Sail Felix

Yesterday we sailed up to Titusville , a short 15 miles and were able to anchor by lunch. This is one of the cruisers prime Intracoastal Waterway stops . A fairly well protected anchorage right outside the Titusville Municipal Marina with a public dinghy dock, and walking distance to West Marine, Napa , grocery store, KFC , and Burger King. We took advantage of the Napa and I went ashore to fetch a gallon of anti-freeze because I had used up our onboard supply with the coolant leak . The evenings sunset entertainment was provided by the Bagpipe Guy, who seren aded the anchorage at sunset with an incredible performance. I wish I could name the tune because it was so familiar, but then a lot of bagpipe music sounds the same to my tone deaf ear. That's always one of the great pleasures of cruising, there is such an eclectic group of misfits out here all searching for their own piece of paradise. Today, we got an early jump and were underway at 7:00 under main and iron- genoa . We...

We pulled the anchor and chain aboard this morning in a light 10 knot easterly breeze, with the forecast calling for an increase to 15-20 during the day. Soon after unfurling the sails and shutting off the engine, we were escorted north by a frolicking and spouting pod of dolphins while loping along at a steady 5.5 knots, accelerating to 6.5 knots in the building gusts. We took advantage of the excellent conditions to save fuel and enjoy the serenity of soundless motion through the water. It's truly amazing how much more comfortable the boat is under sail than when motoring, and the cost is a nice fit with our lean budget. Although we had hopes of making it to Titusville today, we decided to stop early because our timing would have put us at the two drawbridges near Titusville right during afternoon rush hour when they are restricted and won't open. Except for a brief 5 minutes in Ft. Pierce, we haven't been ashore since leaving West Palm Beach, and we're looking forw...

Decided to make a short hop today and take advantage of the great sailing area here in Melbourne. Hoisted the anchor aboard at 10:15 and then unfurled the jib as we headed out into the channel. Sailed past the start of a sailing race under jib alone in 15 knots of wind while making 4.5-5 knots of speed. After passing under the first of two bridges, we unrolled the full main as well and with the wind on the beam were making a steady 7 knots. We got buzzed by a helicopter from Boatpix who snapped some photos of us under sail, but after excitedly checking out their website we realized that the shot, no matter how cool, is a little out of our price range. So, if anyone is trying to come up with a gift idea for us...... In no time at all we were sailing under the Eau Gallie bridge and made our turn up into the wind, dropped sail, and started the engine to motor up to our next anchorage snug in the lee of Merritt Island just north of Dragon Point.

Yesterday we motored the 15 miles north to Ft. Pierce to say goodbye to our good friends Arthur,Kelley, Aiden, and Sachi. Besides being great company, they helped us out in so many ways while making our preparations on the way down. So, for the second time in a few weeks, we said goodbye and spent the night anchored near the entrance to Faber Cove. N 27 27.308 W 80 18.551 Last night we were the A-holes anchored in the middle of the channel. Not intentionally, we had dropped the hook out of the channel between two boats on moorings. Because the water was about 20' deep we put out a lot of chain, and with east winds predicted and east/west current we should have been fine. Oddly, when the west setting current flowed against the east wind it made us pull all our chain in a straight line to the North, as well as spinning 360's in both directions, putting us right in the channel we had tried to avoid. Oh well, there was still plenty of room for the small boats that were buzzing by ...

The anchorage, although we stopped here for all the wrong reasons, has turned out to be a really nice one. Of course with 5-10 knot winds you can anchor almost anywhere and be comfortable, but fate has decided to float us here where there's not another boat in site except for those travelling down the ICW . As usual, the only waves are coming from the big powerboats. Star made a great Cornish Game Hen dinner last night and we tried to take our minds off of our engine issues, saving them until this morning. Up with the sun bright and early I started work on the coolant leak, working here in field conditions with Star yelling down to me whenever a big wake is approaching. The fitting is on the exhaust manifold after the waterpump , and the only way to remove and work on it is to loosen the alternator, remove the alternator/water pump belt, unbolt the water pump and starter, and pull the pump out. I did this, and found that the little rubber bushing had folded back. I set it straight...

Beautiful clear skies today as we took off at 8am to run the gauntlet of bridges. We made most of the openings with smooth timing, only had to tread water for a half hour in front of one bridge. Passed by the Crossroads at the Port St. Lucie inlet and found 5' MLW just south of the crossroads in the middle of the channel. Fortunately the tide hadn't quite gone out all the way, so we still had a half a foot under our keel. We got to pass through tony Jupiter, home to the Mega-rich and probably famous too, with some of the more incredible waterfront homes that Florida has to offer. After passing the St. Lucie Inlet and having the outgoing tide switch the current to about 1.5 knots against us, the fun really got started! I noticed that the temperature had started to creep up on the engine temp gauge. Still in the green zone, but ominously creeping up. Backed off the throttle a little, which left us barely moving over the ground at about 2 knots against the current. We were in a r...

The plan now is to take off tomorrow morning and head North. We must first 'Run the Gauntlet' of drawbridges, 7 bridges in the first 15 miles. All of them opening at different times and intervals, with only a couple of them opening on demand. Slow going, with lots of spinning in circles and idling in the current. Not sure where we'll anchor tomorrow, we have plenty of choices and we'll see how things are going in the afternoon. We want to push on up to Port St. Lucie where we'll meet our good friends that we've hung out with for the last couple of months, say our goodbyes and farewells, and then continue north. We're eager to get North of St. Augustine, where we took off from in February, so we can stop backtracking and cover new ground. Star walked to the nearby Publix today for ice, fresh meats, and a few other last minute preparations and then hauled them back in her handy-dandy rollerbag . (See photo). While she was shopping I stayed at the dinghy beach...

If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write something worth reading or do things worth the writing. Benjamin Franklin Perhaps a fitting start to our new blog will be the recent change in plans. We're floating here in North Lake Worth with our heads focused a hundred miles eastward, visions of crystal clear Bahamian water and mammoth grouper impaling themselves on my Foldspear , but our recalcitrant old Volvo engine doesn't want to cooperate. Felix is still relatively new to us, and while the engine runs fine in most respects except for the billowing white smoke, we've decided to follow the less intrepid but more prudent route and stick to coastal U.S. cruising before leaving the country. So, we now plan to aim the bow northward in a few days and start heading up to the Chesapeake for the summer. The route is not new to us, but many of the challenges will be. This will be my 4 th trip along the Intracoastal Waterway, and Star's 2 nd ...