Well we are back onboard and finally headed north on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AICW). The AICW runs from Norfolk, VA to Key West, FL. Since it mainly accommodates pleasure boats, maintenance is chronically underfunded, and there are issues. North of Charleston, there are spots that are only four feet deep at low tide (tide range is about 10'). In North Carolina, there is a bridge being repaired, for months, and we cant get under it. Soo, we must improvise, along with a ton of snowbirds headed north. Fortunately we subscribe to several boating sites, such as Waterway Guide, and the Great Loop Association which keep us informed of the problems. Our current plan is to run offshore around these trouble spots, but that means several trips of 50 plus miles in the open Atlantic. The passes out into the Atlantic can be tricky, as some are not dredged, and the charts are routinely off on the depth. Also they are shallow compared to the Atlantic Ocean, and waves can become dangerously high especially if the tide is against the wind. So we have to watch the tides and weather, and plan accordingly.
Electronic navigation has become more sophisticated and there is an app for everything. Want to know the tide schedule? Tide Times app. Aqua Maps and Navionics have apps with electronic charts with marina, anchorages and updated hazards via Waterway Guide, and other users. My iPad is faster and clearer than my mounted displays. Want to know the exact best path for the AICW? Google Bob423, and download the track on your iPad! Dockwa is the app for reserving marinas. For us older folks, it is almost to much information-but we use it....
We finally left Ft Pierce yesterday, after being there three weeks, while we went home, and had some work done on the boat. I had the oil changed in the main engines, a job I used to do myself on the old boat. My 3406 Cats each take about 15 gallons of oil, and I have nowhere to store it or to dispose of it, so it is just easier to have the marina folks do it. And we had a terrible odor in the boat, which turned out to be caused by a blocked vent line from the holding tank (where the sewage goes). The tank was venting into the bilge, instead of outside, ergo the stench. For those of you who own a boat, you know that engineers who design the boat have no concept or care for those who have to maintain the boat. One of my boats had a bilge pump that was not accessible, without cutting a hole in the floor. You know where this is going. The vent line was put in before the walls, and tie wrapped. There was no way to get to it, so the workers had to run a new line and condemn the old one. It took them many billable hours to do that, but the stench is gone, and we have no problems pumping out the holding tank now (Florida has an app to show you the nearest pump out station!). Life is good again, but my wallet took a hit. The joys of boat ownership...
Meanwhile, we are presently docked at Eau Gallie, FL. It is part of the city of Melbourne, and is the old part of town with lots of arts and craft shops, and neat restaurants. We really enjoy these types of stops much better than the glitzy marinas surrounded by oversized homes and condos. Eau Gallie used to be its own town, and a shipping hub in the early 1900's but rail service supplanted waterway shipping, and the town shrank, until it merged with Melbourne. Now it has an eclectic vibe. Our marina owner lives at the marina, and it is a small but well run affair.
We head north towards St Augustine tomorrow, but will anchor out the next two days skipping St Aug, as we did that in 2014 on our loop trip. Our next big stop will be Savannah where Walter and Trish will join us. Until then!
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