I thought you might get a kick out of these photos of the North Palm Beach Christmas Boat Parade. More than 40 boats, each decorated more extravagently than the one before it. Hundreds of lights on each boat…maybe thousands? Really fun for me, but Guinness was freaked out by the fireworks display that kicked off the parade. plus, the best “Corona” Christmas trees ever…palm trees decorated right up into the tips of the fronds.

Just a brief note to reassure all you worry-warts out there…all is well. A lovely trip down, and a lovely evening with Brian and Lexi.

But now to bed…more tomorrow

1. My chart plotter quit.
2. Got busted for going too fast in a Manatee Zone.
3. Left the ICW- went Outside from Vero Beach to Palm Beach.

They are all related…read on.

INCIDENT #1:

Five miles south of Vero Beach, my chart plotter quit. Here’s what it’s supposed to look like:

It’s almost like a video game: the black cursor at the bottom is Freedom, and my job is to follow the line between the buoys, which come at you pretty fast. I am so grateful that someone – sometime in the past – plotted the only deepwater path and marked it with these buoys and channel markers. Then the makers of the electronic charts added the line marked right down the center. It actually appears as magenta. Boaters simply refer to it as the Magenta Line!

Contrast that with the photo below. Here’s how my chart plotter looks now: the landmasses are just crude geometric shapes, water depths are not shown, and neither are the channels!

So what do you do?

You go back to basics. You follow your paper charts, and you look ahead for the corresponding red and green markers. Essentially, you are flying by Visual Flight Rules (VFR) rather than instruments. All the kids in my family grew up this way. Chartplotters hadn’t been invented, and we never even had paper charts. We were just kids, racing from buoy to buoy. Time to do that again.

INCIDENT #2:

Because I was glancing back and forth between the paper charts and the actual image in front of me, I missed a SLOW sign for Manatees. In these waters, the speed limit can drop and then revert with a 1/4 mile. I had been so careful, reading the signs with binoculars to ensure I complied. Not just for the law. For the Manatees. Fortunately, I only got a warning instead of a $250 fine.

INCIDENT #3:

Here’s the cool part: I had always planned to go outside once I reached south Florida. This whole area was reported as being very confusing and very congested. Once I saw the weather forecast, I knew we’d go outside today.

So after picking my way along under VFR for about an hour, I exited the ICW at Ft Pierce.

It was gorgeous. Warm sunshine, calm seas. And no channel markers! We ran along the coast for about 3-1/2 hours. Heaven. If it had been the New Jersey coast, you could have seen Lucy the Elephant.

We came back in at Palm Beach (Ft. Worth Inlet), and it was immediately apparent that we’d done the right thing. It was INSANELY busy. Gigantic cruise ship, mega yachts, throttle jockeys in center consoles, and PWC’s (jet skis) all competing for space in a narrow channel. And people just one boat-length to my right lying on a beach under umbrellas.

Once again, some bad luck and some good luck, and the good luck won!

Now we’re safe and dry at Old Port Cove Marina, and the Christmas Boat Parade is tonight. (I hope to send some photos tomorrow.) And the restaurant has New England Lobster Rolls!

Tomorrow we leave for Ft. Lauderdale. I’m staying at the Bahia Mar Marina (home of the famous and fictional detective Travis McGhee). I plan to stay an extra day. I’ll try to get the Chartplotter fixed, and I need a rest day. Also, my nephew Brian is coming to Ft Lauderdale instead of Palm Beach so that I can meet his girlfriend Lexi. And there’s a gorgeous beach for Guinness. Super.

We pulled out of Titusville at sunrise: 7AM on the nose.

As you see in the photo, the waterway was dead calm, with some lingering sea smoke, and we made great time; we were safely tied up in Vero Beach by 11:30.

A pelican was my wingman on the trip this morning. Flying the same speed as Freedom (20 knots), he would flap is wings a few times to gain a few feet of altitude, and then he would glide along, very close to the surface, for about 100 feet. The tips of his wings slant downward at the very end (like some modern aircraft), and he was so close to the water that his wingtips nearly touched the water.

Our plan of starting early and getting to the next destination by early afternoon is working well. First, we get two hours of WOT travel in before the slugs get moving. Then, we have time to see the next town.

And, by the way, I LOVE Vero Beach. We walked over to a huge dog park before lunch. Then lunch at the Riverside Cafe, at a riverside table, of course. Fish Taco…yum!

I enjoyed the local wildlife in a waterside park. The pelicans are beautiful up-close, and I love the Ibis, with their beautiful curved beaks.

Guinness tried to swim in some of the lagoons and ponds in the park, but Uh-Oh!

I figured if he wanted to swim, we had better get a look at the Beach part of Vero Beach, so we took the FREE bus from the marina to the beach (ocean), and once again Guiness had a ball chasing sea birds for half an hour. On the way home we got to see the town itself…very cute, very upscale.

Still, it IS Florida after all, so we also got to see this really cool mailbox: a real vintage Evinrude (missing its guts). Absolutely excellent!

