20091206 Ft Pierce FL

20091206 Ft Pierce FL After getting bored and depressed by the economic status in Daytona Beach, we were happy to get out early and head south once again. We planned for a 50 mile day, with a projected slip reservation at the Titusville City Marina. The day was just miserable. It was cold and rainy from 30 minutes after we left the dock until just after docking. The presence of dolphins, diving pelicans, screeching sea gulls and posing cormorants with wings drying outstretched are now common occurrences. Only when dolphins breech within an arm’s reach of the cockpit, do we get motivated to reach for the camera; however, the moment is too fleeting and our pictures show only ripples on the water. It seemed to get colder and rainier as we went south. Temperature at 45F when we left, it warmed to 60F during the day. We arrived and docked without problems after 6.5 hours of motoring. Cathy was not feeling well, developing a non-productive cough. Cough syrup and over-the-counter cold pills only help slightly. I prepared a pot of chicken noodle soup from our stores on-board. The concoction consisted of canned chicken chunks, spiral pasta, egg noodles plus a couple of bouillon cubes. Combined with a hot grilled cheese, we feasted and warmed our chilled bodies. Being at a dock, we cut on the heat and enjoyed an internal boat temperature of 77F. We opened the small portholes and cracked the forward hatch. Overnight, the combination of the heat and ventilation removed moisture and dried our wet foul weather gear. We went to bed early and I slept well. Cathy was still troubled by a dry cough. She allowed me to sleep undisturbed, while she went to the salon, closing he head door for isolation. She played games on her cel phone to pass the time. As usual, 7am sees us preparing to leave. Tea & fruit for breakfast, with a second pot of tea for the trip. I was glad to have dry foul weather gear for the new day. We left around 8am backing out of the slip and making our way through the channel back to the ICW. Again, it was cold and rainy; however not as bad as the day before. We arrived at mile marker 925 just south of Melborne, FL. The wind was out of the north, so as I left the ICW, I entered the anchorage and point the bow into the wind. We anchored between two small islands to shelter us from the 15-20 knot north wind. After dropping the anchor in 12 feet of water, I backed down hard to set it deeply and increased the scope to 10:1 with 120 feet of 3/8” chain. Both of us were chilled to the bone, but glad that we had our foul weather gear and a second night of chicken noodle soup. As darkness fell, a rocket from Cape Canaveral lifted off, adding a shooting star and great ruckus to the still night air. It remained in view for 5 minutes as the stages burned out and fell away. The wind steadily increased overnight and the boat pitched and it tugged on its anchor. Sleeping in the v-berth was uncomfortable with the 2-3 foot rise and fall of the bed. Cathy and I both moved into the salon near the center of the boat, allowing us to get some sleep. I arose hourly to make sure the island in our lee did not “sneak up on us” during the night. The picture above is of the mangrove island to our stern.   Again, even with 20 knots of wind all night, the anchor held, documented by the GPS. We moved left and right a little, but not one foot closer to the island astern. We hastened to get underway on Sunday, December 06, 2009. Sunrise was at 7am, we had hauled and secured the anchor, again underway at 8am. Upon entering the ICW, we fell in behind two other sailboats motoring south. All day, they remained in sight, leading the way down the ditch. We arrived in Ft Pierce, FL around 2pm on 20091206. Angel was directed to a channel off of the ICW, but the channel markers disappeared as we approached the marina. Fortunately, the staff was alert and gave good directions to a face dock on the second (blind) entrance into the marina. We had a strong easterly wind, which made docking difficult. On the first approach, the stern blew away from the dock and we had to abandon the attempt, back up and try again. The space was tight, but we did no damage to ourselves or neighbors. After securing the boat, we grabbed our shower stuff and clean clothes, heading up to the office to register and get clean. We decided to get a late lunch and discovered Ft Pierce is having a Christmas festival this evening, including parade and tree lighting. Tomorrow, we will anchor out overnight, then plan our arrival on Tuesday, into Ft Lauderdale on Cathy’s birthday. All is well, Cathy & Jim