Our plan is to meet the boys in Cape Coral for Christmas. This location provided a ‘doable’ drive for Jacob and an convenient airport for easy travel for Zach and Cory. Knowing the Westin of Cape Coral had a marina in front of it, win – win for a spot to park the boat. Well, Cape Coral and Ft. Myers is still recovering from Hurricane Ian so a spot to park the boat became problematic and extremely expensive.
After lots of tentative plans, we reached out to an AGLCA Harbor Host and they provided some recommendations that were spot on. Now that we have a place to dock, we are cruising over to the west coast of Florida. Our plan all along was to transit Lake Okeechobee and cut across central Florida.
So, Three Sons is cruising quickly the area of Florida know as the Space Coast. The part of the ICW is the Indian River which is wide and deep. The depths extend outside of the channel which makes for easy driving. There are not many bridges with low clearance and the bridge tenders are working hard having the bridge open upon our arrival. Since the river is wide, can’t see much on land but when a houses are in view they are getting bigger and further apart from each other. There are a few low speed (not that we go fast) and extra no wake zones to help protect the manatees.
We planned the last few days with 5 hours of travel leaving time for a little exploring and relaxing. After Titusville, we anchored near Melbourne off Merritt Island and caught a launch of SpaceX. We moved to Vero Beach where we had dinner with Daz and Judi from Calypso. We had been trying to meet up with them since Maryland but keep falling short of syncing up. We enjoyed a great dinner and conversation at Riverside Restaurant. So much so, I never snapped a photo.
The next morning, we continued cruising south on the Indian River (aka ICW) but turned west onto the St. Lucie River. This area is known as The Crossroads, where the ICW intersects the Okeechobee Waterway. We started our journey on the ICW at mile 0 in Norfolk, VA and turned off at mile 988 in St. Lucie, FL. Now we will cruise the Okeechobee Waterway following the the St. Lucie River, traverse Lake Okeechobee and then continue to Ft. Myers on the Caloosahatchee River. This journey involves 5 locks, narrow canals and a very large, shallow lake with currents and fetch. It is also a chance to see rural Florida, small towns, waterway ranches, and a ton of wildlife. We have been waiting for this segment and looking forward to moving west.
A highlight of this section has been up close mammal sightings. In Titusville, a manatee swam up to our swim platform when we were ready to back up out of the slip. For some reason, she was attracted to the smoke of the engines. We patiently waited for her to swim away, watching her look at us. The next day, we saw some big splashes from our bow. Upon further investigation, we saw two dolphins playing in the wake of our bow. They swam in front of us for about an half hour before moving on.
Segment Stats
- Titusville, FL to South Merritt Island, FL
- Monday, November 27, 2023
- Cruising Time: 4 hours 21 minutes
- 30.2 Nautical Miles
- Weather: Temperatures 67-73, Winds: N 7-12mph, Sunny
- Anchored in Tropic Area off Indian River (ICW MM 910)
- South Merritt Island, FL to Vero Beach, FL
- Tuesday, November 28, 2023
- 34.5 Nautical Miles
- Cruising Time: 4 hours 33 minutes
- Picked up a mooring ball at Vero Beach City Marina. Rafted near Gypsy Sole with no one aboard.
- Vero Beach, FL to Hoggs Cove (St. Lucie, FL)
- Wednesday, November 29, 2023
- Cruising Time: 5 hours 18 minutes (including gas stop)
- 37.6 Nautical Miles
- Route: Indian River to St. Lucie River
- Weather: Temperatures 61-75, Winds: N 5-10mph, Sunny
- Anchored in Hoggs Cove off the St. Lucie River (Okeechobee Mile 4)