Green Cove Springs

The night before we pulled anchor to leave Marsh Harbor we went into
the Jib Room and had dinner with Lee Ann, Simple Pleasure and Dawn
Treader. After dinner they had a rake and scrape music session which
added to the pleasure of being down here. During the music Desmond who
sets up limbo stand and gets others to join in with him. Well Desmond
is about 6 feet tall as I was sizing him up compared to my height. As
the limbo went on many people dropped out but Desmond continued. To
everyone amazement he ended up going under the dam bar that was only 24 inches tall and lighting a cig while the bar was on fire. It was very impressive to say the
least. As things were winding down a few came into the dance area from
spring break and do I need to say more. We stayed and observed!!!

The morning of the 10th we started saying our good byes over the VHF
to Fine Lion , Sapphire and Rhapsody. We have been blessed with
meeting so many great people and now look forward to seeing them this
fall back down here in the Bahamas. As we motored out of Marsh Harbor
the winds were very light less then 5 kts.
April 11th
Our original plans for crossing over was to go to Jacksonville from
Great Sale cay. As we listened to Chris Parkers weather forecast we
changed our plans and head to Ft Pierce. Going to Ft Pierce added 4
days onto our plans for arriving to Green Cove Springs. Arriving in Ft
Pierce some 18 hours latter as we departed Great Sale Cay at 10pm.We had
under a small front that was passing us and we watched for hours as many
water spouts formed and even touched down at different times. On
the way over to the Bahamas I never really gave it much thought about
how strong the gulf stream was. As I was following 2 other boats who I
thought knew what they were doing. Well they were first timers also. So
on the way back we had set out for Port St Lucie. Which is south of Ft Pierce.
I had figured that was about right for the set and drift of the current.
Our heading in the compass was reading 270 degrees and once well into
the stream the gps was reading 298. That was telling me that we were
in the stream and we watched our position climb higher then what we
wanted to get into Ft Pierce. So we had to keep compensating to arrive
at Ft Pierce. The closer we got to Florida the compass and gps started
reading the same direction as that told us we were out of the stream
finally. We only spent the one night in Ft Pierce as the next day we
headed up the icw as the wind was out of the north for the next
several days. We stopped what was to be one night in Vero Beach but
many cruisers know it as Velcro beach. The city marina there has made it
very nice for cruisers as so many stay for many nights or the whole
winter. After 2 days there we pushed on to Coco Beach where we met up
with friends Greg and Kathy from Michigan. We ended up going out to a
local sports bar and catching up on old times and sucking a few cold
ones down. After leaving Coco beach we pressed on the next couple of
days onto St Augustine where we were pushing to make the 4:30 bridge
as we stayed in the north mooring field. Once settled in Simple
Pleasure and Mutual Fun went in to have pizza and beer and to
celebrate our graduation from freshman on to becoming sophomores in the
Bahamas for next season. We had planed on staying 2 nights but when we
woke up and listened to the weather for the next few days both boats
decided it was best we move on. So we moved up to Pablo creek just
south of the St Johns river and Simple Pleasure went on as they are
going further north for the summer. We had to wait out the current
till the next morning and ride the incoming tide as we had a 40 mile
run up the St Johns river. So we needed all the boost we could get.

