SHIP'S LOG:
There is something about the weather in Florida, when they get a thunderstorm it is no ordinary thunderstorm, not by a long shot. I have already gone through two of these impressive storms, one in Ft. Pierce, micro-burst included; and one in Miami, with enough lightning, thunder and hail for anyone. Today, I got my third and hopefully my last taste.
There was a 50% chance of rain today, according to NOAA's breakfast weather forecast. I wasn't going anywhere, so it didn't much matter. It actually started out hot and sunny but by mid afternoon, the clouds took over and it got very still, so I flipped on the weather radio. It is never a good thing when you tune into NOAA and catch the announcement that they are suspending regular broadcasting because of a "sever weather situation." Trust me, that gets your attention. Then the started talking about severe thunderstorms, damaging lightning and golf ball size hail headed my way. There was not a lot for me to do but close up the boat, check the chaffing gear, put out another 10 feet of road(90 feet in 8.9 feet of water) and wait.
The sky to the west grew black and the wind started to pick up. The guy near me, who has a slip in the nearby marina but was anchoring out, pulled up his hook and started off to his slip. He had to go south through the mooring field, then turn into the ICW and head north and turn west past the mooring field( he had to avoid a shoal) and headed into the channel to the marina. He just started in when it hit. And I mean HIT! The wind picked up to a nasty 40mph and the rain came down like a fire hose had been turned on me. I instantly lost sight of the guy moving the boat though he was less than 100 yards away. I don't know what the wind leveled off at but the gust were enough to put my starboard rail in the water. I actually thought for a moment that ABISHAG was going to capsize.This was worse than the other two storms. The engine went on, as did the PFD and I went over in my head how to launch the life raft! The radio was screaming about "tornadoes" and "waterspouts", the wind was howling, the lightning flashing, the thunder crashing and the rain was blotting out everything from view. Thank God it lasted no more than 15 minutes. It was about as intense and hair-raising as it gets. Perhaps it is because Florida is so flat, or maybe because it is a peninsula, or maybe it is the cost of the great weather, but they get some incredible thunderstorms down here. I can't recall anything close to the three I have been through down here.
Once it was over, the warnings and watches were canceled and we settled back into 10-15mph winds from the Southwest, probably for the rest of the night, with a chance of showers. It almost seems a relief! I hope the guy who was moving the boat was OK. Trying to get through the narrow channel into the marina and then into his slip and then trying to tie-up the boat in the slip in all that wind and rain - he probably would have been better off just staying where he was.
Unfortunately, the weather for tomorrow doesn't lot all that hot. There is a 90% chance of rain and winds will be 15-20mph. I can deal with that, but they are talking more thunderstorms and that is not something I want to go through again, especially if they are anything like what I just went through. The weekend is supposed to be nice but I have to go through Thursday and Friday to get there. Well, one day, one storm at a time.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
A Surprise From NOAA
SHIP'S LOG:
Surprise, surprise, it didn't rain today. It did everything else but no rain, at least as I write this. It was, however, misty drizzly, cloudy, co,d and generally awful, but no rain. I gather that this will change tomorrow and Thursday in a big way. Florida has been rather dry this winter and they really do need the rain. Lots of marsh fires and wildfires all over the place because of the lack of rain. So before the entire state burns down, they really should get some rain.
It can get just a bit boring on a boat when you are stuck in place. Reading is a way to pass the time but after awhile, your butt gets sore from just sitting. It seems as though coming up with the energy to do maintenance or some of the little projects that could use doing is hard to come by when the weather is crappy. It just seems to suck the life and enthusiasm right out of me.
I am about three days traveling out of Georgia. It will be more than three days as I have stops to make but in actual travel time, just three days, perhaps four. I started looking ahead to Georgia because I have to change my mindset again. Georgia is the state of tides, 7 feet on average, and is also the state that has done the least to keep the ICW passable. I made it down OK but there was a lot of very thin water in Georgia and a lot of very narrow channels in the ICW. And in Georgia I will begin to hit the dead-zones for cell coverage adn Internet access. Where there are big population centers, everything will be fine. Away from them though it will be no signal and no calls and no blogs. I am still unsure whether or not to go outside and give Georgia a pass altogether, but that call can wait til St. Mary and depends really on whatever NOAA has to say . . . . not that I trust them all that much
Surprise, surprise, it didn't rain today. It did everything else but no rain, at least as I write this. It was, however, misty drizzly, cloudy, co,d and generally awful, but no rain. I gather that this will change tomorrow and Thursday in a big way. Florida has been rather dry this winter and they really do need the rain. Lots of marsh fires and wildfires all over the place because of the lack of rain. So before the entire state burns down, they really should get some rain.
