Next "planned" port destination: Key West!
There is a well-known debate among full-time cruisers about how much planning should be done.
Well, late last summer, I started "planning" to be in the Florida Keys early spring. After some thoughtful consideration, Ray & I finally decided that having a "base"marina for a full month was a good idea, in case friends/family wanted to come vacation with us.
We didn't want to commit to a reservation much more than 1 month, since we have never cruised the keys, and we wanted the freedom to spend extended days at other locations when we found those we enjoyed the most.
Back in August 2019, I booked/reserved 1 month at a nice resort marina, Stock Island.
Since then, other schedules have determined our high-level post-Key West timeline. We will cruise north from the keys to attend the Great Harbour Trawler Association meeting north of Jacksonville late April. Those are the only "commitments" we have right now.
Departed St. Augustine: There was a beautiful sunrise the morning of our planned 1/26 departure.
We "planned" for a short cruise since we were not leaving the slip until mid-morning -- as dictated by the slack tide. (Remember we discussed the strong currents in St. Augustine?)
Since there are very few anchorages between St. Augustine & Daytona, we planned to call 1 or 2 days ahead to each marina for slip reservations.
First stop - Palm Coast: We arrived at this marina around mid-day. Wow! It was a welcome serenity!
We had time for exercise -- a brisk walk on the St. Joe Walkway, along the ICW. This is where we noticed, for the first time in Florida, the river's clear water and sandy bottom.
We showered and walked, more leisurely, about 1/2 mile to European Village -- a cute resort shopping/dining complex.
We got there in time to buy a few produce items at the craft/farm market, then had beer and bratwurst at Moonrise Brewing.
Second stop - Titusville: The next day, we originally planned for a long cruising day to an anchorage, but the wind projection increased, so we called and got a reservation at Titusville City Marina.
Along the way, Ray snapped an interesting photo -- 50 shades of blue?
I liked the attention given to this bridge in Daytona -- manatee and dolphin art.
This may have hinted to our best dolphin viewing day ever! Watch this little guy make a U-turn at our bow. In 30 years of boating, we have only seen dolphins in our bow wake one other time, and it happened so quickly we didn't capture video. Not only did we see a dolphin -- in clear water, but I also captured it on video -- and he danced for me!
I was excited! But that was just the beginning. That day, friends (from Jacksonville) posted a video of 2 dolphins in clear blue water, so I told Ray, "Now I want 2 dolphins -- in clear blue water."
It was my lucky day! (I wish I could have bought a lottery ticket. 😀) We captured video of 4 dolphins on our bow!!!! (One of them only graces the screen a couple of time -- he liked being out in front of the others.)
After arriving at Titusville Marina -- and securing fender boards (to protect SCOUT from the outboard pilings on the fixed dock) -- we took a nice walk to Playalinda Brewing and had a light dinner.
Creative marketing! The names of some of their brews are space-themed -- Starhopper, Robonaut Red, Starliner, and the menu instructs you to "see your flight attendant for samples".
Titusville seems like a nice small town with several parks in the area. I read that the Indian River Lagoon is one of the few areas where you can see bioluminescence (caused by the specific microorganisms). One of the locals said the best time to see them is spring -- when it's warmer.
Hmmm.....We may need to come back here for that.
We thought we may see a rocket launch the next morning, but the lauch was scrubbed. Since it was rescheduled for the next morning, we decided to stay 1 more day, and fortunately the marina accomodated the request.
This worked out well, since the whole day was extremely windy & cold; we just stayed inside all day taking care of chores. The marina harbor is popular with manatees and dolphins, and I was entertained by a dolphin mother with her baby, I think (water too turbulent to capture good footage).
Falcon 9 Launch: The launch is a go! Morning of the launch, we departed Titusville Marina before 7:00 am and cruised a little farther south to anchor as close to the launch as permitted. We enjoyed our coffee on the bow, waiting for the show.
The launch was a little underwhelming (in the daylight), but the sound was tremendous.
We captured a photo of separation.
Back in December, we captured video of a launch (before daylight) from St. Augustine. It was pretty interesting; even 60 miles away, I could still see the point of separation (noted in the video linked below).
Third stop - Serenity Island (anchorage, south of Malabar, FL): Ray grilled a delicious salmon dinner, and we "retired" early.
Fourth stop - Ft. Pierce: Once again, we expected strong winds in the coming days, so we reserved a few nights at Ft. Pierce City Marina. We docked safely, despite wicked current, howling 18 knot winds, and an unplanned tour of the marina when the first slip assigned was 10 feet too short!
Wow! This water is a gorgeous aquamarine!
The marina gift shop sells fish food. Based on the number of fish, I would say they do a pretty good business.
