Right now we are anchored in Melbourne, Fl. This is a very nice anchorage, trees all around, no waves, to dinghy to shore is only 100 feet away. A  lot has happened since I last posted. We had a tragedy  aboard the boat.

Our cat Greta fell in the water while we were anchored right outside of St. Augustine, and she drowned. This really has caused Nadia and I a lot of pain, guilt and sadness, but we are starting to do much better. We woke up in the morning and were still laying in bed, we heard Greta make a slipping noise, but we didn’t think she fell in, because she usually makes noises on the deck, plus it was very calm. We had Greta for a total of about 7 years, and she lived on the boat with us for 3 years in Philly. She did fall in the water one time in Philly over those 3 years. It was about 6 months after we moved onto the boat. I think she was trying to jump onto someone else’s boat, because she was very far away, and hanging onto the front of another sailboat when someone heard her. We got her out of the water and she was just cold and upset. She never fell in again, while we were in Philly. So we thought she learned her lesson. We never thought she would fall in when we were anchored, but we were wrong. So after hearing the noise, we got up about 20 minutes later, and I went to look for her. I went outside and looked on the deck and called for her, but didn’t see her. At that point I got really worried, and I looked around the boat in the water. I saw her floating about 50 feet away, and she was gone. We  got her out of the water and buried her in the woods.

We both felt extremely guilty, and it probably is partially our fault, for not checking on her, or maybe not putting netting up to prevent her from falling in. She was around 10 years old.

So we left the anchorage and went to Palm Coast, Florida, to a marina. When Nadia was paying for the dock, the lady at the marina noticed Nadia was upset, and asked if anything was wrong. So Nadia broke down and told her what happened. It turned out that two of the ladies that work at the marina were very involved with local SPCA animal shelter. She suggested that we help save another cat, and consoled us with stories of pets she had lost. And she offered to take us to the shelter.

At that point I didn’t really think it was a good idea, but after Nadia and I talked about it, we decided it would be good for us and the new cat. I was worried that this would happen again, but we decided, we won’t let the cat outside till we put netting around the boat, and put floats in the water when we are anchored, so if the cat were to fall in, she could climb out. So Deb from the marina took us to the shelter. We looked at 3 cats and we ended up getting the third one, “June”. We had to wait till the next day to pick her up. She has turned out to be a great cat and has really helped us get back to normal, or our normal. Nadia has since renamed her “Freckles”.

So enough of the sad story, we have been taking shorter trips now that we are in Florida and the weather is a little warmer. Plus we have to wait 30 days from the day we got Freckles before leaving for the Bahamas.

Next stop after Fernandina Beach, Fl was Jacksonville Beach. We stayed at a marina on a major road, and the area was not really that nice. We did get to go to the Stone Wood Grill, so Nadia could have their Brushcetta, which she loves.

Then we went to St. Augustine. We stayed at a Marina for 3 nights, and anchored out the 4th night. The town had a nice area, but it was very touristic, and personally I didn’t really like it as much I thought I would. One or two days there would have been enough. But we did get our outboard engine crane installed, so that we could hoist the 88 lb. motor onto the dinghy.

Palm Coast, Fl was a nice place, but things are a little far away. In fact, we would recommend that anyone planning on doing the ICW bring bikes along. Most of the towns we go to, we end up walking several miles to go to the market or movies… The best bet would probably to get old used bikes real cheap, and then just sell/donate them before leaving for the Bahama’s if you don’t have the space for them.

Next place, Daytona Beach, we ended up being in Daytona for Bike Week! So there were tons of motorcyclists driving everywhere, eating everywhere and showing that their bike is the loudest bike around. We didn’t get a chance to go to any of the events, because we were about 7 miles away from the main street. I have to admit though, I really wish I had a Harley at that point.

We left Daytona, for a short hop down to New Smyrna. This town was really nice. Plenty of nice restaurants, nice buildings and beaches.

Titusville was the next stop. Titusville is about 10 miles from where NASA launches shuttles and rockets into space. We lucked out and they ended up launching a rocket the night we got there. It looked the like a fireball going up in the sky. If you want up front seats of a launch you need a ticket. We actually wanted to go to the Kennedy space center, but there was no public transportation to get there, and a cab ride would have cost us a small fortune. So we figured we would just go another time.

We stopped in Cocoa, FL, but the marina was not near anything. We tried to dinghy to Aeu Galle, which is about 7 miles away, but once we got to the ICW, the waves were a little too big for our little 8 foot dinghy.

