Hello, Hello!!!

DAY 1: Jekyll Island to Fort George River

We left Jekyll Island (mile 684, the Intracoastal Waterway begins at mile 0 at Norfolk, Virginia and continues on to mile 1243 at Key West), on Tuesday, March 24 at the crack of dawn. We were excited about what lay ahead, yet sad that we had to leave behind so many wonderful friends.
Riding high on the tide and a leftover swell from a 3 day 'nor-easter' (wind out of the north east), we made our way south across St. Andrews Sound. We proceeded along the waterway between mainland Georgia and Cumberland Island and found that we had arrived at our intended anchorage earlier than planned, so we just kept going. We reached Fort George River, Florida (mile 735), mid afternoon. On the way there, while I was at the wheel, we hit bottom in Sawpit Creek. We were moving along at almost full speed, so when the boat lurched and slowed I throttled up to full power. In the past when we've bottomed out, I've completely eased off the throttle, but this happened so quickly and without warning that I just powered up. Michael, who had gone to rest, was up in the cockpit in a flash. We continued to lurch and slow, but I kept up the revs and powered through. He thought deeper water was to starboard, so I turned the wheel in that direction. Bit by bit the depth sounder moved from 5.5 feet back to 6 and 7 feet. I hate when we hit bottom! At least it was a soft bottom, unlike the rocky bottom you find in Georgian Bay.

DAY 2: Fort George River to Palm Coast

Again we left at the crack of dawn and made very good time - over 8 knots with the rising tide- and arrived at the St Johns River just at high tide. Arriving at high tide is a good thing! The St Johns River has a very strong current when the tide is at its maximum flow. We were very lucky that timing was in our favour to cross this busy shipping lane with minimal current and not a single ship in sight. As we re-entered the waterway across the river though, the current picked up substantially because the tide was now ebbing.
We passed through Jacksonville Beach (mile 747),St. Augustine (mile 778) and anchored for the night at Palm Coast, (mile 802) in a cement plant channel. The winds have been mostly from the south and south east, so we have not been able to put up a sail. We've had to motor all the way.

DAY 3: Palm Coast to Titusville

Another early start. More wind on the nose. Lots of bridges today, especially in Daytona Beach. Luckily all of them but one were 'opening on request' bridges. This means that when you arrive, you request an opening on your VHF radio and the bridge will open as soon as you are close enough. The other bridge was a 'restricted' bridge. This means that it only opens at certain times, like on the hour and on the half hour and not at all during rush hour.
We motored southbound across Mosquito Lagoon around midday in a 15-20 knot wind. We were expecting the worst, but found it now to be too bad. The waves were about 2-3 feet high but so close together that we were not see-sawing. At the south end of the lagoon, we turned a 90 degree corner into Haulover Canal. This canal connects the lagoon with the Indian River. As we exited the canal, to our delight, the wind was at an angle that allowed us to sail. Yes, for the first time since North Carolina, we actually sailed!!!! It was great! We managed an average speed of about 5.5 knots. Then, unfortunately, the channel changed direction so we were nose into the wind again and had to take down the sail. Yahoo, for sailing!!!!!

