We stayed for two nights in Vero Beach. The second day was dedicated to laundry and provisioning. Vero Beach has a free bus system with a stop at the marina, which makes the city very cruiser friendly.
From Vero Beach we motored/sailed north on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AICW) to Titusville. We anchored there for one night just outside of the city marina, the same place we anchored heading south last fall. From Titusville we continued up the AICW to an anchorage in New Smyrna Beach near the Ponce de Leon Inlet.
The best parts of the trip between Titusville and New Smyrna Beach were passages through the Haulover Canal and Mosquito Lagoon. Haulover Canal is a short, narrow cut where fishermen abound. Finally we saw wild alligators! I spotted three. Two were small. The third was a monster. It must have been at least eight feet long! For a minute I was ten years old and back on the Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland again.
As we approached New Smyrna Beach we came upon the equivalent of a speed trap for boaters - the same Sheriff’s Deputy who boarded us in the fall brought his boat alongside and greeted us. He remembered being aboard Island Chariot. We passed his holding-tank-discharge inspection with flying colors in the fall. We exchanged pleasantries and assured him we were still in compliance with the law. He wished us well and sped off in his speedboat. I liked it that he remembered us. We dropped our anchor for the night in Rockhouse Creek near the Ponce de Leon Inlet.
The next morning we got underway at 7:00AM with Hilton Head, SC as our destination. Slack high tide was at 7:30AM making our inlet passage quiet comfortable and easy. How fortunate for us! We exited the channel, turned northeast, and set our waypoint for Tybee Roads. We sailed all day, all night, and into the next afternoon before arriving in Hilton Head. The nearly-full moon rose just before sunset and set as the sun shone on the horizon the next morning. Beautiful! I took the 11PM -1AM and 3AM – 5AM shifts again. The bright moon guiding the way gave me something to ponder during my watches, like how the sunlight hits the moon to make a concave shadow on it when greater than half of the moon is showing.
It took courage to be alone with my thoughts on the 3AM – 5AM shift, defenses down due to fatigue. My former life full of activity had given me the illusion of a life full of purpose. In fact, I may have been running from thoughts or memories. Transforming from a “human doing” into a “human being” has been a challenging yet blissful journey over the past seven months... My Ipod played Rush Chronicles quietly so I could still hear Island Chariot. I sang along to Subdivisions – “suburbs don’t have the charms to soothe the restless dreams of youth… nowhere is a dreamer or a misfit so alone…”, and Time Stands Still – “freeze this moment a little bit longer, make each sensation a little bit stronger, ... like a captain whose ship has run aground, I can wait for the tide to come around”… Amazing lyrics, amazing band!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Homeward Bound - Part I
Winds from the east remained over 25 knots for the rest of April, which was a lovely reason to stay a bit longer and make a few more memories in Marathon. The once lively west dock at Marathon Marina was now like a ghost town. Most cruisers had headed north and most slips were vacant. The absence of our friends made us feel unsettled – like we should be moving north, too. After a day or two that feeling passed. We relaxed and noticed how beautiful Marathon is in late April. Bright sunshine. Robin’s egg blue skies. Aqua-green water. Trees and flowers in bloom. Balmy 80-degree temperatures. People leave too early.
My birthday was April 25th. John surprised me with my favorite cake, chocolate with chocolate butter cream frosting. I cannot remember when I have been so moved and delighted! The day prior John had ridden his bike five miles to Publix to purchase the cake. He tied the cake box to his bike rack, rode back to the marina, and stashed the round cake in the marina office refrigerator with the blessing of the dockmaster. My favorite part of the cake was the edge where the frosting smudged against the cake box when John hit a bump in the road on his ride back.
When the calendar turned to May, we knew we had to get moving. Our insurance requires us to be north of Cumberland Island, GA by June 1st. On May 2nd, with no relief from east winds in sight, we left Marathon and sailed for Key Largo. By 2PM we arrived at Rodriguez Key, our planned anchorage for the night. It felt too early to stop. We sailed on to Miami. Somewhere between 7PM and 8PM we arrived off of Key Biscayne and then the Government Cut. The sun was setting. It was Saturday night. We knew our planned Miami anchorage would be crazy. We felt great, so we kept sailing. Without meaning to do so, we picked up the Gulf Stream. Our speed changed from 7.5 knots to 9.5-10.5 knots! I did not know Island Chariot could sail at 10.5 knots! Totally awesome!
