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Stuart to St. Augustine: March 2007
3/27/2007
We have enjoyed our stay in St. Augustine. Although we are ready to be traveling again, it will be sad saying goodbye tomorrow as we leave our family here in St. Augustine and continue with our travels. We will be starting our journey to Charleston, SC tomorrow morning at first light.
The dogs have especially enjoyed the visit here. They walk over to Grandma and Grandpa’s house every day.
Sebastian does not want to leave Aunt Sue and he has even considered a mutiny. Lap time for him has been grand. Sue was even up early this morning making dog biscuits for Sebastian and Daisy. Sebastian says Aunt Sue is the best. Daisy has enjoyed having a back yard to play in. She has even managed to steel a few chocolate candies out of the candy jar at Grandma’s house. However the best part for Daisy was our trip to the beach.
She ran for miles chasing sea gulls. She could easily become a beach bum. They also had a chance to visit the pet park with neighbor dog, Lucy, a beautiful Standard Poodle.
Jeff and I enjoyed several early morning kayak trips up Salt Run to the state park. We had a great meal last night at Cap’s on the ICW north of here in celebration of Pat’s and Sue’s upcoming birthdays. We all had very good meals. We have also enjoyed many great meals at Pat and Charley’s house. We have been thoroughly spoiled.
As we were walking into town yesterday, we spotted fellow looper, Irish Eyes at the City Marina. We have not seen them since last October at Joe Wheeler State Park. They are from Knoxville, TN. We stopped by but they were not home. We left our card and Mike gave us a call later in the day. They will be heading to Charleston also in several days so our paths should cross along the way.
For those who are interested in statistics, below are some numbers for our trip so far.
From Chattanooga, TN, January 15, 2007 to St. Augustine, FL, March 9, 2007:
1,665 miles
637 gal diesel used
213.0 main engine hours
95.3 generator hours
3.07 miles per gallon (MPG)
2.54 Gallons per hour (GPH)
3/27/2007
Nates Notes:
Dad said it was time to brief ya’ll on my job as First Engineer. So here it is: nothin’ new to report. There have been no engineering issues for me since my last log. Ever since Mom put the carabineer on my cage door, starting new engineering projects has been difficult. It’s almost like she doesn’t trust me. I wonder why?
Food For An Engineer:
Several people have asked: just what do we eat? ie… Homer and me, not those two chow-hounds, Daisy and especially Sebastian. Let me tell you.
We have three bowls that Dad cleans every day. My water bowl always has fresh water in it. Sometimes I’ll dip a morsel into it or let my food soak there for several hours. Dad usually changes this if it gets too dirty. Once a week I’ll take a bath in my water bowl. Baths are great and it usually results in water all around my cage in a 2 ft radius.
The second bowl has Kaytee food pellets in it. They are brightly colored and flavored. They are a complete nutritional parrot food. It’s ok but it’s not my first choice. A bird does not live on pellet alone. No sir, at least not these two feathered geniuses.
The 3rd bowl is the largest and my favorite. Dad will load it up daily with fruits, vegetables (yuk) and table food (yes!!). Table food is usually leftovers from last nights’ people meal: potatoes, pasta, pizza, meats, bones, casseroles, rice dishes, breads… you know, the good stuff. Dad makes sure that we always have bananas, grapes (white only- we don’t like red grapes), spinach, carrots and celery. He said these foods are good for me but I’ll pick through those items and leave them for later. Give me the fattening food first. Since Dad prepares this every morning, I have all day to pick through it and eat the things I like first. Maybe that’s why Dad calls me “Fat Boy”. As I mentioned last time, Homer likes to eat his fruits and veggies first so I’ll throw mine his way. He said he appreciates it.
Perch Pals:
Mom had been gone this week while we’re in St. Augustine. She went on a spring break trip with her niece, nephew and sister. Dad’s struggling to keep up with things around here. However, in between cleaning, Dad started putting Homer and me together on a perch on the saloon table.
He looks a little nervous to me when doing this because he knows how Homer and I can start raisin’ hell when we’re together (please see my first log for details about this). He said that if either one of us gets down off the perch we will be fish bait. I think he’s just joking and yet he managed to say it with a straight face. So far, we’ve been behavin’ ourselves and have stayed on the perch. Homer and I will preen each other for as long as allowed.
Dad has even given us treats on the perch for being so well behaved. Sometimes bein’good does have its’ rewards but it’s soo hard.