DAY 4: Titusville to Vero Beach

We pulled up our anchor around 7:30 and within minutes were hailing a bridge to request an opening. Some bridges have restricted opening times, due to rush hour. What a beautiful river the Indian River is. We spent all day moving southward on this very wide and island rich body of water. It is very, very wide, but has quite a narrow channel for boats to follow. Twice we found ourselves out of the channel, but luckily realized it before we ran aground. The depth of the channel is between 8-12 feet. When our depth sounder started registering 6-7 feet, we knew we had veered!
The wind was from the south and very strong: 20-25 knots, gusting to 30. It would have been great sailing, if we hadn't been heading south. By the end of the day, I felt worn out and pummeled by the wind. We knew we would be staying at Vero Beach Municipal Marina, so Michael called them to make arrangements. When we arrived we radioed the office and there was quite a delay. They explained that there had been a shift change and the guy we were talking to on the radio wasn't up to speed yet. Michael told them repeatedly that we are a very heavy boat, 38,000 pounds and 47 feet long. The wind was still blasting and we were waiting to hear which mooring ball we should pick up. Finally, we were told to raft up with a boat called Annie's Song. When we got to Annie's Song we were wondering how we would raft up to a boat that was not only much smaller than us but also waving back and forth in the wind like a dog's tail. The owner was not aboard, which made things more complicated. We circled around a few times trying to decide how to approach. The plan was to come along side and let Annie's Song sway back to us. Try number one didn't work, so we circled again. Try number two got us close enough for Michael to jump onto Annie's Song's deck, but the wind caused us to begin separating. Michael could not hang on to the line. Things became very panicked. He had to throw our line into the water. He yelled at the kids to get the line back on deck before it wrapped around the propeller. Gromit was now 10 feet away from Annie's Song with Michael on her deck, when a huge gust of wind drove us back into her bow. The wind was so strong that there was nothing I could do. Michael tried to fend us off. He was lucky that he wasn't hurt. He did manage to jump back aboard and I was able to get us away.
We then did what we should have done in the first place; we picked up a mooring ball that was free. I don't understand why the marina office told us to moor to another boat when the wind was so high and when there were other mooring balls free. It was our first time in this sort of situation so; we just did what they told us. We know better now. No matter what is said, the captain must decide and make the best choice using his/her best judgment. Michael and I were not assertive enough in this new situation. We have learned another valuable lesson.
Unfortunately, there was damage to both boats. We hadn't been able to get to Annie's Song to see the damage we had caused. We were busily in the process of attaching to the mooring ball and accommodating another large boat, which the marina office had sent over to raft up with us. It was crazy. Howling wind, crashing into someone's boat, tying to a mooring ball for the first time ever and then having another boat come tie up to us!!!
By the time we two boats were secured, the owner of Annie's Song had arrived back at his boat and we could see him circling it. Then he headed over to see us. We hadn't even had a minute to think about all that had just happened.
He asked us for our boat registration and insurance information. He was upset, but not irate. He chastised us for not going into the marina office to report the accident. We explained that we had only just gotten moored when another boat was sent to moor alongside and we were just finishing with them. He said he understood. We asked him about the damage to his boat. He told us that one of his safety rails had gotten bent and 2 or 3 of his stanchions were bent and that the screws at the bases of the stanchions had pulled out. He said he thought that the toe rail was undamaged. I felt sick. I was so upset. I apologized. He was very kind. He said that things like these happen.
We told him we would drop the information to him on our way in to the marina office. After he left, Michael and I decided that we would give him our names and boat registration, but not our insurance information until we had a chance to talk to our insurance company first. When we dropped off the information, he told us that the damage was not too bad and that he would look more closely at it tomorrow. What a relief! He was very understanding and kind. We offered to pay for any materials and he said he would let us know. I apologized again. I felt so terrible about the whole thing.
When we dropped by this morning, we were very relieved to hear that the damage was such that he was going to fix it himself. No hull damage, nor structural damage. We asked if there was anything he needed and he said there was not. We talked a little about the whole incident and he brought up the point that Michael and I had already discussed. The captain makes the ultimate decision about what is safe, no matter what anyone else instructs him/her to do. If it doesn't look safe, if it doesn't feel right, don't do it!

DAY 5: Moored and Vero Beach

Family trip to Target (similar to Zellers in Canada) and Walmart. There is free bus service in Vero Beach. Nice ride through Vero Beach. All kinds of different varieties of palm trees.

After shopping, we came back to the boat to unload the groceries, have a quick bite to eat and then head off to the beach. As I mentioned in day 4, there have been very strong S-SE winds, so the waves on the beach were enormous. The danger of rip currents is also enormous. Michael and I had to stay very close to the kids and corral them back all the time. We've talked a lot about what to do if you begin to get pulled out into the water by a rip current. It is such a balance. We don't want to scare the kids, but they have to know what to do if this situation presents itself.
To make the frolicking safer, they all had their lifejackets on. It was a blast! The waves were so powerful. The kids let themselves fall over as a wave reached them and it carried them all the way up onto the sand. All this fun was happening in only the first 20 feet into the water. We didn't go any further into the water. If there hadn't been any waves, we would have been standing in about a foot of water only. These breakers were so large that within seconds, a few inches of water at your ankles would build and crash against you and carry and deposit you 10 or 15 feet up onto the sand. Squeals of delight is all we heard!