Tomorrow we’re off to Palm Beach. We are staying at Safe Harbor Old Port Cove if you want to Google it. It sounds lovely. I’ll get to have dinner with my nephew Brain. A very cool young man.

Palm Beach is at Mile Marker 1015. And remember, Key West is 1250. Really getting close now, and Vero Beach really looks like Florida!

A pleasant, uneventful trip today. At 70 degrees, it definitely feels more like Florida.

We saw another manatee today, and a handful of dolphins. Just glances…no close looks.

Frankly, the big news today is not my trip, but rather Covid-19. As I type this, I am listening to a VERY sobering report from NPR about the recent surge and the huge logistical challenges associated with distributing the vaccine. Considering that this is happening in the midst of a political transition, and given Trump’s horrible history of poor transitions, I am not sanguine.

Tomorrow, we head for Vero Beach. So many snow birds choose to stay here, that it is called Velcro Beach.

We are fine, but that’s enough for today. Love to you all…stay safe.

We made it to Daytona Beach by noon. 80 miles. It seems early in the day to knock off, but that was 5 hours of fierce attention to the chart plotter. That’s enough.

Here’s an interesting note…we were blasting along at 20 knots through a very pretty narrow passage in Palm Coast, when I spotted a couple in a racing shell off to the side. I immediately slowed to idle speed, so that I wouldn’t swamp them, and it’s a good thing I did. A manatee surfaced several boat lengths in front of me, took a breath and dived. So cute.

Overall, it all went well. No drama (except for the Manatee). Certainly no trauma. It was a fast leg. Also, I am happy to report that the boat runs better with the replacement prop than it did with the original! Yowza!

It’s about 20 degrees warmer here – in the 50’s instead of the 30’s. Tomorrow is expected to be another 20 degrees warmer. Maybe it will finally seem like Florida.

Today we did some critical re-provisioning: I was down to my last cigar! I bought about 20. And we got some meal toppers for Guinness. 20 of them too.
Thank heavens for Uber!

Tomorrow will be a short run – just 50 miles to Titusville. I wanted to go farther, but several marinas are now closed to transients due to Covid. I am going to have to pick my way along from marina to marina, and maybe anchor out a few nights. Which is OK except for taking Guinness ashore. Hmmm.

We awoke in Brunswick at 5:30 this morning to a jet back sky and a brilliantly clear full moon.  This will, of course, affect the tides.  There is a variance of more than 7 feet in this area between high and low tides, so I’m glad we’re leaving on the high.

The real surprise was the temperature.  32 Degrees!  Yikes!  I thought I would not see that until our return in the spring.  Had to get out the leather jacket and gloves, which I had relegated to the rear of the hanging locker. Plus a gorgeous cashmere scarf ( a gift from my niece Amanda).

Now we are in Jacksonville Beach. It is 2:30 in the afternoon, and it is STILL cold: 36 degrees! I brought a small space heater with me (a suggestion from my Yacht Club friend Art Nielsen, who has made this trip several times). Today is the first day I needed it. (The onboard heat only works when we’re plugged into shore power).

It was kind of a rough trip. The wind has been blowing from the west for several days, and the ICW requires you to cross a series of Sounds. A Sound is like a broad river that opens directly into the Atlantic Ocean. These Sounds run east to west, so the wind has a long “fetch” – a long distance to build up waves. The seas were confused and sloppy.

The coolest sight was sea smoke. Because the air is colder than the water, there was a wispy fog just above the surface of the waves. Very pretty.

The worst problem was the sun glare. Because the sun is so low in the sky this time of year, it was constantly in my eyes. Sunglasses cut the glare, but then you can’t read your instruments.

But anyway, we made it. This is a sizable marina: 350 slips, with a good restaurant. And the waitress in the restaurant is cute. Young enough to be my granddaughter.

Tomorrow we expect to be at The Daytona Marina. It is 20 degrees warmer there today, and should be even warmer tomorrow. We are refueled and ready to go.

My luck continues to hold…a little bit of bad luck, and a LOT of good luck.

Just like when I damaged the rudder key in Oriental, NC:

• I ended up in a marina with haul-out capability.
• The damage repair was fairly straightforward.
• I had the parts we needed.
• The accident happened on a Sunday, and -luckily – the yard was able to get Freedom up on the Travel-Lift by mid-day Monday.
• The repair was completed in a single day.

So, here’s a familiar sight: Freedom up on the lift for damage assessment and repair. This is getting boring.

I’m not sure if you can see in this photo, but every blade of the prop was severely damaged. One blade is 50% missing. I told everyone I hit a Manatee. HaHa. The Marine Police will probably arrest me tonight.

Luckily, miraculously, nothing else was damaged. Imagine landing atop a submerged rock jetty and nothing else was damaged!

Still, it took ALL DAY to complete the repairs. The old prop simply did not want to come off. (And yes, they did have a hydraulic prop puller)!

But FINALLY, at 3:30, we were back in the water with our new prop.

