I'm back again, writing.  I was so discouraged, trying to download pictures onto my new computer that I lost interest in writing a blog 'til I could solve that problem.    Technology concerns are frustrating me so much.   

But, above is the beach we bicycled to during the Memorial Day weekend.   There were people on the water everywhere that weekend - at the beach, on the sand shoals in the intercoastal and at the Fort Matanzas anchorage where we spent two days.   The last night of that anchorage we were up during the middle of the night watching whether we were changing position.   We wondered because the wind was blowing hard one way and the current was running fast another way, keeping the boat swinging around its anchor and the water sloshing against the boat and the anchor line came from aside the boat, not straight from its bow, as we're used to.    We marked the spot where we anchored on a GPS and apparently we didn't actually move.   (The anchor comes with 125' of chain.  We spent the uptime at night reading about anchoring and the difference between the effect with chain as opposed to line.)   Apparently we have a good system and we learned along the way some more helpful things we can do as anchoring.

During our time at Fort Matanzas, I got sunburned and Tom cut his feet on an oyster bed when trying to take our dinghy into a beach.    So we decided we'd had enough beach for a while and to head on to St. Augustine, Florida, about 12 miles up the intercoastal waterway.

We'd thought we would see manatees several places along the way but were getting out of their range when look what we saw off to the side:   a bunch of manatee!   A boater nearby said it had to be a female with a pack of males after her to be in a bunch like that.

We have been living off the bounty of the Farmers Market we visited in New Smyrna Beach.  Here we have hummus, tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper and ciabatta bread, all from that one stop.  

Tom wants everyone to know that we are using Elmo's seasoning in just about everything - including the olive oil that he dipped his bread in that day.  Anyone who wants some should contact Elmo at www.elmosseasoning.com.

We arrived in St. Augustine two days ago and signed up to say for a week on a city marina mooring ball ($120).   That gives us access to showers, a lounge and laundry and the dinghy dock.    The marina is located right in the historic district.  

When we started to walk around we couldn't stop - everywhere looks like it's foreign country or a step into the past and very attractive.

 

 

We have been looking for ice cream cones and for some flowy, soft cotton/lineny long pants for Tom.  He sees some like that for women in the shops and wonders where can he get some like that to wear in the evening on the boat.   Apparently no where.
So, yesterday evening I offered to lend him my pareo and he took me up.  He pictures himself as a Samoan islander, I guess.

Tom's sister Pat and her husband Frank are driving up from Fort Myers to visit St. Augustine and us for a few days.  They stay in a bed and breakfast near here and we'll visit on land and on sea.

Also while here, we plan to work on the boat in the mornings and explore St. Augustine in the afternoons.  Today we did that, so well, that we may skip the visit in town 'til dinner time and just hang out here and rest this afternoon.  

Off again. We'll be leaving New Smyrna Beach and pointing her north shortly. We had a great day yesterday just relaxing and taking it easy. Started the day with a walk to the local Farmer's Market, the rode the bikes around town and ended up at the grocery store. After dropping the groceries off at the boat and having a nice seafood salad for lunch, we rode the bikes over the causeway bridge and out to Flagler Beach and played a little in the Atlantic and laid around in the sun for awhile. After getting back to the boat, we did a load of laundry while we roamed the marina looking at other boats. We've decided we're pretty happy with TW2, she just needs us to spend a week or two in one place and give her a little TLC. Around 7:00 PM, we walked to the Dolphin View restaurant where Nancy enjoyed a grille flounder dinner and I opted for the fried clams. The meal was excellent and the vitals aplenty!!!

We had a pretty good day on Thursday. I think I finally figured out the battery problem, although I'm not sure why it was causing a problem. I found one of the contact screws in the switch for the windlass was broken and wouldn't make contact all the time. I decided to replace the switch, so we called West Marine about a new one. They said it would be $72.00 plus tax. I took the switch to the local hardware store and we found a screw that would work which went in beside the old screw and it works like a charm. Cost of the screw - 9 cents.