We walked to Sailfish Brewing, then we split an awesome surf & turf burger (with lobster) at Cobb's Landing tiki bar/restaurant, overlooking the charter fishing boats in the marina. It was so good, we went back the next night for the same thing.
The next day was warm & sunny. We did some boat cleaning and had lunch on the boat, then pedaled the electric bikes across the bridge to Hutchinson Island. OK....we used the electric motors on the bikes to get to the top of the 65-foot bridge each way. We stopped at the top for the awesome view. The concrete barrier between you and vehicular traffic is nice, but, If you are afraid of heights, you may have trouble with the "open" rail on the outer edge of the pedestrian/bike lane.
Aquarium: For less than 5-dollars each, we visited the Smithsonian Marine Ecosystems Exhibit at the St. Lucie County Aquarium.
There are tanks with living models of six different Florida marine and estuarine ecosystems, including seagrass, mangrove, lagoon hardbottom, and nearshore reef habitats, as well as a deepwater Oculina coral reef. There is also a 3,000-gallon living model of a Caribbean coral reef ecosystem. My pictures of the coral reef tank could not reproduce the vibrance. Ray's lionfish photo, however, looks great.
We learned lionfish are venomous (from the spikes top & bottom) -- not poisonous. So, if someone knows how to catch them and safely remove the spikes, the meat is safe to eat.
Snorkeling/diving opportunities: Apparently, Hutchinson Island/Indian River Lagoon is one the most bio diverse areas on the Atlantic Coast, where you could encounter sea turtles, manatees, sharks, dolphin, sting rays and beautiful coral reef fish and large deep ocean fish migrating in to use the lagoon as a nursery.
Well, we may need to come back here to explore these opportunities!
Treasure hunting opportunities: The story of the Treasure Coast began over 300 years ago when a fleet of 11 Spanish ships wrecked offshore between the St. Lucie River and Cape Canaveral. These ships were sent to collect new wealth from the American possessions of the Spanish Empire and bring it to Spain. On their way back, the treasure-carrying fleet was sunk by the winds of a hurricane, scattering gold, silver and jewels over the seafloor. These treasures can sometimes still be found washed up on the shores by lucky beachgoers.
Hmmm....another reason to come back!
These benches, by local mosaic artist Anita Prentice, are near the St. Lucie County Aquarium. She has created several public works, including a tribute for the Highwaymen on the Fort Pierce Intermodal Train Station and grave markers for five Highwaymen artists.
Florida Highwaymen: The Florida Highwaymen are a group of 26 African American landscape artists in Florida, taught by Alfred “Beanie” Backus. They created a body of work of over 200,000 paintings. From the mid-1950s through the 1980s, since no galleries would accept their work, they sold their art door-to-door and from the trunks of their cars along roadsides throughout Florida, often still wet.
With persistence, charm, and boundless entrepreneurialism, this band of outsiders tapped into the growing art market of post-war America, overcoming the cultural barriers facing minorities within the Jim Crow-era South.
The lone "Highwaywoman" Mary Ann Carroll (one of the 9 original Highwaymen and recently deceased) was the guest of honor at First Lady Michelle Obama's First Lady's Luncheon on May 18, 2011, where Carroll presented a poinciana tree painting to Mrs. Obama.
Today, paintings by the Highwaymen are included in the Smithsonian Collection; they can clear $10,000 at auction or in private sales; and originals by the group’s most prominent figures, Al Black, Alfred Hair, and Harold Newton are coveted by a diverse fan base that includes the Obamas and Steven Spielberg.
Highwaymen Heritage Trail: is a self-guided walk around several blocks of Ft. Pierce, with stops at several landmarks. Another reason to come back.
Downtown Fort Pierce Farmer’s Market: Despite rain all morning the next day, Ray and I took the "long" wet stroll -- to the top of the marina gate -- to shop at the farmer's market, where we found microgreens, breakfast radishes, Plant City strawberries, and little red potatoes.
With the rainy day, we opted to stay in the boat, doing chores, then relaxing a little. We will need to come back some day to visit the Manatee Observation Center.
Fifth stop - Lake Worth anchorage (West Palm Beach): We woke early to depart Ft. Pierce before the winds picked up.
The closer we were to the inlets (to the ocean), the brighter the blue of the water.
The closer we got to West Palm Beach, the bigger the houses. It was interesting to see the large estates -- mostly on the western shore -- across the river from older, smaller homes.
And, the bigger the megayachts! Infinity (below) is 290 feet long.
We dropped anchor here, beftween the megayacht marina and Palm Beach Country Club (golf), and had a simple dinner for the superbowl.
Our first week of cruising toward Key West has been fun, as expected. But we still havent found the warm weather we are looking for.
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