From Vero Beach, FL to Jekyll Island, GA

Week 1 Vero Beach, FL to Jekyll Island, GA (May 4 - May 10, 2013)

Our departure from Loggerhead Marina occurred during the monthly breakfast gathering of fellow boaters and staff.  Consequently, we had plenty of help casting off our lines.  Our smiles, while genuine, didn’t tell all the story of all the feelings we were experiencing.  Excitement and apprehension of what lay ahead, leaving behind so many new friends and the reality of actually starting the journey that we had been planning for so many months.

They just wouldn't let go...

Fond farewell

Cocoa Village Marina was our first stop.  Our plan to make Titusville turned out to be a little ambitious but the stop included a Kentucky Derby party at the marina.  The hosts were very gracious but we were unprepared for the “dress up” occasion so we took a short walk into town and decided to enjoy a meal at the packed Thai Thai Restaurant.  We returned to our boat and began what has become our practice of reviewing the charts, Skipper Bob’s Anchorages and Marinas books and the Waterway Guide for the next day’s cruise noting points of interest and cautions for the passage.

Sunset over Cocoa Village Marina

Our second day was short (only 32 miles enroute) found us in Titusville Municipal Marina where we picked up a mooring ball (our first).  For those new to boating and reading our blog, a mooring ball is similar to anchoring but using a pennant attached to a chain, attached usually to a large block of concrete on the bottom of a protected harbor near a marina.  They are very secure but lack the luxury of dock-side power, water or easy access to marina amenities.  Nonetheless we took our dinghy to shore to use the facilities and enjoyed a night of peaceful security.

From Titusville we went nearly our planned 50 miles and anchored just south of Memorial Bridge in Daytona Beach (our first overnight anchor).  We chose not to dinghy to shore but rather just sat around the boat enjoying the solitude of a quiet anchorage.  This also provided us the opportunity of improving our power conservation without running our generator all the time.  We grilled dinner and settled in for a night “on the hook.”  That night was a little restless as Some R lovin’ swung with the tide and wind, but we held firmly throughout the night and woke early prepared for another day on the water.

Memorial Bridge Anchorage
Daytona Beach, FL

Our next destination was St Augustine, one of the oldest cities in Florida.  We had visited there before but it’s a really cool town and a must-stop place on most boaters’ itineraries.  We decided to pick up another mooring ball and dinghy to town for dinner and revisit a couple of the local sites we enjoyed on our previous trip.  We found a delightful Cuban restaurant but best of all the bartender shared his recipes for white and red sangria, delicious!  To this point in our trip the waterway was pretty unremarkable from a challenging navigation perspective. 

Oldest Catholic Parish in North America

Sangria time

St Augustine to port as we depart

We followed three American Tugs out of St Augustine harbor (we would run into them again in a few days) and appreciated having their experience help lead us through our first real navigation challenge-out the channel to the mouth of the inlet and a hard turn to north giving markers a wide berth to avoid shoaling in the area.  We planned a two-day stop in Fernandina Beach, FL to enjoy one of the prettiest beach towns on our itinerary. Our first night we picked up a mooring ball and settled in after a long day on the water.  Early the next morning we left the ball and moved to a slip in the Fernandina Harbor Marina.  We washed the boat, did laundry, biked about 3 miles to Winn Dixie to re-provision and bought fresh seafood at a local fish market.  That night our grilled fresh swordfish dinner was a highlight of the week.  It also marked the beginning of what seems like our quest to eat more seafood than any single person should. Yum!!!  Except for the exit from St Augustine, Fernandina also marked the end of easy navigation, tolerable tides and familiar waters.

Heading for groceries, quenching our thirst at the oldest
continuous bar in Florida and a bit of history 

Transiting Georgia can be just about the most challenging boating on the Atlantic Intracostal Water Way.  Route planning must take into account tides and water levels as many areas along the way get really shallow even for our 4-foot draft boat.  A New Moon phase on May 9th confounded our planning because as with a Full Moon, lunar tides in Georgia can range 9 feet and change approximately every 6 hours.  Fast running currents, “skinny water,” winding rivers all challenged our new boating skills.  Considering these tides and weather, our first day north from Fernandina landed us in Jekyll Island, GA only 30 plus miles to the north.  We took advantage of the short day and rode our bikes to the historic district (better known as Millionaires Village) and beaches on the east side of the island.  Jekyll Island was the playground of the rich and famous during the “club” era of the US.  Names like JP Morgan, Rockefellers and Vanderbilts visited often and even the concept of today’s Federal Reserve was conceived there by the wealthiest Americans of the time.
 

The Elite Boy's Club

Tools we use to navigate under one of the many bridges

REALLY low tide
(this is a floating dock)