We left Cocoa this AM at 8:00 and headed north again. After stopping for a waste dump and water and then later for fuel, we ended up in New Smyrna, FL. Since we found no anchorages nearby, we decided to treat ourselves to two nights in a slip at the city Marina. We walked through town a little this evening and it looks like a nice little place.

We plan to go to the Farmer's Market tomorrow and then just hang out and relax.

As I told Nancy earlier, one day in a row with no boat problems!!!

Pictures from last night and today follow:

 

 

 

Well, as they say, just another day in paradise. I drove 3 hours round trip in a rented car yesterday afternoon to take our battery to the nearest Deka distributor in Sanford, FL (where we flew into on April 15) to have it tested. I had to leave it over night for charging and went back this morning for the results. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, the battery tested good. This means I have a problem somewhere in the electrical system of our windlass causing an undue drain on the battery or that the Echo charger isn't charging the battery after we use it. Guess I'll get back into that one tomorrow.

When I got back to Cocoa, Nancy had decided we needed to drive down to Melbourne so she could take her brand new computer back because it had developed a solid white line across the screen. We drove down, and naturally, they had nothing that was comparable to the one she bought in store so we went to a local Office Max where they had a very nice equivalent for about $100.00 less.

We then had a really nice lunch in Melbourne before going out to A1A and driving back up the coast road to Cocoa. We even managed to find a little time to stop in a nice city park and take a causal stroll on the beach.

I told Nancy, it's funny, but the boat is really like a woman. You wake up in the morning and there are all these nagging problems that this bitch puts before you that  you try to resolve all day long. Then, in late afternoon when you return to her, she seems  to enfold you in her arms and make you feel comfortable and safe.

Hopefully, tomorrow, I can figure out the battery problem and on Friday we will start up the ditch again headed north.

I hope everyone remembers the significance of this weekend and we celebrate the men and women of our armed forces who have given and are giving so much to protect our rights and freedoms.

We woke up about 4:00 AM hearing the wind howling around and through the boat. The boat was bouncing all over the place and we could tell a storm was coming. We immediately hopped up, closed the hatches and stayed topside to make sure the anchor held. In about 115 minutes, the rains came pouring down and the wind increased to 21 KPH. I know this for sure because we have a Micronet TackTick electronic wind monitor on board. Nancy tried to go back to sleep while I set watch on deck just to be sure we didn't come off the hook. After another 15 minutes, the winds subsided, the rains slowed and everything returned to normal. Looks like we have a good anchor and chain system but we'll still keep an eye on things when the winds get up in the future.

Well, when last we visited, we were leaving Rocky Point and heading up to Dragon's Point near Melbourne, FL. We left Rocky Point around midday on Saturday, the "ditch" widened out and Nancy just couldn't wait any longer to hoist the sails. So, not wanting to be in the presence of an impatient, unhappy woman, I went forward and unzipped the Mast Pack. We then hoisted the main and rolled out the jib. Or, maybe it was the other way around. I forget!!! But we did have a favorable wind, we sailed through two different 65' clearance bridges so we feel pretty cocky about that. All too soon we arrived at Dragon's Point and dropped anchor.

As you could see, Nancy was at the helm while I did all the manual work setting the sails. But, A little later, when it was time to drop the sails, I took the helm and Nancy did some of the physical stuff, That's the "women's lib" she keeps talking about!!!

 

 

I guess it just plain tuckered her out!!!

After arriving, we dinghy'ed over to a little sandy beach, walked across the street and did a little shopping at Ross and Publix. Then, back to the boat for a little while. But, since it was so late, we decided to help the local economy so we dinghy'ed across the ICW that was, according to the weather report, "a little choppy" (in my opinion, it was just damn  rough) and had a couple of drinks and sandwiches at Squid Lips, a nice little local place right on the water.

 

 

That evening, back on the boat, I was able to sit on deck and watch a little lightening show to the west and listen to the Dolphins circling the area and blowing. 