Dad has also been putting us outside on the front deck while in our cages to enjoy the sunny Florida weather.
We’ve been calling to the sea gulls flying above and around us but they only speak “sea-ish”, not parrot. Besides, they’re too busy fighting over fish scraps – yuk! I guess that’s why Dad calls them garbage rats with wings.
That’s about it for now. Got to go- I think I see a piece of fettuccini in my bowl. Yum! Nate.
3/23/2007
Sebastians Story Part 2
Well, I do believe I have the best job in the world: Cruise Director (CD for short). Where else can you lie out on a warm sunny deck all day long and get fed twice a day? Dad sometimes interrupts my “sun meditations” by stepping over me doing some of his chores around Idyll Time (IT), but that’s ok. I don’t mind too much as long as he doesn’t ask me to move.
I’m contemplating our next cruise destination since arriving in St. Augustine, FL. The Conch House Marina is quite nice – lots of people to meet. Shortly however, it should be time to move on. I believe I’ll request we keep heading north- maybe Charleston, SC. I hear it’s very interesting there. I’ll discuss this with Mom. I want to make sure it’s warm enough before I give the order to move.
Mucho Lap Time:
Since my arrival in St. Augustine, I’ve been logging daily lap time (LT for short) over at Grandma Pats’ house. Usually Aunt Sue is there so it’s a two-for-one visit.
A quick note: Grandpa Charley LT – close to zero – about what I expected but he did show Daisy and me around his back yard.
Very hospitable of him. I especially liked the abandoned armadillo burrow. Just about my size but a little too dark for me. You never know what’s down a dark hole. I think Grandpa Charley will eventually come around and enjoy lap time also.
Grandma Pats’ house is several blocks away from my marina but the walk is very interesting. There are always some people (mostly kids) to meet along the way. I’ve logged some additional LT with all the visitors to IT. So over all, things are great in the LT Department. Dad still calls me The Big Lap Weenie but he just doesn’t know how good LT is.
Sod and The Art of Peeing:
Dad went out and finally bought Daisy and me a piece of St. Augustine grass sod (After all, you wouldn’t expect Bermuda grass would you? We’ll have to wait on that piece of grass; hint, hint.) Mom was getting quite concerned about us holding out during the longer segments of our voyages. So she strongly suggested Dad get the sod. He can be soo stubborn. As soon as he put it in the plastic tray on the deck, I went over and christened it by whizzing in the middle of the grass. Daisy said I was showing off by lifting my leg extra high but I was just demonstrating to Dad my approval. Daisy came over and gave an inquisitive sniff but decided to hold off squatting over where I had just been.
Besides, she walks when she pees (the girl doesn’t stay still) and I believe she thought Dad would be upset. However, Dad was so happy with my performance that I got more praising than I had all month. You would have thought I had discovered a medical breakthrough the way he carried on. I like my new piece of sod. It sure beats holding it all the way up the dock to the parking lot grass. I told Dad to make sure he rinses the sod well after we use it and to also make sure he waters it daily. I got “The Evil Eye” and “A Big Frown” at that suggestion. He sarcastically asked if I needed any reading material while I was using the sod. I told him not to be ridiculous- I know they don’t have this month’s copy of Dog Fancy so what’s the use.
Babes on the Dock:
Staying at the conch House has given me the opportunity as CD to meet many new people, especially the ladies. I just march right up to them and introduce myself. The response is most positive. A good CD is never shy and should mix it up in a crowd. Aunt Sue knows a lot of people here and she takes me around to make sure I meet everyone. I usually get a little LT in also. Dad hangs back with Daisy but once she sees how much fun I’m having, she will start barking and acting all excited. Dad keeps us moving along so all this happens very quickly. It’s very fun.
Daisy Goes Squirrel:
Well, now she’s happy. Daisy treed a squirrel over at Grandma Pat and Grandpa Charley’s house. Boy, was that squirrel surprised to find us in his back yard! Once he made it up the tree, he sat there scolding Daisy for 10 minutes. He definitely didn’t like us being there. I played it cool- a CD is always cool but I did enjoy seeing Daisy run around the base of the tree.