It can get just a bit boring on a boat when you are stuck in place. Reading is a way to pass the time but after awhile, your butt gets sore from just sitting. It seems as though coming up with the energy to do maintenance or some of the little projects that could use doing is hard to come by when the weather is crappy. It just seems to suck the life and enthusiasm right out of me.
I am about three days traveling out of Georgia. It will be more than three days as I have stops to make but in actual travel time, just three days, perhaps four. I started looking ahead to Georgia because I have to change my mindset again. Georgia is the state of tides, 7 feet on average, and is also the state that has done the least to keep the ICW passable. I made it down OK but there was a lot of very thin water in Georgia and a lot of very narrow channels in the ICW. And in Georgia I will begin to hit the dead-zones for cell coverage adn Internet access. Where there are big population centers, everything will be fine. Away from them though it will be no signal and no calls and no blogs. I am still unsure whether or not to go outside and give Georgia a pass altogether, but that call can wait til St. Mary and depends really on whatever NOAA has to say . . . . not that I trust them all that much
Monday, March 28, 2011
Sunny Florida? ? ? ? ? ?
SHIP'S LOG:
Way back when, on my way down through this area in December, I groused to one bridge tender about how cold it was, He replied, "We are the "Sunshine State." We say nothing about warmth!" Well, looks like they can't say anything about "sunshine" either! Well, at least not for this week anyhow. The 30% chance of rain today came through and it has been pouring big time since before noon. Even though it is raining, NOAA says there is only a 50% chance of rain in Daytona. Somebody ought to stick their head out the window or something. According to NOAA, there is basically a 50% chance of rain every day through Friday. It is a good thing I wasn't planning to go anywhere or that I didn't have to be anywhere because I ain't going anywhere. Despite all the claims about how wonderful rain gear is, unless you are in an enclosed pilothouse ( I don't have one of those, traveling in a sailboat in the rain is no fun at all. It is damp cold and uncomfortable and despite all your efforts and all your gear, you get damp, cold and uncomfortable and the boat gets damp, cold and uncomfortable. It is best to stay put, light up the stove, crack open a bottle of wine and enjoy a good book.
Despite the rain, I took advantage of an offer from Mike Talover, a member of the Halifax Sailing Club and did a little shopping. He seems quite a nice guy and he wants to make sure I have all I need while I am here. He is very hospitable, unlike the people of Miami. The Club is on a piece of land owned by the city and right next to the sewage treatment plant. It has been around for 50 some years and is a real "every-man's club," just like TYC. It feels like home in a way.
I am currently at mile 831 on the ICW. It seems to be counting down a lot faster than it was counting up but then it always seems to me, whether it is true or not, that you get back faster from a place the getting to it. I've got no anticipated date for my return besides"eventually" as I will move with the weather - warm weather move fast/cold weather don't move.
Mike told me about the guy whose boat is anchor next to me. It is a 42 footer and he keeps it in a marina not a quarter of a mile away. But every couple of weeks, he "cruises" to the anchorage in front of the Sailing Club and "anchors out" for a week or two, living on his boat. At least he is not jost living at the dock.
PS: The spellcheck for this site is not working so forgive any errors.
Way back when, on my way down through this area in December, I groused to one bridge tender about how cold it was, He replied, "We are the "Sunshine State." We say nothing about warmth!" Well, looks like they can't say anything about "sunshine" either! Well, at least not for this week anyhow. The 30% chance of rain today came through and it has been pouring big time since before noon. Even though it is raining, NOAA says there is only a 50% chance of rain in Daytona. Somebody ought to stick their head out the window or something. According to NOAA, there is basically a 50% chance of rain every day through Friday. It is a good thing I wasn't planning to go anywhere or that I didn't have to be anywhere because I ain't going anywhere. Despite all the claims about how wonderful rain gear is, unless you are in an enclosed pilothouse ( I don't have one of those, traveling in a sailboat in the rain is no fun at all. It is damp cold and uncomfortable and despite all your efforts and all your gear, you get damp, cold and uncomfortable and the boat gets damp, cold and uncomfortable. It is best to stay put, light up the stove, crack open a bottle of wine and enjoy a good book.
