North from Vero Beach

We had a very uneventful day up the ICW. Very light winds with a basically calm waterway.  It was one of the calmest passages thru this area we've had. We didn't see any sailboats today. We were passed by a few fast boats. There were maybe 10 boats anchored in Cocoa. Not as many as usual.

Wonder what this boat's story is?

A nest along the ICW. He is looking right at me. I guess he's wondering what I am.

Connie, thanks for our delicious scones. 

This is the best picture I've ever gotten of this Space Center building. Usually the water is too bumpy. We're a long way off.

We weren't sure how far we were going today, but went all the way to Titusville. We usually stop at Cocoa, but made today a longer day. It will still be a three day trip to St. Augustine, but at least tomorrow won't be quiet as long as usual.

We left at 7am and traveled 10hrs and 45 minutes and got here at 5:45pm. We traveled 64nm at 6.0kts. This is our first time anchoring here. Not many boats around and we have plenty of room. Quiet night on the boat.

Anchored at Titusville, Just below the bridge.

We left Titusville at 7:30 heading for Daytona. The temperature is 59 degrees. Are we heading North too soon? It's another calm day on the ICW. The water from Titusville heading north is usually bumpy and sometimes very bumpy. We'll take the calm water!

Calm water. Thank  goodness.

The captain's view heading to Haulover Canal. Again, very calm.

Birds along the way.

He's just sitting there in a tree along Haulover Canal.

 
Fishing
 
It's a very calm and clear day, so we could see the towers at the Space Center a lot better. Usually, they're very dim.
 
Just entering Mosquito or "Mossie" Lagoon, as Emma and David on FFF call it.

We saw this big barge and two tugs just after we got into Mosquito Lagoon. As you can see, the boats in from of us tried to give him lots of room. But wait and see what happens.

As they come by one of the markers, it disappeared. Yep, the end barge knocked it down. You can see the sign floating in the water and the bent piling. We could hear the sailboats in front of us on the VHF, talking about calling the Coast Guard and reporting it. In a few minutes the tug captain called the Coast Guard on the VHF and reported a marker missing. He finally got around to telling them he knocked it down. The problem is if the water is bumpy, as it usually is there, it would be difficult to see. Hope it gets fixed soon. We'll be heading back this way in the fall.

 

Sights long the way

 

Low water near Ponce Inlet

Ponce Inlet Lighthouse
 
Cute boat

Lucky us, we got to Ponce Inlet at low tide. Now, this area is known as a place with shoaling in the best conditions. And we are here at low tide. So we read the most current warnings about this area and head into the turn with low water. My captain did great, no problems, no bumping!

Y'all remember this place, don't ya? Rockhouse Creek, one of my favorite anchorages. But you know what? We haven't anchored here in a long time.

This is SBI. No, not St Brendon's Isle. No, not State Bureau of Investigation. It's SBI, Stinky Bird Island. You can smell this island long before you get to it.

Daytona skyline

Bad looking dock and docking. I guess this is still hurricane leftovers. We're still seeing a lot of this kind of damage.

We got to Daytona at 1:55 after traveling 7hrs at 6.7kts for a distance of 47nm. Not a bad day. We had calm waters again. We've been lucky, had 3 good calm days. We'll take it! 

                      

Daytona anchorage

Traffic along the ICW

Beautiful sunset at Daytona

We left Daytona at 7 am heading to St. Augustine. It's one of our favorite places. We like to spend time here walking around, looking at the beautiful old buildings, and eating the good food.

As we left here last year, they were tearing down the old bridge. This year a new one is going up. Sometimes things do move quickly.

These bridge supports are beautiful. The sun was just right this time.

Just doing his job. Gathering his catch.

Matanzas  Inlet. This area is known for shoaling.

Fort Matanzas

Interesting

More hurricane damage or bad bilge pumps? I'll never know.

Now I do think this is from a hurricane...

...and this too.

We got to St. Augustine at 2pm, traveled 47nm, at 6.7kts for 7hrs. We saw lots of dolphins along the way, but none played with us. We've not had much of that this time.

St Augustine Lighthouse

Anchorage at St. Augustine

 

Sunset

This boat makes several trips each day, taking visitors for a ride on the ICW. It looks pretty with it's sails and flags blowing.

As I said, we like St. Augustine. It was great to get off the boat and do some walking, after being "boat bound" since leaving Vero. We took a  couple of long walks around town.

We met up with Earl and Kathy from Seeker and enjoyed a great "Happy Hour Special" at Pizzalley with them. 2-4-1 drinks, free slice of pizza and $5.00 off if you order a pizza. Great margarita, great free slice and delicious dinner that night and lunch the next day. It was Seeker's first time for Pizzalley, but not their last. Then Earl had to top it off with a cone of Ben and Jerry's. How does he stay so slim? We saw them around town a few times and said we definitely want to spend more time with them. They're a really fun couple! They are traveling one more day, then hauling their boat out at St. Mary's boat to leave till the fall. Then back to NC. Maybe that's why we like them so much. They're from NC, so they're like family.

Didn't really see any other boats we knew, which is unusual.

We wanted to leave here and head North in the ocean, but Mother Nature is not going to let us. We've been listening to Chris Parker and checking the weather apps and the closer the time gets, the less likely it looks. Just too much wind and waves for me. So, the latest plan, Plan XX, is we'll leave 4-29-18 heading North in the ICW and go to Cumberland Island. Then depending on the weather, we'll stay decide what to do. Stay inside or head out?? Decisions, decisions. Stay posted.