At 9PM John and I began taking two-hour shifts at the helm. I took the shifts from 11PM – 1AM and from 3AM – 5AM. So peaceful. So quiet. So many stars! During my second shift, somewhere around the Jupiter Inlet, U.S. Warship Number 98 was anchored in our path. Someone aboard the ship had made several intimidating radio calls telling the rest of us to stay at least 500 yards from the ship. The voice spoke so quickly that I missed everything except the warship number and 500 yards. All I could see was something gigantic ahead that was lit up like Los Angeles. I did not realize the ship was anchored. I kept changing course to avoid the ship. No matter which way I turned, it seemed that we were heading directly at the ship. Finally another radio call came. A new voice. Oh! The ship is anchored! Well, okay then. I looked at the radar and chose a path to keep Island Chariot outside 500 yards of the ship. Then it was time to wake John. “Your turn, Darlin’. My shift was uneventful. Eric the Autopilot is driving to the waypoint off the Fort Pierce Inlet.”
We entered the Fort Pierce Inlet on Sunday at 10AM. Miraculously, the tide was slack so our transit was comfortable and easy. By 12:30PM we were settled on a mooring at Vero Beach City Marina and settling down for a nap. My first overnight ocean sail. My first time being alone in the cockpit, completely responsible for everything that happened or failed to happen. Why didn’t someone tell me it was no big deal?
My birthday was April 25th. John surprised me with my favorite cake, chocolate with chocolate butter cream frosting. I cannot remember when I have been so moved and delighted! The day prior John had ridden his bike five miles to Publix to purchase the cake. He tied the cake box to his bike rack, rode back to the marina, and stashed the round cake in the marina office refrigerator with the blessing of the dockmaster. My favorite part of the cake was the edge where the frosting smudged against the cake box when John hit a bump in the road on his ride back.
When the calendar turned to May, we knew we had to get moving. Our insurance requires us to be north of Cumberland Island, GA by June 1st. On May 2nd, with no relief from east winds in sight, we left Marathon and sailed for Key Largo. By 2PM we arrived at Rodriguez Key, our planned anchorage for the night. It felt too early to stop. We sailed on to Miami. Somewhere between 7PM and 8PM we arrived off of Key Biscayne and then the Government Cut. The sun was setting. It was Saturday night. We knew our planned Miami anchorage would be crazy. We felt great, so we kept sailing. Without meaning to do so, we picked up the Gulf Stream. Our speed changed from 7.5 knots to 9.5-10.5 knots! I did not know Island Chariot could sail at 10.5 knots! Totally awesome!
At 9PM John and I began taking two-hour shifts at the helm. I took the shifts from 11PM – 1AM and from 3AM – 5AM. So peaceful. So quiet. So many stars! During my second shift, somewhere around the Jupiter Inlet, U.S. Warship Number 98 was anchored in our path. Someone aboard the ship had made several intimidating radio calls telling the rest of us to stay at least 500 yards from the ship. The voice spoke so quickly that I missed everything except the warship number and 500 yards. All I could see was something gigantic ahead that was lit up like Los Angeles. I did not realize the ship was anchored. I kept changing course to avoid the ship. No matter which way I turned, it seemed that we were heading directly at the ship. Finally another radio call came. A new voice. Oh! The ship is anchored! Well, okay then. I looked at the radar and chose a path to keep Island Chariot outside 500 yards of the ship. Then it was time to wake John. “Your turn, Darlin’. My shift was uneventful. Eric the Autopilot is driving to the waypoint off the Fort Pierce Inlet.”
We entered the Fort Pierce Inlet on Sunday at 10AM. Miraculously, the tide was slack so our transit was comfortable and easy. By 12:30PM we were settled on a mooring at Vero Beach City Marina and settling down for a nap. My first overnight ocean sail. My first time being alone in the cockpit, completely responsible for everything that happened or failed to happen. Why didn’t someone tell me it was no big deal?
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