I am going to celebrate by having pizza again tonight. Don’t judge me…it’s been an anxious day.

And we have reservations in Jacksonville Beach tomorrow night. Hooray. Mile Marker 750 (out of 1250. 60% of the way there.

EXCELSIOR! (Whatever that means…)

Today’s trip to Brunswick was so quick that I started thinking, “Wow, I can easily go for another two hours.  Let’s say another 30 miles.  That would put me over the Florida line a day early!  Let’s go for a record-breaking day!”

So… I stopped the boat in the middle of St. Simon’s Sound (where Brunswick is), checked my fuel, took a pee, called the marina and cancelled my reservation, and turned left to enter Jekyll Creek.

The bad news is…I hadn’t studied this section the night before, and I immediately hit bottom.  A stone jetty covered by 4’ of high tide.  Although it was completely invisible, I am certain I would not have hit it if I had been better prepared. It is very difficult to drive the boat and try to read the chart and compare it to the chart plotter. You need to work all that out the night before.

Fortunately, I was going dead slow, since I was trying to interpret the confusing collection of markers at the mouth of the creek.  That’s what I mean about the lack of preparation.  I immediately backed up, but I think I may have damaged the propellor, because the boat has a vibration and is no longer producing the expected speed.  

So… I am at Brunswick Landing Marina.  It’s Sunday night.  I am hoping that when the yard opens in the morning, I can have Freedom hauled and inspected.  I hope it’s just the prop, because I have a spare: a $3,500 gift from the prior owner.  If the shaft is bent, or if there is other structural damage, that’s another story. First things first: I have to bust into the yard’s schedule to get hauled ASAP.

I’m surprised I’m not more upset about this.  The trip today from Kilkenny to Brunswick was as dicey as any stretch we’ve been on.  Very narrow channels through the marshes with very shallow water on either side.  We made the trip with one eye glued on the chart, and the other on the depth sounder.  My hand was on the throttle the whole way in case I had to slow down ASAP.  It was pretty intense, but it all went perfectly.

I guess I have to admit that the problem occurred because I made an aggressive and capricious decision to change my plan, even though I had not done the proper preparation.  Haste makes waste.  And pride goeth before a fall.  Etc.  Etc.  Etc.

Bummer.

I’m composing this post in Word on Saturday night, and you are reading it a day later, because the Kilkenny Marina has no Internet AND no cell phone service.  I can’t even use my phone as a hot spot.  Amazing that they have diesel and electric power.  At least we have heat and light.

This is the ONLY marina in this empty part of the world. One-third of the way through Georgia.  At least I can pick up a good Top-40 station from Savannah.  Listening to Billie Eilish!  

No Netflix tonight, though.  Not that it matters… I’m pissed off at all the series that I’m watching, anyway.  Lucifer, Virgin River, Peaky Blinders., etc.  They’re all formulaic: keep the handsome male lead and the adorable female lead from hooking up, or the series is over.  Come on… let ‘em get it on!  I need those vicarious thrills.

Time for a DVD.  Fortunately, I brought 12 of my favorite movies and 12 of my favorite CDs for just such an eventuality.  Maybe Buckaroo Banzai!

*****************

Today’s trip was very cold and very wet – it rained ALL DAY…finally let up around 3PM.  The windshield wipers were on high speed all day.  The sailboaters we passed looked miserable – bundled up in foul weather gear, exposed to the miserable weather.  

It was the first day I had to wear a squall jacket in several weeks.  Even though we have an enclosed bridge.  It was, however, a good day to travel.  Very few boats were moving, and the seas were flat, as often happens when it rains.  We made good time.

Which is pretty funny, because it’s like we made great time to get to NOWHERE.  There is nothing around here but swamps, three forlorn trailers, and a restaurant on the banks of the creek.  I am listening alertly for ominous banjo music when I walk Guinness.

*****************

Tomorrow promises to be rainy but warmer, and we are GOING!  The boat is running perfectly, and I have the bit in my teeth.  

Tomorrow: Brunswick GA, and – if all goes well – the next day we are in Jacksonville Beach!

*****************

As I was writing this, I realized that Guinness was being very quiet.  I found him sleeping in the berth, cuddled into my pillow.  This is very cute except for the fact that he was soaking wet from his walk.  Looks like I’ll be sleeping in a soggy bunk tonight.  Yuck!  Oh well…

********************

Postscript:

To say that the restaurant was surprisingly good would be an understatement.  I ordered the whole flounder, deep-fried with a ginger-forward sweet-and-sour glaze, crispy outside and tender inside.  Black-eyed peas and rice cooked perfectly, their bowl lightly sauced with a delicious gravy.  For dessert a sweet cornbread cake with vanilla ice cream.  And all of it home made!  Wow!

As a bonus, by the time we settled down with Buckaroo Banzai, the heater had dried the berth.  Ahhh.

*************

BTW, we are safely tied up in Brunswick, GA, but somethings wrong with the boat. More on that tomorrow… I am going to have the yard check it out.