Finally after going through downtown Jacksonville and past the Navel
air station we arrived at our final destination. Green Cove Springs
Marina where we will haul out and store for the summer months while
returning back to Michigan for the summer. When we left Michigan back
on June 26th we had no idea what to expect over the next 10 months of
being on the boat day in and day out. Sure at times we had our
differences but we also shared many great times with each other.
Living each day so close to each other only brought us closer to each
other. Seeing the stars at night and watching the moon rise over the
waters traveled. Relearning history that we hated in school to now see
it first hand as we moved down the ICW. Meeting many new friends along
the way that have played a big part of our adventure and knowing that
many will be there again next year or the year after. Many touched us
in a way we never imagined would happen as there are truly some very
genuine people out there cruising and they made our trip very
enjoyable. Setting below at nights playing domino's on a make shift
table as we never realized we needed our big table below. Having as
many couples you can get below on the cold nights just to warm your
boat up so they had to go back to a cold boat. Oh just what a matter of
time does teaches one. Getting up early in the fall to make way as the tide
is up and the fog is heavy. Wishing it was warm. Now we are preparing the
boat for storage and wishing it was cooler as it has been in the 90s. When
we left the great lakes we were loaded with so much food as one thing
we have learned is that there are stores along the way and even in the
Bahamas. So after living aboard for 10 months here is a list of what
food we had left. We could have stayed out for another year and now we
know why everyone was passing us on the way down on the ICW.
28 -12 oz cans of chicken
14 - 5 oz cans of tuna
18 - 14 oz cans of carrots
2 - 12 oz bottle of chili sauce
9 - 15 oz cans of peaches
1 - 2.5 oz jar of salad seasoning
1 - 16 oz bottle of popcorn oil
23 packages of assorted muffin mixes
2 - 4 oz bottles of bacon bits
14 - 10 oz cans of mushroom soup
13 - 14 oz cans of green beans
11 - 14 oz cans of fruit cocktail
10 - 15 oz cans of peas
3 - cans of evaporated milk
5 - cans of sweet n condensed milk
2 - 24 oz jars of parmesan cheese
1 - 8 oz jar of parmesan cheese
6 - 45 oz jars of spaghetti sauce
1 - 4 oz bottle of bitters
2 - 16 oz bottles of mustard
2 - cans of apple pie filling
1 - 26 oz bottle of relish
4 - 32 oz bottle of bbq sauce
2 - 15 oz bottle of Worcestershire sauce
1 - 36 oz bottle of ketchup
22 envelopes of yeast
4 - 12 oz cans of baking powder
1 - 2 lb package of powder sugar
1 - 2.5 oz jar of butter buds
4 -lbs of flour
5 - 6 oz cans of crab meat
8 packages of shake and bake
1 box of garlic biscuit mix
1 - 48 oz bottle of apple sauce
5 - 64 oz bottles of bloody mary mix
9 packages of chicken and rice mix
1 - 12 oz bottle of marinade
6 -24 oz packages of instant potatoes
9 - 20 oz cans of pineapple
12 packages of assorted jello
2 - 15 o cans of baby corn
1 - 64 oz bottle of cranberry juice
1 - 3.2 oz bottle of popcorn salt
2 - 21 oz cans of cherry pie filling
1 - 16 oz can of minestrone soup
75 feet of freezer wrap
1 - 7 oz package of coconut
1 - 2.6 oz jar of old bay seasoning
2 - 16 oz bottle of sun dried vinaigrette
1 - 16 oz bottle of caesar vinaigrette
1 -18 oz jar of miracle whip
8 - 4 oz cans of mushrooms
1 - 9 oz can of bamboo shoots
4 - 10 oz cans of chicken soup
2 - 26 oz cans of pasta sauce
4 - 10 oz cans of tomato soup
8 - 13 oz packages of wheat spaghetti
17 packages of onion soup mix
3 - 6 oz packages of croutons
4 - packages of stove top stuffing
3 - 12 oz spray cans of cooking oil
1 - 32 oz jar of strawberry jam
1 - 10 oz of strawberry jelly
2 - 12 oz cans of corn beef
1 - 7 oz can of turkey breast
3 - 12 oz packages of chocolate chips
I box of dry milk
1 package of pizza crust mix
1 - 24 oz jar of dill pickles
5 packages of top ramen noodles
1 - 8 oz tin of Hershey’s coco
1 - 5 oz packages of teriyaki noodles
1 box of yellow cake mix
1 - 16 oz box of club crackers
2 - 8 oz box of toasteds
1 - 24 oz package of fried onions
2 - 10 oz tortilla chips
6 - 15 oz cans of corn
3 - boxes of jiffy muffin mix
2 - 11 oz boxes of quick barley
4 boxes of mac n cheese
3 - 8 oz packages of walnuts
1 box of nilla wafers
1 - 12 oz bottle of horseradish sauce
3 - 20 oz bottles of ranch dressing
1 - 12 oz bottle of orange bbq sauce
1 - 8 oz package of pecans
2 - 16 oz bottle of French dressing
4 -18 oz cans of select harvest soup
1 -16 oz jar of salsa mix
1 -12 oz teriyaki sauce
1 - 68 oz of olive oil
1 - 32 oz package of brown sugar
1 - 10 oz can cream of chicken soup
2 - 10 oz can cream of celery soup
1 - can cream of coconut
1 - 15 oz can of fried apples
1 -12 oz bottle of sweet n sour mix
2 -8 oz can of pineapple chunks
1 - 15 oz stir fry veggies
5 - 8 oz cans of water chestnuts
6 - 16 oz cans of bush beans
2 - 6 oz can of tomato paste
1 - 8 oz can of tomato sauce
3 - 14 oz cans of stewed tomato’s
1 - 15 oz can of beets
1 4 lb package of yellow popcorn
1 -4 oz bottle of garlic stir fry
6 quarts of parmalat milk
3 - 32 oz boxes of chicken broth
7 packages of brownie mix