spanish Moss laden tree

In the middle of this tree is a palm tree.  Really!  Either the ficus grew around the palm or the coconut got lost and grew amongst these other trees.  If you peer closely, you can see the different leaf structure.  Closely….

Mixture of Trees

What stories these limbs could tell.  The story of the last hurricane?  Strong wind?  Or prevailing tides?  OR whispers of boaters telling tall tales about the life on the sea.

The stories these trees could tell.

Like a goofy gal, I am the only one looking up.  Everyone else is looking out into the marina at all the different boats oblivious to these magnificent creatures.  If we stay any longer, I will be giving them names.

Early morning Ibis finding the early worm.  Or is it the late worm eaten by the early bird?

Ibis in the morning

These birds are all over the boat lines in the morning.  They are gone the rest of the day.  I guess this is as good a spot to sleep for the night as any.

Early morning birds along the boat lines

The only question I have…. how do they stay perched without falling off all night long?

Sunrise in Vero Beach City Marina

Time to ‘hit the road’.  Sunrise and clouds.  Lots of clouds but the weather forecast promised the sun would come out north of us.  We are heading north.  Perfect!  Notice how calm the water is?  Yep, very little wind to interfere with us casting off.

Sunrise in Loggerhead Marina – Stuart

Leaving Stuart, FL

We picked a Tuesday to head out because we will be motoring through “The Crossroads”.  This is a busy intersection of waterway.  We were told to pick a non-weekend day and take our time to traverse this intersection.  Lots of “go fast boats”, commercial barges, sailboats, and trawlers are expected to be around the intersection.  Basically, it would be a very busy place to be.  I imagined it to be like a busy road with 4 way stops, spaghetti junction, and the like with cars zipping by you as if you are standing still.  After several days of rest we were ready to tackle this new challenge.

I put a red dot where the marina is located.  This is what “The Crossroads” looks like:

The Red Dot is us in the morning.

The Crossroads is where you have the Atlantic Ocean inlet, the ICW north and south, and the St Lucie River – Okeechobee waterway all meet at the same spot.  Of course, because so much water is coming and going, there were low spots to be aware of.  Going slow around the curves was mandatory.  Don’t see it?  How about this?

The Crossroad – see yellow cross. Green arrow pointing to the spot.

Lots of boats go through that intersection on their way in from the Ocean ( commercial traffic and tall sail boats), fishing boats ( on their way out to sea with clients on board ), and people like us trying to just go north or south along the waterway. I looked like a lighthouse.  My eyes glued to binoculars and my head/body turning around 360 degrees looking out for other boaters.  Telling Wayne what boats I saw so we could anticipate them.  Generally, normal operating procedure just magnified.

We were ready!!  Here is one of the early morning boats on the waterway.  We don’t exactly know what this skiff does, but we gave him a wave and hoped he had a good day.  Officially leaving the Okeechobee Waterway and into the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway).

Example of one of the boats we saw

Luck was with us!  A very calm and cloudy day.  We had a drizzle here and there and only a handful of boats were on the water.  No backup.  No accidents.  No commercial haulers.  Only a couple “go fast boats” that went zipping by us.  Several tall sailboats on their way to warmer waters.  We were positively thrilled.  We pretty much had the waterway to ourselves.

How is this?  A perfect rainbow.  or is it a double rainbow?  We can’t see the pot of gold, can you?

Perfect Rainbow

It looks like we are going to motor right over the edge of the rainbow.  Surely, we should stop and collect our pot, right?

Rainbow hitting the water

It didn’t take long before we approached Fort Pierce, FL.

Ft. Pierce power plant

On the other side of the waterway is blue skies and sunshine!  Also the Atlantic Ocean via the Ft. Pierce Inlet.

See that opening? It is the Atlantic Ocean

We were graced with not only a rainbow for a hour of our journey north but also a couple of dolphins.  This one looked like it was jumping sideways.

Dolphin riding our wake

I was surprised as to how wide this area of the ICW was.  Lots of room for our boat and plenty of water depth.  We had great weather for our journey north.

We arrived at the Vero Beach City Marina in early afternoon.  We decided to splurge on something we haven’t eaten in almost 6 months.  Domino’s Pizza!!  Yum!  They delivered to the Marina!!  How cool is that.  As we munched down, drank a beer or two, we enjoyed the sunset…..

Sunset in Vero Beach, FL

Later….

Evening lights in Vero Beach, FL

One of those blessed uneventful days.  Wonderful!!