Despite the rain, I took advantage of an offer from Mike Talover, a member of the Halifax Sailing Club and did a little shopping. He seems quite a nice guy and he wants to make sure I have all I need while I am here. He is very hospitable, unlike the people of Miami. The Club is on a piece of land owned by the city and right next to the sewage treatment plant. It has been around for 50 some years and is a real "every-man's club," just like TYC. It feels like home in a way.
I am currently at mile 831 on the ICW. It seems to be counting down a lot faster than it was counting up but then it always seems to me, whether it is true or not, that you get back faster from a place the getting to it. I've got no anticipated date for my return besides"eventually" as I will move with the weather - warm weather move fast/cold weather don't move.
Mike told me about the guy whose boat is anchor next to me. It is a 42 footer and he keeps it in a marina not a quarter of a mile away. But every couple of weeks, he "cruises" to the anchorage in front of the Sailing Club and "anchors out" for a week or two, living on his boat. At least he is not jost living at the dock.
PS: The spellcheck for this site is not working so forgive any errors.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Daytona Days
SHIP'S LOG:
I am still in Daytona Beach, actually behind the beach and in the ICW. I discovered, when the wind shifted to the west, that I am also very near a sewage treatment plant!I have also discovered that the chart of this area is wrong and that the 13foot minimum depth is a myth. Possibly before the 2004 hurricane season it was accurate, but not any more. I haven't kissed bottom, but if I should do, it is all gooey mud!
I forgot to mentioned my encounter with Red Nun "18" north of New Smyrna Beach. As you recall from last December, it was the last place that I went aground where I needed the guys from TowBoat/US to come calling. It was also a spot where the shoal/sand bar/whatever was right in the middle of the channel. I had plotted my course very carefully but it looked different in real life looking out of the cockpit. Of course, it was all reversed from last December as I was going south then but north now. As I approached the buoy, I slowed way, way down, not wanting to go aground again. This tactic evidently enraged the large powerboat behind me who went roaring past and went around the buoy no problem. I just followed in his wake and again, no problem.
Not having seen a manatee except for the close encounter of the underwater kind in Miami, I am besieged by them in Daytona. They are HUGE! The come slowly trolling to the surface, snort for air, and then slowly dive back down to feed and to do whatever manatees do underwater. All day today, they came up from the south, surfaced on one side of ABISHAG and then dove under her. Well I won't be able to say I've never seen a manatee again.
The next few days promise rain. When ever "Perfect Peter" gives an actual percentage for the possibility of rain, it always rains. Doesn't matter if it's 30% or 40% or 10%, when he gives a percentage number, it always rains. Based on that it will rain Monday & Tuesday & Wednesday. I suppose I can't complain though. It has been rather dry down here this winter. And it could be worse, it could be snow!
I am still in Daytona Beach, actually behind the beach and in the ICW. I discovered, when the wind shifted to the west, that I am also very near a sewage treatment plant!I have also discovered that the chart of this area is wrong and that the 13foot minimum depth is a myth. Possibly before the 2004 hurricane season it was accurate, but not any more. I haven't kissed bottom, but if I should do, it is all gooey mud!
I forgot to mentioned my encounter with Red Nun "18" north of New Smyrna Beach. As you recall from last December, it was the last place that I went aground where I needed the guys from TowBoat/US to come calling. It was also a spot where the shoal/sand bar/whatever was right in the middle of the channel. I had plotted my course very carefully but it looked different in real life looking out of the cockpit. Of course, it was all reversed from last December as I was going south then but north now. As I approached the buoy, I slowed way, way down, not wanting to go aground again. This tactic evidently enraged the large powerboat behind me who went roaring past and went around the buoy no problem. I just followed in his wake and again, no problem.
Not having seen a manatee except for the close encounter of the underwater kind in Miami, I am besieged by them in Daytona. They are HUGE! The come slowly trolling to the surface, snort for air, and then slowly dive back down to feed and to do whatever manatees do underwater. All day today, they came up from the south, surfaced on one side of ABISHAG and then dove under her. Well I won't be able to say I've never seen a manatee again.
