Georgia and Florida from the Intra coastal waterway of The USA (20th December 2015 to 1st January 2016)

We entered Georgia on the 20^th of December 2015

Our day starts with the anchor being lifted before 0700hrs and being set usually by 1700hrs in the evening. We are clocking around 40nm a day, depending on tidal flow and wind direction.

Mostly the wind has been from the south (straight into it) but on occasions we have been able to increase our speed with a bit of sail out. Those times have been invigorating!

The ICW in the State of Georgia winds back and forwards through creeks, rivers and estuaries with a lot of marshland. We enjoyed the birdlife along the way and the secluded anchorages all to ourselves

Like the other southern states the old homes are beautiful and graceful and it made us imagine the area as it would have been in the southern wars. Memories of old movies like “Gone with the wind” came to mind.

Most of my photos taken of our Georgia transit have been lost...We have a problem with our main boat computer where the photos were stored. I had just downloaded everything off my camera to publish my blog..Eric had a stressful time backing up files and trying to solve the problem with hardware and software and thought he had backed up the recent photos. BUT alas it didn't happen!

We spent 3 days in Brunswick treating ourselves to the shore facilities at the Brunswick Landing marina. We went up here to fill up with diesel before entering Florida where it is much more expensive and checked out write ups on a website called “Active captain” This place was amazing! Free laundry facilities, unlimited wifi, free wine and beer 3 nights a week at the yacht club, free use of bicycles AND a free Xmas dinner!

Our Xmas poem    by Cathy Gray

We think of you all in the build up to Christmas
The Xmas madness we do not miss
The ICW is peaceful and calm
With a touch of festivities to give it charm
Houses and boats decorated with lights and trees
The tinkling of wind charms in the breeze
The sun on our backs, cool breeze on the face
As we meander along at a slow pace
We will think of you all as you drink and feast
Where will we be? Doesn't matter in the least
We have duck in the freezer, raisins soaking in rum
Plenty of icecream so we won't be glum!
We will miss you all as you gather together
What you will do depends on the weather
At the beach or in the snow

We wish you a Xmas with your hearts aglow

Have a wonderful Xmas

We had some great photos of a car container ship going under the big Brunswick bridge as we approached ourselves but with no photos we will have to just remember the picture in our brains

  We left Brunswick late as there was heavy fog. It was eerie as we slipped under the huge bridge with just enough visibility to see the pylons.
The top of this water tower poked out of the bank of fog

 Beautiful rainbow

We transited Fernandina beach, now in Florida, and managed to anchor away from the 2 huge paper pulp factories which churn out plumes of steam and smoke. 

Town clock at sunrise as we left the anchorage

St Augustine is a picturesque city, the oldest city in the nation founded by the Spanish in 1565.

Everything in America is BIG. Look at the size of this cross!

and Santa bear!

Entering Daytona beach we had 5 bridges to go under in quick succession. 3 were fixed bridges 65' high and the other 2 were bascule opening bridges. These were luckily opened on demand. It was dark by the time we got there. There are a lot of places on the waterway one cannot anchor as it is too shallow, the channel being dredged when needed so we were forced to push on. Not all markers are lit so Cathy stood watch on the bow highlighting the markers with a torch which have reflective tape on a part of them and Eric navigated us through until we came to an anchorage.

 The wildlife adjusts to its environment among the condominiums

Our early morning departures with the sun rising or just risen are wonderful peaceful times with no other boats to disturb the water and we enjoy watching the birds still at roost. Condominiums lined the waterway, the birds didn't care...They had their own apartments

The day before New Years eve we noticed that the refrigeration wasn't working. On inspection Eric found the copper pipe from the compressor had fractured, probably through vibration fatigue, as the system is now 16 years old. That meant all the refrigeration gas had leaked out and we would need it re gassed. We pulled into an anchorage at Titusville and phoned the marina for recommendations for a refrigeration engineer and were delighted to get hold of someone who was able to do the job the next morning.

Eric silver soldered the pipe and when the job was done we berthed in the marina. Jim from “Mazza marine services” re gassed the system for us and we were delighted when the marina staff said there was no charge. It is their policy that “boaters” who need to go into the mariner for repairs for a few hours are not charged. Well done Titusville marina.

Underway again by early afternoon we headed for Cocoa beach. As we passed Cape Canaveral we reflected on our visit to the Kennedy space centre and rocket launching we had seen earlier in the year.
Meandering along the Indian river there were a lot of fishing camps and mobile home parks.
"scenery on the way"

People have made their homes in boats but so many are not maintained and end up on the bottom

This Osprey had a fine catch. Earlier in the year we saw the Osprey nesting with young chicks. These are no doubt those offspring

We saw lots of Manatee, but couldn't seem to get a decent photo

On the day before New Years eve sheltered behind a headland and tucked in close to a bridge from wind and rain at Cocoa beach.

We took the opportunity to phone family in NZ as they had just celebrated the start of a NEW Year.

We ourselves celebrated New Years eve anchored off a little beach off “Hole in the wall island” at Winters Beach. There was one other boat there and we pulled in early to prepare and enjoy a roasted duck and all the trimmings.

Poem

Life aboard "Erica" on New Years Eve ......... by Cathy Gray

We have duck sizzling in the oven, the skin crisp and brown
Orange sauce on the boil, maybe I should turn it down
Spuds, Kumara and pumpkin are roasting in the pan
It's 30 Celsius in the cabin, thank goodness for the fan
The raisins have been drinking rum since we've been underway
Pavlova and chocolate cake to end this perfect day
We are now in the Indian river, heading down to the Florida Keys
We will cross the Okeechobee and hope to catch some breeze
This canal crosses Florida from east to west,
Through the lake and rivers where the alligators nest
Those of you living in the west, have celebrated New Year's Eve
And those of you in the east like us, still have it up your sleeve
So Happy New Year's Eve and day to all our friends and fam
We raise our glasses to you all, while in the land of Uncle Sam

On New Years day we passed many beautiful homes lining the waterways..Many of these are probably holiday beach houses

Being New Years day the waterway was very busy with boats and as we came to the St Lucie inlet where our next adventure would begin (The transit of the Okeechobee canal and Lake) the waterway was like a washing machine. We felt we were in open sea with the wake of other boats. Some people are very considerate but others are quite the opposite.

This is where we left the Intra Coastal waterway and entered the St Lucie river to where the Okeechobee waterway would begin