As mentioned before holidays are always the hardest for us. Away from family and those traditions makes for lonely times unless you can find a place to be with fellow cruising friends. We purposely tried to make Marathon, in the Florida Keys, by Christmas. We celebrated New Years there last year so we looked forward to Christmas this year.

Christmas Eve was spent at a wonderful choral celebration at the United Methodist Community Church of Marathon. The Marathon Community Choir performed and it was memorable. Afterwards we walked down US 1 looking for food and found that the Mexican restaurant was the only one open. As we ate our meal, Santa drove by on a fire truck, sirens wailing, stopping occasionally to distribute gifts and candy to the kids at the side of the road.

Back on the boat we opened presents, Christmas music playing softly in the background as the boat gently rocked on the waves.

Christmas day was an entirely different occasion. Dockside Bar & Grill hosts a cruiser’s Christmas dinner. Similar to Thanksgiving in St. Mary’s the cruisers bring side dishes and Dockside supplies the turkeys and ham. If you went away hungry it wasn’t because there wasn’t enough food. A great time was had by all. This video is a brief glimpse into the “Cruiser’s Christmas”.

Music was supplied by Joe Mama, a Florida Keys entertainer of great notoriety in these parts.

It sure has been a long ride since the last time I wrote. I was getting pretty weary of this travel stuff. For almost two months me and my people have been puttering along in unusually cold miserable weather. No fun for people and especially no fun for dogs! The things I have to put up with. I have discovered a new place to hang out. Dad put a pillow under the dodger for me. It’s nice and warm under the sun. When the sun moves I stare at dad until he moves the pillow to the other side. Humans are so easy to train.

Well, yesterday was very pretty. Very warm, sunny and the water was calm. I was perched in “my spot”. We rounded the corner of an island and headed for an inlet that seemed familiar somehow. As the boat approached the marinas I knew where I was. I scampered up to the bow barking hellos to all along the shore. People waved and shouted hellos back. I know this place! I’m back in my winter home. We stopped and I helped mom pick up the mooring. Dad quickly launched my boat, put on the motor and soon we were ashore at City Marina. I strutted around like I owned the place saying hi to those I liked and barking at those that looked like pirates.

Today Andy came by the boat to pump us out and he remembered me! I certainly remember him cuz he’s the guy who gives me treats.

Ahhhhhhh, life is good!

Our boat sliced through the early morning calm, riding the ebbing current towards Fort Pierce Inlet. Vero Beach now behind us we followed the invisible magenta line for several hours, absorbing the beauty surrounding us. Dolphin gracefully rounded up their breakfast as pelicans bombarded theirs from the sky. Schools of fish seemed to be everywhere. Those not attacked from below or above were targeted from numerous fishermen. It didn’t seem like it was a great day to be a fish.

Maybe this was a sign of things to come but at the time the message was lost.

As we started out the inlet the current had shifted. The tide was now in the flood stage and we slowed as it got stronger. Our apprehension about inlets seemed to be unfounded as we headed out into what appeared to be a calm and empty channel. “Securetay, securitay, securitay”, a call way to familiar, a tug and barge were inbound and just around a bend in the channel, unseen to us. As we made the turn, there it was filling the channel. Our escape to starboard, filled with fishing boats jockeying for position to cast for shrimp. No time to cross to port. As if by divine intervention, we parted the fisherman and squeaked past the barge and proceeded to open ocean. That wasn’t so bad after all.

Heading off shore we probed for the edge of the Gulf Stream. Reports had it very close to shore all the way down the coast and into the Keys. The reports were accurate. Maintaining a course parallel to the coastline, one mile or less out gave us a speed over ground of six knots or better. Two miles out that speed reduced to four knots or less. The “stream” was definitely in. The downside of staying this close was we were in fisherman territory. There would be pots and floats close in and there would be fishing boats that night. The upside was that there would be fish!

