Observer

Thursday 3/22   In months, we are 10 months into our trip today.   It's cool 51 degrees but sunny.   We pushed off the dock @ 8:20 and made a 6 1/2 hour motor up to New Smyrna Beach City Marina.   Our dock set up made it a bit hard to get Millie off; it was so high we had to put her ramp on a stool.   Just a few steps down the marina dock was an American Tug 435 - beautiful.   Of course we ended up chatting with these folks.   They just purchased her two days ago and were bringing her south and west over to their home in Longboat Key.   According to Trip Advisor, the best place to eat around by far within a short walk was Uncle Chickens BBQ.   We took a walk over and well it really wasn't what we were looking for. We we strolled back towards the boat and stumbled upon Corkscrew - very nice busy place with great food - yum. Loved this light fixture above our table at Corkscrew

Monday 3/19   We left Melbourne about 10.   Its overcast and drizzling but an otherwise nice day for traveling North on the ICW.   There is very little boat traffic and all the bridge clearances are higher than our air draft.   We pulled into our destination of Cocoa Village Marina @ 12:30 and were treated by unusually cheery dock crew who helped get us settled in.   At the recommendation of the marina office Tim set out on a bike ride, following the road along the ICW north.   It was perfect with low car traffic and plenty to see.  Coco Village Marina Bike route Some of the sights along the way We were on our way into town for dinner the same time as the boat in the next slip.   Karen & Ken are Loopers from Sarasota and seasoned boaters but only a week into their Loop.   We ended up going to dinner with them and had a great time sharing stories and discovering we had mutual friends.   Tuesday 3/20...

Sunday 3/18  We got Millie over to that great dog park one more time before shoving off @ 9:30.   Its 64 degrees climbing into the 70s today with light NNW winds.   We heard it's in the teens at home. Our destination for the day is Eau Gallie Marina in Melbourne.   It's a pretty laid back place.   They only have room for a couple transients, only take cash or check and don't answer the radio.   In fact, on Sundays there isn't usually anyone working here.   We arrived at the marina about 2:00.   It's on a narrow inlet just off the ICW. Actually   parts of it remind me of our home waters in Danversport.   Marina sign from the road Entering the Eau Gallie inlet Marina up ahead on the right Our boat neighbor According to our instructions someone was in our slip.   We found another spot and pulled in there and it turns out this would be our location for the night.   It's a little rustic but everyone is ve...

Sat. 3/17 We attended a great farmer's market just steps away from the boat and did our share for the local economy; they even had a two live bands at this market.   Our morning's haul from the farmer's market We dropped our lines @10:45   and moved north to the Vero Beach City Marina - arriving about 1:00.   It's is a nice spot tucked a short way around the corner from the ICW.   There are a couple Loopers and a couple Gold Loopers here.   We took Millie to a great dog park just a short walk from the marina. Dog park flag Nice shaded areas around the dog park with plenty of water stations and toys to play with We biked around Vero Beach a bit and grilled our dinner on board (It's allowed here). The trees create really pretty canopies over the streets The beach is a short one mile bike ride from the marina Millie is exhausted from her dog park visit! You can't hear her, but...

Thursday 3/15   Off the dock at 9:30.  We need to immediately request an opening of the Old Roosevelt Bridge but the railroad bridge next to it was down so we needed to wait 15  minutes or so for our opening.  It took about an hour to weave our way back to the ICW where we made our way North.  This section of the ICW is very wide like a bay.  After our first bridge today the rest were all higher than our air draft.  We arrived at Fort Pierce City Marina about 1:15.  We had read that there can be a strong side current approaching the marina through its channel- got through that.  We settled into our slip and had a look around.  This marina is enormous and there is a park that abuts the marina so lots of restaurants and people enjoying the day here. We found a great restaurant just a short walk from the marina called 121 Tapas on the Water.  We sat at the bar and enjoyed a delicious, light meal served by a very attentive bar te...

Tuesday 3/13  It was 51 degrees when we left the dock and a 12 knot NW breeze.   We continued our way up the ICW to Stuart with a few dolphins in our wake.     Dolphin right center jumping out of the water   We arrived at Sunset Bay Marina about 2:00.    We passed under 10 bridges today but only had to have the last one raised for us. Directly behind OBSERVER was another American Tug. - a brand new, just delivered from the West coast yesterday, grey 395; we were drooling.   Brand spankin new American Tug We settled in to our spot for a couple days, toured downtown Stuart by bike and we were invited to docktails by the fire pit @ 5:00.   We assumed the invitation came from fellow Loopers.  It turns out it was Tom from KARMA, another American Tug 395 owner.   He and his wife Jean also invited American Tug owners of WYE TUG, LYONESS and UNFORGETTABLE.   W e had a great time sharing stories of our America...