The Cruise - Week 2 January 5-11, 2015

Since I am new at blogging, I am still experimenting with format.  I didn’t like making each day a new post, but one post for the whole cruise is too long, so I plan to break it up into separate weekly posts.  It may change again, but here goes.


Monday, January 5, 2015, 8th Day

Departed Rockhouse Creek 0655

Docked at Cocoa City Dock 1430

Total day’s run 54 statute miles (47 nm), 360 miles total.

We had a quiet and restful night.  Rockhouse Creek is protected and the holding (for anchoring) is very good.  We got an early start to make the New Smyrna drawbridge opening at 0720.  The wind was from the north all day at 15 kt which kicked up a steep following sea in the shallow waters of the Mosquito and Indian Rivers.  Dubhe rolled and wanted to “round up” like a sailboat.  I had to steer all day so by time we arrived at Cocoa I was ready for a rest and a beer.  We are tied up at the city dock which is just an old dock at a park that is free but has no services.  The best part is that it is well protected from north winds.

Shortly after we arrived, a man came to look at Dubhe after he saw her coming down the Indian River.  A few minutes later, a couple who saw her from a distance recognized the Willard and came over to talk. They had owned a Willard Vega Horizon (same as Dubhe but with a different cabin configuration) and told us to call them when we ever decide to sell her.

Now, we are planning for the next couple of days, particularly the strong cold front that will be coming through, and our crossing of Lake Okeechobee.  Looks like Vero Beach tomorrow.

Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center

As I posted this picture, I realized that all of this is pretty boring for many, but (to be honest) it is for us too.  Shouldn't I have some cooler pictures?? We spend most of the day driving Dubhe then seem to be tired when we are done.  Then we go to bed early so we can leave early.  I hope once we get to the west coast of Florida, we will take more time to explore off the path.  

Tuesday, January 6, 2015, 9th Day

Departed Cocoa city dock                 0740

Arrived Vero Beach City Marina 1545

Total day’s run 55 statute miles (48 nm), 415 miles total.

Today was our best cruising day yet.  Warm, mid 70’s, and sunny for most of the day.  Best of all there was little or no wind.  After yesterday, this was a real blessing.  The autopilot steered much of the way so we could relax and enjoy the ride.  We are now really in Florida with mangrove trees and mansions along the water and long palms (trees).  And we are over 400 miles from our start!

We saw lots of local folks out in boats enjoying the weather; many were in the water which is about 74 degrees.  I can tell that I am not in South Carolina anymore because many times people in passing boats do not wave.  Come on…everyone waves at the other boat, even Yankees do when they are in South Carolina, but apparently not in Florida.  Oh well, times change.  

We are staying tonight and tomorrow night at the Vero Beach City Marina which I remember from our cruise here 31 years ago (a little eerie).  Some marinas are full of over the top giant yachts where you feel out of place.  Other marinas are collections of old and derelict boats.  Vero Beach City Marina is just right…kinda middle class like us; mostly sailboats and trawlers. 

Our stopover includes an extra day so we can weather this strong cold front that is to come through tomorrow night with 30 mph winds.  Our plan is to enter the Okeechobee waterway on Thursday and begin our way across Florida to the Gulf Coast.  

I am still not doing well in the photography department, but will try to be more creative.  

One aspect of the trip I haven't mentioned is drawbridges.  Since Dubhe is not a sailboat, you would think that we can clear the bridges, but most drawbridges have to open for us.  She needs 28 feet above the water and we went through two bridges yesterday that had a vertical clearance of 27 feet, ugh.  It's a pain for us and those poor folks in the cars trying to get somewhere.  

At least we are going in the right direction

Wednesday, January 7, 2015, 10th Day.

Vero Beach City Marina.

Today was the best weather day so far; glorious sunshine and 70+ degrees.  We even sat outside for dinner this evening at the Riverside Café.  The weather forecast is still saying temp in the 40’s and windy with up to 30 mph gusts, tonight.  It looks like we will stay here tomorrow night too, which will put us back underway Friday morning and crossing Lake Okeechobee Sunday.  After traveling every day (but one) for over a week, we don’t quite know what to do with ourselves at the dock.  I did learn that we need an idea list for when we are waiting for weather.  This evening, we kept thinking about things we should have done today but did not think about at the time.  For example, we should have taken the dingy out for a ride around the harbor.  Maybe tomorrow if weather permits.

