Author: Phil

Our five days stop at Eau Gallie was planned, welcomed, and enjoyed! The first night, after renting a car and some provisioning, we met Carey’s cousin Pam and her daughter Jill for dinner at Frigate’s, a seafood favorite of the locals. The next two days, Saturday and Sunday, we caught up on some maintenance and simply chilled out! Monday, we jumped in Pam’s pickup and headed for The Villages to visit more of Carey’s relatives … Pam’s Dad Jerry, sister Carrie and her husband Mario. With the exception of Mario, who is German, the others are Potomac, Maryland transplants. That night included a concert of Coasters and Platters tribute band in the Villages’ Savannah Concert Hall. The Coasters were original players from the 50s and played their iconic songs “Charlie Brown” and “Yakety Yak” among many others. The Platters group sounded exactly like the originals. We enjoyed “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” “the Great Pretender,” “And Only You” among many others and included a sentimental Christmas show that brought home what Christmas is all about! Both groups were fantastic! Tuesday was full of breakfast, laughs, and reminiscing family events, including years of routine skiing weekends at Wisp at Deep Creek Lake. Mid-afternoon we headed back to Eau Gallie so we could make the cruise to Fort Pierce City Marina to spend Christmas Eve with Phil’s cousin Jan and husband Tom, both of whom are unbelievable gourmet cooks. In fact, Tom is an outstandingly successful personal chef. And Jan is an equally successful proprietor of several salons in the Vero Beach area. We’ll stay at the marina for a couple weeks sightseeing and visiting friends.

Up at 7 AM under threat of high winds and rain for the day. Luckily the forecast wasn’t correct and we had an easy motor to Eau Gallie, just 33 miles south of Cape Canaveral. We moored by noon and had a rental car in the parking lot by 3 PM. Headed out for some replenishing at West Marine and Total Wine. Traffic is terrible in this place and I was ready to get back on the boat just 30 minutes into driving the Florida roads around here. After shopping we decided to have dinner at The Cottage Irish Pub, close to the Eau Gallie Yacht Basin. Food was great and included Bangers & Mash, Cottage Pie, and Fish and Chips. Fantastic!

We were ready for the trip to the boat and a quiet evening but walked outside (70 degrees and clear skies at 6 PM) and found an assembled group of 9 true Irish guys and gals from the neighborhood playing absolutely fantastic Irish music. We were invited to join a group at a table and found it included two additional singers. One Fantastic Evening! The instruments included a Tin Whistle, several button accordions, a Bahrain drum, violins, flutes, guitars, and an Irish Harp played by a master! Pictures below. — enlarge by hovering over and pressing CTRL twice. (Reminds us of CB’s emerging Boardwalk symphony!!)

And to mark the end of a great evening, when we finally got back to the boat, the Eau Gallie Yacht Basin was ablaze with Christmas lights! What fun! I think we are going to enjoy this layover! As an aside…Leah and Mike Munnis have relocated from Colonial Beach to this very neighborhood. Hope they stop by the Cottage on the first and third Thursdays for an exuberant and authentic Irish musical event!

Leaving Marineland we headed for an anchorage in Daytona for a quick layover before out next stop in Titusville. Easy running day of about 35 miles, but when we got to Daytona the anchorages were full so we kept moving to Rockhouse Creek, a favorite spot of ours. A dredger was in the area and had been working. It appears he closed off the creek. I tried several times to get into the creek without any luck. The water shoaled too much for passage. Luckily, we had plenty of daylight left after having two no-gos on a place to stop, so we proceeded to New Smyrna and the City Marina — they had an unfilled slip, so we took it. We’ve passed by this town many times, but I’ve only stopped once before, in 2005 with my brother-in-law Barny while on the Great Loop. The River Deck restaurant was recommended by marina staff, so, after getting the boat settled, we headed there. A real treat. It was trivia night and the party was lively! Folks were friendly and food was delicious. Made some new friends but didn’t fare too well at trivia.

Next day we were on our way to Titusville. Once again, we found full anchorages. I think the price increases at the marinas (some up to $4.00 a foot per night, plus electric) has caused many boaters to shift from marinas to anchoring. Or, like us, more boaters just enjoy the peace and serenity of anchoring We found a perfect spot near Cape Canaveral. See a few pictures of this time. Tomorrow – off to Eau Gallie Yacht Basin in Melbourne and a weeklong stop to visit with some of Carey’s family which will include a trip to the Villages to see The Platters and The Coasters in concert! Now we’re showing our ages!

Thursday the 11th we departed Fernandina — nice stop — but, left in onsetting winds above 10 knots that kept us on our toes. Moved on to Pine Island anchorage, a 50-mile trip and anchored in 10 feet on a quiet and beautiful evening.

Next morning, the 12th we headed for Marineland Marina, one of our favorite stops, just 18 miles south of St. Augustine (another great stop). The weather finally warmed up to mid 60s and the sun shone all day. Loving it! Arrived in Marineland Marina midafternoon and moored in our now favorite slip next to the office. We enjoy a marina filled with long-range traveling boaters just stopping to replenish supplies and do some maintenance. We always make new friends each time we stop. Although we planned a two -day stop, the upcoming high-pressure blow lengthened our stay to 4 days. We’ll head out next Tuesday for points south after four nice days to points south. Below photo shows someone wanted to highlight the Bridge of Lions in St. Augustine as we passed by! Not AI, but the sun and reflections. Also see a couple of anchorage pictures.

Had easy 40 mile run to Brunswick after pulling up anchor in Duplin River. The excitement for the day was traveling the last 10 miles through St Simon Sound. We made the turn towards Brunswick and in from the sea came a very large cargo ship headed the same way. BenjOllie easily proved she has some speed as we safely stayed in the lead of the Monrovian ship. After tying up we got ready to look at a 46 Grand Banks Carey found in an ad that really looked like a good deal. All the benefits of a Grand Banks but with more room. The next morning, we looked it over and are actively discussing moving up in size. We planned on leaving at noon after looking at the 46-footer, but a strong wind was blowing so we decided to stay the night and leave next day.

No hurry on the 10th as were only 40 miles from Fernandina Beach. We passed through another sound, St. Andrews, after passing Jekyll Island. The Sound, known for being as rough as the Atlantic that it connects to was pleasantly calm this trip. Next was a sunny warm trip along Cumberland Sound and the Navy’s Kings Bay Trident Submarine base and into Fernandina Beach for the night.

Just for fun I found that you can motor the Georgia coast from South Carolina to Florida and enjoy sites on the 115 miles trip, but there are even more things to see traveling the ICW that wanders 141 miles along the Georgia coastline. And it is nice to see the local towns decorated for Christmas like the main street in Fernandina Beach pictured below.