6 April 2022
Depart: Peck Lake Anchorage 9:15
Make fuel stop: 10:00 to 11:05
Arrive: Vero Beach Private Dock 3:30
Distance: 38.5 nm
Conditions: 90 degrees; humid; almost no breeze
We left the Peck Lake anchorage a little later than expected because Clark became concerned about the boat batteries. When he ran the microwave first thing this morning, it shutoff unexpectedly. Now he has started monitoring battery charge like a hawk watching prey.
Knowing we had a relatively short travel day today, Clark looked for a place to pick up fuel with the best-in-the-area price. He opted on going to Manatee Pocket. We needed about 400 gallons of fuel, and when Clark asked, the attendant at the dock said the tanks pumped at about 400 gallons per hour. With that we knew we would be there at the fuel dock for the next hour. Plus we wanted a pump-out, so we expected to be there a little longer than that. Just over an hour after arrival, we pulled in our lines and left the fuel dock - quite a bit lighter in the pocket book!
Approaching Vero Beach ...
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| Sunset at Vero Beach |
Visiting our friends in Vero Beach is always a delight. Besides a lot of socializing, I got to do boat preparation ready to continue north. My friend Cathy took me to the food store where I stocked up for the long haul. Don let me use his washer and dryer, and I caught up on overflowing laundry needs. Cathy and Franklin had received two desperately-needed packages for us which they delivered to us at the boat.
We stayed for two nights at the dock. Our hostess, Anna, made us a lovely lunch on Thursday, and that evening, all six of us went out for dinner at Bone Fish Grill after Martini-time at Don's house.
8 April 2022
Depart: Vero Beach Private dock 9:45
Arrive: Cape Canaveral Causeway Bridge anchorage 6:00
Distance: 59 nm
Conditions: Gusty wind up to 25 mph; 68 degrees with a cold north wind (jackets and scarves)
Cathy stopped by Don's house with a package that was delivered to their house for us. We managed to see her, Anna, and Don to say goodbye. Franklin was at the nearby marina hoping his diver would come to check out the condition of the paint on the bottom of his boat. After saying goodbye, Anna helped us with our lines and waved goodbye.
Our travels took us by the Vero Beach City Marina.
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| Vero Beach City Marina |
Clark swung the boat down the dock with Franklin's boat on it to say goodbye to him before we left the area. We made a person on a neighboring boat very nervous. She waved us off telling us that all the slips here were full, we needed to go elsewhere to dock. I acknowledged that I understood there were no slips. Then, she asked us what we thought we were doing. When I told her we were visiting friends, she said okay and disappeared inside her boat.
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| Cathy and Franklin on "Home Too" |
Our travels today took us up the long Indian River. We agreed that we would stop at the anchorage by the Cocoa bridge tonight. Calculating out the travel distance and time that would get us there before 5:00 which sounded delightful.
As we traveled, we heard on the VHF radio that a security zone had been set up due to a launch taking place at Cape Canaveral. We were in the right place at the right time. Looking at the sky, I could see the trail of the launch. Initially I did not realize what I was seeing and so did not take a picture. A friend posted his picture of the same thing on Facebook. The photo below is the one he took from his boat.
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| Photo credit goes to Captain Brian |
When we got to Cocoa at 4:30, Clark pulled his typical "Bait and Switch" on me. He does it quite frequently - promising a stop earlier in the day and then changing his mind when he gets there to go further. Looking at the time, Clark declared that it was too early to stop for the day and kept going.
I watched the anchorage come and I watched that anchorage go by! Another 1.5 hours to Clark's new destination for the night.
As we approached the NASA Causeway bridge just before 6:00, we could see numerous cranes and hoped that bridge work would not interfere with our anchoring plans for the evening.
Fortunately, the bridge work was well away from where Clark wanted to drop anchor. He tucked the boat in out of the wind gusting to 25 mph, and we got securely positioned for the night.
9 April 2022
Depart: Cape Canaveral Causeway Bridge anchorage 9:35
Arrive: Daytona Beach / Bethune Point Park anchorage 4:10
Distance: 48.5 nm
Conditions: High today of 68 degrees; North wind gusting up to 50 mph
A cold front came in with heavy rains while we were in Vero Beach. The temperatures dropped by 20 degrees. Last night we slept in cool-weather attire and added a blanket to the bed. What a change - the day before we were running the air conditioning to get rid of the humidity!
Clark struggled to decide on a destination for today. This stretch of the ICW has limited anchorage options for us. He finally resigned himself to settling on Daytona Beach for the night.
Our travels today took us through the busy Haulover Canal where we saw lots of boaters "playing" despite the colder weather and strong winds.
Further along the ICW we saw more folks enjoying the day despite the wind and temperatures.
We passed a barge carrying materials similar to ones we saw at the Causeway bridge construction site. We figured we knew where this guy was headed.
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| Tug "Termite" |
No boat trip through Florida would be complete without views of sunken vessels along the ICW.
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| Total wreck! |
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| Sunken S/V near Ponce de Leon Inlet |
Just as we approached our chosen anchorage for the night, the winds picked up to over 45 mph. It looked like anchoring would be interesting. Clark scoped out the area looking for a place to drop anchor and got into a shallow section that he fought to get out of. I worried that the wind would force him places he did not want to go. At one point the depth finder showed we had no water beneath the keel. Finally after some maneuvering, he got the boat to safer depths. Phew!
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| Waves with white caps on the Halifax River as we approached the anchorage |
When we anchor, I go out to the bow to prepare the anchor to be ready to drop when Clark hits the down button. As we got into position, I had to hold on tight to the railing with my legs spread for support due to the wind wanting to knock me down. Since we have to face into the wind to drop the anchor, I got the full force hitting me as we got into position. It was wild!
Daytona Beach as seen from the Bethune Point Park anchorage at sunset ...
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