Yes, we are very tuned in to the weather.  I look at multiple forecasts, several times a day and I am amazed by how much a forecast will change from the 5 day to the 3 day to even 24 hours.  I really don’t like getting caught exposed in bad weather, but I almost equally don’t like holding up for bad weather that does not materialize.

We must have walked about 4 miles today, to the beach, the hardware store, and to dinner.  Notice that eating is still a major part of this expedition, but at least we had some exercise today.  We met two couples from South Carolina and another person who called this “Velcro Beach” because so many people who visit wind up staying…sounds like Beaufort.

Thursday, January 8, 2015, 11th Day.

Vero Beach City Marina.

Howling wind woke me up at 0300 this morning; the cold front had finally arrived.  I got up to check on things, added a couple of lines and relocated the dingy.  I am glad we are here this well protected marina.  Nancy fixed bacon and pancakes this morning which were wonderful, but we are going to have to have another talk about our food consumption!

I fiddled with some small projects and we went to West Marine and Publix on the bus (when was the last time you rode a public bus?).  From the stop here at the marina, one can go anywhere with relative ease for free!  As we rode along we marveled at how neat and clean this place is.  Even the public areas are well landscaped and there is no trash along the roads.  I understand why so many people want to come here.  We have met a few cruisers who come from up north just to stay at this marina for the winter.

When we first docked here, we decided that we would pump out the waste tank upon departure, but since we have stayed a day longer than planned, we now have a little waste problem.  And since there has been nothing else exciting to report, I thought I would comment on a part of cruising and boat life that is rarely discussed.

On Dubhe, we generate solid waste (trash, beer bottles, food, containers, etc) and liquid waste (what goes into the toilet) daily.  As for the solid waste, I am really surprised that we come up with so much.  In a few days we will have several shopping bags of trash.  Of course it has to be stored somewhere until we can unload it at a marina, and there is not a lot of extra space.  Generally, odor is not a problem because organic refuse like food scraps, coffee grounds, and banana peels go overboard unless we are in a marina.

The liquid waste is more of an issue.  When originally constructed in 1974, Dubhe did not have a waste holding tank, but at that time no recreational boats had holding tanks…it was just pumped overboard.  Of course today is different.  The discharge of waste within the 3 mile limit is illegal and I would like not to do it anyway (doesn't mean I never have).  Dubhe has a holding tank, added by a previous owner, but it is very small; only a few gallons.  Although the “gray water” from the two sinks goes directly overboard, we only have two or three day’s capacity in our holding tank, depending on how closely we manage it.  So waste management and disposal is a daily concern and will sometimes dictate when we need to stop at a marina.

We are anxious to get going and plan to depart in the morning for the first section of the Okeechobee Waterway near Saint Lucie, Florida…but we will have to move to the fuel dock first and “pump out” before we can get underway.

Waiting for the bus.

Friday, January 9, 2015, 12th Day

Departed Vero Beach city dock 0810
Municipal Marina

Anchored, Hoggs Cove        1430
Port Saint Luci

Total day’s run 40 statute miles (35 nm), 455 miles total.

We had a nice run today in almost perfect weather; mostly sunny, 70 degrees, and little wind.  We were at the fuel dock to pump out at 0730 and it was a good thing since three other boats had the same idea, but we were first.  We are anchored in the beginning of the Okeechobee Waterway with scenery of multi-million dollar homes on the water.  The wind is predicted to be about 15 kt tonight but holding is good so we should have a good rest.  Tomorrow, we head inland, under I-95 and to the Port Mayaca lock just before entering Lake Okeechobee.  As I write, we are anchored, having a beer, or wine for Nancy, and she is beginning to prepare dinner which is going to include cornbread cooked in a cast iron skillet.

