Manatee Cove Marina - Patrick Air Force Base

We are located at Manatee Cove Marina, which is a pretty marina located on Patrick Air Force Base. There is a lovely club house, an outside Tiki Bar with a bartender, two pavilions (one is across the way for boats docked on the other side away from the clubhouse), laundry facilities, and showers. We are fortunate that some military bases have marina facilities that we, as military retirees are permitted to use, and while they are not free (there are commercial marinas that charge less for dockage), the cost is reasonable. It is also a very good feeling to be on a military base again. It feels like home.

The dolphins and manatees here at the marina provide daily entertainment. We came here at the urging of our friends, Eric and Ellen Provost, who keep their boat here. Eric and Mike worked together at Fort Bragg many years ago, and have maintained their friendship through the years. Eric and Ellen sometimes blame Mike for their decision to buy a big boat (their boat is a 40 foot Silverton), but Mike refuses to accept responsibility for that decision. Manatee Cove Marina is an active club, and the people are great. This one is on our list as a future hangout.

Now the rest of the story: Along the way to the marina we hit something in the shallow water of the Banana River, and we knew immediately that we had damaged our props. These were props that Mike and Keith had just switched a week earlier!! That’s another story. Anyway, we knew we were going to have to find a diver to remove the props for repair before we could continue on. Immediately upon getting docked and settled, Eric started searching for a diver. Tim, member of the marina and also the bartender at the Tiki Bar, and Rob, came to the boat on Thursday and removed the port prop (the starboard prop was okay). There was a seven inch by one inch piece missing from one of the blades and another blade was banged up somewhat (see the picture).
We drove to Bradenton, FL on Friday to drop off three props (the one just removed on Thursday and the two other props that were damaged earlier) to be repaired at General Propeller. These folks were very nice and promised to have them ready for us by 1:00 p.m. the same day, and they were ready as promised!! This was also the same day that we found a CompUSA to repair our computer. We spent the night in St. Petersburg, FL and met Ted and Jeff on Saturday to pick up batteries and our dinghy registration that Mike Jr. took care of for us in Tennessee. We headed back to Patrick AFB on Saturday with new props and a repaired computer!! By the way, a switch on our autopilot broke between Jensen Beach and Patrick AFB! These are certainly minor things compared to some stories we have heard, so we are thankful that we haven’t had more serious problems to deal with. As those familiar with boats learn to say, “It’s a boat!!”

We are grateful to Eric and Ellen, long-time friends, who have provided us with a car while we have been here. They also have a boat docked here at Manatee Cove. These folks are a lot of fun to be with, and we are glad that we had the opportunity to get to Patrick AFB to spend some time with them before moving on to points south.
We have decided not to go to the Bahamas until January at the earliest. We will stay at Patrick for a while, at least through 27 November, and eventually make our way to Key West! The good thing about this trip is that we don’t have to keep a schedule, so we can hang out anywhere as long as we want.

Since today is Thanksgiving, Pat and I would like to wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving. Please keep our American Servicemen and women in your prayers.
Stay tuned

Long Boat Key to Cocoa Beach

Now, back to the story.

After crossing the Gulf of Mexico on November 10, we continued traveling with MORGAN’S DREAM and GOLDEN, on down to Long Boat Key to anchor for the night. After watching GOLDEN run aground, we tried a different route into the anchorage, and touched the ground ourselves, just a little. MORGAN’S Dream came in a completely different way and did not go aground. Did I mention that the water here in Florida is very shallow?

On 11 November, we left Long Boat Key anchorage headed to Venice, FL. MORGN’S DREAM and GOLDEN (who came in a little later after stopping to visit friends), and IRISH AYES docked at the free dock in Venice located next to the Venice Yacht Club. You can dock there for 18 hours at no cost. Upon our arrival, we were met within minutes by a local Florida Fish and Wildlife officer who welcomed us and took the names of our boats. A very nice guy. He gave us the lowdown of the area and downtown Venice. We, along with Becky and Keith from MORGAN’S DREAM, walked to downtown Venice to check out the area.

It is a clean, pretty little town with unique shops. There was also an old fashion “soda fountain” in this little town, and we could not pass it up. We indulged in their specialties and enjoyed every fat calorie!! After we returned to our boats, GOLDEN was tied up at the dock waiting for us. Keith wanted to have a cookout, so we gathered food, grills, makings for drinks, etc., and headed for the pavilion located across from our boats. Keith did the cooking and made delicious libations for us all. We had a great evening eating, laughing and reliving our experiences thus far on our trip. At the end of the night, we said our goodbyes, since we were headed in different directions the following day. We had been travelling with Keith and Becky for a couple of weeks now, and they have become wonderful friends. We will miss them!!