 

Sunday morning we started out by first raising the anchor, only to learn the anchor battery (which is brand new) had very little charge, This made hoisting the anchor which is 25# and another 60 feet of chain with the Windlass very difficult. For you land lubbers, a windlass is a battery operated winch system to raise the anchor. It's great when it works. We had it up about 2/3 of the way when the strangest thing appeared on the chain:

 

 

 

Yep, that's a sting ray that someone had cut loose and the wire leader had wrapped around the anchor chain. After cutting the ray off, I had to manually pull in the rest of the anchor chain and anchor because I couldn't figure out how to work the winch manually. 

 

Finally, we were able to start toward Cocoa, FL where we have some mail being sent, and we were planning on sailing a little more. But, the weather was overcast and rainy and we decided to motor which would also allow the windlass battery to be charged by the engine. Unfortunately, it appears the new battery has a bad cell and it just refuses to take a charge. Since, the battery was purchased for us by the previous owner in Ft. Lauderdale, we may have a problem trying to exchange it for a new one. We'll contact a West marine store on Merritt Island to see if they will make it good. If not, the nearest Deka dealer is in Sanford, FL which is about 60 miles inland. We'll have to rent a car and take it there.

 

We arrived in the Cocoa anchorage about  2:30 PM on Sunday and were able to get the anchor down before the battery conked out again. Cocoa, is almost due west of Cape Canaveral (some like to call it Cape Kennedy) and has a neat little historic downtown area. They also have a really nice dinghy dock for visitors. So, we took advantage of the dock, went into town and found a great little ice cream shop. Nancy had one scoop of coffee and I had a scoop of mango and one of banana. It's really hard to believe that I've lost about 15# since we started this trip.

 

 

Nancy arose early this morning and snapped a nice shot of the sunrise over Merritt Island.

 

 

We went back into town this morning and carried our empty propane tank about a mile to have it filled. We then stuffed it in my back pack and headed back toward town, stopping along the way for a nice lunch. Then, we went to the local hardware store in the old town which comprises 7 different buildings and a couple of semi trailer size containers. The store was established in1885 and if they don't have it, you definitely don't need it!! There is also all kinds of UT (University of Tennessee) memorabilia all over the place. Come to find out the current owner is from Athens, TN, and a true Vol fan.

 

We later hopped a bus and thought we were headed to the post office for our mail. But after some misinformation from the bus driver, we found we had gotten off way too early and had along walk ahead of us. So, we walked the shorter distance back to town and will try for the mail again tomorrow.

 

Having had enough for one day, we came back to the boat for a nice snack of wine and cheese and later dined on deck having fresh salmon, sauteed squash and corn. Oh, and a nice glass of Pinot Grigio.

 

This anchorage appears to be home to several  deserted boats:

 

 

Well, it's getting late and I think we're caught up again, so we hope everyone is doing well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remember, I'll (Tom) be using some color other than black for my posts so you can distinguish between what Nancy posts and what I post. I had hoped to use a different font, but the selections available on Google Blogger are limited to only ones that are too close to the one Nancy uses. So, after looking at color options, it looks like red will be my color.

Anyway, as Nancy mentioned yesterday evening, we arrived at a very pretty anchorage in the lee of a small island. We anchored about 50 yards off the island and then realized the water was deep enough that we could have tucked in a lot closer. Actually we have had one boat slip in between us and the island. I personally would never have done something like that with all the other room available in the area, but it takes all kinds of people!!

We arose this morning to a beautiful sunrise and climbed out on deck with our steaming cups of hot coffee to enjoy the scenery. The fish were breaking near the shore of the island and one morning, I plan to be waiting for them in the dingy with some fresh shrimp. I might be able to put a fish or two in the basket for dinner. Of course, the really nice thing about using shrimp is that if you don't catch any fish, you can always eat the bait.

Below are just a few of pictures taken this morning:

 

 

We plan to hang around here for a little while today and then motor on up to an area near Melbourne, FL and anchor at Dragon's Point. This should only be a couple of hours. We learned that just above this area is a wide open spot in the "ditch" and we'll be able to hoist the sails on Sunday and just play a little. Speaking of playing, things seem to be settling down with the boat issues and we're learning her little quirks so we feel we can take a more relaxed attitude toward this adventure and enjoy our time.

