December 11-16, 2022
As we entered my seventh week in Fort Pierce, I was as anxious as Paul to cut loose from the dock and get moving. So I can joyfully share that this week was the week we were able to get back on the open water! ⛵️ 🎉
Sunday, December 11th:
I woke extra early, and quietly crept out for a quick walk before my 7:00 a.m. Skype chat with my dad. (I’m so grateful for Skype, which allows us to stay connected, regardless of where I might be in the world). I grabbed breakfast to go from the Sunrise City Cafe and hunkered down in the marina lounge, where I spent the next five hours writing.
Since I had already said my goodbyes to my Fort Pierce church family last Sunday, I skipped attending in-person worship services, but watched Common Ground services, then Transformation Church services online while I wrote. After making decent headway, I left the lounge and headed back to the boat.
Paul had run a few errands while I was writing, and we celebrated the day (for no particular reason) by driving across the causeway bridge to check out the Hersey Ice Cream Cafe.
I was craving a banana split and tried to cajole Paul into the same, but he satisfied himself with two junior scoops of ice cream.
While we ate our ice cream, we chatted with one of the owners, a kind lady named Jean. Jean said she and her husband had opened the Hersey Ice Cream Cafe about a year ago.
She had retired from the school district, and her husband had retired as a CPA. After retirement, they decided they wanted to go into business for themselves. After he researched different business possibilities, he settled on ice cream. (Ice Cream in Florida made sense to me, too!)
She said she had never have imagined owning and operating an ice cream cafe, but had discovered that she liked it. She handled day to day store operations and he handled the back end (the books, marketing, etc.). This was the first of two locations- her husband was doing much of the contracting work on opening the second location (which would be located further south) himself.
After our ice cream excursion, we returned to the boat for a leisurely afternoon.
Monday, December 12th:
Our fervent desire to get back on the water was only amplified as we helped Jason & Monica (of the S/V Breathe) kick off early Monday morning as they began their journey southbound down the ICW (Inter-coastal Waterway) to cross to the Bahamas. In fact, several other boats left that morning in quick succession. As a second and then third boat untied and left the marina, our enthusiasm about our pending departure only increased.
Check, Check, Check… with only a few errands left to do – make copies of some boat keys, move the truck to long-term parking in the city garage, top off water in the storage tanks, and securely stow belongings on the boat, we were ready to leave and counting it down. A shipping status update from earlier that morning indicated the package was in Fort Pierce and out for delivery, so we were hopeful we could leave that evening.
I found myself snapping random pictures, trying to capture as many memories of Fort Pierce as possible.
In the early afternoon, we walked up to the marina office to look at the tide chart and tell them that we would be leaving as soon as Paul’s package arrived. Imagine our delight when Brenda told us that Paul had just received a package delivery to their office a bit earlier. I can’t recall exactly what I said, but it might’ve been something along the lines of, “Wahoo– let’s GOOOOO!”
Sure enough, it was just what he had been waiting for, so we hurried back to the boat and began final preparations to leave.
As excited as I was to leave, the hardest part is always the goodbyes. Despite the fact that it has only been six weeks, I’ve already grown to love the kind and friendly people that were also live-aboards on Dock A with us. While several had similar travel plans to ours (south to the Florida Keys then across to the Bahamas), there is no certainty that we’ll cross paths again in the Keys or Bahamas this season.
Slip rentals are in high demand and price increases everywhere mean that people at the Fort Pierce City Marina this year might not be there next year, and, even if they are, they may not in the same ‘neighborhood’ (dock) that we are. In fact, we have no guarantee that we’ll end up on A Dock again when we return at the end of the cruising season,
As we prepared to cast off, Eric & Anita came down to say their goodbyes, and Anita gifted us a plate of brownies as a going away gift. Lee, Dani and Kevin were there, too.
Kevin gave me a container of triple ginger cookies (just in case I get seasick), and Lee offered to grab me a few cans of ginger ale. I was starting to worry- what if I DID get seasick? 🥴🤢 Did they know something I didn’t?
When I told them they were starting to panic me, they said that it was just a precautionary measure, and that anyone who has even been seasick knows that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Suddenly, things began happening very fast. And just like that, we were off… Off the dock, and off on our next adventures. We were waving and smiling from the boat, and they were waving and smiling from the dock. There was time for lengthy good-byes because we had to clear a non bascule bridge with a very limited amount of height clearance for the boat’s mast. Paul timed it perfectly and we motored under the bridge with no difficulty.
Once we were underway, the rest of the day past uneventfully.
Though Jason and Monica had left hours earlier, they elected to take the ICW (Inter-Coastal waterway) down, which meant several additional bridges and a longer travel time (since they also had to ensure good timing for each bridge crossing by taking into account the tide and each bridge’s height in comparison to the height of their sail mast.
Paul elected to go outside rather than through the ICW, and opted to run all night. Once the thrill of being back on the open water wore off, my adrenaline dissipated and I settled into my normal evening routine, retiring shortly after sundown.