The next morning, we left early. We followed one another until we split for our specific destinations. Our destination was Rialto Harbor Marina on the Caloosahatchie River, but we did not make it because of numerous No Wake zones and HEAVY boat traffic. We knew better than to travel on a weekend, but we thought we would do so this one time in order to meet friends in South Florida in a few days. We won’t do that again!!! This was the worst boating day we have had since beginning our trip. Everything we had heard about the sport fishing boats and super go fast big boats being dangerous and discourteous is absolutely true. There was one boat in particular that would have had a couple of additional thru-hulls if I could have gotten to my Glock. He rocked us very badly after coming up at high speed from the back of the boat, with no warning. His wake did some minor damage to some things on our boat that were thrown around, but Mike was able to repair the damage.

We stopped at the City of Fort Myers Yacht Basin for fuel and were going to continue on, but we ended up having to wait 45 minutes before we could get to the fuel dock, and by the time we got fuel and were ready to head out again, we were running out of daylight. We ended up staying the night in the marina at Fort Myers Yacht Basin. Once again, the wind was howling, and Mike had to really finesse IRISH AYES to get her into the fuel dock without hitting other boats of slamming into the fuel dock. After a masterful (and very lucky) landing that elicited favorable comments from the dockmaster about Mike's docking skilles, we took on a couple of hundred gallons of diesel fuel. After getting ourselves and the boat settled into our assigned slip, we walked to downtown Fort Myers for dinner at a very sleazy sports bar that was a lot of fun. That says something about us, doesn't it?

We left Fort Myers Yacht Basin on 13 November. We waited about 20 minutes to go through Franklin Lock and Dam. We had decided that we were going to anchor for the night, depending on where we got to before dark. We ended up anchoring in a little canal in Moore Haven, FL, beyond Moore Haven Lock and Dam. It was a good anchorage with essentially no boat traffic. However, two airboats went by that scared the life out of us. These are popular boats in Florida, and they are extremely loud and fast moving. When anchored in a quiet, little cove, this noise can be quite disturbing. We prepared ourselves for these boats to come back through sometime later, but they never did—thank goodness. After dinner, we watched a little television and then called it a night.

The next morning (14 Nov) we pulled anchor early. When we got to Port Myaca Lock and Dam, doors at both ends were open, and the Lockmaster directed us to go straight through. That was the easiest and quickest lock we have ever been through! However, the time we made going through this lock was lost at the next lock, St. Lucie Lock and Dam. We had to wait about an hour for a tow to lock through.

After completing the Okeechobe Waterway in Stuart, FL, we turned IRISH AYES north up the Indian River. After about an hour and just before dark, we dropped anchor at Jensen Beach for the night in a nice anchorage next to a Causeway, which is the picture you see here. There were a lot of sailboats anchored there. There was also a sailboat that had sunk; only the top of the mast was showing. If the owner was not aware of his/her boat sinking, they were in for a surprise when returning to their boat.

We left the Jensen Beach anchorage on 15 November. It was already 70 degrees at 0630. We were headed to Patrick Air Force Base, Manatee Cove Marina. We stopped along the way at Telemar Marina to pick up a friend, Eric, who was going to guide us into the Manatee Cove Marina at Patrick Air Force Base. Just about the time we get to Telemar Marina, the winds pick up dramatically. (This always seems to happen just when you want to dock!) We pulled up close enough to the dock for Eric to jump on and then we were off to Manatee Cove. Fortunately, there were folks standing by to help us get tied up to the dock at Manatee!

Problems along the way !!

For the one or two of you who are actually reading this blog, we want to tell you why we haven't updated it in a while. Mainly, our new computer that we bought just for this trip decided to die a sudden and early death. Since we bought it at CompUSA in Knoxville and it is still under warranty, we wanted to use the warranty benefit. We soon discovered that finding a CompUSA store while you are on a boat with no internet access can be a challenge. I finally had to resort to calling Mike Jr. in Tennessee and asked him to crank up his computer and find us a CompUSA store near where we are in Florida. He did that, and after a bit of hassle, the computer is fixed.

We are presently docked at the marina at Patrick Air Force Base in Cocoa Beach, FL. We have been here for a few days, and will stay here until at least next Monday.

I promise we will post an update to this blog soon. Unfortunately, when the computer died we lost all of the pictures we had taken up to that point, but we will have pictures again with our updates. Note to self: BACK UP YOUR COMPUTER !!

