Charlston to Vero Beach Florida
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DATE: November 20 to December 15, 2000
Miles Traveled: 482.4 (statute)
Engine Hours: 82.5
Expenses:
Dinners/Entertainment: $ 240.00 |
CHARLESTON TO BEAUFORT S.C. (via TOM POINT CREEK)
We left the Ashley Marina in Charleston at mid tide around noon, as we were told that currents in a cut near Charleston were very strong. We were hailed by a small sailboat as we motored to the first bridge. The crew of the boat were a little unsure of the channel as they, like us, wanted to go south but the route in the beginning went north. Welcome to the ICW!We stayed overnight in Tom Point Creek with several other boats and the next day we anchored in Beaufort S.C. It rained and became cooler and so we remained at anchor for an extra day before heading for St. Augustine Creek.
ST. AUGUSTINE CREEK
We stayed at St. Augustine Creek by ourselves. It was cold and windy, so after anchoring we closed the hatches and prepared for a quiet evening. It was not to be. After an hour we heard the sound of a horn and at first, assumed it was someone on the nearby ICW. After the third blast we checked outside and saw a tugboat pushing a big barge towards the corner near which we were anchored. We radioed the tug captain and were told that we were anchored in the channel and that there was a lot of traffic in this creek. We responded that this was an anchorage mentioned in several of our guides. He then said that he could make it around us and then he proceeded to do so. As it was near dusk by this point, we did not want to move and so we flagged down a fisherman in a small boat who was passing by to ask his opinion. He stated that there was no heavy traffic normally just small boats like his. We decided to re-anchor closer to the side of the creek and show lots of lights. It did not make for great sleeping but we survived. The next day was a very windy and cold. Just picking up the anchor exhausted us. The forecast was for heavy winds a record low overnight temperature and so we decided to stay at the next available Marina until temperatures moderated.THE ISLE OF HOPE MARINA
The Isle of Hope Marina was the first place we found and we were very happy to find it. We decided to stay for three days at their three-day rate and enjoy electric heat and celebrate a real American Thanksgiving. The marina staff drove us to the town for groceries and to a local restaurant. On Thanksgiving morning, we gathered on the dock with the crews of other boats, for eggnog, coffee, cakes and good camaraderie. Later we all enjoyed turkey dinner together at a local eatery. In the early evening we walked amongst the large houses and gardens boarding the shore. The friendly locals also out to digest their meals, seemed happy to talk the strangers walking their quiet picturesque streets.
We met interesting people including Bob, a lawyer turned business man from Texas, Judy and Nancy on Willow who also had H.F. email problems and who managed to give Jeffrey an update to his email program. After three days we were happy to leave and head for New Teakettle Creek, where we stayed for an extra day because of the rain, before motoring to Delaroche Creek. Jeffrey worked on the email program in these two creeks and believes that the light is at the end of the tunnel – He just don’t know how long is the tunnel :-).
FERNANDINA BEACH
This sounds like cute place and in itself it is but getting to it and getting out of it involves passing an awful lot of heavy industry and handling heavy barge traffic. That and the fact that the beach is actually two miles away kind of put a damper on it. On top of that the local library would let us access the WWW but had filtered out any kind of email including our favourite Hotmail. This was so that people especially children would not be subjected to unwanted “nasty stuff” from the outside world. Welcome to the “Bible Belt”.We walked all over the place to find birthday cards and milk. The tide went out while we were there showing us docks that were on the bottom. We were grateful for diesel fuel, new charts and a good anchorage. We renewed acquaintances with several people from boats, which we had met previously.
We realized after talking to some friends that Yes Dorothy we were not in Kansas but we were in Florida and only a few days from Cape Kennedy where we planned to visit to the Space Center.
Tragically, we found out that after we left, a small boat had been hit during the night by one of the many barge/tug combinations, and had sunk killing one occupant. The people on board the boat were very young and were doing casual jobs to make ends meet. They may have not been showing an anchor light as they evidently had charging problems.