I was asked about navigation.  In the ICW, most of the navigation is by eye; keep the red markers on the right and green on the left when going south (unless you intersect a channel, headed out).  I have some paper charts, but they are so expensive ($26 each), that electronic charts are the way to go now.  I have every NOAA chart for the East US on my iPad, Nancy’s iPad, and my iPhone.  I also have an app that shows my location (amazingly accurate) on the chart.  Below are a couple of screen shots from my iPad.  The small blue triangle is our position, the dotted line behind it shows where we have been, the yellow line in front is our current path or course.  The orientation of the blue triangle as well as HDG are not necessarily correct because the iPad is not always oriented to the fore and aft axis of the boat (which is not necessary for what we are doing).  The COG is “course over ground” which is important and which is also the yellow line.  SOG is “speed over ground” in knots. For the non boat people, a knot is one nautical mile per hour (one knot equals about 1.15 mph)

Saturday, January 10, 2015, 13th Day

Departed Hoggs Cove anchorage 0720

Anchored, Port Mayaca 1345
Lock channel

Total day’s run 35 statute miles (30.5 nm), 490 miles total.

Our anchorage last night was a little bumpy at times but the high ground with the mansions protected us from most of the wind and we had a restful night.  Our intention was to stop just before going through the Port Mayaca lock so we could get an early start crossing Lake Okeechobee.  And that is what we did, but herein lies one of the more difficult decisions when cruising.  How far do you try to go in one day and where do you stop?  The stopping point needs to be a good anchorage or a marina that has space.  How far you can go depends on many factors, including the speed of the boat, currents, and weather.

So we made our plan and stuck to it…too bad.  We arrived at Port Mayaca plenty early to lock through and cross Lake Okeechobee, and the wind has not been as high as predicted.  We shouldda kept going but instead we are sitting in this canal all afternoon.  We had heard about boats tying up to the dolphins (groups of piling) which we did for a while but I didn’t like it.  In my opinion, this is not a good way to secure a recreational boat.  So we anchored, and by then it was definitely too late to cross.  We should have a plan but we should be willing and able to change it when conditions warrant.

One factor in our delay today is the statute mile versus nautical mile system we are working with.  I have always thought in terms of nautical miles and knots, but the ICW and Okeechobee Waterway is marked in statute miles.  To be conservative, I have been estimating using statute miles and knots, which mixes units, and is the main reason that we arrived so early and my projection of crossing time was too long.  Some conservatism is good but today we blew it.

Otherwise, we had a great day.  The weather was perfect and we were lifted 14 feet in the St. Lucie lock which was fun.  Dubhe is now floating in fresh water.

Oh well it’s time for a beer.  Tomorrow, we will get an early start, cross Lake Okeechobee and continue on.

Sunday, January 11, 2015, 14th Day

Departed Port Mayaca anchorage 0700

Arrived  LaBelle city dock 1645

Total day’s run 63 statute miles (55 nm), 553 miles total.

We had a quiet, restful night and a good passage today.  The wind was calm this morning so I expected Lake Okeechobee to be smooth.  The Port Mayaca lock operates from 0700 to 1900 so I called them at 0701.  The operator said that it would be about 10 minutes before he would be ready.  I was already ready!!  We cleared the lock at 0730 (after being lifted only about 1½ feet) and headed for the first marker on the direct route across the lake.  The wind was only about 10 kt from the NE but a swell was running that did not seem to consistent with the wind.  I guess it was left over from the wind yesterday.  Anyway we rolled a little so I set the steadying sail which helped some.  The lake crossing was otherwise uneventful.  We were lowered about 4½ feet at the Moore Haven lock and lowered another 8 feet at the Ortona lock.  We tied up at the LaBelle free city dock at about 1630.  

My revelation of the day:  When cruising, all days are the same.  We do different stuff and we love not being tied to someone else’s schedule, but the days are all the same, in that, the day of the week does not matter.  We find ourselves constantly asking “What day is this?”.  The general answer is “Does it matter?”  Monday is the same as Friday and Sunday is the same as Wednesday.  It’s good that we are free, but in years past, there was such a good feeling about getting off of work on Friday after a hard week…it was special.  Fridays are just the same as any other day now.  Do not construe this to mean that I would prefer to work like a madman so Friday would be special…not at all.  It’s just that this is a different aspect of the cruising life that I have come to appreciate.  As we headed out across Lake Okeechobee (I have learned to spell it), I thought about my church.  I missed being there today.  I missed the smiling, positive faces, and of course all the hugs.  Church is one of the places where God speaks to me, through community with other imperfect people.

Today, the most stressful thought was not crossing the lake, but would we be able to find a place in LaBelle.  It is rather remote and there are not many other alternatives, but we are now safely tied up and looking forward to a good night’s sleep.

Fort Myers tomorrow

Lake Okeechobee

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