Cabbage Key, Florida

Location:  Cabbage Key, Florida

Today our journey changed from southbound to northbound.  We are on the west coast of Florida, headed north and then west to Alabama.  Since the last posting, our journey has been south down the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AICW), then west across the Okeechobee Waterway and now north up the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW).  Leaving Myrtle Beach, we got a real flavor for just how popular golf is there.  The picture here shows a gondola to move golfers and their golf clubs across the ICW from one side of the course to the other.

Golf Gondola, Myrtle Beach, SC

We traveled through South Carolina and Georgia before reaching Florida and finally, some warm weather.  The scenery on the ICW is beautiful.  It changes as you proceed south.  The northern part of South Carolina was mostly deciduous trees with their leaves changing colors as winter approaches.  Then it was the grassy marshes of southern South Carolina and Georgia changing to towns and housing developments as we crossed into Florida.  On the way down, we anchored near Georgetown, SC and dinghyed into town for dinner.  We had beer and appetizers at a local bar where the bartender and the girl seated next to us knew everyone who walked in the door.  We pulled alongside the dock in Isle of Palms, SC and changed our main engine oil, then spent the next four nights at different anchorages along the way.  For Thanksgiving dinner, we baked chicken and cooked a medley of potatoes and fresh vegetables.

The Friday after Thanksgiving we pulled into St. Augustine, Florida and picked up a mooring at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina.  We spent Friday doing chores.  Saturday, my Uncle Max, Aunt Darlene and cousins John and Lydia came up from Crescent City to spend the day.  They brought all kinds of goodies with them (lasagna, pumpkin pie, fresh orange juice, fresh oranges, home grown honey, home-made soap, home grown butternut squash and home-made banana bread) and we had a picnic/tailgate lunch with them on the boat.  After lunch we went into town to walk off our pumpkin pie and took in the historical sites.

Aunt Darlene, St. Augustine, FL

 

Uncle, Max, St. Augustine, FL

Cousins, John and Lydia, St. Augustine, FL

Sunday we went back into town and walked to the local farmers market to stock up on fresh vegetables and then walked around to look at more of the historical buildings.  Here is a picture of Dave and I outside Castillo de San Marcos

Dave and B, Castillo San Marcos, St. Augustine, FL

Monday we left St. Augustine and cruised to Daytona Beach.  We tied up at a local marina and walked into town for a Thai dinner.  Here is a picture at dusk looking out from the marina with the full moon in the sky.  

Daytona Beach Sunset

Tuesday we anchored near Cocoa Beach and Wednesday we anchored near Jensen Beach.  Mid-day on Wednesday a sail boat cruising in front of us went aground near Vero Beach.  We called on the radio and offered to help pull them off the bottom.   While we were setting up to do so, a local sheriff’s boat pulled up and helped by directing the boating traffic around us.  We managed to pull them free and arrived at Jensen Beach just after sunset.  For dinner we whipped up omelets using our fresh duck eggs and a mixture of veggies from the farmers market along with slices of banana bread.  Thursday we pulled into the Sunset Bay marina in Stuart for a two night stay.  We went out for a nice seafood dinner with Jeff and Debbie; they are thinking about buying a trawler and have been looking seriously at having Watson build one for them.  Friday was a day in town, chores and re-provisioning. 

We pulled out of Stuart Saturday morning for the journey across Florida via the Okeechobee Waterway.  The waterway is 145 statute miles long starting on the east side in Stuart, Florida and ending on the Florida west coast in Fort Myers.  It includes 5 locks if you cross the middle of Lake Okeechobee and 6 locks if you take the route along the south shore of the lake.  We crossed via the middle of the lake.  This is a picture from the stern of the St. Lucie Lock as it is closing behind us.  The St. Lucie lock is the first lock if you are headed from east to west and lifts you about 14 feet.

St. Lucie Lock

 

Saturday we traveled through 3 of the 5 locks and spent the night alongside at the Moore Haven City Dock.  We were the only boat along the docks, so we tied up, dropped our dock fee through the night drop slot at city hall and wandered around town to see what they had to offer.  Both city hall and the library near the canal were closed for the evening.  There was a nice park nearby and a few blocks away we found a small bar and had some $1 draft beers for happy hour.  Then it was back to the boat for a quiet evening and a spaghetti dinner.  We left early the next morning, went through the remaining locks and arrived in Cape Coral in time for sunset.  We anchored up in Glover Bight along with a few other boats.  The Sunday afternoon parade of local pleasure and fishing boats returning home after their weekend of fun was something to see.  We haven’t seen that much boat traffic since August in Massachusetts.

Sunset Glover Bight, Florida

Today we did a short 25 mile run and anchored near Useppa Island, across from Cabbage Key.  Legend has it that Cabbage Key is where Jimmy Buffett wrote “Cheeseburger in Paradise” so we dinghyed over to the restaurant for lunch and a walk around the island.  The island is only accessible by boat; there are no cars, only a few golf carts for the locals.  We saw some wildlife on our walk and there are many dolphins in the area that like to swim and play alongside the boat.  We haven’t seen any manatees yet although we have been through many manatee areas.

Tortoise Cabbage Key

Ibis Cabbage Key