Dad finally ordered her into the house once he saw a stalemate had been reached. Daisy said the Florida squirrels are slower than their Tennessee brothers but this one moved like lightning once he saw us in his yard. Daisy was so happy with herself that she kept an eye out for more all the way back to the marina. Now she’s got squirrels on the brain. What am I going to do with that girl? Doesn’t she know that laps are where it’s at? And besides, they’re easier to catch! Oh, there’s one now. Got to run. Bye, Sebastian
PS
For those who might wonder, the dog food recall hasn’t affected us at all. Mom and Dad feed us Science Diet Rice and Lamb dry food (twice a day – it’s great!). It wasn’t recalled so we’re ok – for now.
3/12/2007
Homers Handout #2
Let me tell you, I still don’t like being in charge of Guest Relations (GR for short). I do it because all the other positions were taken, not because I have to.
Dad (oh yeah, I forgot, The Captain) says I’m getting better at handling my anger issues. The outbursts and biting episodes are now getting further apart. The other day at our staff meeting, he said I treated our guests (Dan, Robert and Chris (yup, that Teaf guy!!!) decently during our 36 hour voyage from Carrabelle to Ft. Myers. Captain Dad said I didn’t try to bite anyone’s fingers and that was an improvement for me. If they had put their digits near me I probably would have taken a chunk, but that’s just between you and me. If this is what GR is all about, I suppose I am doing better.
Life on board Idyll Time has settled in for me. Captain Dad fixes us fresh fruit every morning while I’m out running around on top of my cage.
Daisy is still the Security Officer – I will say that I would be great at that job.
I think Sebastian is a real slacker. That weenie is supposed to be Cruise Director but all he does is lay out in the sun and snooze. When we have visitors, he always heads for their laps. At that last staff meeting, I told Captain Dad all this but he said I wasn’t being a team player and that I could use some more counseling. In my opinion, what this crew needs is a firm hand but then again what do I know, I’m only a parrot. You would think that 49 years of experience would count around here for something but I guess not.
When we arrived in Stuart we had quite a lot of workers on board doing all sorts of warranty repairs. Since these guys are not guests I didn’t try to be nice to them- I just flair my feathers and glare at them real hard. GR is a highly specialized job and can be very demanding. You have to rapidly identify who is guest and who is worker. I’m really the only crew member capable of performing the GR duties in this precise manner.
Captain Dad and Admiral Mom had Bill and Tracy Harris over last Friday night. Bill is a Krogen salesman and sold us our boat. They are bird people. They thought my feathers were particularly handsome and since I am in charge of GR, I showed them what I had. I had thought of putting in for overtime (it was 8PM) when something like this comes up but for now I’ll let it slide.
I will have to remark that the weather in Stuart is much warmer that anything we have had so far. Sebastian, as Cruise Director, is claiming that this is his choice and that he is responsible for such a good venue. I think he’s over reaching in his claim on the warmth and sunshine. After all, this is Florida. Since Sebastian really doesn’t do much else around here except sit on ladies (mostly) and men’s (sometimes) laps, he’s claiming everything he can so he’ll keep his cush job. If he wants a tough job, he should swap with me. GR is by far the hardest position on this boat. I’m trying to talk Daisy into switching positions with me since she had a few mishaps some weeks ago. Although I doubt whether that dog could handle the pressure of my job, I know I would make an excellent Security Officer with my eagle eyesight and extremely accurate powers of observation. Captain Dad said that Admiral Mom would have to approve all job position transfers and he said it didn’t look good for me. That seems like a bunch of nonsense to me. At 49, I should get seniority. Daisy is 10 years old. Hey, wait a second. That’s in human years. In dog years she would be 60 or 70 years old and would outrank me. Then again, she’s old enough to retire right now. I have an idea. First I’ll tell her that lately she’s been looking old and tired. Then I’ll suggest that she may want to slow down, retire soon, and negotiate an early out along with a golden parachute and some stock options. It’s a great idea. I’m going to find her right now. Later, Homer.
3/09/2007
We stayed up late last night to see the Delta Two rocket launch. The launch was scheduled for 9:37 PM with a two hour window. We went up on the fly bridge at 9:30 PM. At 10:05 it had still not launched. We started heading to bed when we heard the Coast Guard announce over the VHF that the countdown was T- 2 minutes and counting. We can wait for that. A few minutes later we see the horizon light up. It looks as if the sun is rising. We then see what looks like a fire ball rise from the horizon. As the fire ball makes its way up into the sky, we can see the blue flames shooting from the tail of the fire ball. About two minutes after liftoff we hear what sounds like thunder off in the distance. We then see a black ring cloud around the rocket. This is the point of separation for the rocket booster. The rocket exhaust gasses then flared out like a parachute with a very bright center. This was truly a magnificent sight. Everyone should witness this at least once in their lifetime.
