Ship Wrecked Sailor's Refuge

Thursday, February 21, 2019



It's around 8:00 P.M. October 16, 1904, Captain Prospero Martolo and his crew of 12 men are extremely exhausted from battling a severe storm for three days.  The pounding waves and torrents of rain and wind have battered the ship and crew, and they are no longer able to control their ship.  Captain Martolo knows they are miles off course; but, he has no idea of their exact location.  They are unable to keep the ship in deep water. The Georges Valentine has been knocked broadside to the sea and towering waves are washing over her deck, the hull is breaking apart, the deck house and life boats have been washed away, and there is no shelter aboard ship for the crew to escape the horror of this night.  The three steel masts have been ripped off the ship killing one crew member.  The ship is being blasted apart by the wind and waves; and, most of the crew are now in the ocean at the mercy of this violent storm.  Five men are missing and will never be seen again.  The surviving crew must somehow muster what remaining strength they have if they are going to survive this nightmare.  Their only hope is to make it to shore without being swept away by the pounding surf.

The first man ashore is Victor Erickson of Sweden.  He has managed to haul Ernest Bruce onto shore.  Their cloths have been ripped away during the storm.  They are naked, cold, injured and too tired to move.  The spend the next few moments trying to catch their breath before making their way up the rocky shore line to seek help.  This part of southern Florida is very sparsely populated.  There is no roads, no train, and no electricity for many miles.  Miraculously, they are only a few yards from a house of refuge.  They knock on the door and the refuge house keeper Captain William Rea is awakened and answers they door.

This house of refuge is one of ten houses built along Florida's eastern coast line back in the late eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds, and they are fully equipped to handle this emergency.  The nearest doctor is ten miles away and there's no phones here. Captain Rea and his wife offer immediate aid to both sailors. 

Captain Rea and Victor Erickson go out into the storm again and spend most of the night looking for the rest of the crew.  Seven of the twelve crew are in the house of refuge by dawn.

But Captain Rea is unaware that the Spanish ship Cosme Calzado ran aground in the same storm three miles north of Georges Valentine. Fifteen of the sixteen crew survived that ship wreck.  They made their way to shore and saw a sign pointing south stating "refuge House 3 Miles".  They are able to make the three miles journey through wind and blowing sand to the refuse house where Captain Rea and his wife are now caring for 22 crewmen, filling the refuge house to capacity.  It will be several weeks before these men will be able to make their way home.

Each of the ten refuge houses has their own thrilling stories of rescue.  But, Gilbert's Bar House of Refuge is the only one still standing and it's a great place to visit.  Your personal tour guides will share many interesting facts about this house of refuge and how this house was utilized through WWII.  If you are into scuba diving, the Georges Valentine is only about 100 yards offshore and is an underwater archaeological preserve.

This map shows the location of all ten houses of refuge along Florida's east coast.

This is Gilbert's Bar House of Refuge as seen from the ocean side.  It was completed on March 10, 1876, and is the only remaining refuge house.  The upper level housed 20 cots for injured sailors.  The main level is the keepers living quarters.  Let's take a tour inside!

This is the keepers bedroom.  The mosquito netting was a must back when this was a wilderness area!

For those of you that are into quilting, this is a signature quilt and is not part of the original furnishing.

This is the dining area.

This is the kitchen.

The next two pictures are the living area.

These are the signs placed along the beach to direct sailors towards the refuge house.

This is the view of the Indian River Lagoon looking out of the back window.  This dock was used to supply the refuge house with food and medical supplies and the only means to civilization. 

This is a view of the Atlantic Ocean looking towards the sunken Georges Valentine.

This tower was built during the early part of WWII to watch for German submarines.  Most people don't know that German subs sank over forty vessels near Florida's Treasure Coast!

If you are interested in historic sites or just enjoy being along the ocean, this is a place to visit.  It is just North of Bathtub Beach so bring your swim suit and don't forget the sun screen!  Gilbert's Bar House of Refuge is located at 301 SE MacArthur Blvd.  Hutchinson Island, Stuart, Florida.

A Day on Peanut Island Near Palm Beach Shores, Florida

Thursday, April 13, 2017


Today we are heading to Florida's Treasure Coast to check out Peanut Island.  Our friends Ron and Karen have joined us for this trip.  Our first stop is Sailfish Marina where we will board the water taxi to Peanut Island.  The Island is only accessible by boat unless you happen to be a really great swimmer!  There is a 1.25 mile paved walking trail around the Island, several bathrooms, a museum, a campground, plenty of beaches, a snorkeling area,  and a secret bomb shelter built for President Kennedy.  Oops!  I guess it's not a secret anymore! You can tour the bomb shelter Thursday through Sunday.

