Jacksonville, FL to Vero Beach FL : Day 7 : BUZZZZZZING Ice Cream Leg Complete

Choices, Choices, Choices

Leg 2, Day 7
Jacksonville, FL to Vero Beach, FL : Ice Cream! Leg 2 Complete
(12APR11)

Today is testing day … will the buzzer sound or not?  With last nights strong winds, I ended up letting out 80 feet of chain, so today's anchor removal was more of a work out than usual. We had anchored in 6.5 feet of water.

As we took off, we held our breath and waited. No Sounds!  I enjoyed the morning coffee while Val got out KJ and Dy's school books.  30 minutes into reading a story about Nan's Cat that sat on the mat, BUZZ!!! The horrendous, hideous, grotesque, vulgar sounding ominous tone of death started again. The glances to one another were thrown and Val got back on the phone, this time to a Honda dealership.

While they talked, I decided “F-It”, and rather than dropping the RPM, if I'm going to hear the damn thing, I'm going to throttle up and get us to Vero Beach Marina sooner rather than later.  It was 25 miles away.

I pushed the throttle up to 4500 RPM, we hit 6.5 knots, and we buzzed for 3 hours straight! I envisioned all sorts of wonderful punishments I would have for the buzzer.

During our travels to Vero Beach, we did have some good winds along the way that came across the beam, so we put up the main sail and got an additional 0.5 knots.  It was nice to be sailing some, even if it was motor sailing.

As we approached Vero Beach Marina we encountered the largest percentage of rude powerboaters we had since starting the journey down the ICW.  These guys would blast past and create enormous wakes for us.  I will also note that nearly all of them fit the profile of Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack, except they weren't funny … just assholes.

Docking was a bit tricky as the winds were blowing pretty good.  We had heard over the radio that there was a chance of thunderstorms, so the winds were probably at the head of that system.  I slowly walked the boat in, and the dock line handler from the marina told me that I had done better than most (extra $1 tip for that comment!) and that they've had a few folks hit really hard today.

Docked safely now, our first order of business was Ice Cream! Thank you Virtual Crew Members!

Dy enjoying chocolate chip

KJ enjoying "Superman" flavored ice cream

We will be here about a week; Val's dad will be coming out for a few days.

While we are in Vero Beach, Val will be replacing the main engine's thermostat. (one possible cause of the buzzer with no lights is that there is a very small piece of trash in the thermostat... just enough to trigger the buzzer but not the light …. this is what the mechanic and the Honda dealership shared).

Time to relax and explore Vero Beach.

Jacksonville, FL to Vero Beach FL : Day 6 : Damn Buzzer!

Val begins to take things apart

Leg 2, Day 6

Jacksonville, FL to Vero Beach, FL : Damn Buzzer!

(11APR11)

Anchor up and we were on our way nice and quite like. They day started like all others, but then “Buzz!” The damn engine buzzer went off again. We hadn't heard it since the very first day.

Val and I looked at each other, and we both looked for the pee. Yep, engine was peeing like it was supposed to. Maybe it was some glitch.

20 minutes goes by... “Buzz! Buzz!” Ugh. Then no more buzz.

Closer we got to a bridge, “Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!” UGH! POS! I became really worried the engine was about to die as we were going under a bridge, and the wind was right on our nose. Oh, what I wouldn't give to get back to those uneventful days.

Holding our breathes and praying to the Honda engine gods, our eyes opened wide and nothing came out of our mouths. We passed through the bridge with the horrendous Buzz sound but the engine kept going. Once we were clear of the bridge, Val and I went into diagnostic mode.

None of the engine indicator lights were on. Unlike day 1 when we could see the engine temperature light come on (because of the lack of cooling), all we got today was a buzz sound. With the engine still running, I back down the RPMs from 3500 to 2500 while we opened up the manuals to find out what would cause the buzz. Nothing of value in the SELOC manual. We decided to call 1 of our life lines.

