January 29 - Melbourne to Titusville, FL

After having said farewell to Nel and Stu, we left Melbourne's Eau Gallie port and cruised north on the ICW. It was sunny, but very windy. This section of the ICW, also called Indian River, is very wide and shallow. Therefore one must stay in the shipping channel. After passing Cocoa and the Canaveral Barge Canal, we saw NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building. It has the world's largest doors. The huge American flag logo on this building is so large that to paint each red strip, 6,000 gallons of paint were used. Towards 4:00 p.m. we arrived at the Titusville Municipal Marina.                

January 28 - Melbourne, FL

Since we now had a car, we were able to do some shopping and tour the surrounding area. We drove past the port of Cape Canaveral and had a good view of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the 

Kennedy Space Center. We also stopped at the Titusville Municipal Marina where we made reservations for the following night. Since this was the last night onboard for Stu and Nel, they treated us to a great Italian dinner. The friends of Stu and Nel, along with their two lovely daughters, also joined us for this meal.

January 27 - Fort Pierce to Melbourne, FL

It was overcast and windy, but the temperature was very pleasant. Our route along the ICW took us past Vero

Beach, Sebastian and Palm Bay to Melbourne. While enroute, we had some dolphins swim along the boat. They would swim along for a few minutes and then they disappeared. We had reserved dockage at the Waterline Marina in the Eau Gallie Harbor. This harbor had a number of picturesque boat houses. The greatest attraction were the diving

 

pelicans. They circled over the harbor and marina and when they spotted a fish, they hurdled themselves, like a Japanese dive bomber, into the water. Often it was next to the boat with the splash hitting our hull. In the late afternoon, Stu went to pick-up his car which he had left with friends.

January 26 - Fort Pierce, FL

The entire day was spent in port. Thressa and Nel took care of the laundry and Henk and Stu cleaned the boat. During the afternoon we visited The Manatee Observation and Education Center. Nearby was a small inlet where manatees often gather. We did see one of them, but were not able to photograph the manatee. Therefore these pictures will need to do.

January 25 - Lake Worth anchorage to Fort Pierce, FL

Around 7:30 a.m. we left our anchorage and returned to the ICW. Our route took us northward via Jupiter and Stuart to Fort Pierce. Founded as a military base, Fort Pierce is now the center of the Indian River citrus industry. Arrival was in the early afternoon. During the past weeks, one of the two air condioners started to become very noisy. Our resident air conditioning expert, Stu Vander Heide, decided to check out the problem. With the aid of the vacuum cleaner hose, he located the problem. However, he was unable to find the right cure. I guess we'll need to wait until Jacksonville. Here the boat will be docked for just over one week, enough time to have the problem fixed.

January 24 - Delray Beach to Lake Worth anchorage

Part of the morning was at leisure. Nel and Thressa went shopping. Stu and Henk stopped at a sidewalk cafe for a cup of coffee. Prior to our departure, we saw a few manatees swim by. We paid close attention to the waters in front of our boat and at times had to change our course so as not to collide with these gentle giants. We passed many fabulous

homes, including the estate of Donald Trump. Across from downtown West Palm Beach, on the Palm Beach side, is the 55 room estate built by Henry Flagler as a wedding present for his 3rd wife. Today it is a museum, one we can higly recommend. We continued northward to the most northern point of Lake Worth, our anchorage for the night.

                                         

January 23 - Ft Lauderdale to Delray Beach, FL

Our Ft Lauderdale stay has come to an end. After a cruise through its rivers and canals, we followed the ICW to Delray Beach. Enroute we passed many mega yachts, marinas, hotels and condos. Arrival was planned around 4:00 p.m. Another great day.

January 15 through 22 - Ft Lauderdale, FL

We have enjoyed our stay in Ft Lauderdale. From our boat we were able to see many super yachts being pulled by  small tugs to a storage area for these expensive toys. A number of times we saw people on surf boards picking up floating trash - this might be a good idea for the rivers and lakes back home. Thressa and I also decided to have dinner at the Ft Lauderdale Institute for Culinary Arts. It was delicious!

