Our Travels

Not only are we no longer in the islands, but in order to make Palm Coast for our granddaughter’s May 30 high school graduation, we ended up heading north on the AICW over the busy holiday weekend.

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Coming through the NASA Causeway in Titusville, it was interesting to see the progress on the bridge replacement. On the left side of the slider below, in January, on our way down the coast, notice the unfinished new bridge in the background basically isn’t there. On the right side of the slider, four months later, and voila!

The new bridge is scheduled to open to traffic in the next month or so, and then demolition of the old bridge will begin. Wonder what will happen to the courteous and efficient set of bridge tenders when the drawbridge is gone?

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It was a holiday weekend with a lot going on, both in the sky…

and seemingly on every shoreline and sandbar…

Some people found their own private spot. Others not so much.

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Some of the travel through the narrow parts of the ICW Saturday was fairly adventurous with jet skis zipping around and rows of smaller boats blasting by us. But hey, Holiday + Water = Fun for everyone!

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Our plan was to walk the stately Veterans Memorial bridge on Memorial Day morning to read the commemorative plaques before finishing our northward track to Palm Coast in the afternoon.

On a side note, Granddaughter Kayla had requested that Nana (Susie) make nutty noodle clusters for the Tuesday graduation party, so Susie had been making the candy treats as we traveled north. Unfortunately, a few batches in, we ran out of chocolate chips. Uh oh. This being something of a family emergency, and ever the optimist, Susie thought perhaps we could find some when we left the boat to walk the bridge. A grocery store conveniently located at the base of a busy city bridge?? Sure, Hon.

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Monday morning, we lowered the dinghy and made our way to a nearby marina dinghy dock, then walked to the bridge. There are plaques mounted along the bridge in memory of American lives lost in war. The stations on the south side of the bridge begin with the American Revolutionary War and end with several stops highlighting World War II.

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Along the way, we also enjoyed the view of the AICW.

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At the top of the bridge, we had the privilege of meeting Mel Robinson, a friendly veteran and former food service salesman who lives nearby and walks the bridge routinely to pick up trash and keep the plaques free of bird poop.

After chatting for a while with Mel, we asked if he knew of a store near enough to either side of the bridge that we could get our hands on some chocolate chips. First thing he did was check with his wife to see if she had some to donate to the “cause,” but she was fresh out. So, he loaded us in the car and took us to Publix. Crisis averted, and it was fun listening to Mel’s many stories! Thank you, Mel and Carol!

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With Nana’s chocolate chips stashed in Todd’s dry bag, we hustled back across the bridge. We’ll save the north side for our next trip through the area. Perhaps Veterans Day?

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For now, we had our next mission to finish. Along the way, the ICW narrows and the houses on the shore are very close. Heck, with new houses and larger windows, we could see our reflection as we passed!

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We arrived in Palm Coast late Monday afternoon.

After our return from the Bahamas, we spent a couple of nights anchored next to Finish Grade in Fort Pierce where both crews sat still to get their respective game plans together. On Thursday the 18th, Terry and Lynn raised anchor, …

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So, what was the gameplan for us? No doubt about it, first up, REPLACE THE AUTOPILOT! After a couple of months hand steering, the salty first mate had had enough.

We headed to the Fort Pierce City Marina, where, over the course of a week, we gave the SALTYMare a well-deserved and thorough bath, did some reprovisioning, had the fire suppression system inspected and certified, and, most importantly, spent a couple of days with technicians aboard to install the new autopilot. Naturally, the installation involved the emptying of cabinets, removal of ceiling panels, etc. Susie didn’t have the heart to take yet more photos of the interior in a shambles.

Speaking of pictures, however, we also now have a replacement camera. Back in business!

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Yesterday morning, we began the sea trial for the new autopilot in the turning basin near the city marina.

Then, we used the long inlet stretch and its turn onto the ICW to test and test and test again. And guess what?

IT WORKED!!!

So, we wrapped it up, dropped the technicians off back at the marina, and immediately headed north!

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It was good to be moving again, especially when the boat can hold a track. Yes, this new system refers to a “route” as a “track” instead. Hence, we will be learning new parlance.

Transiting the ICW, we always enjoy the natural beauty, and the mighty ospreys (Todd’s favorite) tend to catch our eyes.

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We began under sunny skies before spending half a day cruising through squalls with sustained winds in the upper 20’s and gusts to 34 knots. It was a pleasant surprise to have the rain clear just in time for us to anchor. It was no surprise though to have the day end with a cloud-strewn sunset.

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With the cool, stormy breeze, we spent a peaceful night anchored where we’d wiggled in between the crab pots. This morning we discovered that the anchor had indeed held very well. It was holding so well in fact that it was a bit of a struggle to raise it. When it cleared the surface, we saw why. The anchor came up carrying a large mass of dark mud and small stones stubbornly clinging to it, rather like wet, sticky Quikrete. Yuck!