This morning we have dolphins fishing right in front of the boat. It is still dark but you can hear them as they come to the surface and blow. We pull away from the docks at 7:30 AM for our run to St. Augustine. This will be our last travel day for about three weeks. At 8:30 AM we pass the Ponce de Leon Inlet which leads out to the ocean. The inlet is very shoaled and you should only try going out it if you have local knowledge. After passing this we enter the Halifax River and can see the Port Orange skyline in the distance.
Again we have dolphins swimming all around. I have never seen so many dolphins as we have in the last few days. At 10:00 AM we pass thru Daytona. It looks like a zoo in town with all the bikers. We are glad that we did not stop overnight here.
At 11:00 AM we hear the Coast Guard hail a sport fishing boat running off shore from St. Augustine. They ask the boat what their intentions are and when was the last time they had a Coast Guard inspection. The captain reported that the boat had been laid up for 10 years in Charleston and he was now delivering it to West Palm Beach. The Coast Guard told him to prepare for a boarding while underway. They were coming aboard to inspect compliance with federal laws. We had IT Coast Guard inspected last October. Hopefully if they call us, we will not have to be boarded.
At 12:45 we enter the Fox Cut canal. Homes and docks line every space of land available. There is a boat dock with a boat every 100 feet on both sides. We then arrive at the town of Palm Coast. Canals lead off the ICW for miles to residential homes. A few miles north, we enter an area of marshland alternating with forest. Quite a pleasant change from the Palm Coast Area. We have a two knot current against us which slows our speed to 8 mph. We arrive at Marineland at 2:00 PM. This facility has just reopened and here you can do a dolphin encounter. A1A parallels the ICW on this section. The Atlantic Ocean is just on the other side of A1A. The water has changed to a very clean aqua blue color.
We next encounter the Matanzas Inlet which is now impassable to the Atlantic due to shoaling. Many areas of the ICW are not being funded by the government and very little dredging is being done. This could drastically affect boating in the next few years as more and more areas become shoaled over. The ICW is now working its way thru the Matanzas River. We pass Fort Matanzas which is on Rattlesnake Island to our starboard.
Ft. Matanzas was once a Spanish outpost and is now a national monument. Matanzas means place of slaughter. Pedro Menendez, the founder of St. Augustine, slaughtered 300 French forces here after their ship was caught in a storm and shipwrecked near here. Many years later, the English tried to use Matanzas inlet as a “back door” route to attack St. Augustine. The Spanish erected Ft. Matanzas in the 1660’s to successfully defend the city. There are 20 ft. sand dunes off our port side.
This section of the ICW is very beautiful. We weave in and out of marsh land for many miles. At 3:30 we round the bend and can see the Bridge of Lions and downtown St. Augustine off in the distance.
At 4:00 PM we enter Salt Run, a mile from downtown St. Augustine. The Conch House Marina, our home for the next 3 weeks, is a welcome site. We decide to fuel IT before going into our slip. This is the first refueling since leaving Chattanooga. We still have 270 gallons. We take on another 637 gallons. Jeff’s parents and sister, both of whom live in St. Augustine, greet us on the docks.
It has been a long standing family joke about “Parker Royalty”. Jeff “The Prince” is greeted by his sister Sue “The Princess” while “The Queen Mum” looks on.
The myth continues.
3/08/2007
This morning we watched as Sea Hawk, the boat which ran aground last night, eased its way out of the bay. They had anchored far to the other side of the green marker and were now very near the sandbar area. They slowly made it out into the ICW with apparently no damage done to the boat. They were very lucky. As we bring IT around Dragon Point, I cringe at the thought of hitting the rocks as they did.
It is another beautiful morning. The temperature is 66 degrees with a six knot breeze. We see dolphins feeding in the bay. We have three dolphins which ride our side wake. It looks like a mother, father, and baby. These dolphins are playing with each other riding each others wake and touching one another with their tails.
