Voyage 2005-2006: Chapter 3

14 Jan 2006, Fort Pierce Arrival, 27 28.030 N/ 080 19.660 W

We left Cocoa at 1030 last Sunday for a leisurely two day motor

trip to Fort Pierce. This is one of our favorite stretches of the ICW as it brings back many happy memories of the Todd clan. The wind, waves, and temperature were all comfortable. We would see dolphins, pelicans, and fisherman as we slowly motored down the waterway. Our goal the first night was not very ambitious so we anchored about 10 miles south of Melbourne. A catamaran that passed us earlier was already anchored there. The night was full of stars and a waxing moon. The lights from the shore only added to the display. A good night!

On Monday, we left the anchorage at 0730. Denise told us that high tide in Fort Pierce was at 1630 so we had to motor even more slowly than yesterday. We needed a speed of less than 4.5 kts or we would arrive too early. This was the first day we had a favorable wind but we couldn't use it or we would arrive too early. Current was with us too. Wish we could bottle the wind and current for another day. Oh well. Nature was against us and we arrived at Fort Pierce at 1515. Well, we should still have enough water to get into the marina. Wrong! We ran out of water when Jule III was half way into our 60 foot slip. Wolfgang and the dock folks used their muscles to pull us the rest of way into the slip.

Great seeing the crew of SY Moony again. Their boat was also stuck

in the mud much of the time. The hurricanes have done much to hurt the marinas on the Eastern coast of Florida. Moony got some bad news on their engine. The cylinders need to be re-worked so Moony needs new pistons. Many dollars and at least a week delay will be added to Moony's workload. We will wait with them and then cross the Gulf Stream together.

We rented a car and drove down to Ft Lauderdale to stop by Bluewater Charts and get the charts, guides, and chips for Moony's trip to Central America. Very interesting place! We scoped out the waterway for anchorages while we were in Lauderdale. Not a very hospitable place for the cruise. On the trip back we experienced three hours of bumper to bumper traffic on our trip back. Not nice!

15 Jan 2006, Week One at Fort Pierce, 27 28.020 N/ 080 19.660 W

We decided to visit SY Moony's engine at Fort Pierce Diesel. Wolfgang and Bob checked out two bicycles and headed the two miles to the shop. Wow, that is an impressive pile of engine parts. Ever the optimist, Wolfgang thinks it will be ready this week. Even though it needs new piston, cylinders honed, and all sorts of other stuff. We bet happy hour drinks. Jule III will win.

Not all is good in paradise. Our slipmate was SV C* (Ann will not let me say what the name of boat is (Spanish sounding island)) where the boat was vacant. The crew returned on Friday and were quite insistent that they have power. Rather than share a 50 amp service, they wanted us to vacant the power pedestal so that they could get the full 50 amp service. The dockmaster asked them to behave, and they did or did they? Later that night, we found that they unplugged us from the pedestal (as we later found, they could take a shower). Fortunately, they left a few days later.

Our friends, the Strunz' drove to visit us from Orlando on Saturday. Jule III, Moony, and the Strunz' went to St. Annastasha church, then headed for the Ft. Pierce Inlet State Park where we strolled the North side of the inlet's shore. It was great seem them! Sadly, they had to leave in the early afternoon to go back home. We headed back to the marina, picked up Moony, and headed for Vero Beach. (Yes, we rented a car).