We hope each and every one of you has a great weekend.

Finally - something new to report:  we left Vero Beach. We really liked it there. The last day I (Nancy) rode my bike over the bridge into town to go to hardware store way out to find some particular nuts for the motor mounts.  Fortunately Tom called me when I was about half way to tell me we didn't need them after all.  So - I got to stop at leisure at the Fresh Foods to have lunch, West Marine to pick up some line for the boat and then Publix for a bit more food - never have enough on the boat.   Takes lots of planning to have something to eat for a  few meals.  

But I felt great re my assignment:  Here I got to ride a few miles and call it my task for the day.  Back at the boat, Tom had hired and was listening to a very skilled mechanic go over the boat with him to tell him what needed doing and helping him do things that needed doing now.    He was so great!  He then wouldn't take money for the two hours of help but then did agree to come dive  under the boat next morning to scrub it's bottom and propeller and for that he did take $60.  Big deal!  He said that when we come back through if there's something that needs done, stop by and to call him with questions along the way if we have them.  We have no idea what we did to merit such help -  he very obviously knows what he's talking about.

Oh, here's the place I can talk about women's lib on the boat.  It went to hell.    Tom has been so busy solving problems and learning systems that I feel I have the easy end of the deal to keep the food coming and the dishes washed.    And  tonight, I did make a great dinner of chicken seasoned with Elmo's seafood spices, kale with  walnuts and raisins and winter squash, but then Tom did the dishes!  So we still do a little sharing that way.

Yesterday evening we finally gave ourselves permission to play a little:  We took the dinghy and went over to a park across from the beach.  We walked over to the beach and went in. The water was warm enough and we played in the waves.  See the pictures of what fun I had, (not?)

Oh boy, here we got to get going on our way, planning to make 30 miles today with no cares.  As we left the marina to join the Inter Coastal Waterway, whoever was steering cut the corner a little too sharp and we ran aground!    Luckily about a week before we had signed up with Boat US which provides free towing services as part of its package - kind of a AAA for boats.   So we called them, make and had eggs and sausage for breakfast and 50 minutes later, we were pulled out and on our way again.

As background to this part of the story, the other of us had run aground in a similar spot yesterday when we were taking the boat out to test the transmission on the engine and we managed to back and twirl so that we were not grounded.  AND, just after we ran aground this morning, another  larger sail boat ran aground just behind us.  The Boat US tow operator said they were much more stuck than we were and may be there awhile. 

We both steer this boat from time to time.  You can bet we both will be watching to see that  we stay in the channels.  Apparently that is imperative.

Anyway, here we are at an anchorage 7 miles south of Melbourne, Florida.  We motored about 27 miles today and are behind a little island off the Inter Coastal Waterway.

 

Tom is back to his fishing luck again - caught another catfish.  He says we need to change bait and maybe we'll catch something else.

Just after we anchored here, we got out the little noodles the previous owners left with the boat and swam/hang out for about an hour.  It was great to come up the open transom of the back of the boat and use the outdoor shower there to wash off.   The water was nice and warm from all the running of the engine earlier.   We finally think we may be getting into the rhythm of  things.

Tomorrow, we may get to Cocoa, 27 miles north, where we've had some things mailed to us.  P.O. won't be available 'til Monday so we will have time to get to know the town a little before.  We've heard it's quaint and friendly.

As a suggestion from my son, Jon, Nancy and I will begin using a different text color so it will be easier for you to follow who writing is a particular part of our blog. Nancy will continue to use the black and I will probably just pick a color each day that suits my fancy. So hopefully, in the future, Nancy's blog will be in black and mine will be other than black. 

We appreciate feedback from all of you regarding the format of this blog because we want to make it easy for you to follow our adventure and share our experiences.

OK, so I'm the one who ran aground today. But, in all fairness, the graph showed that I was right on the edge of the channel and I should have been OK. But, I really need to pay closer attention to the depth sounder in the future, When you have a 4'3" draft and the waters 4'3", there may be a problem. At least now, when I get hungry, I just run aground and Nancy can fix breakfast while we wait for a tow!!