The next few days promise rain. When ever "Perfect Peter" gives an actual percentage for the possibility of rain, it always rains. Doesn't matter if it's 30% or 40% or 10%, when he gives a percentage number, it always rains. Based on that it will rain Monday & Tuesday & Wednesday. I suppose I can't complain though. It has been rather dry down here this winter. And it could be worse, it could be snow!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Daytona Beach For Awhile
SHIP'S LOG:
Current Location:29'11.945/081'00.336
I am anchored just off of the ICW in a mooring field that is used by the Halifax Sailing Club. I got in yesterday(Friday) after a long slog up from Titusville, a jaunt of some 41 miles. It was a long slog in that both tide and wind were against me until I hit the Ponce Inlet and then at least the tide as with me.
One thing I discovered leaving Titusville is that I am back into the mud/clay bottom. The stuff holds fast and hard which is good in a lot of wind and a bear when you try to haul up the hook. The anchor and the weights come up covered with this sticky grey mud/clay that gets everywhere. Left unwashed away, it hardens into cement. If you get any on your clothes, it is there till the next washing. If it gets on you, you really have to wash it off right away or you will leave tracks and trails everywhere on the boat. The one good thing that can be said about the stuff, aside from its holding power, is that it doesn't smell like the stuff further north. When I get into Georgia and the Carolinas, the mud/clay also come with a real stink, something I am not looking forward to at all.
I have also re-entered the world of crabpots. It is not that there weren't any further south, it is just that there numbers are increasing rapidly the further north I go. The upper end of Mosquito Lagoon, where there are numerous fishing camps, is loaded with pots as is the waterway from there north. I have to drill myself to remember the golden rule of ICW travel, "Crabpots Rule." They are the most accurate indicators of thin water and are to be respected even when they contravene the actual marks and buoys. I learned that the hard way. I also have to start remembering that little saying, "Hey, Diddle-diddle, Stay In The Middle!". From here north, actually from Titusville north, the deepest part ocf the ICW is most often found in the middle of the channel, especially going through the canals that will show up more frequently now.
Speaking of the Mosquito Lagoon - I can remember on the way down i was rather anxious about the place. It was basically dead arrow straight and there was little room for errors. I white-knuckled it all the way down. This time, however, it was really a piece of cake and a bit of a bore. I suppose I am getting to be an old hand at this.
"Perfect Peter," the computerized voice of NOAA Weather radio has been experiencing problems recently. I am not sure how they create the voice, whether they type worlds into the computer and it gets synthesized into a voice or what. If that is the case, they have to use spellcheck more. Announcing that there might be an interruption in service, "Peter" apologized and said that he "appeciated your pratience."
The Halifax Sailing Club had a day for people who had never sailed before as a way of introducing people to the sport of sailing. They had a morning of instruction and then turned them loose on Sailfish. I had been anchored in front of the club and this morning(Saturday), one of the instructors came out and suggested I move . . . . "got your own safety." I thought he was kidding but I did move. Good thing too, as the sailing portion of the day was more like a demolition derby than anything else. There might have been 10 knots of wind, maybe, but most "sailors" dumped there crafts at least once. There were also several T-boning incidents that kept the instructors hopping. I doubt that a Sailfish could do much in the way of damage to ABISHAG, still it wasn't a pleasant thought to picture someone mashed up against her side.
Took another stab at trying to stem the leak in the front tube of the dinghy. This time I used water-proof adhesive tape covered with two coats of liquid electrician's tape. I did this on deck after haul the dinghy aboard. I took my time and let it sit in the sun after I was done. I also took the time to repaint the registration numbers which have slowly disappeared over the trip. I do not wish any further encounters with the water police.
Boat names of the day: Waste Knot, Want Knot; The Great Escape; Knot My Problem. As I mentioned, the traffic is a little thin these days.
Current Location:29'11.945/081'00.336
I am anchored just off of the ICW in a mooring field that is used by the Halifax Sailing Club. I got in yesterday(Friday) after a long slog up from Titusville, a jaunt of some 41 miles. It was a long slog in that both tide and wind were against me until I hit the Ponce Inlet and then at least the tide as with me.