On the phone to my sister I went. Her prowess as a master Googligriphier is legendary. She did some searching using Google and the most common culprit of the problem was water in the gas. That could certainly be it.

We kept plugging along, and I toyed with the throttle. Amazingly, if I kept the engine at below 2000 RPM, no buzz, I go above it BUZZZZ! (and it is a heinous vomit inducing buzz).

Ariel plodded along at a speed of 2.8 knots … about 3.25 MPH! Stress levels were high as we didn't know for sure if something was going wrong with the engine. We decided we would cut the day short and anchor up after cover about 27 miles. This would give mechanic Val some time to work on the problem while the sun is up.

After anchoring up, Val made reservations for us at the Vero Beach City Marina.... we should reach there tomorrow. Worst case, we spend the night there and find a mechanic. Best case, we fix our problem ourselves still go to the marina and enjoy a nice shower.

Val then called Dennis, the guy whom worked on Ariel while we were in Savannh. This guy was fantastic, and talked Val through what he thought the issues could be. He zeroed in to water in the system too. The guy is hundreds of miles away and not on the clock, yet he helped us. Thank you so much Dennis!!

After talking with Dennis, Val when into her mechanic mode and took out the water separator and the fuel filter.

Is there water in there?

New fuel filter going in

Once the pieces were replaced, we started it all up. It ran, but we didn't run it over 2000 RPM. That we will do tomorrow morning.

It was a full day indeed. So much to learn!

Jacksonville, FL to Vero Beach FL : Day 5 : Shuttles and Parks

KJ and Dy enjoying Cocoa Beach Village Splashground

Leg 2, Day 5

Jacksonville, FL to Vero Beach, FL : Shuttles and Parks

(10APR11)

Up early today, and I totally suck at steering the boat in the dark. Ariel must have looked like a whirling dervish as I tried to get us out of our anchor spot on onto the ICW. Zigzag and back again … back and forth. Eventually I just handed the steering over to Val whom did a splendid job of getting us on the ICW, in the dark, and keeping us in the channel. Go Val!

As dawn broke, it didn't take long for us to learn why Mosquito Lagoon is named Mosquito Lagoon. We had these blood sucker passengers!!! All of us had a number of bites. Ugh. Dabs of hydrocortizone to keep the itching to a minimum.

Bastard Blood Sucking Mosquitoes

There were a number of small channels to contend with today, and KJ helped keep watch as we went down them.

KJ helping keep eyes on the narrow canal

We also found more folks camping along the river backs. They must have a lot of Deet or something to keep the bugs off.

Folks camping along narrow canals

We also saw our first island full of "in the wild" natural Florida pink flamingos. (PLEASE NOTE: a person reading this diary shared that these are not Pink Flamingos, but Roseate Spoonbill birds. Thanks James S!)

Island Full Of Pink Flamingos

One of the highlights was getting close to Cape Canaveral where the Space Shuttle is launched. From our reading, the shuttle was supposed to be on the launch pad for a launch next week, but we were never close enough to see it. We did glimpse the Shuttle assembly building though, with its huge NASA logo. 

Space Shuttle Assembly Building

Since we couldn't get a good view of the space shuttle, we decided to push on towards Cocoa beach. We ended up anchoring in Cocoa beach tavern area, right by the bridge, near 2 city parks. Besides the 2 jackholes whom kept racing their jetskis through the anchored boats, this was a fantastic anchorage.

Once anchored up, KJ, Dy, and I deployed Flounder (our tender) and I rowed us all to shore. We were happy to find not 1 but 2 playgrounds … plus a splashground!

Dy Running Out of the Splashground

Tug Playground Equipment

After the girls played for a few hours, I took them over to a pizza lunch at some “Irish” place. The pizza sucked, but the service was fantastic and the girls, well, they just loved eating lunch out.

Pizza break after hard play

Time to row all the way back to Ariel.... alas, the damn current wasn't in my favor. It was definitely a work out.