The students came from various states and countries. Some students, like our waiter, were in their mid 30's. During our stay we were visited by Arlin and Jo Maas, friends from Grand Rapids, MI. They spend the winter in nearby Palm Beach. This past Saturday Stu and Nel Vander Heide arrived and joined our crew. Stu and Nel will be with us for the coming week. On Sunday we attended services at the historic First Presbyterian Church of Ft Lauderdale and in the afternoon we went sightseeing.  One of our stops was a park near the harbor entrance. From here we could see the departure of a number of large ships. We finished the day at the 15th Str. Fisheries. While waiting for our order to arrive, Stu and Henk watched the feeding of the fish in front of this restaurant. Some of the fish were 4 to 5 ft long.    

   
 

                      

January 14 - Miami to Ft Lauderdale, FL

This morning we left Bayside Marina in Miami and cruised along the ICW to Ft Lauderdale. As we left the marina, we had a good view of some of the large cruise ships. The trip up to Ft Lauderdale was an intersting one - lots of fabulous homes, hotels and apartment buidings. We passed a number of very large yachts, some at least three times longer then the Marco Polo II. When we arrived in

Ft Lauderdale, we counted 7 super  large passenger ships getting ready for their cruises to warmer climates. The cruise through the canals and rivers of Ft Lauderdale is a treat. Soon we came to Cooley's Landing Marina where docking space was reserved for us. We'll be here for the next 9 nights. If any of you happen to be in the area, be sure to stop by and say hello. 

                                   

January 13 - Tavernier to Miami, FL

Today was a fantastic one -  lot of sun, not much wind and temperature around 75. Debbie and Nate got some sun before returning to snow covered Michigan. After going under US 1 bridge, we continued via the Biscayne Bay to Miami. What a great view it was to see Miami's skyline! Our marina was in the very center of town - the Miamarina at Bayside. All around the marina are shops and restaurants. We were assigned to C pier from where we had a good view of

the hustle and bustle of Bayside. From our boat we could also see a few of the cruise ships. This evening we were treated to a nice dinner by Nate and Debbie. Since they  had to depart in the early morning, we turned in earlier then normal.

January 12 - Marathon to Tavenier FL anchorage

We left Marathon at 11:00 a.m. for the 45 mile cruise to Tavenier, located on the western end of Key Largo. The route we followed was the ICW or also referred to as the Inside Route. The route is well marked and takes one through the shallower waters in the lee of the Keys. We cut through some mangroves, dodged a number of crab pot markers and saw dolphins and turtles. The weather was cloudy, but just fine for cruising. We anchored in the protected Tavenier Harbor.

January 11 - Marathon, FL

When we cruised from our anchorage at Little Shark River to Marathon, we felt an unusual vibration that started at about 1400 rpm. Later this vibration was only felt when cruising at about 1800 rpm. Since we had not hit anything, we thought that a rope or some other debris might have become entangled in the prop or drive shaft.  The only way to find out was to locate a diver. We finally found Barnacle Bill, a 70 year old man who dives daily. Bill cleaned off some barnacles from our prop and replaced a worn-out zinc. This took care of the problem. While Henk was waiting for the diver, Thressa, Nate and Debbie 

went to visit the Turtle Hospital. Here injured or sick turtles are brought for treatment. When possible, turtles are later released to their natural enviroment. In the late afternoon we visited the condo where Kirk and Lynne Rottschafer were staying .                                   

January 10 - Key West excursion - Marathon, FL

This Tuesday we went to Key West, the most southern point in the US. It was very busy - two cruise ships in town. We, along with many other tourists, stopped at the marker seen here. After driving past Hemingway's home, we walked through the old town. The sidewalk cafes and cigar shops gave the town a Cuban flavor. A stop for Key Lime pie was on our schedule. Later Nate and Henk wolved down a hot dog. Afterwards we took a walk along the docks and visited a turtle cannery museum.                                          

January 8 and 9 - Marathon, FL

This morning we said good bye to Les and Jane Wong. The rest of the day was spent in port - cleaning and getting ready for Nate and Debbie Barendse. In the late afternoon we joined the Rottschafers for a sunset cruise through the harbors and canals of Marathon. What great fun we had! The next morning we picked up a car from Enterprise and went shopping - the first stop was at West Marine, followed by a stop at Publix. In the afternoon it was off to the Miami International Airport to pick-up Nate and Debbie. We got back to Marathon around 9:00 p.m.