The 79 acre island is the result of dredging an inlet waterway from Lake Worth to the Atlantic Ocean in 1918.  All of the dredged material was piled up to produce this island.  Its original name was Inlet Island.  In the early 1940's, there was a plan to use the island for shipping peanut oil.  But, that plan failed in 1946 and the island was renamed Peanut Island anyway.

We arrived at Sailfish Marina in plenty of time to purchase our $12 round trip ticket to the island.

This is our water taxi captain!

This is Captain Ron, the real taxi captain!

This is what Peanut Island looks like from our Marina.  You could probably swim to the island from here if you wanted to; but, I wouldn't recommend it.  Although, the turquoise colored water was very clear, it would allow you to easily spot any sharks that might be looking for a snack.

When we stepped foot on the Island, we could take this trail to the right...

or the left.  We chose left.

The campground is to our right.

The next two shots are the inlet that was dredged to make this island. You can see the ocean from here.

This is one of the beaches on Peanut Island.  The area by the rocks is a great place to snorkel.

We continue our leisurely walk along the paved path.

The boat traffic could present a problem if you decided to swim here! Ha!

 This is a small lake inside the island.

The water is so clear you could almost drink it!

This is a cruse ship docked at Riviera Beach Marina.  There is another water taxi that departs from this marina to Peanut Island.

This is a view from the south east side of the Island.

This is Sailfish Marina as seen from Peanut Island.

It's such a nice day to walk the trail and take some time to enjoy the views.

Since this was our first trip to Peanut Island, we weren't sure what to expect.  But, when we visit the Island again we'll bring some drinks and maybe a lunch, and we'll plan to take the $14 (senior price) tour of the museum and bomb shelter. Maybe even spend some beach time.  Whatever you end up doing here, you will certainly have a great time...guaranteed!

Nina and Pinta Replicas, Vero Beach, Florida

Wednesday, April 5, 2017



One of the few things I remember from grade school was in "1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue". Well, today we are heading to Vero Beach with our neighbors Jerry and Penny to see two of the replicas of ships that Christopher Columbus used in his first historic voyage.  I am sure you all remember Columbus left Europe with three ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.  So, you are probably wondering why there were only two replicas built.  The Santa Maria was the largest of the three ships and was very slow and more difficult to maneuver, and could not make it through the water ways of the replica tours.  The original ship sank before making her way back to Europe and there are no plans to build a replica of her at this time.

Columbus was born in 1451 in Genoa and died on May 20, 1506.  His historic first journey left Europe sailing West into uncharted waters.  The three ships took 33 days to cross the Atlantic and arrive in the Bahamas.  It would take nearly 7 months before the Nina and Pinta returned without the Santa Maria.  There is no record of the Pinta after she returned home from the first voyage.  However, the Nina logged more than 25,000 miles under the command of Columbus.

This is the favorite ship of Columbus, the Nina.

 I was standing under to upper deck in the rear of the ship by the rudder when I took this picture.  The deck is really small considering this ship had a crew of 24.  She is 65 feet long and 18 feet at the beam.  The hold below deck stored all of the provisions, so the crew had to sleep on the deck.  It's a wonder they didn't all die of exposure!

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This is the rudder I was standing by when I took the above mentioned picture.  It looks like tons of water would have washed through this hole in rough seas!  Imagine trying to sleep on a cold wet deck every night!

 You can see part of the rigging.  These ships required some special skills to sail across the ocean.

 This is the Pinta.  I am sure you noticed both ships are black.   Back in the day, they were covered with pine tar to make them more water resistant.  The Pinta is 85 feet long and 24 feet at the beam.  She sailed with a crew of 26.  Both ships draw 7 feet of water.  Because of the dry winter this year in South Florida, they sailed around the Keys from Fort Myers to get to Florida's East coast instead of taking the short cut through the Okeechobee Water Way.  The Water Way depth is currently only only 8 feet.  

 This is the deck of the Pinta.  Ahead you can see the sails of the Nina.

 They carried their water mixed with wine to keep the water from going stale.  That's their story and they are sticking to it!! All of the provisions including the live stock were stored below.

 This is where all provisions were stored.  Currently this area is used to house the crew of the replica tour.  So, it's a bed room now!

 This was taken from the upper deck of the Pinta.