The lines went out. I have been very successful in shallow (less than 100’) with a silver swimming plug. Right off we caught two false albacore (Little Tunny). Great fighting but we don’t care for their red bloody meat. These went back into the food chain. Later that afternoon we were able to hook into some king mackerel. The first king mackerel was about 30” and was quickly converted to steaks. Later another king was added to the freezer. This one was 36” plus. Enough fish for many dinners, we pulled the lines in.

Darkness at sea is not so bad when you’re way off shore. Look out for ships, stay on course and enjoy the ride. Close in is another matter. Fishing floats and traps become almost invisible. Small fishing boats are scattered along the coast-line, some lit some not, so radar is extremely useful in spotting these boats. The small blips show you where to look. Without running lights they can be almost impossible to see otherwise. Gradually we had to move further off shore. Too many targets! Our speed slowed but we slogged on.

Ships at sea can be quite a sight. Most freighters underway have minimal lights. Anchored vessels are usually lit up more. Cruise ships on the other hand look like the carnival is coming to town. This night would be the night of cruise ships. As we approached Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) at 3:00 am we adjusted course to avoid several anchored freighters awaiting pilots to enter the port. We heard a call on the VHF from a tug and barge leaving from somewhere, hailing the southbound sailboat. Another boat answered and we listened intently to determine this tugs position. He wasn’t real clear on this but soon we needed no clarification. We were sailboat he really wanted to talk to and we were about to cross paths. A reduction in our speed and some slight maneuvers left the large barge and tug passing us closely off our bow. Impressive as it ghosted past and soon disappeared. A cruise ship had been closing in from the north and we were not sure if it was going to enter the port or not. They don’t respond to VHF calls so we had no clue of their intentions. Our focus on the cruise ship diverted our attention from the other anchored container that was now underway and headed our way, FAST! We slowly circled. Would we make it ahead of this monster? Deciding that we could, we quickly powered up and headed south. The huge container ship slipped quietly and closely behind us. Two close calls and we still have Miami to pass.

Miami is several more hours south but from our vantage point we could see the cruise ships lining up to enter Government Cut. The last of four ships started its entrance as we were arriving. I diverted to pass it astern which was pointless since the cruise ship was cruising so fast that it was long gone by the time I got to the channel.

Slowly adjusting course to follow the reef leading to the Keys, we watched as the sun peeked above the horizon illuminating a new day and marking another 24 hours at sea. Our route along the reef was littered with floats and fishing boats. Any adjustment either put us over the reef or into the Gulf Stream. Again we chose the stream. Our 176 nautical mile trip ended at Rodriguez Key near key Largo. After 33 hours we were ready for a rest. Tomorrow (12/21) we head for Marathon.

The trip from Daytona south to Vero was quite a trek. We left at 0730 with about six other boats and headed south. It was nice to transit Ponce Inlet in its dredged condition. Lots of water under the keel. The winds were just enough off the bow for us to unfurl the jib and motor sail down Mosquito Lagoon. Making great time we caught up to some of the faster boats and made the bridge opening at Haulover Canal together. We didn’t see any manatees this time through but we did see quite a few white pelicans and spoonbills on “bird island” just on the other side of the canal.

Our intended destination was to be Titusville but we got there at 1400 and so decided to continue south and finally dropped the hook for the night at Cocoa. The next morning we were up early again and had Vero Beach in our sights. The wind was blowing a steady 20 knots with higher gusts right on the bow so the going was slow. We finally arrived in Vero at about 1630 that afternoon. Our friends, Joanne and Dave on Tropical Breeze arrived just ahead of us.

Vero Beach is a great stop. They have a free bus service that takes you to the essential stops, West Marine, Publix, Walmart and the mall. We’ve been hit by the humidity and as a result have lost several electrical devices, the cell phone one of them. Our first trip out was an all day affair to get a new phone. Upon arriving back at the boat we discovered that the internet would not load so it meant another all day trip back to the store to get a new card, but now we’re all fixed up.

While the weather has been mostly warm it has also been very windy. We’ve had a cold spell but it’s warming again. Our next trip is off shore to Miami and the winds have not been cooperating. It looks like we may be here another week before things change.

