Day 8 April 9 On to Vero Beach 37nm Total miles 228

We left the mooring basin at Sunset Bay marina in Stuart and headed east, then southeast about 6 miles on the St Lucie River until we met the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. We then turned north to begin our trip up the Intracoastal Waterway which winds its way up the Atlantic coast to Norfolk, VA - about a 986 mile journey.

This part of the Intracoastal runs through the Indian River, one of Florida’s natural rivers. The river is between 1.5 and 2 miles wide. Hutchinson Island is the barrier island to the east and still has large areas left undeveloped and natural.

On the mainland side we passed Jensen Beach. The wind picked up as we turned north and we were glad to have the fly bridge enclosure. We were sitting in the enclosure with our wind breakers on!

The next town was Fort Pierce which has a large marine research facility, a large power plant with a large manatee hole area where the manatee take advantage of the warm water outflow. The town is also known for its art galleries featuring the Highwaymen artists.

Vero Beach is the town north of Ft Pierce and is a popular cruiser destination. It is so popular that the town is often referred to as Velcro Beach because was you get here you do not want to leave!

We took a mooring at the City Marina and took the dingy ashore to explore the beach and antique and local artists shops.

Bill walked up the nearby bridge and took shots of our boat and the mooring field.

Reflections on the Bahamas

Reflections on the Bahamas Over the past 10 weeks, we have traveled through Abaco, Eleuthera and Exuma Islands and enjoyed the hospitality of the Bahamian people. We have learned all about the islands, its unique geography - limestone, caves, blue holes and chalk cliffs; and colorful history-pirates and rum running, salt ponds and cotton plantations, boat building and wrecking/salvage. Traveling over 1300 miles through narrow cuts and wide bays to vast depths of ocean, we negotiated the islands and found safe harbors, calm coves for anchoring, bays filled with moorings and marinas large and small. This trip required us to pay close attention to the weather, the tides and currents as we traveled between and through the islands. The Bahamian people are warm and friendly, willing to give us rides, advice and directions, as well as some secret recipes!! We enjoyed hiking trails, walking the beaches, snorkeling the coral rocks and reefs, discovering ruins and ol...

June 4-5. Day 63-64. On to Cape May New Jersey. 53.4nm. Total 1534 miles.

Left Delaware City at 5:35am to be able to take advantage of the strong currents going with us while traversing Delaware River and Delaware Bay. The Delaware River goes south about 15 miles and flows into the Delaware Bay. As we travel south, New Jersey is to the east and Delaware is to our west. We are traveling just outside the shipping channel and are really moving at 10.9 knots. That is three knots faster than we normally travel, as the outgoing tides are pushing us along. Nice to have Mother Nature helps us save on fuel. The Delaware River is about 8 miles wide so there is plenty of room for the freighters and the pleasure boats. So far, we have not encountered any commercial traffic, but there is a large freighter behind us that will eventually pass us as they travel at 14 knots. The Delaware Bay proper varies from 23-29 miles wide and 26 miles long. There are five lighthouses on the Delaware marking the shipping channel. We went by Ship J...

Day 121-122. 2nd year. September 21-22. On to Chicago and returning to Hammond Harbor. Miles 26. Total miles 4116

Woke to prepare for a short trip to a mooring can in Monroe Harbor, Chicago. Will meet up with Bill’s cousins to take them on a boat ride down the Chicago River. As we leave Hammond, the Chicago skyline is very visible on the horizon on this hazy morning. The seas are calm and winds light as we traveled with only a few tugs as our company on Lake Michigan. The closer we get to Chicago, you could recognize some of the more unique skyscrapers along the skyline. We hooked up to a mooring can in Monroe Harbor with the help of Capt Val from her Harbor tender. Soon afterward, Bill’s cousin Mike and his wife Karen, and cousin Ron were ferried to the boat and we made ready to take the boat ride down the Chicago River. We left the harbor, past the lighthouse and turned north to get to the lock at the entrance to the Chicago River. Had to wait for a boat to lock through ahead of us, then we proceeded into the lock to lock down about 3-4 feet i...

Crustacean Travels

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