One thing I discovered leaving Titusville is that I am back into the mud/clay bottom. The stuff holds fast and hard which is good in a lot of wind and a bear when you try to haul up the hook. The anchor and the weights come up covered with this sticky grey mud/clay that gets everywhere. Left unwashed away, it hardens into cement. If you get any on your clothes, it is there till the next washing. If it gets on you, you really have to wash it off right away or you will leave tracks and trails everywhere on the boat. The one good thing that can be said about the stuff, aside from its holding power, is that it doesn't smell like the stuff further north. When I get into Georgia and the Carolinas, the mud/clay also come with a real stink, something I am not looking forward to at all.
I have also re-entered the world of crabpots. It is not that there weren't any further south, it is just that there numbers are increasing rapidly the further north I go. The upper end of Mosquito Lagoon, where there are numerous fishing camps, is loaded with pots as is the waterway from there north. I have to drill myself to remember the golden rule of ICW travel, "Crabpots Rule." They are the most accurate indicators of thin water and are to be respected even when they contravene the actual marks and buoys. I learned that the hard way. I also have to start remembering that little saying, "Hey, Diddle-diddle, Stay In The Middle!". From here north, actually from Titusville north, the deepest part ocf the ICW is most often found in the middle of the channel, especially going through the canals that will show up more frequently now.
Speaking of the Mosquito Lagoon - I can remember on the way down i was rather anxious about the place. It was basically dead arrow straight and there was little room for errors. I white-knuckled it all the way down. This time, however, it was really a piece of cake and a bit of a bore. I suppose I am getting to be an old hand at this.
"Perfect Peter," the computerized voice of NOAA Weather radio has been experiencing problems recently. I am not sure how they create the voice, whether they type worlds into the computer and it gets synthesized into a voice or what. If that is the case, they have to use spellcheck more. Announcing that there might be an interruption in service, "Peter" apologized and said that he "appeciated your pratience."
The Halifax Sailing Club had a day for people who had never sailed before as a way of introducing people to the sport of sailing. They had a morning of instruction and then turned them loose on Sailfish. I had been anchored in front of the club and this morning(Saturday), one of the instructors came out and suggested I move . . . . "got your own safety." I thought he was kidding but I did move. Good thing too, as the sailing portion of the day was more like a demolition derby than anything else. There might have been 10 knots of wind, maybe, but most "sailors" dumped there crafts at least once. There were also several T-boning incidents that kept the instructors hopping. I doubt that a Sailfish could do much in the way of damage to ABISHAG, still it wasn't a pleasant thought to picture someone mashed up against her side.
Took another stab at trying to stem the leak in the front tube of the dinghy. This time I used water-proof adhesive tape covered with two coats of liquid electrician's tape. I did this on deck after haul the dinghy aboard. I took my time and let it sit in the sun after I was done. I also took the time to repaint the registration numbers which have slowly disappeared over the trip. I do not wish any further encounters with the water police.
Boat names of the day: Waste Knot, Want Knot; The Great Escape; Knot My Problem. As I mentioned, the traffic is a little thin these days.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Twas A Windy Day In Titusville ! ! ! !
SHIP'S LOG:
I haven't move a foot since yesterday so the Lat/Lon hasn't changed but I must have cruised a few miles back and forth at the end on my anchor rode. The wind basically howled all day. It was a steady 20+ with gusts up to 35 and those were just the ones I was able to record! And ABISHAG has a lot of windage(above water structures) and tends to "sail" at anchor. She swings from one side to the other until the rode brings her up short and then does it again. I spent the whole day going back and forth in, thankfully, an empty anchorage. Who knows, perhaps I did a couple of miles 90 feet at a time!
I did lay in my course for the next hop. It will be up to Daytona. It will be a jaunt of about 41 miles and shortly after passing New Smyrna Beach, I will re-visit a spot of my last grounding. I have no desire to visit the actual spot as I have no desire to see the guys in the Red Towboat again, but I will slowly and carefully cruise by it. Hopefully, and this is a terrible thing to say, another boat will be just ahead of me and proceed through the spot so that I can be sure I have the right line. This particular spot of my grounding is the one where the shoal is actually in the channel between two buoys. Thus it is not even a matter of staying in the channel, it is also a matter of staying in the right spot in the channel.
I saw less than a dozen boats pass by while I was anchored today. Most of the traffic was sailboats moving north. I would surmise that the great northward migration has begun. This is also supported by the fact that most of the north bound boats were Canadian.
