TRAVELS of "HELIOPAUSE"

We scoped out the entrance to Shelter Cover Marina in “Otter” at low tide last evening. Found the deep spots where the mother ship could go with at least 6 feet available. So a slow move out this morning at low tide but completely feeling relaxed with our sounding depths.

More grasslands to report but no more large green eyed flies. The fans on the electronics are working well with no man overboards to report.

Scott has found a small dock at a fisheries place in Mosquito Creek that we will be staying at tonight. No power but all we need is a dock to tie to. We both are disappointed at our no anchor situation and marinas will have to be booked before we even know a schedule due to the sheer amount of boaters heading north or staying in marinas due to covid boat buying. We have played dialing for marinas a couple times now but it is now a challenge as we have no alternative.

We can’t get to the dock at the fisheries until after 4:00 today so we take our time getting there. More grasslands, a few dolphins, lots of gulls and several other boaters are here on the ICW today. Not much new.

The dock at the fisheries is a good solid dock. There is a shrimp boat here for their business. Scott heads inside and comes out with a pound of fresh shrimp for me for Mother’s Day. All for me as he doesn’t eat shellfish. Benet’s Point is a sleepy area with not much going on. The shirmp place, an oyster place and a couple folks homes dot the shores but that is about it. It is a great stopover nonetheless.

We are up early to catch more dolphins feeding in our anchorage. Always a sight as these graceful creatures work together in family pods. There are less and less of them now as we move north.

Off early to catch the rising tide, we leave just after low tide. Depths are good with lots of clearance. Still making our way through the grasslands and open sounds to the ocean and passing more Looper boats we make our way through Ossabawa Sound to Hell’s Gate. Our goal is to get to Hell’s Gate at a high tide as most of these boats we pass are also doing.

Have I mentioned these big green eyed flies………………………

Hell’s Gate is a notorious channel that is narrow with shoals on either side. The shoals change often due to the large open sounds leading to the Atlantic Ocean. As we are crossing the sound we are with at least 5 other boats looking to pass through at high tide. We didn’t have any issues at all in this channel. Nothing less than 9 feet depth.

The grasslands and marshes are starting to all look the same. Open areas that when the tide is high you see only the tops of the grasses. At low tide, 7 feet lower, you see all the roots of the grasses and the mud along the shorelines. Scott finds us a large anchorage in Vernon River where houses line the one side of the shore on one side and grasslands on the other.

The mosquitos have come out and we make our way inside the boat earlier than usual. We start up the gen to charge batteries and watch TV before bed. The anchorage is quiet with 2 sailboats there. Rumour has it they are fishing boats for the locals. Another sailboat joins us for the night as we enjoy a peaceful night.

The tides they are a’changin. Leaving the dock in Jacksonville the tides will increase to 7 feet on our way to the East River where we will anchor for the night. It is a wide open anchorage in between a shellfish growing area which is restricted to anchor in. Upon low tide we see a crab pot pop up which is obviously illegal. Our guess is that it is on a short line so that it is only visible at low tide which most people do no travel in. It is on the port side by the first anchor mark in Navionics. Go to the second anchor mark and you will miss it as you spin with the tide reversal.

We arrive just after lunch. The marshlands to the anchorage are the most spectacular to date. We are in Georgia now. These lowlands, marsh areas and huge tidal swings make for a new experience to the boater. They lands are flat with grasslands where you can see for miles but see nothing at all. It all looks the same. As we arrive the winds are mild and the anchorage is not busy. We will be the only boat here tonight. I can’t wait to see all the stars as there is not a cloud in the sky and no light pollution. We have found that in the last couple days we are back in bug country. Green large flies have found us today. They are a very large house fly with brilliant green eyes, but bite hard when thirsty. Taking in the scenery for awhile but then upload more pictures to the blog, enjoy the peace of this space, have a nice dinner and likely a movie night. We will have a couple extra exterior lights on tonight as we are in the middle of this small river. We are planning out the next couple days anchorage spots, cruising with the tides rising and making our way north. The depths have been good with at the very least an 8 foot clearance.

