Still plodding on south

Past the Carolinas

Monday 14th November 07:15
High tide so off to Georgia we go !
Passed under a couple of bridges and after 62 miles we found a great anchorage, Possum Point, large and deep only 2 sailing yachts and one trawler, so far.

Tuesday 15th November
This anchorage was pretty close to the area where we had to go "outside" when we were going north as we ran out of water, 'Hells Gate', the name alone tells a story!  We timed it right this time though, at high tide, going through the gate without incident.
Eventually anchored in Alligator Pass, happy to say we have 72 deg F yeah !
Another 45 ish miles done

This shrimp boat was right in the middle of the channel, naughty

Wednesday 16th November
Heading into Florida at last !
Passed by the marina in Fernandina Beach another one of Mathews victims, its closed down now. Fernandina is not the prettiest of places as the paper factory dominates the place complete with the stink, at least the wind isn't blowing our way. Had a great night and quite relieved to be in warmer weather now.
We had done 65 miles to be here.

Fernandina Marina was a Mathew victim, no docks to be had, fuel nor moorings.

The paper mill, not very pretty is it, I doubt you would like the smell either

Thursday 17th November

Set off at 07:00, just a little over 58 miles and by 15:00 we had the anchor set again Some of you wonder why we stop so early this should answer your question.   Our routine is always to be in an anchorage well before dark if the first one is full or not good, we normally find an alternative and its worked out great so far. We were at Matanzas Inlet which was pretty deep but with a very strong tidal current.

Strange B & B along the way south

Friday 18th November 

Our aim is to be close to Titusville, So another long day with a 06:35 start, 88 miles which meant us going into an anchorage almost at dusk, 17:15 thankfully we made it just in time. We were pretty tired so the noise from the local bar near the bridge didn't bother us too much. 

There are some folks that like to show off, maybe this guy is a Disney fan

Saturday 19th November

Passed by Coco Beach and then into the inlet to Cape Canaveral. Lots and lots of manatees but impossible to photograph as you only see them on the surface for a couple of seconds. We could see the huge building called the VAB which is the vehicle assembly building for NASA. Quote "The Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center is a building designed to assemble large space vehicles, such as the massive Saturn V and the Space Shuttle. The future Space Launch System will also be assembled there."

We entered Fort Pierce it was manic along the way in with boats speeding by us so we needed a rest, there was another north blow coming through so we tucked ourselves in behind some apartment blocks, not pretty but very useful. 

That day we had another 74 miles pass under our keel it was a long day.

We made a decision do we really need to go through all the hassle into the ICW on the east coast to Ford Lauderdale and Miami to get to the Florida Keys. Nope we will go cross country through Lake Okeechobee and through the waterway to the west coast of Florida. 

Sunday 20th November 

Day of rest at anchor

Monday 21st November 

Popped over the channel into the marina for fuel and they very kindly let us stay on a dock so that we could take a taxi to go and top up our groceries. That done we returned to the anchorage feeling pretty excited about our new plans.
Boat maintenance there is almost always something to fix, change, install or install. The shower pump in the aft cabin for example, it needs to be cleaned and ours was located underneath the shower, really place as it was a nightmare to get to with only enough room to get one hand in to take off the lid. So Don decided he would do something about it, in the process he accidentally removed the pipe from the shower, oops! Anyway not knowing that he had even started I went looking for him, this is what I found below.

I was in fits of giggles. 

Heading out

Looking quite relived to be out, the pump box is now located in a much better place, so is Don

Ever had the feeling you are being watched, very closely

Sorry the images maybe a little blurred but I'm trying to keep down the file size to load faster, I do have better ones elsewhere.

Tuesday 22nd November 

Another 07:20 start and the next stop was just before the first of the locks, Port Mayaka, there were piles to tie up to but the lines we chose were too short so we anchored again. No other traffic came through so we were fine. 

Wednesday 23rd November 

06:30 start and managed the first lock opening of the day at 07:00 Into the lock and crossed Lake Okeechobee which was calm, nothing much to see really then when we reached the other side turned into the Okeechobee waterway heading to Morehaven another lock.

In the pilot book we had read about an anchorage named Lollipop close to Coffee Mill Hammock  just off the ICW which had a shallow entrance but was pretty deep inside. As we entered there were snapping turtles which were way too fast to photograph and watch the depths at the same time an alligator passed just in front of us without a care. It must have been the deepest anchorage we have stayed in over 32 feet deep. There were cows drinking at the waters edge standing on a very narrow area and as we looked around we saw two alligators one of which was huge. This place was magical, the noises from the local resident birds, wild dogs, alligators and who know what else were incredible. At one point quite late there was gunfire and two enormous black wild boar raced across the land and took shelter down an embankment. This has to be a place to visit again and stay longer.

These were taken in "Lollipop" the alligators were pretty far away but close enough if you know what I mean 

Team fishing on the ICW not concerned at all when we passed by.  

Thursday 24th November Thanksgiving.

Not long after leaving Lollipop we were at the next lock Ortona. 

Now heading for La Belle which was recommended as a good place to stop. A very short trip of just 11 miles. Well we managed to anchor in the river just past the town dock which was free but they were full of weeds and didn't fancy climbing over the bow to get off the boat. So we took the dinghy to the dock and walked into town. Our expectations were to find a pace to eat being thanksgiving, wrong, the only place open was an antique shop and McDonalds and Burger king and even they closed at 14:00 We ate at McDonalds, a grilled chicken sandwich oh well never mind.

The water along the way was so still and I just had to capture the reflections

Love to fly in that

So still so pretty

The decision to "cross country" was a great one, not only were we alone for most of the way the scenery is stunning. If we could only bottle this trip, so capturing some of these sights on the camera is pretty important. I have so many photographs, way to many to post, these are just a few so hope you are enjoying them. This trip so far has to be the most scenic ever, breathtaking, I could spend a whole season just doing this all over again.

Friday 25th November 

After five hour run and we had docked at the Fort Myers city Yacht basin Marina. Time for a rest and play.
I will end here as this post is big enough.
BFN
Glenys and Don
M/Y Pearl