I could stay here a couple of more days but the anchorage in Daytona is a little small and with the weekend coming, I want to try to get a good spot. I will be there for several days as the next stop will be Palm Coast just a hop, skip & a jump up the Magenta Highway and I can't get there before the 5th of April. And it's a good thing too. It is preventing me from rushing back too fast and "forcing" me to enjoy each day and everything it has to offer. There are a lot of worse ways to spend my time!
I haven't move a foot since yesterday so the Lat/Lon hasn't changed but I must have cruised a few miles back and forth at the end on my anchor rode. The wind basically howled all day. It was a steady 20+ with gusts up to 35 and those were just the ones I was able to record! And ABISHAG has a lot of windage(above water structures) and tends to "sail" at anchor. She swings from one side to the other until the rode brings her up short and then does it again. I spent the whole day going back and forth in, thankfully, an empty anchorage. Who knows, perhaps I did a couple of miles 90 feet at a time!
I did lay in my course for the next hop. It will be up to Daytona. It will be a jaunt of about 41 miles and shortly after passing New Smyrna Beach, I will re-visit a spot of my last grounding. I have no desire to visit the actual spot as I have no desire to see the guys in the Red Towboat again, but I will slowly and carefully cruise by it. Hopefully, and this is a terrible thing to say, another boat will be just ahead of me and proceed through the spot so that I can be sure I have the right line. This particular spot of my grounding is the one where the shoal is actually in the channel between two buoys. Thus it is not even a matter of staying in the channel, it is also a matter of staying in the right spot in the channel.
I saw less than a dozen boats pass by while I was anchored today. Most of the traffic was sailboats moving north. I would surmise that the great northward migration has begun. This is also supported by the fact that most of the north bound boats were Canadian.
I could stay here a couple of more days but the anchorage in Daytona is a little small and with the weekend coming, I want to try to get a good spot. I will be there for several days as the next stop will be Palm Coast just a hop, skip & a jump up the Magenta Highway and I can't get there before the 5th of April. And it's a good thing too. It is preventing me from rushing back too fast and "forcing" me to enjoy each day and everything it has to offer. There are a lot of worse ways to spend my time!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Another Glorious Day!!!!!!!!!!!!
SHIP'S LOG:
Current location: Titusville 28'36.787N/ 080'47.752W
For the first time on the trip, I thought that I would have to use radar. When I got up this morning, it was clear but by 8:30 the fog had rolled in and it was thick enough such that I couldn't see the end of the dock. Not great weather for moving on the ICW what with the togs and barges and recreational boats and not a lot of space to maneuver. So I decided to wait it out, but I couldn't wait too long as I hadn't the ducats to pay for another night in the marina. If it did burn off before noon, I was going to have to feel my way out from the Banana River into the Indian River an anchor there. Not having a lot of experience with the radar and with the Banana River so narrow and crowded with boats, the prospect wasn't something to warm my soul. During this foggy time, I got to watch the kiyack races done my the members of the Gold Coast Canoe & Paddle Club. They raced along the Banana River disappearing from sight, strangely trailed by a pod(?) of dolphins. I gathered they raced a couple hundred yards and then came back to the start and did it all over again, tailed all the way by the pod of dolphins. I don't know if this is a regular occurrence but it was interesting to watch. Before the last race, the dolphins appear at the starting line before the boats got back and waited for the boats and then followed them again.
However, by 10 am the fog was fading fast and it was clear enough for me to head out and up the ICW to Titusville. I was hoping for a repeat of Mondays weather, speciofically the winf and its direction. NOAA stated unequivocally that it the wind would be out of the south east at 10-15 which would mean another day of pure sailing. It is not that NOAA is really ever wrong but they were just a little off today. The wind was 10 knots out of the Northwest, basically on the nose, or close enough so that sailing was out. I did try a couple of times when the wind swung around to the west, but when it did , it was very light and every time it picked up in intensity, it swung back to the north west/ north. SO it was a day of motoring.
It was a pretty sparse day for boats but a great day for names: SURREEL; FLOATING PROFIT; SOAKIN; BILL COLLECTOR; BOWL OF CHERRYS; SEAQUEL; LAST MOVE; WE'LL SEA U; MY PRIORITY. My particular favorite was a 25 runabout with four "little old ladies" aboard, each of which sported a beer. The name of the boat? SEA BAGS.
