Cape Charles VA to Vero Beach FL

We finally returned to the cold, but not freezing weather of Cape Charles VA and reboarded Ashling. We only waited a day for weather to round Cape Hatteras and Cape Fear on our way south to Savannah, then Florida and on to the Bahamas until May/June. We made a fast run down to Cape Fear, skipping over Beaufort NC to gain another day’s travel before a 40 knot front caught up to us in the Cape Fear River. We stopped for 1 day in Southport Marina, then returned to the ocean to get to Savannah for Christmas, and to unload the leftover supplies from the painting and fiberglass work John did during our layup at Cape Charles. The sailing was nil, as the winds were light and from the south. So it was motoring or motor-sailing for most of the trip, which took 5 days.

After our 5 day Christmas layover in Savannah, we re-provisioned and left Savannah Marina on Turner Creek on a dark & cold evening. There was no traffic on the Wilmington River, which is much better than the cargo vessels and pilot boats on the Savannah River. The Wilmington River is a little faster heading south, as it empties into Wassaw Sound, rather than Tybee Roads Inlet. It was another quiet passage, with just a few fishing boats and few cargo vessels, even on the approach to St. John’s River at Jacksonville. This entrance took and extra hour as we arrived at ebb tide, bucking a 2-2.5 knot current. But we made the marina at Palm Cove 10 minutes before closing and were tied to a spacious dock for the evening.

Arrivals in Jacksonville are good because we can visit with John’s brother and wife in Ponte Vedra, our home-away from the boat. So a few days with the two adult and two juvi wolf hounds, and a few Amazon deliveries (our air horn expired with a weak pweep). With order restored, we continued south, this time to St. Augustine, a favorite place. St. Augustine in Nov-Dec has a brilliant display of holiday lighting along Avenida Menendez. That, and some great restaurants so we could share a meal at Odd Birds Kitchen (Venezuelan) with Sig Ep brother Allen Sterling & Cathy, plus new cruising friends Stuart and Anne (Scottish).

The next leg got us down into Ft Pierce Inlet and back up to Vero Beach to catch up with Sig Ep brother Glenn Kenney and Debbie (sv Silent Seas), and get some replacement fans for Alexis’ laptop. Vero Beach’s City Marina is a bit different than most - they double and triple up boats on a single mooring. This works pretty well and I’ve not heard of any mooring failures (more common than you’d think!). So we’re doubled with a monohull ketch, sv Canna. Nobody is aboard so apart from getting startled by this omnipresent hull that is “too close”, it’s pretty much a non-event.

Vero Beach is an example of how to make boating work. They have a large city marina with slips and moorings. You can still anchor out, if you like, and you can land a dinghy to get ashore. The city has a bus line that stops every hour at the marina and will take you to Publix, a diving store, West Marine, etc.

Alexis’ computer tech ghosted her, so we’re going to stay longer than expected. Glenn also told us that N Palm Beach is effectively a no-land-access anchorage now, with nowhere to land a dinghy. More anti-cruiser legislation, mostly to remove the squatters that live aboard boats that never move, but it’s making life for transient boaters like us more and more difficult and expensive. Instead of anchoring out on the commonwealth waters, we now get to move along elsewhere, pay for a mooring ball (in commonwealth waters!), or pay for a slip at a marina, which costs as much as a hotel room.

The day after we arrived in Vero Beach was the closing day on the home we are purchasing in Bend, Oregon. This has been over a year in the making, starting with our trip west in 2023 (here in FindPenguins), and covering Nevada (Tahoe, Carson City, Reno), Oregon (Portland, Redmond, Bend), Washington (Vancouver), and Colorado (Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, Golden). So we are officially Bendites, I am told (not Bendies, Benditos, Bendos, or Benders).

Anyway, our plan for moving to North Palm Beach and anchoring in Lake Worth is in disarray, after I have arranged shipping of goods and mail from several different vendors to a mailbox there. This may be tough to access now!Read more