Voyage 2012: Chapter 3

08 Feb 2013, The Devil ICW, 27 39.588 N/ 080 22.302 W

Four days ago we left St. Augustine for Vero on the inside. We hadn't done this route in 10 years and we now remember why. It is hateful. We met jerks, unscheduled bridge construction, one hard thump, and lots and lots of skinny water. Trip to Daytona went without incident except for the jerk. At Mantanzas, a big cat crossed our bow for the deeper water, forced us into the shallow water and then cussed us out. After the jerk came the bridge. This on-demand bridge (Knotts bridge) became a 3 times a day bridge. No LNM, no channel 22A announcement, no nothing. We were lucky that we were late for the 1400 opening as they were late moving the barges out of the channel. Later we anchored under the twin bridges at Daytona Beach. Nice anchorage!

Next day came the dreaded Ponce inlet crossing. The Ponce light

'warned' us that the inlet was approaching. The first intersection posed no threat but as we passed the second crossing, Jule stopped with a thump (R 18). It was low tide but we only draw 5.5 ft. and the controlling depth is supposed to be 12 ft. No LNM, no 22A, no announcements. A month later, it was reported by the USCG on 22A.

After we passed through Haulover Canal, we were greeted by thousands of

birds, most being cormorants. They were peacefully resting until Jule interrupted them. The show was quite impressive. We experience more skinny water but nothing serious. Later we passed the 'new' Titusville mooring field. It looked quite nice but also quite empty. We hope it had more occupants earlier in the season.

We passed Titusville late in the afternoon as were heading for the anchorage on the SW shore south of the Addison Pt. bridge. This is special to us as it is very close to our favorite campground at Manatee Hammock. It turns out that Butch and Vicki saw our boat as they were staying at the campground. Kewl. Sunet Annie took this picture after we secured the hook. The next day we made the short trip from the bridge to the Cocoa anchorage. where Butch and Vicki drove by to say hi and bye. We explored the S.F. Travis hardware store with them and the new Mexican restaurant. Early in the afternoon, we parted company where they went back to the campground and we had a very wet dinghy ride back to Jule. Glad we are not in the outside.

Today we left the anchorage and headed for Vero Beach. No jerks, no bumps, no bad bridges. Life is good. This is our favorite part of the Floida ICW. Many great family memories. Sammy Jane was our forward lookout but she was not the best. She was easily distracted. That is OK as there are not too many hazards on this stretch of the ICW.

We arrived in Vero today around 1500 and were assigned a great

mooring ball (#25). As the mooring field had several empty slots, there was no need to raft. We were not surprised as it was late in the cruising season. Sammy was happy as she could now go to the BBB anytime she wanted.

20 Feb 2013, Chillin in Vero, 27 39.588 N/ 080 22.302 W

We would spend 13 days here in Vero partly because we like it, partly waiting for medicine, and partly waiting on weather. This is not a painful place. Many call it Velcro Beach. One of the problems of staying so long is the harbor is very rich in nutrients so critters and slime collect on your hull including the dinghy. So we normally will haul the dink every night to keep the growth to a minimum.

The temperatures dropped again as the cool weather is moving further

south every day. Many days were jacket days. Weather continued to be difficult where Lows would transit our cruising area every two days or so. It might be an inside ride to Lake Worth instead of our normal outside ride to Nassau. We hope not. We had a great surprise today when our good friends, Harry, Sheila, and Conrad came and visited. And yes, we forgot to take a picture of them also. It was so good to see them. Bob has known Harry since 7th grade.

We got a new neighbor, SV Acceptance (UK). John and Mary are heading South also but are currently having refrigeration problems. We invited them over for drinks and treats. We hope they had a good time. We did. They keep their boat in the Wilmington area so we hope to seem the again this summer.

We had more new neighbors. We heard them 'blowing' early one morning.

and when we arrived on deck found a dozen dolphins playing in the harbor. Ann went crazy when she saw them by singing "Here dolphie, dolphie, dolphie". It was an amazing sight both on the water and on deck.