Below the upper deck is the rudder and compass and navigation area.

The Replica tour will depart Vero Beach on April 10th and will pass through Georgia and the Carolina's and continue up the East coast and into the Great Lakes.  Then will be taking the Arkansas River through Oklahoma.  Perhaps you can catch the tour somewhere along their touring route this year.  It's always fascinating to see an important piece of history come alive.

A Sailing Adventure On The St Lucie River, Stuart, Florida

Wednesday, November 16, 2016


We booked our sailing date on the internet with Treasure Coast Sailing Adventures back in July.  This is an interactive sailing adventure on the St Lucie river near the point where the river empties into the Atlantic Ocean. An interactive sailing adventure means the passengers may help raise the sails and steer the boat if they so desire.  Our cruse only had six people so we felt like we had the ship to ourselves.

Our actual departure date for the schooner Lily was moved out several days due to hurricane Matthew's damage to the city dock in Stuart.  The first departure of the winter season was suppose to  be October 24.  As it turned out, our departure on November 16 was the first of the season, and that makes it a shake down sail.  Anything can happen on a shake down cruse, and the unexpected happened mid way through our two hour cruse!

First, let me tell you about the schooner Lily.  She was originally built in the 1970's in response to the oil embargo, and was named Lily of Tisbury.  She was constructed as a sailing barge and began hauling lumber and fire wood in 1978 thru 1985 from Martha's Vineyard and Main.  Originally, she had a single mast, a flat bottom for sailing in shallow water, and a blunt bow to allow her to maneuver in tight spaces.  In 1985 she was sold with the intention of being converted into a sailing yacht.  A second mast was added, but the conversation was never completed until the current owners Fred and Jamie purchased her and began Treasure Coast Sailing Adventures.

Kitty is ready to board the Lily, and Captain Fred is there to greet us.  Note Lily's blunt bow I mentioned earlier.

 Before leaving the dock, Captain Fred has some safety rules and informs us that if we start to sink, life jackets are available!  But, don't wait for him because he will probably go down with the ship, or at least part way down...maybe chest high!  That comment received a few nervous chuckles from all six passengers.

The crew consists of Captain Fred, First mate Jamie, and Dillon (Dillon is pictured below).  They are all a very knowledgeable and experienced crew.

Once we left Shepard Park, we sailed right pass this marina.  The building in the background is  one of our favorite restaurants, Sailor's Return.

The main sail is quickly raise by the crew with some assistance from some passengers.

Next up is the Fore Sail.

Jamie expertly raises the Stay Sail, and we are off and sailing into a 10-20 mph breeze.

Captain Fred is at the helm.

Hey!  Look at who's at the helm now!  Wait a minute, That's me, Captain Craig!

You can tell by the wake behind the boat that we are not exactly going in a straight line!

Now it's time to tack, so I have to bring her about.  Dillon is watching just in case I screw this up!

After a while, I "let" the Captain take the helm again.  A few minutes later the unexpected happened!  The line holding the Stay Sail broke!  The sail stated to flap violently, and Captain Fred was yelling instructions to the crew.  The Captain headed Lily directly into the wind to take the wind out of the sail and the crew managed to get the sail under control and replace the broken line.  Whew!  That was fun!

Kitty's enjoying the ride!

We spotted four bald eagles circling overhead.  I was only able to get two of them in this picture.  They were too high to get a good picture.

Captain Fred is getting ready to blow into this conch shell.  I was amazed that it sounded just like an ocean liner blowing it's horn!  Jamie said he practiced blowing that thing during their drive down to Florida from Main.  It almost drove her nuts!

Here's just a few of the many fabulous homes that dotted the river.  Most of these homes were at least a half mile or more from the Lily, so it's hard to get a close up shot.

This is the club house at the Floridian golf course!

Let me tell you, that was a quick two hours!  I can't believe it's time to return to the dock. Jamie stands ready to toss a line.

That was a fun trip.  No rough water on the river despite the windy day.  It's much cooler on the water and light jackets felt pretty good today.  The weather  today made great sailing conditions and this trip was a definite repeater!  Maybe next time will try the sunset cruse.

Well it's time for lunch!

So, we headed to Jupiter to try out the Rustic Inn Crab House.

The food here will put a smile on your face!

And there's a great view of the Jupiter Inlet.

And a great view of the Jupiter Light!

After lunch we made a few shopping stops.  Then we decided to top off our day with a chocolate strawberry shake before heading home!  Wow!  What a great day!