While we sit, we’ve had a chance to visit with many of our friends we have met along the way. We are rafted with Tom and Cathy, on Perseverance 2, their Oday 39. We met them last spring at their home on the Great Wicomico in Virginia. They are headed to the Bahamas next and need the same weather window as we do. I figure that as soon as the wind dies we’ll need a traffic cop to help get all the boats out of this anchorage.

With Thanksgiving behind us and our stay in St. Mary’s drawing to a close we decided to head for Cumberland Island, eight miles away. No sense in pushing too far. We had wanted to go to Cumberland Island last year but fog had turned us away. This year we made it and we stayed for 3 nights. The island is beautiful and sparsely inhabited with most of the island being a part of the National Parks Service. The waterway side of the island is mostly marshes with a quick transition to forests dominated by live oaks, which are gnarly and loaded with Spanish moss, and a variety of palms and succulents.

As you get closer to the ocean you get to the transitional dunes and then the beautiful beaches.

The island is well known for it’s wild horses, so we were eagerly anticipating a thundering herd with stallions on their hind legs pawing the air. We looked hard for the horses the first day there and John was lucky enough to catch a picture of the rear end of one, way off in the distance. The next day we took a longer tour of the island and came across the “thundering herd”. In actuality, the herd was a group of mangy horses that slowly grazed and loped about the island. Despite the lack of thunder, it still was thrilling to see them.

Thomas Carnegie began building Dungeness in 1884 but died before it was completed. His wife, Lucy completed it and the family lived in for some time. It had fallen into disrepair and in 1959 it burned. In its heyday it must have been beautiful. The grounds had included gardens, fountains, a greenhouse, athletic complex, and housing for 300 staff. Now everything is in ruins.

The main house.

The athletic complex.

We were amazed to have found this ancient pottery shard right next to the trial. Finds like this are rare. It was photographed and reported to the rangers and left for others to enjoy.

All things considered, it was a great stop and recommend it highly.

Heading south again we motored past Fernandina Beach and continued on to the Fort George River. It was a short trip, so we spent the afternoon touring the Kingsley Plantation which is adjacent to the river anchorage.

The plantation is a historic preserve that is run by the National Park Service.

The grounds included the ruins of 25 of the original slave cabins. Archeologists are studying the ruins of the slave quarters in an attempt to trace the history of the enslaved people who resided there.

During our walk we came across three armadillos. Armadillos are notoriously nearsighted, and the first one that we encountered ran right up to us in his attempt to flee. Awwww!!!

That night was clear, so we were able to see a cool astrological event: the moon, Jupiter, and Venus in the twilight sky.

Fort George River was followed by a short trip to St. Augustine, FL. We found a restaurant with a great happy hour: 1/2 price drinks and free pizza! We love the free stuff!!! We also toured the grounds of the Castillo de San Marcos Fort. St. Augustine is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the United States and it reeks of history. The Fountain of Youth is here, but we did not drink from the cup, so John will still turn 60 next month. We found a shop that sold root beer barrel “penny candy”, so on impulse, John loaded up a bag. Unfortunately, the candy sold for $2.50 per quarter of a pound! Did I say “penny candy”?

With fifteen dollars of candy on board we set out for Daytona. We’ve been traveling with Dave and Joanne on Tropical Breeze, a 38′ Maxim catamaran since leaving St. Mary’s.

They joined us in Daytona Beach for our annual stay at the Halifax Harbor Marina. We arrived just in time for the annual Christmas party at the marina and the Daytona Beach Christmas Parade. I must admit that the parade was quite lame, but we scrambled, along with the children, to gather up penny candies that were thrown (we love our “penny” candy) from the passing cars and “floats”. We visited again with Per Hans, John’s car club buddy from the 1960-70s. We got to sit in his new Porsche replica. It is my understanding that Per Hans owned the real thing back in the 70’s and sold it for a song. Similar cars now sell for six figures. I guess the replica is Per Hans’ way back to that car, but not at the price.

Daytona is great but we need to mush on. It’s still cold! We head out in the morning for Titusville and will rejoin Tropical Breeze somewhere along the way.