I passed by the Cocoa Village Marina where I had spend a cold Christmas week and called in to Bob the Dockmaster. We had a great chat and I thanked him again for all he and his wife, Chris, had done for me will I was there. He reminded me that he still owed me a bag of ice and I told him that I would stop in and pick it up the next time through.
When I got up to the Addison Point Bridge(NASA Causeway Bridge) and looked at the cars crossing the bridge and cause way as I approached. Since this bridge opens on request, I called and the tender told me to just keep coming and he would open when I got close enough. AS s i approached, I noticed that the cars seemed to speed up. They went faster and faster evidently trying to beat the opening of the bridge they knew was coming. I suppose that this was always the case on these bridges, but I just never noticed it before. I don't think the bridge was open for more than 2 minutes as the tender had great timing and I doubt those who "beat the bridge" really got all that much out of it.
The next people I have to visit are up in Palm Coast, about 70 miles away, but they won't be back before April 5th. SO I will spend an extra day here and do a couple of really short trips to c\get there on time. There is no rush on my part to get back up north to get snowed upon!
Current location: Titusville 28'36.787N/ 080'47.752W
For the first time on the trip, I thought that I would have to use radar. When I got up this morning, it was clear but by 8:30 the fog had rolled in and it was thick enough such that I couldn't see the end of the dock. Not great weather for moving on the ICW what with the togs and barges and recreational boats and not a lot of space to maneuver. So I decided to wait it out, but I couldn't wait too long as I hadn't the ducats to pay for another night in the marina. If it did burn off before noon, I was going to have to feel my way out from the Banana River into the Indian River an anchor there. Not having a lot of experience with the radar and with the Banana River so narrow and crowded with boats, the prospect wasn't something to warm my soul. During this foggy time, I got to watch the kiyack races done my the members of the Gold Coast Canoe & Paddle Club. They raced along the Banana River disappearing from sight, strangely trailed by a pod(?) of dolphins. I gathered they raced a couple hundred yards and then came back to the start and did it all over again, tailed all the way by the pod of dolphins. I don't know if this is a regular occurrence but it was interesting to watch. Before the last race, the dolphins appear at the starting line before the boats got back and waited for the boats and then followed them again.
However, by 10 am the fog was fading fast and it was clear enough for me to head out and up the ICW to Titusville. I was hoping for a repeat of Mondays weather, speciofically the winf and its direction. NOAA stated unequivocally that it the wind would be out of the south east at 10-15 which would mean another day of pure sailing. It is not that NOAA is really ever wrong but they were just a little off today. The wind was 10 knots out of the Northwest, basically on the nose, or close enough so that sailing was out. I did try a couple of times when the wind swung around to the west, but when it did , it was very light and every time it picked up in intensity, it swung back to the north west/ north. SO it was a day of motoring.
It was a pretty sparse day for boats but a great day for names: SURREEL; FLOATING PROFIT; SOAKIN; BILL COLLECTOR; BOWL OF CHERRYS; SEAQUEL; LAST MOVE; WE'LL SEA U; MY PRIORITY. My particular favorite was a 25 runabout with four "little old ladies" aboard, each of which sported a beer. The name of the boat? SEA BAGS.
I passed by the Cocoa Village Marina where I had spend a cold Christmas week and called in to Bob the Dockmaster. We had a great chat and I thanked him again for all he and his wife, Chris, had done for me will I was there. He reminded me that he still owed me a bag of ice and I told him that I would stop in and pick it up the next time through.
When I got up to the Addison Point Bridge(NASA Causeway Bridge) and looked at the cars crossing the bridge and cause way as I approached. Since this bridge opens on request, I called and the tender told me to just keep coming and he would open when I got close enough. AS s i approached, I noticed that the cars seemed to speed up. They went faster and faster evidently trying to beat the opening of the bridge they knew was coming. I suppose that this was always the case on these bridges, but I just never noticed it before. I don't think the bridge was open for more than 2 minutes as the tender had great timing and I doubt those who "beat the bridge" really got all that much out of it.
The next people I have to visit are up in Palm Coast, about 70 miles away, but they won't be back before April 5th. SO I will spend an extra day here and do a couple of really short trips to c\get there on time. There is no rush on my part to get back up north to get snowed upon!
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