Woke up to chilly weather as a cold front moved in. We had to dress in sweat shirts and windbreakers to stay warm.
Leaving Vero Beach we continued north up the Atlantic Intracoastal as it winds through islands filled with mangroves and pines. Through this stretch the land is less developed and more natural.
We went past the town of Wabasso- renown due to its name. The name is actually Ossabaw backwards. Legend has it that the first settlers selected that name because they were originally from Ossabaw, GA. Now the little town is filled with waterfront homes.
The river widens again as we get closer to Sebastian and it’s inlet. Sebastian is known by surfers and sports fisherman as a great spot to catch some waves and more than a few fish.
Continuing north we passed Pelican Island, one of the first National Wildlife Preserves in Florida (1909) developed to protect shore birds from being poached for their feathers. Past another piece of history when we past by the 1913 Grant Historical House. The house represents the cracker style- built by the owner or local self taught builders and includes one or two rooms, big porches for shade, steep roofs, crawl space underneath for ventilation, and layout to optimize cross breezes. Unfortunately all we could see from the boat was the metal roof of the house hidden in the mangrove, but here is a picture.
One thought as to why early Floridians were called Crackers is due to the early cattle industry. The pioneer ranchers would use long whips of braided leather which made a loud crack sound when driving the cattle. Also there is breed of horse called the Florida Cracker whose ancestry is from early Spanish stock from the 1500s.
Going further north towards Melbourne more waterfront homes and businesses dotted the shoreline. As a side note, Melbourne was the site of an archeological dig in 1925. A human skull about 12,000 years old was found which was named Melbourne Man. The skull proves that Native Americans did live among the ground sloths, saber tooth tigers, mastodons, and woolly mammoths of the Pleistocene Era.
We pulled off the Intracoastal and pulled into the Banana River to anchor for the night. Met another boat that had completed the loop and enjoyed the captain’s cruising tales. A call from Loopers we met in Moore Haven led to us meeting up with them and having a very nice dinner in Melbourne