Jacksonville, FL to Vero Beach FL : Day 4 : Hot Air Balloons

Hot Air Balloons Being Filled for lift off

Leg 2, Day 4

Jacksonville, FL to Vero Beach, FL : Hot Air Balloons

(09APR11)

Today we began our journey down the Indian River... this is the water way in Florida that is pretty famous for Oranges and such. There was a lot of traffic out and about, and it was beautiful. Lots of families on the water way enjoying the Saturday. We saw a number of folks camped along the river banks.

Families enjoying the river

Nothing like an afternoon on a pontoon

Good way to spend the day

There was 1 scheduled opening bridge today, and we saw lots of sailboats coming through. From the radio traffic, they boats appeared to be a part of some regatta.

As we passed the New Symerna Beach area, we could see lots of hot air balloons being filled up. There was the usual Remax one, but then we saw a giant Godzilla looking one and also a large Sun one.

While heading down the ICW, we noticed a helicopter buzzing real low along the river coming towards us. As it came in close, KJ and I stood on the front of the boat and danced for it. As it swooped past, it had a logo on the side that read “www.BoatPix.com”.... Neat business for sure.

As we passed marker 55 on the ICW, a boat called Incognito called out “South bound sailing vessel passing 55 this is Incognito, we plan on passing you to Port.” As I reached for the microphone to respond, someone else responded! It was crazy. We listened to the 2 boats talk back and forth, and then I watched as Incognito did indeed pass us to port. Funny stuff. They had a wonderful conversation about how to pass, but it was us that Incognito really intended to talk to.

We saw lots of manatees today along the river too. They floated right on the surface and watched us as we passed.

Our anchorage today was in Mosquito Lagoon. The anchor point was out in the middle of the lagoon, far from any shore. However, it turned out to be fantastic as we all were able to jump in the water and swim around Ariel for hours. It was a fun filled day for sure. No bugs in the cabin yet, so we aren't sure why Mosquito Lagoon is named Mosquito Lagoon

From our current location, we can see the Space Shuttle assembly way off in the distance. That is tomorrows anchorage, Cape Canaveral!

Val and I plan on starting off early tomorrow to take advantage of the tides.

Jacksonville, FL to Vero Beach FL : Day 3 : Private Beach

Small beach KJ, Dy, and I played on for a few hours

Leg 2, Day 3

Jacksonville, FL to Vero Beach, FL : Private Beach Visit

(08APR11)

3 Days in a row of no big issues! This could be a trend!!!

Today we made our way to Daytona beach. Our original anchorage for the night was quite crowded and didn't seem to offer as much as it appeared to on the map, from a “let's get out” perspective. We elected to continue south looking for another spot. We ended up in a great place about another mile down the ICW.

Dy, KJ, and I headed off on the dingy (rowing of course!) for a seemingly deserted little island that had lots of sand. The quarter mile row was easy and we played on the beach from 11 until 12:30. During that time, Val cleaned the boat and prepared lunch. By 1:15, we were eating grilled hamburgers and sitting on the front of the boat enjoying a beautiful sunny day in Daytona.

View 1 from Daytona anchorage

View 2 from Daytona anchorage

View 3 from Daytona anchorage

After lunch, it was family nap time and then the evening went into KJ and Dy schooling mode. After dinner, we sat outside and watched the sunset while a few dolphins played on the side of our boat. With the sun down, it was movie time and we watched a Star Trek movie, the Wrath of Khan. Ahh, it was good … and we were treated during the movie intermission to a wonderful fireworks display.

Another good day. We continue South tomorrow morning before all the Saturday Daytona beach boaters come out and blast up and down the ICW.

Jacksonville, FL to Vero Beach FL : Day 2 : Timing Bridges Openings

Day break of second day on leg 2- Jacksonville to Vero Beach

Leg 2, Day 2

Jacksonville, FL to Vero Beach, FL : Timing Bridge Openings

(07APR11)

Another uneventful day! Dy didn't even pee in her panties! Wahoo!