Our Raymarine display is acting up and it is the master unit. So when it has issues or shuts down so does our other display and navigation. Not a great feeling when you loose the road map and depth finder. So Scott will take some time here in St. Augustine to fix this problem.

Traveling to St. Augustine is similar to the last few days. Speed zones, homes on the rivers, pristine landscape. We had some dolphins playing in our wake but they were camera shy. It is an easy cruise for the Captain once again.

Here at the marina Scott gets to work under the dash to work on the display units. It takes him a few hours but it is up and running again, including the water temperature gauge that we lost months ago. He isn’t sure if it was loose connections or the unit overheating in the sun. If it continues to act up now at least it is the slave unit so it won’t shut down both navigations. If it doesn’t have anymore issues then it was likely loose connections which we wouldn’t be surprised about.

I get some laundry done and catch up on the blog. It is so windy that we have waves in the small bay with over 20 knt winds on the stern. We are again thankful for an easy entrance slip in these crazy winds. We will be here for 2 nights as we get this done and grab a game of pickleball at a local place with 4 courts. They play Saturday mornings so tomorrow we will make our way there.

Best pickleball play ever on this trip. All players were at least 3.5 and most a 4.0. I only played 3 games as I was way out of my league at a steady 3.5. Scott had some great games and wore himself out. It did take an Uber to get to Treaty Park but it was so worth it. Back at the boat we plan our next few days. We know there is a first come, first served free dock on the north side of Jacksonville so that is our plan A. Plan B would be if it is full then we will anchor near there. I wash the boat thoroughly and Scott gets caught up on all the work for the company, including taxes. We decide to go to the Conch House Restaurant for a dinner date. Food was okay, not great but the atmosphere is amazing. They have several of these bird nest dinner spots that overhang the water. It is a great concept and makes this place very popular along with its beautiful grounds.

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Getting up a bit later than usual we know we are moving north to Daytona. Scott is able to find a Yacht Club that has 4 pickleball courts on its grounds. We haven’t played in a couple days so we are fixing for a game.

Going to Daytona from the south has a lot of speed zones. We usually run about 9 knots or so with a current push if the tides are in our favour. Homes are adjacent to the water’s edge so there is reason to make less wake. With all the pristine lands around the manatees are moving further north at this time of the year so wake zones and a slow pace are in order. It’s an easy passage and we enjoy this part of Florida with its well marked channels and not too much traffic.

The Halifax River Yacht Club has a pool, restaurant, bar, pickleball courts, learn to sail program, a boater’s lounge and ferel cats. Yes, there are kitties. I get my fix of cat cuddles after the alpha male accepts me. Ridley, Catalina, Grayson, Thomas, and two more that wouldn’t come around me all call this boater’s lounge home. One of the members, Frankie, takes care of them. They are drop offs from unwarranted owners. In the long run this is a better home for them. The grounds are beautiful, they are fed daily, have a safe place to run, away from traffic, are neutered or spayed, have check ups and regular flea meds, and get love when they want it. The members take pride in their presence but Frankie and her husband, Scott, have captured the hearts of these little furs.

The firemen are playing pickleball so we head over and get in on some games. Mostly they only play themselves but us new folks give them a good few games. It is a great afternoon of fire and water!

Goodbye Fort Pierce as we begin an early start to our day. We love the palm coast to the space coast here in Florida. It features lots of mangroves and open space but narrow channels for us to travel. It is just so low key as we leave the large boats of South Florida and head toward the more casual, more prestine areas in north Florida. Although the channels can be narrow they are well marked with 10 foot depths most of the way.

Scott has chosen a large anchorage in Melbourne, FL to hold out for a brisk 20 knt wind from the east. Melbourne has a pier that we can dingy to and take in the city beach area. The pier is adjacent to a park so you can run your puppers if you have one. The folks come out at night to watch the sunset too. There is about a foot tide so bring your fender for your dingy.