FORT GEORGE RIVER
Fort George River is located near the mouth of the St Johns River in the northeastern corner of Florida When we arrived it was a beautiful afternoon and for the first time in Florida, we took the dinghy to the nearest beach. In our excitement we did not notice that the tide was going out and we had to wade through water carrying the dingy until it was deep enough to start the motor. That was OK as Diane has “coureur de bois” blood and portage was part of their life. Later we went to the Kingsley Plantation just across from where we had anchored Perce Neige. During the nineteenth century several owners, their families and hundreds of enslaved people inhabited this island plantation. The original structures, still there, were built in 1791 and had been recently restored.
We were so enthralled by the history that again, we failed to keep an eye on the tide again and this time it was not resting on sand but on very sharp clusters of shells. We had to remove the motor from the dinghy, lift the dinghy over the shells, and carry it to a deeper safe spot where we could allow it to float, then go back for the motor and return to Perce Neige. Hard work!
SAINT AUGUSTINE
The Spanish founded this historic and quite beautiful city in 1565. It is the oldest permanent European settlement in the continental United States. The original town was a military base for the protection of Spain’s colonial trade and commerce. Spanish architectural styles predominate in most of the government and other major buildings.
On the Saturday we, along with our friends, attended the annual Santa Claus parade. In the afternoon we visited the fortress of Castillo de San Marcos, watched the soldiers in period costumes doing musketry drills and the gun crew firing two eight pound cannons at sunset. Later in the evening, we walked in the very narrow streets of the old Spanish Quarter and participated in the parade of lights, a custom going back to the early 1800s. Soldiers walked to each corner of the city with torches to light the streets. Later some of the inhabitants of the city joined the soldiers and formed a parade. Today, hundreds of the locals (and some people from quite far away) dress in military and other period costumes and carry their lanterns to the various places including City Hall. Many others, including us, followed the costumed people with their candles.
During the six days, we were at anchor beside the famous Lions Bridge; the weather became worse with winds up to 30 knots, it was “rock and roll” time in the anchorage. Most of the boaters stayed on their boats for 2 days as getting ashore on a dinghy was not easy and usually a very soggy affair. We were happy when the weather abated enough for us to head for our next anchorage.
THE CEMENT PLANT
This is a very narrow channel. We practiced our rusty fore and aft anchoring skills with some assistance from Peter from Rolger II and stayed there along with Rolger for only one night. We saw lots of wild life, but also lots of human occupation in the form of tugs pushing barges loaded with pre-cast concrete bridge sections, and Sea-ray boats from the nearby plant which used the channel for test runs.
ROCK HOUSE CREEK
Very close to the ICW, lots of wild life and except for Rolger II, all four boats in this anchorage are navy blue.TITUSVILLE AND CAPE KENNEDY
While we stayed at anchor at Titusville, we arranged to be driven to and picked up from Cape Kennedy Visitor Center to check out the “Cape” and all its exiting exhibits. We decide to add the second level of tours and did not regret it. We got to see the launch site up close compared to the rest of the tours. We also saw several alligators and an armadillo as well as an eagle nest the size of a small car. We spent a full day and still did not see everything.
We encountered a problem with a cash machine which swallowed Jeffrey’s debit card, but at least it gave us the money we needed.
DRAGON POINT/INDIAN HARBOUR BEACH
We re-acquainted ourselves with Rolger II and two sets of new friends: the blue boat bunch (see Rock house creek above) and the frisky dolphin crowd.
We met the blue boat people when we took our dinghy to a marina. We were inundated with several dolphins on the way there. They ran around chasing each other in the narrow channel and came very close to our dinghy in the process. It was the most amazing ad most intimate encounter with dolphins, which we had experienced at this point in our voyage. On our return from the dinghy dock we again met these “in your face dolphins”. We conclude after sitting in our dinghy trying to photograph the exiting and apparently very exited mammals, that perhaps it was the mating season!
It was a pretty spot; beautiful well decorated mansions boarding the shore. The decorations Christmas is coming!
VERO BEACH
This is what we have come here for. Blue sky, sunshine, beaches and lots of happy sailors. The facilities are great; free busses to practically anywhere you may want to go. There is a beautiful marina with clean showers, laundry, picturesque anchorage and a nearby beach on the Atlantic. We are on a mooring ball and all our friends are here: Lady Simcoe, Sea Turtle Five, Rolger, and many more. We will spend Christmas here. We have visitors from the UK and a daughter from Toronto coming to visit.
Merry Christmas to all our readers.
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