It is quite amazing to watch. At 9:15 AM we pass the town of Cocoa. Just after that the Canaveral Barge Canal is off our starboard. This canal cuts through Merritt Island to the Banana River and Canaveral Inlet, which leads to the Atlantic Ocean. This canal has heavy cruise ship traffic from the cruise ships at Port Canaveral. Port Canaveral is the second largest cruise ship port in Florida next to Miami. The Canaveral Lock is the largest navigation lock in Florida. The lock has a lift of 3 to 4 feet and is designed to reduce tidal currents and prevent hurricane tides into the Banana River. At 10:30 AM we can see the huge NASA Vehicle Assembly Plant off in the distance. At 12:30 the headwaters of the Indian River flow into the Haulover Canal.
The area is a bird watcher’s paradise. There are also several boats fishing in the canal. We also see many people along the banks of the canal enjoying the beauty and also doing some fishing.
This canal is a man made cut thru the barrier islands. It opens into the Mosquito Lagoon on the eastern side. In spite of the lagoon’s impressive size, it is very shallow.
At 2:00 PM we reach the small settlement of Oak Hill. There is a no wake zone thru this area for almost 10 miles. This area is lined with fishing camps and trailer parks.
There are fishing boats everywhere. This no wake zone increases our time to New Smyrna by almost an hour. We hear Island Fever calling the St. Augustine Marina which is almost 80 miles away on the VHF. John and CeCe are the fellow loopers which we first met in Pensacola. We last saw them in Carrabelle. It sounds as if we may see them again in St. Augustine. We had each taken complete different routes once leaving Carrabelle yet we are within a day of each other.
At 4:30 PM we reach the Smyrna Yacht Club. Today we traveled 68 miles. We find our slip number which is within 100 feet of the ICW. The current and wind are very strong. This is our toughest docking yet. We make two attempts to back into the slip and the current is so strong we are pushed two slips down. The third time Jeff nails the docking and we are in the slip without touching either side. We manage to get both a bow and spring line on one side. This holds us until we are able to get the other lines in place. We have a great view looking out onto the ICW.
We take the dogs for a run into the town. It is about 1.5 miles away. Daisy and Sebastian have lots of energy today and enjoy the run. Our guide book said not to miss the Sea Harvest Restaurant. We decide to walk back into town to eat here for dinner. It is a take out, picnic table, and roll up your sleeves type of place.
The food was very good. You can order a wide variety of fresh Florida seafood. Jeff had the seafood platter and I had their fried shrimp. The picnic tables on the dock look out onto the ICW. It is biker week in Daytona this week and we see many bikers here at the restaurant. The walk back to the yacht club is very picturesque. There are many old homes which face the waterway and border an old wide street.
Smyrna is a place we would like to come back to and stay several days. We learned yesterday that there is a rocket launch tonight at 9:30 so we will try our hardest to stay up to see it.
3/07/2007
Originally, we had planed on traveling to New Smyrna Beach today. After arriving at Eau Gallie last night, we decided to spend another day here. We are only 30 miles from Kennedy Space Center and it seems ashamed not to visit. Since it is such a beautiful yacht club, it made the decision to stay an extra day an easy one.
We called Enterprise Rent a Car and they picked us up this morning at the Yacht Club. We spent all day touring the Kennedy Space Center. After being on the boat which travels at 10 mph, driving in a car at 70 mph with cars everywhere is very nerve racking. We already miss being on the boat. It was a beautiful day and we would have enjoyed being on the water.
We enjoy our visit to the space center. You really need two days to see everything. We saw a full size replica of the space shuttles, Atlantis, Columbia, and Discovery, called the Endeavour.
There is a bus tour which will take you to the different areas of the space center. The orbiter, Atlantis, was in the massive Vehicle Assembly Building.
The doors happened to be open so we were able to view inside.
What a treat. NASA is planning on retiring the shuttles in 2010 and then changing their focus to Mars and the Moon. They plan on having astronauts living on the Moon by 2030. We also drove out to the space shuttle launch pads 39a and 39b.
We learned that a launch is scheduled tomorrow night for a rocket carrying four military satellites. We also viewed an IMAX movie and toured the Saturn Five rocket building. This 365 ft. Moon rocket is the largest rocket ever made.
The entire facility is part of the National Wildlife Refuge. In addition to the space related items we saw alligators, bald eagles, turtles, and other wildlife while touring the space center.
Upon returning to the boat, we saw a large yacht (75 ft.)
rounding Dragon Point. Susie was amazed at how close he was to the # 1 green channel marker. Our guide book had warned that there were rocks and to stay off this marker by at least 75 to 100 feet. She was thinking he had local knowledge which we did not. Not only was this boat within feet of the marker, he was to the left of the green marker. There is a stake in the ground between the point and the green marker.
