Heading North
05.06
Leaving Stuart and the Okeechobee Waterway was an experience. The way north gets a little confusing as the Okeechobee Waterway ends and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway begins. You’re heading east in the Waterway then you have to make a 90 degree turn north into the ICW. To the south is the inlet from the Atlantic Ocean. As we approached this crucial corner, a large US Army Corps of Engineers ship was heading toward us. A slow trawler and a small tug boat were ahead of us. And, a 40 to 45 foot sailboat was anchored or aground on the edge of the channel. The COE ship passed us, we passed the trawler and the tug safely, and avoided the sailboat, making the turn north.
At Vero Beach we stopped for lunch at the Riverside Café with friends Janet and Bruce and had a good good meal and good conversation. They live in the area, on a canal that is directly across the bay from the restaurant. It would be a shorter trip by boat than car! Thank you for lunch!
North of Vero Beach, we passed Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, the very first national wildlife refuge. It was established by an executive order in 1903 by Teddy Roosevelt.
Today was forecast to be a rainy day, primarily in the afternoon. We thought we could possibly get where we were going before it rained. We had one small shower hit us as we were traveling north. Our cockpit curtain was on the rear of the helm and our enclosed helm area kept us dry.
We have been using The Intracoastal Waterway Chartbook by John and Leslie Kettlewell, Sixth Edition. Sailing friends that we met in 2012 at Snook Bight Marina in Ft Myers loaned us the book. They used it coming south from Michigan in 2012. It is no longer published. But, even so, this is a great book to travel the ICW with. Even better, to my mind, than the Waterway Guide. It is like a AAA TripTik with the chart and notations for bridges and marinas and anchorages. Fantastic!
Today we encountered a number of boats: some fisherman, some cruisers in sailboats and trawler/motor cruisers and a commercial vessel or two. And, there were a lot of manatee zones. Some of the zones allowed high speed in the channel, slow speed outside of the ICW, while others were slow speed everywhere. When you’re going 20 nmph it’s hard to read the signs!
We decided to stop for the day at Melbourne Bay Marina. It was a nice marina and walking distance to a Chart House restaurant. As we arrived it started to rain, a light rain that lasted for an hour or two. When the rain stopped we got fuel, which was right at our doorstep.
With the rain rinsing the day’s salt off and a good meal, we called it a day. We even watched a little TV. What! TV on a boat — sacrilege!
Leaving Stuart and the Okeechobee Waterway was an experience. The way north gets a little confusing as the Okeechobee Waterway ends and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway begins. You’re heading east in the Waterway then you have to make a 90 degree turn north into the ICW. To the south is the inlet from the Atlantic Ocean. As we approached this crucial corner, a large US Army Corps of Engineers ship was heading toward us. A slow trawler and a small tug boat were ahead of us. And, a 40 to 45 foot sailboat was anchored or aground on the edge of the channel. The COE ship passed us, we passed the trawler and the tug safely, and avoided the sailboat, making the turn north.
At Vero Beach we stopped for lunch at the Riverside Café with friends Janet and Bruce and had a good good meal and good conversation. They live in the area, on a canal that is directly across the bay from the restaurant. It would be a shorter trip by boat than car! Thank you for lunch!
North of Vero Beach, we passed Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, the very first national wildlife refuge. It was established by an executive order in 1903 by Teddy Roosevelt.
Today was forecast to be a rainy day, primarily in the afternoon. We thought we could possibly get where we were going before it rained. We had one small shower hit us as we were traveling north. Our cockpit curtain was on the rear of the helm and our enclosed helm area kept us dry.
We have been using The Intracoastal Waterway Chartbook by John and Leslie Kettlewell, Sixth Edition. Sailing friends that we met in 2012 at Snook Bight Marina in Ft Myers loaned us the book. They used it coming south from Michigan in 2012. It is no longer published. But, even so, this is a great book to travel the ICW with. Even better, to my mind, than the Waterway Guide. It is like a AAA TripTik with the chart and notations for bridges and marinas and anchorages. Fantastic!
Today we encountered a number of boats: some fisherman, some cruisers in sailboats and trawler/motor cruisers and a commercial vessel or two. And, there were a lot of manatee zones. Some of the zones allowed high speed in the channel, slow speed outside of the ICW, while others were slow speed everywhere. When you’re going 20 nmph it’s hard to read the signs!
We decided to stop for the day at Melbourne Bay Marina. It was a nice marina and walking distance to a Chart House restaurant. As we arrived it started to rain, a light rain that lasted for an hour or two. When the rain stopped we got fuel, which was right at our doorstep.
With the rain rinsing the day’s salt off and a good meal, we called it a day. We even watched a little TV. What! TV on a boat — sacrilege!
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