Tuesday, December 13th:
When I woke, the autopilot had us on course and it was clear and quiet out. Paul was taking a quick catnap in the mess area (the dining/seating area inside). It was the only time he had slept in the previous 24 hours because he was up all night, running the boat).
I missed *most* of the sunrise, but captured a bit of it as it rose in the sky.
It was chilly enough (by Florida standards) to justify long pants and a light jacket, though it warmed quickly.
I was able to use my phone’s hotspot to join my Tuesday morning bible study group. We continued (on one motor) down to Key Biscayne, where we anchored after arriving in the early afternoon. After being up all night, Paul *finally* slowed to 1/2 speed and spent the afternoon puttering. I spent most of the day writing, while he did some minor daily boat maintenance and upkeep.
It was the first time we’ve been able to use the grill l since I arrived (they aren’t allowed in the marina), so we grilled some steaks and vegetables for dinner, and called it a night early, shortly after enjoying the sunset.
Wednesday, December 14th:
The early bedtime threw off my body clock, so I was up around 2:30 in the morning. To be fair, that may also have been due to the 64 ounces of water (minimum) that I am trying to drink every day.
I spent the morning watching Paul fix the raw water pump. He disassembled the whole thing, but couldn’t find anything wrong (other than a quarter inch of broken impeller). Once reassembled, it worked fine and we had no further problems.
We lifted anchor and moved from east side of the Key Biscayne Bight into No Name Harbor (yes, that’s a real name) on the West side of the Bight, where we would be better sheltered from the wind. One thing I’ve noticed is how how certain areas have really adapted and embraced the needs of the boating community. (And let’s face it, it makes good business sense.) We tied up along a seawall, right alongside a park and pavilion. Within the park, visitors to the area could enjoy a drink at the Cleat Bar, or a meal and drinks at the Boater’s Grill— both just a few feet away (well, the grill was probably a three or four minute walk).
We opted for neither, choosing to take a FreeBee into town to explore a bit, shop and grab a bite to eat. Freebee is a Florida Keys transportation program aimed to provide personalized shuttle services on certain areas of the Florida Keys.
You simply download the FreeBee app, to order a ride and wait for the driver to come and get you. And it’s FREE (though I highly recommend tipping your driver).
We took a FreeBee into Key Biscayne, where Paul did some Christmas shopping at a ridiculously expensive toy store. In the end, he only picked up a few items (did I mention it was ridiculously overpriced?), so we decided to amble from the toy store to Sir Pizza, a local pizza place recommended by our driver. It was a no-frills Italian restaurant in a little strip mall, and we decided to eat outside at the bistro tables. The pizza was good – not Moose’s Tooth by any stretch of the imagination, but tasty, nonetheless. We ate all but two slices of a large pizza and decided to take the rest back to the boat for later. Paul wanted to call a FreeBee, but since the walk was less than two miles (1.3 to be exact) and the weather was so nice… “We should walk back,” I said. And so we did. And it was lovely, until we entered the Bill Baggs Cape State Park area, where we were eaten alive by mosquitos and no-see-ums the rest of the walk back. Every five minutes, one of us would ask “Whose dumb idea was it to WALK back?” as we slapped our arms and bodies repeatedly. However, we survived our ‘grueling’ ordeal and found the boat just as we left it.
Paul wanted to stay tied up along the seawall overnight, even though the rules SPECIFICALLY said no overnights, however the rule-follower in me insisted that we untie and anchor out. 🤷🏽⚓️️ #sorrynotsorry
That night Paul dreamed that he bought a scooter at that strip mall and rode the scooter all the way back to the boat. I am assuming it’s because he was still emotionally traumatized by my insistence that we walk back to the boat. 🛵 He still likes to bring it up- I *think* he’s trying to guilt trip me? 🙄
Thursday, December 15th:
We left Key Biscayne, motoring the whole way because the weather was NOT cooperative. We made it just past Jewfish, anchoring there for the night.
Friday, December 16th
We motored all day. The water was calm, but the wind refused to cooperate and allow us to sail. It was an uneventful day (which isn’t a bad thing).
Saturday, December 17th
I put in some serious hours running the boat today.
I navigated most of Ramshorn cut by myself, though Paul had to help at the end when I was confused by channel markers that seemed intermingled with ICW markers. Even he said it was confusing, so I don’t feel too bad about needing help.
After that experience, he had me navigate and man the helm through Cotton Key Basin, which tested my nerves. It was another episode of me playing Frogger as I dodged crab pots. It was reminiscent of me running the boat on our trip from Key West to the Dry Tortugas—there were crab pots with buoys everywhere, and this time, there were a fair number of buoys in the channels (which is not allowed, but seems to go unpunished).
I am constantly reminded that while the road does NOT move when I’m driving a car, the water and waves DEFINITELY move when I’m steering the boat and that I absolutely must adjust for wind and current when navigating.
In other news, Murphy stopped by for a visit…. Paul had *just* said how smoothly things were running when less than two minutes later, <snap> the blower fan went out. Heavy sigh—inconvenient? Yes. Catastrophic? No.
All things considered, the trip had started off smoothly and we had no real complaints. We arrived in Islamorada in the afternoon, anchoring in Barley Basin for two nights.
