Tuesday put us @ the Halifax River Yacht Club, right downtown Daytona Beach. Brian, the dockmaster, was a gem! Enjoyed the evening with dinner in the Club, then early the next morning we were off to Eau Gallie at Indian Harbor, just north of Melbourne FL. Lovely cruise down Indian River and past Cape Canaveral. Unfortunately, the Discovery Shuttle launch got pushed back at least a couple days, but for a while we thought we'd have ring side seats.
Longer day on Wednesday filled with dolphin sightings, manatee, jellyfish and all sorts of birds, including significant number of osprey. Eau Galle lived up to its reputation as a great stop in the north-south trek. We were fortunate to be there for their monthly "Colors Event" - cadets from Patrick Air Force Base Guard retired the color amid singing of the National Anthem and America the Beautiful.
Out early Thursday for a short trip to Vero Beach and a stop at The Moorings Club. Superb facilities and we took the opportunity to use their fitness center for a great workout. Then a special treat, we had dinner with Jim & Helen Dodds, good friends from Greenville SC that we haven't seen in ~18 years -- quite a memorable evening.
Awoke Friday to blustery wind & seas -- certainly not going outside today with reported 8-10 foot seas. Assistance from the gracious dockmaster & the Vice Commodore got us on our way without incident -- and the turbulent weather stirred up the water even in the ICW. Saw some flying stingray as we began the day (too quick for any pictures!)
We journeyed 25 miles to Stuart and the St. Lucie River and then began our journey across the state on the Okeechobee Waterway. There are two locks going up to the Okeechobee River and then three going back down on the other side of the lake. Today, we did the first lock (St. Lucie) at mile marker 15 and then continued 13 miles to our stop for the night at Indiantown Marina.
Lock Gates Closing Behind Us Vessel in Front of Us -- Had LOTS of trouble!
On our last mile, we cruised through the open railroad swing bridge -- not knowing that it was going to close as soon as we passed and 3 minutes later the Amtrak train was flying through!
We were here several years ago while Bill was captaining a vessel for a good friend (former customer of mine) -- and we had dinner at the Seminole Inn here in Indiantown. Seems The Seminole Inn was the "hide-away" for Prince Edward and Wallace Simpson that led to his abdicating the British throne. Ironically, that night long ago was the night Princess Di was killed in the automobile accident in Paris.
Tomorrow we plan to cross the lake and continue the journey west into the Caloosahatchie River.
More Later!
No comments:
Post a Comment