The big challenge today was “timing” a bridge. There are many bridges along the ICW and a large number of them open up when you ask them to. Other bridges, however, only open up on a schedule. Today we hit our first scheduled bridge. The bridge only opens up on the hour and the half hour, except for during rush hour and lunch.

Using the advanced skills I picked up while earning my Physics degree in college, I computed the speed we would need to travel to arrive within 5 minutes of the bridge opening. I didn't want to arrive too soon and try to linger around in position waiting for an opening, my prowess to hold the boat in a position for a long period has much to be desired. Much to our surprise, we actually did get within 5 minutes of the opening time.

Next issue was the etiquette for such a bridge. Our we supposed to let the bridge tender know that we would be going through? We put on VHF Channel 9 (the bridge station) to listen in to see if others were doing any such thing. It was completely silent, although we could see boats queuing up on both sides. Okay, so nothing needs to be said. But how do the boats all know who goes first, whose next, etc.? We would find out very quickly.

Within 3 minutes of arriving at the bridge, we could see the arms that stop traffic from crossing the bridge come down. This is it, the moment of truth!

As soon as the bridge started going up, it was like a mad dash, all the boats on both sides raced towards the center. It was like at a pig farm when the farmer opens the piggy gate and all the pigs squish through, but in this case the piggies were coming from both sides!

I told everyone to hold on and I throttled up to barrel through just like everyone else. I did have the tide running in my favor, which allowed me to pick up some extra speed. By the grace of the bridge gods I interleaved other boats, some coming from the opposite direction, and we wove out way through! Wahoo!!

We were now passing an absolutely beautiful port town, St. Augstine. It looked like it had been lifted right out of Europe.

Continuing South down the ICW, we saw many beautiful homes. Some of the docks of the homes were spectacular in themselves. One dock, however, made us all laugh as the owner of the dock decided a toilet out in the open would be a good move.

Commode on a dock on the ICW

After what felt like a very long day (and it was, especially given the 8h40m of yesterday), we finally came up to the little creek we would be staying at for the night. On the creek is one of the Sea Ray plants (a boat manufacturer). We turned in to find another boat exactly in the spot we wanted to anchor in for the night. Oh well, first come first serve. We stayed in the creek but anchored a little bit closer to the entrance to the ICW than we had planned.

View from our anchorage out to the ICW

Today we boated for 7 hours and 30 minutes, covering about 40 miles. It helped that we rode the ebbs and flows of the tides.

See the Octopus and Alligator?

Ever stare up at the clouds and play the game of “Do you see?” We do that game a lot, but with tree stumps. Tonight we spotted an interesting tree stump duo along the banks, an Octopus and an Alligator leaving the creek.

Tomorrow we head to Daytona Beach!

Jacksonville, FL to Vero Beach FL : Day 1 : 1 Wrong Turn

Our neighbor for the night... we hope he keeps it down

Leg 2, Day 1

Jacksonville, FL to Vero Beach, FL : 1 Wrong Turn

(06APR11)

Today was uneventful.... and that is great! Today was the easiest day of the journey thus far. Departing the marina was incredibly easy, and we were fortunate that Paul H came out and send us off. Thank you again Paul!!!

The challenges today included 1 wrong turn (which was quickly recognized and corrected before we ended up out of the ICW) and 1 tricky bridge. The bridge was tricky only because it was narrow and at the bend of a river making the currents very swift. As I motored the boat through, it felt “squirrelly” a few times.

Tonight we are anchoring up in a fantastic little area just off the ICW. There are 3 other boats sharing the anchorage with us, although they all chose to anchor closer to the ICW itself. We tucked in quite far taking advantage of our shallow draft. Our immediate neighbor was a bird. 

The only downfall of the day was that Dy peed in her big girl panties 3 times today. The first time in 5 days. It is probably due to us having spent the day motoring and away from the marina.

Total time going down the ICW today was 8 hours and 40 minutes. We cover 42.64 miles and burned about 8 gallons of gasoline.