Sunday 30th December Fort Pierce

Farmers Market

Craft Market

Yesterday a friend of Marion’s, Claudette, took me for a drive south along the intracoastal, after a look around the farmers and craft market,

Sunset over Fort Pierce

 which I cut short as I was worried about the forecast strong winds and thunderstorms, which happily did not hit here; and today north for an interesting run along backroads to Vero Beach and back via the Navy SEAL museum.

Turtle at Vero Beach with words of inspiration like Strive, Laugh, Promote,Cheer, Dream,Hope, Love, Respect, Share

Driftwood Beach Resort Vero Beach

SEAL Lowriders

SEAL Submarines

Friday 28th December Fort Pierce

Christmas day was a lovely warm day so I spent it cleaning, waterline, hatches, dingy and propeller, and airing the boat. A pod of dolphins wander about the bay with pelicans and seagulls following them for the fish they disturb, I also saw a small stingray jumping.

Choppy Boxing Day

Anchorage at Sunrise

Christmas Lights Fort Pierce

 I was hoping to go ashore on Boxing Day (26^th) but the wind was blowing 15-20 gusting 30 knots so I hunkered down and managed some jobs that had been put off for long enough. The next day Marce and Jack appeared in a friend’s jeep and took me out for a very pleasant afternoon, looking around the area and doing a bit of parts shopping at a huge 2^nd hand warehouse. Today I went ashore, had a wander around and stocked up on supplies and refilled diesel cans.

Fort Pierce has allot of strange art

Gazebo at harbour

Fort Pierce

More sculptures in The Arcade

Monday 24th December Fort Pierce

Christmas Lights from the mooring St Augustine

Checking the weather forecasts gave a small window on Saturday and Sunday to move South to Fort Pierce, so I handed my access card in on Saturday morning and let the mooring lines slip at 9am, to get out of the inlet with the last of the ebb. 

Leaving St Augustine

The channel at the entrance was lumpy and shallow in places, but we made it into deep water without incident on a clear and cold day. During the whole journey we managed without the engine for all of one hour, as the winds, although with us for most of the way, were not strong enough to keep us above 2knots. Between St Augustine and Cape Canaveral the water temperature rose from 13°C to nearly 20°C and the air temperature was rising nicely, so that even overnight on Saturday I had the hatches open. Passing Cape Canaveral at just after dark, three cruise ships came roaring out the closest passing less than a mile ahead, giving me a tense hour until all had passed, otherwise the run was uneventful with just us, the sea, the stars

and the odd dolphins and seabirds for company.

Sunset off Cape Canaveral

Fort Pierce inlet

We motored into Fort Pierce inlet at 10am on Monday 24^th against the current, so had to push hard until inside, anchoring North of the high level bridge opposite the City Marina in 3m of water.

Wednesday 19th December St Augustine

I decided over the weekend that Tuesday would be the best day to leave with West to North West winds of 10-20 knots forecast, so had a last walk around St Marys; 

White Pelecans St Marys

Jack in the Graveyard at St Marys

Marce and Jack left on Monday and went down the intracoastal, I sat tight through a blustery (South winds) afternoon and evening, Tuesday started with winds 15-20 gusting 25 so I decided to see what it was like once we got to the entrance at Cumberland sound and if it was still too windy head down inside on the intracoastal waterway. Raising the anchor at 1pm (the tidal currents run up to 3knots) to get best use of the outgoing tide, we made good time with just the jib out 

leaving St Marys

and at the Sound the winds were down to the forecast 10-20 knots from the North West so we had a fine sail for awhile until the wind eased too much; we averaged just over 3knots for the 20 hours of the journey, there was very little swell and a fine if chilly, once the moon had set at 11pm, clear night.

Sunset off Jacksonville

Fishing boats off St Augustine at dawn

The only worrying time was off Jacksonville where three cargo boats were closing on me at the same time, two coming out and one going in, but we made it through without incident only using a little more fuel and arrived at the entrance to St Augustine at 8am and after carefully feeling our way in through the shallows which are only sparsely marked, picked up a mooring beside the Bridge of Lions at 9am with Jacks very welcome help; having secured the boat and inflated the dingy I went ashore to register and take a welcome shower (included in the cost of the mooring) on a glorious sunny day.

Moored off the Bridge of Lions