We left Cocoa, with the plan to go to Vero Beach, but we ended up leaving late, so we decided lets just go to Melbourne for a night. So we went to a marina here, and then we saw the anchorage right across from the marina, and we figured, why not spend the whole next day at the marina, and right before dark we would leave to go anchor, and then leave for Vero in the morning. Everything went as planned, except leaving for Vero. The weather was calling for South winds 15-25 MPH with gusts to 30 MPH, and rain, and possible thunderstorms, with tornado warnings. This was going to be for 2 days, so learning from our previous mistakes, we decided to stay here. And like I said before the anchorage is great.

Before leaving on this trip I had a different idea of what cruising would be. I think most people think it is going to be sunsets and frozen drinks, in beautiful places. The reality is quote different. For example, I will tell you about our couple days here at Melbourne. The day we got here was sunny and nice. We had met a nice Canadian couple at the previous marina, and ended up talking with them till the afternoon. The gave us some great information on anchorages and crossing over to the Bahamas. So we left pretty late, and we decided to go to Melbourne, which was only about 7 miles away. We went to a marina. We we got showers and went walking to town, to look for a place to eat. We had a nice dinner, came back to the boat and watched a movie. So it turned out to be a great day, with great weather, and nice people. The next day, I did laundry, I had to clean all the mud off of the anchor chain, I had to do some other little boat projects, and cleaned the boat up. We had tested the dinghy and outboard out the previous day, and the outboard was not starting right away, and would shut off at idle speed. So we figured we would put it in the water and try and fix it, and if we could not, then we would call an authorized dealer since it is under warranty. I called the service dealer to get some ideas, he said to change the gas, since it was sitting for 3 months. So the marina has a 55 gallon tank for bad gas, so I carry our gas tank to it, and try to pour it in, I get half on me and half in the drum. Then I have to walk to a gas station to get fresh gas. I figure there has to be one pretty close, since we are on a major road. So I start walking, and no luck, after a while I see a guy working and ask if there is one close. He tells me to go up to the next street and go right, and there is one a light or two down. There was one about a mile more down. So I stink of gas, the temperature is close to 80, so I an sweating. I get the new gas walk back to the boat. This whole gas ordeal takes about 2 hours. We lower the outboard onto the dink, and I pull the starter about one hundred times, doesn’t start. So I contact the service center, they say it will be a week and half till they could get to it. Plus I would have to get them to come and pick up the motor… So we decide we will just wait till we get to Fort Lauderdale, where we plan on renting a car.

So now I have to get a shower, because I smell like gas and am soaked with sweat. Get a shower, we walk a mile to a restaurant, eat great thai food, walk a mile back. Hurry up to get off the dock and get anchored before dark.

Next day, rain and wind, all day. I start to get bored, and we decide if the rain slows down we will go to the movies. So the rain dies down, and we get ready to go. The dinghy has water in it, so we spend 10 minutes using a small cup to remove the water, paddle to shore, walk two miles to Mcdonalds, where they have free internet. We normally use Nadia’s phone connected to the laptop for internet. But everytime they update her phone, we have to reinstall the program that allows us on the net. So we get that fixed, and as I am eating my chicken mcnuggets, Nadia notices an older guy cutting his finger nails!

We move, and then we spend about 20 minutes trying to figure out the bus route we need to use to get to the movies. So the bus website, says to catch the 6:06, so we are out in the rain waiting, and we see the bus go by on the other side of the road. This is the same bus that we catch 25 minutes later. It turns out the bus website wanted us to get on and ride in a circle and continue on our way. The programmer who wrote the code didn’t account for this. So we stand in the now pouring rain, under our umbrella, and we start to hear thunder in the distance. The bus comes finally, and we hop on. I ask the driver to let us know when to get off for the movie theater, he says “okay”.  We get to the end of the route at a mall, so I go up to the driver, and ask if it is our stop, and he says “OH I forgot, but I will go by there in a minute”. Luckily we had some time before the movie started. He drops us off about 2 blocks from the theater, and we end up having to walk through flooded sidewalks, our feet and half our jeans are soaked.

We leave the movie and walk over to the mall to wait for the bus. Catch the bus back to McDonalds, walk 2 miles back to the dinghy. Luckily the rain slowed down, but the dinghy was flooded. Manage to drain out the dinghy, row back to the boat, and get out of the wet clothes. So we left around 2:30, and got back around 9:30, 7 hours to stop at Mcdonalds, and see a movie…

Today, we have been on the boat all day, and the boat is super humid, and it has rained all day. We might try to dinghy and walk to walgreen’s to get some drinks, if the rain stops.  Tomorrow, is suppose to be sunny but very windy, so we are going to leave for Vero, about 30 miles away.