Shoally Melbourne to Vero Beach

At last!  A really neat place to stop.  Got a mooring ball; rafted up with our friends Diane & Frank Albani as this was the practice here with so many boats.  Very boater-friendly.  Dinghy dock. Free shuttle buses all over town. Restaurants. Expensive [EXPENSIVE] homes [mansions].  Off-loaded the bicycles so we could spend several days ashore.  Great place!  It will be hard to get unstuck from and leave "Velcro Beach".

Old Titusville to Shallow Melbourne

As seems to be usual, we picked an ugly town to marina ourselves in [is marina a verb?].  The marina itself was the worst we have encountered yet.  Got stuck ["shoally-hit!"] in the middle of the channel on the way in, got ourselves off, then hit bottom several times more on our way to our not-quite-deep-enough slip.  Pelican poles were so far off the much-too-short finger piers that we had serious trouble getting into the slip; had to double the dock lines to make them long enough to tie the stern cleats to the way-out-there pelican poles. Then had to climb over the bow to get onto the finger piers.

So, instead of hanging out there another day, we figured to head south the next morning, again. That makes 3 nights in a row that we found a marina, planned to stay and extra day, aborted that plan and got the hell out of Dodge.

from New Smyrna to Old Titusville

Last night we were in New Smyrna Beach.  Cute old Florida town, but everything was closed or under remodeling.  Heard that it usually was like that.  So, instead of hanging out there another day, we headed south - another 32 miles today.  Winds fairly strong from the north. Foul current 0.5 to 1.5 knots from the south.

The Bowling Alley -
down the channel for miles between the daymarks on Mosquito Lagoon.
Very shallow everywhere except down the lane.

We motored with the full Genny out most of the day. 

Tonight we are in Titusville.  Again, hoped to spend the next day resting here. But this is probably the most depressing town we have stopped at yet (!).  Everything within walking distance of the marina was either dead or dying.

We did, however, have a good dinner of Rock Shrimp at Dixie's Crossroads in town - only a half hour walk from the marina.  Ilona raved about the women's head in the restaurant - luxurious, and she didn't even have to work the pump in order to flush.

Women's Restroom @ Dixie's

Tomorrow [Tuesday] - on to Melbourne, probably.

Stop, and Go

Friday - arrived at the Halifax Harbor Marina in Daytona Beach.  Picked up by Judy Kane and her friend Marvin; Thai dinner in town then Shabbat services in Ormand Beach (FL), and then a night in her home - a real bed! a real house! a toilet that doesn't need pumping!

Saturday - hanging out with them; sightseeing tour (a real car!) - including one of the many oldest and largest live oak trees in Florida. Then a wonderful dinner cooked by Marvin. Then back to the boat and following as the Packers destroyed the Vikings.

Sunday (today) - from Daytona Beach down the ICW to the New Smyrna Beach City Marina.  Resting, then exploring the town [closed on Sunday]. Very nice historic town; not much to do here though.

Monday (tomorrow) - probably will move on, to Titusville.

AIS track - January 6, 2013

Dinner @ Judy's

Judy & Ilona & Tree

Less Judy & Ilona, More Tree

Marvin & Judy,
Ormand Beach, Florida

Daytona Beach

Arrived at the Halifax Harbor Marina in downtown Daytona Beach today.  A nice day to move south - fair winds (~10 knots), fair current (most of the time, 1/2 to 1 knot), cold with rain [well, 2 out of 3 isn't bad).

Will be staying a couple of days, visiting with Judy Kane (from Minnesota).

St. Augustine pictures

Conch House Restaurant & Tiki Bar

The F of Y in St. Augustine
(pretty easy to find; how did Ponce de Leon miss it)

Blurb at the Fountain

Street scene in St. Augustine,
outside of the Fountain of Youth

Headed south again

Ihana leaving St. Augustine,
about to go through the Bridge of Lions

AIS track, 1/3/2013
St. Augustine to Palm Coast, Florida