More later. Mike and Pat

Pensacola to the West Coast of FL

Well, we have learned some lessons on this leg of the voyage. The first lesson is to pay attention when the weather report says the winds are 25 knots and the bay is rough. Rough on the bay is a whole lot different than "rough" on the Tennessee River. Lesson number two was to make sure that EVERYTHING that can fall down in the deck in rough seas is either down already, or secured so that it doesn't fall down. Don't ask!!

After leaving Pensacola Naval Air Station on 4 Nov, we headed east to Freeport, FL, which is where Dennis and Jeanette Skelly live. They invited us to use the boat slip at their house, because it is empty since they sold their boat. We found their place pretty easy, and it is beautiful. Unfortunately though, we couldn't use the slip because it had shoaled over a bit and every time I attempted to back into the slip, our props dug into the mud and we couln't make it. So, we just tossed out the anchor and Dennis shuttled us to shore on his small boat.

We stayed with the Skelly's for two nights and had a wonderful time. We ate and drank way too much, (which is a theme we are finding at nearly every place we stop), and our visit was way too short.

From Freeport, FL we headed to Apalachicola, FL on 6 Nov to meet our boating friends who were staying at Scipio Creek Marina. They had been there for three days at this time, waiting for a weather window to cross the gulf. We had a great time in the small town of Apalachicola. The town was hit by a tornado the week before, and the locals



were still recovering from all of the damage. It is a quaint little town, within walking distance, with some very unique stores. The town also had an old fashioned "soda shop" that is a hit with visitors. All of us treated ourselves to one of their specialties, and it was great. Those of us who had been traveling together had a pot luck the night before crossing the gulf, and the food was delicious. A lot of laughs, food, and drink were shared on this evening. We were even entertained by one of the boaters who did a great imitation of bugs bunny.

There were a lot of boats that left Apalachicola for the gulf crossing on Thursday, 9 Nov. Four boats, to include us, left at 1:30 p.m. to begin the crossing. It was a beautiful night, with a 3/4 moon, light wind and small seas. Our first gulf crossing was great, but long--20 hours. The two pictures of the water are the sun setting the night we crossed, and the other is the sun rising the next morning. What an awesome experience !!
















We arrived in Clearwater at 9:40 a.m. and decided to keep going since it was still early and we had beautiful weather and smooth seas. We anchored at a beautiful anchorage in Long Boat Key for the night. After anchoring and settling in for the day, everyone collapsed after being on the water for more than 26 hours.

Mobile Bay to Pensacola

Going through the Mobile Bay Shipping Channel was quite the adventure. Huge ships, tows, tugs, barges, and small fishing boats were vying for space through the channel. It got a little nerve wracking at times, but we made it through unscathed. At times it was high adventure, but then, that's why we made this trip. It also helped that it was a beautiful, sunny day with calm seas.









From there we headed to Lulu’s at Harborport Marina in Gulf Shores. Lulu is Jimmy Buffet’s sister and she owns the restaurant there on the intracoastal waterway. An interesting and fun place to stop over. We, along with Morgan’s Dream and Sylvia J, stayed at the marina for one night. We had dinner and entertainment at Lulu’s then called it a night. Our waiter told us that Jimmy Buffet had been there about three weeks ago. According to our waiter, “Jimmy likes to come for lunch rather than dinner so that he can get out of there without being killed.”

All of us headed out from Harborport early Tuesday morning. Our destination was the Bayou Grande Marina at Pensacola Naval Air Station, for a couple of nights, mainly because we had arranged for someone in Pensacola to check our autopilot. Along the way, we saw dolphins, shrimp boats, fishing boats, and more beautiful scenery. We also saw the Blue Angels, the US Navy’s world famous demonstration team doing maneuvers in their FA/18 Fighter Jets as we traveled along. What a sight to see. Sylvia J decided to stay at a Marina in Pensacola and we hooked up with them for drinks and dinner Tuesday evening. Morgan’s Dream headed to Destin.

Today was a beautiful warm and sunny day. Shorts and T-shirts were the appropriate dress for the day! Most of the morning, we were entertained once again by the Blue Angels, who were practicing for an air show. We found out later that they practice every Tuesday and Wednesday. The marina we are in is in the path of the airfield so we had “front row” seats to watch this awesome sight.

The mechanic who came to look at our autopilot arrived (about six hours later than he had originally told us), but fortunately he was able to find and fix the problem rather quickly. After a sea trial, Mike was happy our autopilot was now working. This feature will be a great help to us for the gulf crossing.


