March 3: Finally back on the Loop: After three months of visiting the West and East Coasts of Florida, the Captain and crew were anxious to get back on our Loop adventure. So it was that on a cold (for Florida) and moderately windy day, we finally cast off from the Vero Beach marina and headed North on the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW). The ICW is an inland waterway that stretches 3,000 miles along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. Parts of the ICW incorporate natural inlets, salt way rivers, bays and sounds. Other sections are man made canals. Our travels will take us through the Atlantic portion of the ICW up the East Coast of the United States.
The Duddon Pilot heading North on the ICW-Photograph thanks to Joan Patota who braved the cold weather to capture us passing Seaoaks.
And Samantha in her warm coat to greet us.
Our destination today is Cocoa Beach which is about 53 land miles north of Vero Beach. The wind picked up and we had a somewhat bumpy ride to the Cocoa Village Marina. Fortunately, the marina staff were on hand to help us tie up. The boat was covered in salt from the sea spray and required a wash down before we sauntered in to town to enjoy a great Thai dinner.
March 4: Time off in Cocoa Beach to play tourist: The marina is one block from downtown so we strolled around the quaint historic district and relaxed for a while.
"For over 125 years, from the rise and fall of the river trade in the late 1800's, to the birth of the space age, and into the present, The S.F. Travis Company has been in Cocoa, Fla., providing hardware products and supplies. In 1885, my great-grandfather, Colonel S.F.Travis, who served in the American Civil War, had a sailboat going up and down the rivers, delivering items and taking orders from Jacksonville to Fort Pierce," says fourth-generation owner Travis "Mac" Osborne who took control of operations in 1983." From the S.F. Travis website.
Of course, the Captain had to venture inside such an exciting shopping experience-hardware stores especially ones that carry marine products are very enticing. True to form, a purchase was made of an important item: a c-clamp-which is needed to straighten our anchor roller housing...look it up if you are so intrigued.
The downtown historic district is composed of a number of brightly colored stores and restaurants.
Historic Theatre
March 5: An early morning start with good weather predictions set us on our next course to Rockhouse Creek. This anchorage is about a 55 mile run from Cocoa Beach. We arrived early and picked out a good spot to anchor for the night. Two other trawlers came in to the anchorage later in the day. We all had a peaceful night with good wind conditions. The Captain even managed to use his new grill on the back deck. The steak went down well with a glass of Meerlust Cabernet Rubicon 2000 that Maureen has been saving for a special occasion.
No bridge delays today!
March 6-8: To Marineland: We are getting into the hang of early morning departures again so by 7:00 a.m. we had raised the anchor and were on our way to the Marineland marina which is another 55 mile run. At the start of the day, the waters were fairly calm but by the time we reached Marineland, the wind had picked up quite a lot making for a more difficult docking experience. The Captain pulled it off though with no major mishaps.
After completing boat chores, laundry and provisioning, we hiked along the nearby nature trail which took us through indigenous Florida trees and flora to the river shore.
We also paid a visit to the Marineland Aquarium: http://www.marineland.net/about_marineland.html
The Aquarium was originally established in the 1930s as a location to film dolphins for the movies. Today, its function is to study and educate the public about these unique mammals.
Peter had hoped to be able to swim with the dolphins-part of his bucket list-but the large pool of the aquarium was under construction so he will have to wait for another occasion. We had to make do with observing the dolphins through the glass viewing windows. Here is a mother with a calf-just 18 months old. To save energy the calf swims just under his mother to glide along her stream.
Looking for treats!.
All was quiet as we passed Mayport Naval Base which has a strict security zone around it. We continued our fast run into Jacksonville which is the home to a large commercial port. The channel is wide here and easy for the large commercial vessels to navigate. However, as it was early Sunday morning we encountered few of them.
March 9: Heading towards the St. John's River: We plan to take a side trip off the ICW down the St. John's River which runs from Jacksonville almost to Orlando. Before we can embark on that leg of the trip, we need to brush up on our tide and current knowledge of this area. There is a significant current effect that must be taken into account. The current can run up to 2-3 knots against or with us so carefully planning is required to determine the best time of the day to leave one's current location.
Therefore, we left Marineland early to take advantage of the high tide and avoid the peak of the flood tide. Our goal was to make it to a marina just 4 miles from the turnoff to the St. John's River. It was a gorgeous calm day until just before we reached the marina when the wind started to blow. Fortunately, the marina staff were on hand to help us dock safely.
Our journey took us past St. Augustine which we visited earlier so we did not plan a stop there today.
Our journey took us past St. Augustine which we visited earlier so we did not plan a stop there today.
Bridge of Lions at St. Augustine
St. Augustine Harbor
Old Spanish Fort at St. Augustine
March 10: To Jacksonville and the St. John's River: The wind dropped in the night and the morning dawned with virtually no wind so are departure was easy. Our timing worked out as well as the current gave us a big boost upon reaching the St. John's River. As we headed to the turnoff to the St. John's River we were cruising at 10 knots which is a big number of us.
All was quiet as we passed Mayport Naval Base which has a strict security zone around it. We continued our fast run into Jacksonville which is the home to a large commercial port. The channel is wide here and easy for the large commercial vessels to navigate. However, as it was early Sunday morning we encountered few of them.
Heading up the St. John's towards this impressive bridge. Note how calm the water is-thank goodness!
Passing by the commercial section of the Port of Jacksonville.
Busy little red tug
Passing our first barge on this leg of the Loop.
Downtown Jacksonville from the water.
After docking at the free Jacksonville Landing dock, we took a stroll downtown. Pretty quiet as it is Sunday, we still managed to see a few sights. This statue of Andrew Jackson who was the first Governor of Florida and for whom the city is named was a particularly impressive work of art.
An old stone church juxtapositioned between modern office buildings caught our eye.
As did this very new and monstrous County Court House.
The US Navy pulled up behind us at the dock-so we can sleep well tonight.
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