In town there are lots of restaurants to choose from. It is a sleepy little area but you can get your fill of ice cream, pizza and some casual dining on the beach. The beach area isn’t crowded but it does have a nice surf with an easterly blow. There are a few BNB’s as well but it isn’t busy here at the moment. We have always enjoyed this part of Florida with its laid back and small town atmosphere.

We grab a pizza from the market and grab an ice cream as well. Then head back to the dingy and watch the sunset as it passes under the bridge. Back on HP we prepare for the trip to Titusville where we will anchor as close as we can to the Space X launch scheduled for 4:00 AM. With the name of Heliopause we just can’t miss a space launch. It’s Space X’s second manned flight.

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This marina and area is a sport fishing boat destination. Most boats are high helms with downriggers and fishers everywhere. With this weather we did not see many go outside onto the Atlantic Ocean. Most stayed in their slips. We are here too as we ride out 28+ knot winds for days. The winds are from the NE and E and as we are now on the ICW and on the west side of the ICW we don’t feel too much wind. This marina is very protected. There is a pool, hottub, pump out at all slips, diesel at all slips (how about that folks) and good docks with pelican poles. The tide is about 3 feet so sometimes getting on and off is a challenge. On the flip side there is a ladder at the slips for ease. The water is super clear. We like it here so much that we ask about a week long stay.

There is a beach within walking/biking distance, another sand low tide island that has boats on it permanently that sit on the sand during low tide. The beach area is a snorkel spot where we spent some time exploring the manmade reef. It is still in its infancy but the waters are calm, fish are abundant and it is only 5 minutes away. Pickleball……………..yes there is pickleball. A really nice club that we take Otter to and leave her on the beach. The tide rolled in on one of those NE blows and brought in more water with a seiche so we decided to bike it next few times. It is a half hour bike ride so a good warm up. Great games divided into groups according to skill level. We went 3x. Scott was able to play with some 5.0 players as the Championships are being played in Naples starting the day we leave. Over 3000 candidates on 62 courts over the course of 8 days.

We also did a grocery run by bike after Scott picked up a set of saddle bags for his bike. That helped a lot with not having to carry the heavy items in a backpack. We wandered down to Riviera Beach and watched some 2 man beach volleyball and grabbed an ice cream. There was also boat maintenance to do. Another scrub of the hull with the Snuba System and her running gear is new again. Scott says the bottom looks really good. While he was cleaning the bottom there was a barracuda under our neighbour’s boat the same size as Scott. Each was watching the other even though the barracuda really couldn’t care less about having a diver in with him. Our Canadian Flag has seen some wear and tear so I took it down and sewed the seams back together. Now she looks almost good as new. Our Dalhousie Yacht Club Flag is in dire straits. We aren’t sure if is is going to make it but we promised to not take it down. It has traveled with us the entire way and will stay that way as long as it holds on.

After being here a week the winds are more in our favour. We will be more protected on the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway) so we will head out tomorrow on our first real trek home. It will be familiar territory the latter part of the day as we had been here in 2017.

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We are up and out at the crack of dawn. Our new friends, Gary and Carie from Island Paws, is on their bow waving us goodbye as we head north. They will leave to go back to Miami tomorrow as their plans have changed due to weather too. It’s a beautiful morning as we pass the supply ship leaving port and other heading out to fish. Bimini is known for its fishing and a bunch of folks made the trek over for the Easter Weekend. There is a celebration of Easter here at our marina today called “Homecoming” where everyone that calls Bimini home comes for this weekend where they gather together, have some fun in the pool, restaurant and bar specifically open for this day. We will miss it but wish everyone a Happy Easter.

Heading north on the Atlantic Ocean it’s a tough one. Beam waves hit us the entire way due to the easterlies that have come in. Not many pictures as the ralph factor is pretty high today. Scott stays diligent at the wheel and we roll into West End anchorage around 3:00. We are both tired. It is rolly. We didn’t expect it to be this rolly as the winds are coming around both points and creating a sloshing effect. After over an hour of this we contact the marina. They have a spot for us. We head in easily and are now trying to fight off headaches and nausea. Again not many pics. I’d like to say we have been to West End, Bahamas but in reality we have only been to our slip there.