Mike and Brenda on "Velsignet"

We're moored at St. Augustine.  "Moored" means that we have tied onto a mooring ball that is anchored by the marina.  We're not docked.  To get to shore, we can either take our dinghy to shore and tie onto a "dinghy dock" (a designated dock for dinghies) or schedule to be picked up by a marina boat (they pick up every 2 hours on the even hours, starting and ending at 6 am/pm).  Mooring works like this:  If we anchor out, it's free and we're on our own (like back-backing in the Cascades).  If we dock in a slip at a marina, it's like staying at a hotel with all the amenities within easy reach.  If we moor, it's like staying at a campground (amenities are within walking, er....dinghy distance). This morning, we left the very new and attractive area of Palm Coast.  We docked at the municipal marina last night to wash down Velsignet (she was covered in salt), fuel up, pump out, do laundry and get groceries (We used the "Instacart" app ...

When Brenda awoke this morning, she joined Mike sitting on the sundeck of Velsignet with his coffee watching the many manatees swimming around our anchorage area.   Often times, a “snorting” sound warned us that one of these shy “sea cows” was nearby.   As we pulled anchor and began our departure, we watched and moved slowly to make sure those swimming around the boat got out of the way safely. By yesterday, the storm experienced in the area had passed through, leaving continued strong winds of approximately   19 mph.   Despite the winds (and feeling that we needed to make tracks), we left Melbourne Harbor Marina in the early afternoon to seek a sheltered anchorage north of Titusville.   The ride through the waves in the ICW was smoother than expected.  But the flapping and rattling boat noises because of the windy conditions left us exhausted by the time we anchored at 6:45 pm. Today we arrived in New Smyrna and enjoyed lunch in its historic down...

As we slowly made our way towards our slip at the Fort Pierce Municipal Marina yesterday afternoon, a AGLCA burgee came to view on a boat with its owners outside moving about.  From Velsignet's deck, Mike greeted them with "Hey loopers!  Dinner tonight?"  Their response, "Sure! The nearby Tiki Hut has good food!"  At 6:15 p.m., we met Dave and Penny at the marina's Tiki Hut.  Dave and Penny replaced their home with a beautiful 61-foot Ocean Alexander and started their Looping adventure earlier this month from their hometown near Tampa, FL.  Like us, two years ago they'd never heard of "America's Great Loop."  Like us, their office is now on their boat. We are now on the Eastern ICW!  We're appreciating the blue water, perfect temps, and lots of beach-y towns and luxury waterfront homes.  We didn't plan to cruise today (instead, we thought we'd be experiencing Fort Pierce's Navy Seal Museum), but we are.  Why?  Because...

This morning, as Velsignet idled past the docked catamaran, Captain John emerged.   Leaning out from the flying bridge, Brenda thanked John for his advice last evening; all worked out well for us.   John—about our age—gave us a big fairly toothless smile, took no credit and wished us a great day.   Note to self:   Be more like Captain John and be generous with big smiles and well wishes! Preparing for our day, our resources indicated light northerly winds (5   mph or less), sunshine with a high of 78 degrees, and the navigational depth of Lake Okeechobee on Route 1 (Route 1 is across the lake; Route 2 is the rim route) to be 6.1 feet (Velsignet requires at least 4 feet).     Lake O is a shallow lake (average depth is 9 feet) and navigation can be tricky, thus it's necessary for a boat like Velsignet to have knowledge of the weather forecast, lake depths, and follow its markers closely to avoid running aground. Lake Okeechobee is the largest ...

It was 5:15 pm before we were docked (much later than we’d planned) and the Clewiston, FL Napa Store was closing (we needed spare filters for the genset).  HOWEVER, if we arrived at 6 pm, Napa-guy Travis would be returning to the store and open the doors for us.  We responded by scurrying in our dinghy to the nearest dock, prepared to walk the mile into town to Napa.  A catamaran sailboat was at the dock with loud 70s music blaring.  John, the catamaran captain (who also sported an artificial leg), kindly introduced himself and after learning our mission and our unfamiliarity of the area, suggested we continue motoring in our dinghy into town, dock at the Tiki Hut (from which John had just enjoyed mahi tacos), then walk the short distance to Napa.  Without hesitation, we took the dinghy as per John’s directions. We arrived at the Napa store 15 minutes early.  What to do?  Next door was a bar called “Brenda’s ...