We decided to stay another day in Pensacola due to high winds and small craft advisories. We rented a car to run errands and to drive around Pensacola. The area continues to be rebuilt due to Hurricane Ivan in 2004, and the locals have not forgotten what damage Mother Nature can do. As we sit here tonight, the winds are strong and the temp has dropped considerably. It looks like we may stay through Friday should the weather forecast hold true. High winds are also predicted again on Friday. We had hoped to be in Destin by now, but fortunately we are not on a schedule. This is not a bad place to be holed up under these circumstances. Tomorrow, if the wind lays down a little, we'll head to Destin, and Dennis and Jeanette Skelly's house. Stay tuned.

Down the Tenn-Tom and Tombigbee Rivers

Wow, it has been a long time since we updated this blog. The main reason it has been so long is that from Huntsville, AL, all the way to Mobile Bay we had no internet service. The trip down the river was 450 miles, and it was, for the most part, a beautiful wilderness area. I hope the pictures we have included show the beauty.

After our last post we moved down the river to the intersection of the Tennessee River and the Tenn-Tom, at Mile 215 of the Tennessee River. It is about 420 miles on the river from that intersection of the river to Knoxville. And, as I said, it is 450 miles down river from there to Mobile Bay, AL.

When we turned onto the Tenn-Tom, we pulled into the Grand Harbor Marina, which was a great place to stop. Very friendly people who couldn't do enough for us to make our stay a pleasure. Nice, clean, and beautiful. It was also here that we discovered that the water line break we had at Goose Pond Marina caused a bigger problem than we realized. When the waterline broke it sent high pressure water into the area where our aft electronic controls are located, and water got into the control box. If you know anything at all about water and electronics, then you know they don't play well together. In short, I had to take the controls off the boat and Overnight them to Glendinning (the manufacturer), for repair. The Glendinning Company is a great company that makes excellent electronic things for boats, and their service is as good as their product. The new control box was waiting for us when we got to Demopolis, AL two days later. It is now working fine again.

We departed Counce, TN, which is where Grand Harbor Marina is located, and headed south. We had heard so much about the Tenn-Tom, much of it negative, that we were a little concerned. Stories of tow boat captains who are surley and unfriendly, bass boaters who shoot at big boats that make a wake they don't like, tight turns where meeting a tow boat can be hazardous, and just a stretch of the trip that is to be endured rather than enjoyed. We found none of that to be true. The tow boat captains were professional, courteous, and very helpful. We saw very few fishermen, and those we saw were friendly. The waterway itself was breathtaking. Stunning beauty everywhere we looked.

We stopped the first night at a small marina, Marina Cove Marina, that was a challenge to get into because of the narrow channel leading in. The marina itself has been somewhat neglected, but Mr. Fred, the owner's father, was as nice a man as we ever met. He gave us the keys to his car and told us where the restaurant (the only one in the small town, but the ribs were great), and the grocery store was located. We stayed there two days because the weather was snotty the next day. We met some wonderful people there, fellow boaters, who we travelled with for about the next week. Jeffrey and Sylvia aboard the Sylvia J, and Keith and Becky aboard Morgan's Dream, are friends that we hope to see again along the way.

From Marina Cove we made our way to Demopolis, AL, which is about half way down the river on the way to Mobile. They have a great little restaurant and we had a blast with the crews of the boats we were travelling with.


The next stop was the infamous Bobby's Fish Camp. Bobby's is the ONLY place to stop from Demopolis all the way to Mobile Bay. It is a throwback in time with very few amenities. Their dock is small and just off the main channel. There is a restaurant that has a great fish fry every night, and the six boat crews were were now travelling with all got together for dinner and adult
beverages. All we can say is there isn't much there at Bobby's, but thank goodness it is there.

The only negative about travelling the Tenn-Tom was what we believe was a scam perpetrated by the Alabama Department of Natural Resources officer who covers that area. One of the boats travelling with us was met at Bobby's Fish Camp by the DNR officer and a couple of Bubbas who claimed that the boat had caused a big wake near a home with a dock. On that dock, allegedly, was a 9 year old boy, whose life was endangered by the boat's wake. It was very clear that this was a set up, with the DNR officer and the Bubbas working together to get something from the boat owner. Fortunately, the driver of that boat is a profssional delivery captain, who knows of the problems in that area, and had his charts marked about the docks, to remind him to slow down. He also had witnesses from the boat right behind him. It was clear that the DNR officer really wanted to "get" the boater, but there was too much evidence to the contrary, so they had to cease the scam and wait for another day.

The next day, October 29th, we made our way toward Mobile. We found a great anchorage about half way down river, and dropped the hook for the night. The current was running pretty strong, but the anchors held, and we had a good nights sleep. The next morining we woke up to pretty heavy fog, which delayed our departure about an hour, but once the sun burned through the fog, we had a beautiful run the final leg to Mobile Bay. (Boats: Cheers and Morgan's Dream) More later.