Adventures of the Yacht White Pepper: East Coast of Florida

White Pepper made a slow transit of the East Coast of Florida from December 2016 to the first half of February 2017. Karl was able to work three separate week long shifts back in Texas which helped top up the cruising kitty. We let the winter weather wash over us while waiting for an early Spring departure to the Bahamas.

From Charleston there was an excellent window to hop offshore all the way to the St. John's River. We made stops at the Blount Island anchorage in the St. John's River and Pine Island along the ICW on the way to St. Augustine. St. Augustine was literally full with the migration. We could only stay for three days before shoving off to Titusville with the usual stop at Daytona Beach. Before leaving we did take time to visit the St. Augustine Lighthouse. This landmark is kept up by a local civic group who do an excellent job.

View from atop of the St. Augustine Lighthouse

This year at Daytona we chose one of the “bridge” anchorages (known as the Sea Breeze anchorage) rather than our usual stop at marker 48 because of very strong SE breeze.

Daytona Beach looking West from the Sea Breeze Anchorage

White Pepper took a slip for a month at the Titusville City Marina and rented a car. Desiree Evans visited. Dave and Gail, from Uncorked took us out to watch one of the night launches while we eat dinner. Jan's sister, Susan, flew in as I flew back out to Texas for a week. They explored Haul-over Canal Park. There are numerous manatees in the canal. White Pepper blasts through there every year spending 10 minutes at most, but the Haul-over Canal is a great place to visit by car. We took several trips to the Canaveral National Seashore which is a fine beach that few ICW cruisers ever see. There were two satellite launches while were were there. Titusville seems to have recovered a bit from 2010 when I posted a pessimistic blog about the state of the town at the end of the manned spaceflight program. However, there does seem to still be a lingering sense of decay and nostalgia left over from the halcyon days of the 1960's. Adding to sense of decay where a number of derelict boats that had been pushed ashore by Hurricane Mathew.

Derelict Boats along the Indian River

Cape Canaveral Beach with Launch Towers in the Distance

The new motor is so fast that White Pepper can make Vero Beach from Titusville in one long day. With mild regret we blasted past old favorite anchorages at Dragon Point on the Banana River and Melbourne to reach Vero Beach. There we rafted up on a mooring ball with old friends Joe and Cherie from Narsilion. We have stayed at Vero Beach so often and for so long that we now have a number of local friends. It was good to see Davido and Sandra from Utopia. Skip and Harriet have purchased a home in Vero Beach and are also so helpful when we visit. Thanks again, guys. Richard and Kay from Texas Ranger drove up from Fort Pierce for dinner. Old cruising buds, Don and Sue from Jubilee, a sister ship C&C 41, have purchased a winter bungalow in Vero Beach. They took us out to lunch. Vero Beach is also perfect for mail drops, resupply and repair of every kind. I had to have the Honda generator overhauled at Vatland Honda. Vatland also rented Jan and me a Honda CRV that we drove back to Texas for two weeks. Thanks to Rick and Cindy on Dark Star for keeping an eye on the boat while we were gone.

Finally, every one was seen and everything was done at Vero Beach. White Pepper went on to visit Stuart, Florida. This is a new port of us. Stuart is 6 miles up the St. Lucie River. Lake Okeechobee is a further 40 miles up the river. We picked up a mooring ball at the Sunset Bay Marina just in time for the Super Bowl party.

Mooring Field at Stuart

Why They Call It Sunset Bay

Jan on the "Anchor Bench"

We stayed a week at Stuart and left with mixed feelings about the town. The place is definitely warmer than Vero Beach. Laura, Jan's old buddy from work, lives in Stuart and drove us around and took us to lunch at Jensen Beach which was great. The facilities at Sunset Bay Marina are first class. Most of the boats are there for the season and everyone seems quite content. There is a running majong game on the porch most every morning. The town has a well restored shopping district with numerous shops and restaurants within easy walking distance. All of the big boxes are nearby. However, the place is remarkably busy with planes, trains, and a gazillion cars buzzing about. I got the feeling of a warm and sunny New England resort.

Luckily as our week expired a favorable weather window loomed up on the forecast. White Pepper slipped the mooring at Stuart and headed down the ICW for West Palm Beach to wait on weather for a crossing to the Bahamas.