As predicted, we were out of the reach of the Bahamian cell towers at our last stop anchored off Mangrove Cay Monday. We spent the afternoon making final preparations for the crossing – securing the dinghy to the deck, route planning, stowing errr… everything, planning/preparing simple meals, engine fluid checks, etc. You know, loafing… Ha!

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We weighed anchor at 0445 and quietly slipped out of the anchorage. It was Mangrove Cay (uninhabited middle of nowhere) – there were like, two other boats.

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We were headed west, so there was a lovely sunrise to our stern.

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Our route had us about three hours crossing the Little Bahama Bank before entering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Stream. The conditions were idyllic! Yeah, planning! As we had our final look at the starfish, sharks, rays, and others through the clear 20-30 foot depth, we entered the 3000+ foot deep ocean. Of course, fishing lines were deployed on both boats. Oui, the optimism!

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Our route was not unusual, but it was a bit amazing that twice we crossed paths with very l-a-r-g-e ships. Close enough for attention.

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Seems like an uneventful passage, right? Well, almost.

Just after midday of a beautiful day on the water, watching the flying fish, the clouds, etc. cruising across the invisible “river” (the Gulf Stream), Todd spots something in the water ahead. Lo and behold, an overturned vessel. Oh geez…..

Closer inspection revealed no one in the water, and we noticed “buoys” nearby. Todd called the Coast Guard to report it. Finish Grade filled in the details via texting with the Coast Guard (Starlink to the rescue again). Subsequently, we heard on the VHF a Navy plane that happened to be in the area volunteering to fly over the scene. We asked if we needed to continue circling and were told it was not necessary.

Although it felt weird to move on, as we did, the Navy jet showed up and made ever-widening circles, reporting findings over the radio. It was good to know that, on this day, within minutes, folks were responding.

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P.S. As expected, no fish were harmed in the making of this crossing. ha!

Since Susie’s return from Virginia Thursday (and her actually waking up Friday morning), we have been making our way northwest each day, progressing toward our required departure from the Bahamas.

Friday, we had a short cruise to catch up with Terry & Lynn at Manjack.

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Terry & Lynn had been there for a couple of days and were ready with a plan to guide us on a dinghy trip through the “creek” that runs into the interior of the island. We saw dozens of turtles – large, small, and smaller! – a couple of rays, and even a cute young shark (Baby Shark Shark Shark Shark) as we moseyed through the mangrove-edged waters. Just beautiful. It was good to get into such a pristine slice of nature.

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Next up, they lead us to a path to the “famous” Art Magic Art-Walk on Manjack.

Having had some time on their hands, Terry and Lynn were prepared to add their own trash-to-treasure crafty creations to the Art Magic Art-Walk.

The Art Walk was… strange? That’s not the word. Bizarre? Nah. Eclectic? Close. How about “Just so creative and darn crazy that it can’t help but make you smile and laugh? Yup, that’s it!

With that, enjoy the slideshow of art cruisers have created from trash found in the islands:

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Early Saturday morning, Todd and Terry tried a bit of snorkeling before we left Manjack for Allans Pensacola Cay. The ladies sat this one out. Not much for Jacques (Todd) to find ‘cept a lobster!

After the snorkel and not-take-a-lobster bit Saturday, we stowed the dinghies, weighed anchor and made a three-hour cruise to Allans Pensacola, where we all stretched our legs with some successful beach combing.

Sunday, we had a four-hour plus cruise to Great Sale Cay, where we have a weak signal.

At sunset, we had a visitor stop in for a chat with Susie.

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Going Incommunicado!

Today we are heading to Mangrove Cay to stage for the weather window to cross back to Florida Tuesday. Never having been to Mangrove Cay, we don’t know whether or not we will have a signal there. Naturally there won’t be a signal during our fourteen-hour crossing tomorrow.

Anyone who would like to keep up with our progress can use the Locate Us button, as that will be tracking the boat’s movements. Here’s to an uneventful, smooth crossing back to the United States!

First up, a bit of explanation for those who may have been trying to reach us on the Bahamian number. Todd had an unfortunate mishap in the dinghy Wednesday, during which our Bahamian phone ended up at the bottom of Marsh Harbour. So, our 242 number is no good for now (unless you’re a fish, perhaps). We have reactivated our U.S. phone plan and can receive and send text messages on our 205 numbers until we travel beyond the reach of the Bahamian cell towers.

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Now back to the journey.

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What was Todd up to while Susie was in Virginia? (Yeah, I know, poor thing “stranded” in the islands, right?)

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Apparently, he got drug off the boat by Terry and Lynn to do some snorkeling, and if he’s underwater, he’s finding stuff.

Then there are the traditions of birdwatching and sunset watch.

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With her mission accomplished and her mother doing well, Susie flew back to Marsh Harbour Thursday.

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