The boat must have mistaken this for the channel and tried to run between the stake and green marker. This was a bad idea. He ran hard aground. We tried to call him on the VHF and tell him to back up but he did not respond. Instead of backing up he continued forward and was really aground at this point. Any knowledgeable boater would have known that the green marker should be on your port when returning into a channel (red right returning). He was flying a Bahamian Flag. About 9:30 PM he was able to work himself off the rocks by using his dinghy to set his bow anchor out in front of him and pull the boat off. He then anchored out in the bay for the rest of the evening. Let’s hope we never have this happen to us.
3/06/2007
Today we are leaving Stuart and will be on our way to St. Augustine. Laura from Krogen came by last night to say goodbye to Sebastian, Daisy, and the birds.
Laura thanks for all your help getting us out of here as quick as possible. Everyone at Krogen has been fantastic. You guys do a great job.
The weather has turned cool. It is 55 degrees with a good 15 knot breeze. Betty, aboard LiLi, came out to see us off. Betty brought us a bouquet of flowers last night. Jeff had crewed for her earlier in the day while she practiced her docking and she wanted to thank us. Betty, we wish you luck with your new boat and hope to see you on the water. We pull away from the docks at 7:15 AM and head out the North Fork to the St. Lucie River. We call the Roosevelt Bridge for an opening. Just a few feet past the Roosevelt Bridge, is the RR Bridge which is open so we pass on thru. The water depth is very shallow. We are showing a depth of 5-6 feet thru the channel. At 8:30 AM we reached the “Crossroads”. This is the intersection of the St. Lucie Inlet, the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AICW), and mile zero of the Okeechobee Waterway. This intersection can be very confusing to mariners. Our guide book says that “it is one of the most navigationally difficult sections of the entire eastern Florida ICW”. We see a monstrous dredge at the Inlet. Until they started dredging several months ago, this inlet was completely shoaled in. We would have liked to have traveled out the inlet and ran off shore today. The seas are six feet so we decided to stay on AICW. At 8:45 AM we passed under the Hutchinson Island Bridge.
This is the same bridge that we had ridden our bikes over on Sunday to visit Bonas IV. Hutchinson Island stretches 22 miles between Ft. Pierce Inlet and St. Lucie Inlet. We are now traveling on the Indian River. I am glad that we decided to run inside today. We checked our new Weather Worx program and the seas are six foot out in the ocean.
At mile 960 on the AICW, we passed Duchess, a Krogen 58, heading south. We reach Vero Beach at 12:00 PM. There is quite a bit of traffic on the waterway, much more than we had on the GICW. Once north of Vero Beach, multi-million dollar homes line the Indian River.
The wealth in this area is amazing. At mile 941 we reach Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge. It is the nation’s first federally sponsored wildlife refuge dating back to the time of Theodore Roosevelt. Many different species of birds can be found in this refuge. At mile 935 we have some dolphins join us. Instead of riding on our bow wake these dolphins enjoy surfing our side wake alongside the boat.
These dolphins were really playful, jumping five feet out of the water.
It was great entertainment.
They stay with us for about 30 minutes.
We have seen many dolphins feeding in the area.
At 4:30 we pass under the Eau Gallie Bridge and see the entrance to Dragon Point on our starboard. Dragon Point is at the southern tip of Merritt Island. Our home for the night, Eau Gallie Yacht Club, is just inside Dragon Point on the Banana River. Entry into the river is tricky. The channel is squeezed between rocks flanking Dragon Point and a shoal water to the south. Dragon Point gets its name from a 200 ft. statue of a dragon which was perched atop the point.
In 1971 Aynn Christal, who lived in one of the houses overlooking the point, decided her kids needed something to play on. She hired a sculptor from Tampa to construct a stone replica of a dragon atop the point. The dragon fell to the elements in 2003 but remains can still be seen. Once past Dragon Point we spot the Eau Gallie Yacht Club. We have an easy dockage on the outside finger pier.
The yacht club is very nice. They have a restaurant, several tennis courts, and a swimming pool. The club has been in existence for 100 years and they have over 1200 members. The Banana River continues upstream with houses flanking its sides. After dinner aboard, we took the dogs for a walk around the neighborhood.
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