Great Loop 3rd Segment

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We left Indiantown and followed the eastern portion of the Lake Okeechobe Waterway. The next and last lock had a height difference of some 14 feet and it took quite a while to lower us to the Atlantic Water level. By now we had no apprehension going through the locks and even 14 feet did not intimidate us.
We admired several mansions along the shore and always wondered how people earned all this money to own not one but two such expensive houses. Most people who can afford it leave Florida during the summer months.
The ride to Stuart took only three hours. The municipal marina was filled so that we had to choose the Wayside Marina, which is not geared to transient boaters. All other boats at the docks were for sale. When we asked for assistance the lady on the phone did not seem to understand. I made it clear to her and she sent a salesman to help us. This man turned out to be excellent not only guiding us stern-in into a difficult slip but he threw the lines around the piles like a professional cowboy. On top of this he made me feel good although he would have been able to guide the Marilsnick much more elegantly. He told us that he will spend a couple of weeks this summer with his dad in one of the best cruising areas of the world: the San Juan Islands.
Marianne went to explore the Stuart. She had to cross a bridge but then reached an older part of town mainly serving tourists. Although we definitely fit into this category we needed to find a place to resupply, namely a grocery store. It turned out that it took about half an hour of foot march before we reached the closest Publix. I joined Marianne on the second outing and when we passed by a Vietnamese Nail salon I had my feet done, always a wonderful experience that I discovered only too late in life. We found our supplies at the Publix and returned to the boat by cab.

The next day we almost reached the end of the Okeechobee Waterway as it reached the Atlantic Ocean. A mile before, however, we entered the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and followed it in the northern direction. We will not leave the ICW again until we reach Norfolk, Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay.

The ICW followed the Indian River, an expansive body of water several miles wide. We reached Fort Pierce early. Again we had to back into our slip but accomplished it with grace. Fort Pierce was the place where we wanted to celebrate Marianne’s 65th birthday. It was not much of a celebration in this tiny little tourist and fishing town. We went out for dinner and she had Mahi Mahi for the first time, really enjoying it.

Fort Pierce was also the place where we were to pick up our mail. It was guaranteed to arrive, but that meant: in the last minute and it means that in the future we will predate the mail arrival to our arrival. Fort Pierce is a nice little town with mighty high rises that by the time of our visit had been deserted by seasonals visitors. The library was an outstanding place: the architecture was of the 1920’s but the layout and the digitalization was current. The most frequent businesses we encountered were banks. I have rarely seen as many banks concentrated in such a small apparently ordinary town.

We left the day after our mail arrived for the town of Sebastian and selected Captain Hiram’s Dock as our destination. The scenery through the ICW remained unchanged. The area seemed quite populated and older nice homes were located along the shoreline while the high-rises were mostly on the Atlantic side of the barrier islands.

Captain Hiram’s was not what we had imagined. They did not answer the radio and we just chose an empty slip, which fortunately had not been reserved. A couple of oldtimers helped us docking. If we had known that it would have been the last time docking and throwing our lines around piles we would have enjoyed it more.

During the next day the scenery would improve. We seemingly left civilization and after making a zig-zag navigation through a narrow artificial canal we encountered the Florida that we had imagined. Small islands, narrow channels separating them, unbelievable bird life of eagles, ospreys and pelicans and then what we could not see but what I continue to imagine: the life under the water surface. This morning was the nicest scenery so far on our journey. Around noon we could see in the distance the well-known Nasa building at the Kennedy Space Center.

In the early afternoon we arrived i in Titusville in one of the nicest marinas with the most courteous dock master who was so precise in his instructions that we looked good during our docking maneuver.

During the evening a rocket was launched at Kennedy Space Center and a crowd of people gathered in the neighboring city park, which was a great observation post. Unfortunately we missed it and Marianne could only view the pictures from other boaters the next morning.

Our last stop before reaching our destination was new Smyrna, a city founded by a Scot, who was married to a turkish lady from Smyrna. He invited immigrants from several Mediterrenean islands who worked in the sugar cane fields as indentured servants. The town itself is not remarkable.

The last cruising day of the 3rd segment lasted only about two hours. The Daytona Beach Marina is on the mainland side of the ICW, large and comfortable with only one detraction: no internet access. With the help of a friendly girl we docked for the last time. Fortunately we had another week together and rented a car to make errands and to get around in the area.

One day we spent in St. Augustine, one of the oldest settlements on the North American Continent. Supposedly one of the officers during Columbus’s second journey founded the town and it has remained a settlement under Spanish, French, Union and Confederate governmental control. We took one of the trolley rides through town and also learned that one of the great railroad barons, a Mr. Flagler, was a benefactor for the town. The buildings constructed during his last years appear much too big for this small town, especially a hotel, that to me looks slightly disfigured by a large chimney right next to the main hotel building and shadowing it. It was needed for the production of energy to run the hotel.

During another day we went to the Kennedy Space center. It was an interesting but expensive experience. During my last visit many, many years ago the government tried to sell space exploration to the public and the tour was free. Now the cheapest ticket was $38. Nevertheless it was an interesting experience to view the large rockets, the moon vehicle and other artifacts. A bus took us to a viewing platform of the site from where most manned rockets took off including the one that was to reach the moon. A movie in the IMax theater showing the story of the Hubble Telescope and various trips to repair it was impressive.

During the final days in Daytona Marianne washed linen, towels, shirts, pants etc., she went on a shopping excursion in the local mall and we purchased the supplies for some of the next segment.

Ken Shipley, my next crew, announced his arrival in the US and he will be welcomed on the Marilsnick with a bottle of bubbly and an Italian dinner. Marianne will depart tomorrow by bus, train and plane through Miami and New York and the Marilsnick will begin her journey towards Charleston: Segment #4.

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