Daytona Beach to Vero Beach

—Blogpost written by Bob

Daytona Beach to Titusville

On Tuesday morning, December 10, 2019, the diver we hired (Scuba Steve's Diving Services) was unable to find our lifeline gate in the mud below our boat.  Consequently, we departed from Halifax Harbor Marina at 9:45 AM, our latest start of the trip.  As we motored down the Halifax River, there was a nice breeze out of the south (of course directly where we were going).  In about 2 hours we reached Ponce de Leon inlet near New Smyrna Beach.

A sailboat that was hard aground
near Ponce de Leon Inlet.

Since it was low tide when we reached New Smyrna Beach, we took the shortcut in back of an island instead of sticking with the ICW route because it has shoaled pretty badly.  The shortcut was easy and we saw 14 feet of water and more the entire way.  We seem to always see a lot of sunken sailboats in this area and today was no exception.

Below New Smyrna Beach we entered Mosquito Lagoon--it sounds exotic but it's not.  After Mosquito Lagoon, we went through the Haulover Canal and into the Indian River.  Several times, we were tempted to pullover for this night but we kept going until just south of the fixed bridge in Titusville at 5:15 PM where we anchored for the night.

Dusk over Titusville FL.

Titusville to Coconut Point

We weighed anchor and got underway at 7:30 AM on Wednesday, December 11, 2019. The sun was blocked by a cloud bank but we could see well enough to travel.  

The cloud bank hanging over the Indian
River when we departed.

At 8:15 AM we entered a fog bank. We continued traveling but slowed down to about 5 knots. At 8:45 we came near the Addison Point Bascule Bridge.  I felt that it was too foggy to continue so we pulled into a 9-feet deep area just 200 feet or so off the ICW and anchored to wait out the fog.  Shortly thereafter another sailboat contacted us on our VHF radio and pulled in near us and anchored too.  This is the first time we’ve experienced a fog bank in Florida.

The other sailboat (s/v Wildbeast II) that anchored
near us to wait out the fog.

At 9:45 AM we were underway again and immediately passed through the NASA Causeway Bascule Bridge. The visibility was greater than 1 mile and was so much better than the visibility when we anchored.  There was blue sky overhead.  Motoring down the Indian River, our boat speed was a steady 6.5 knots, as there is very little to no tidal current on the upper portions of the Indian River.

Today was a 46-mile run for nearly a straight line due South on the Indian River.  Our excitement for the day was making a 6-degree turn!

We anchored for the night in 10-feet of water at 3 PM near Coconut Point on eastern shore of the Indian River.  We used the bridle for anchoring (in addition to using the chain stopper) because we expected a thunderstorm late in the evening.  The wind was blowing at 15 knots out of the North when we anchored and we had very little protection from the wind in that direction.

Coconut Point to Vero Beach

Last night we experienced high winds and heavy rains, actually most of the night.  The high winds was still present in the morning and the sky was overcast.  The outside temperature is quite warm (low 70's) and more rain was predicted for the day.

Before leaving in the morning I checked the engine oil level and the coolant level--all was fine.  (I will be changing engine oil in Vero Beach.  Changing engine oil is one of the things I have to add to my travel plan.  Since I do it about every 100 hours, this means about every 12 or 13 days under engine power.  It has been about 130 hours since I last changed engine oil currently.)

Great Arm Island in the middle of the Indian River
has about 20 modest homes and is only
a few feet above sea level.

Our journey this morning may have been the worst ever for us in terms of the weather—it was raining heavily (much worse than cats and dogs) and it was very windy, 15 knots and from the East, gusting to over 35 knots occasionally   We had very limited visibility all morning. As we approached Vero Beach City Marina we removed the front window of the dodger so that we could see better. 

We arrived at Vero Beach City Marina at 1:15 PM.  We stopped at the fuel dock for diesel fuel, ice cubes, and fresh water before proceeding to our mooring (#16).

We were looking forward to going out for lunch but the severe weather curtailed that idea. Instead, we had a delicious lunch (tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches) onboard. 

Here we are, sharing a mooring
buoy with a Westsail 32.

Rain is expected throughout the night. but clearing tomorrow (hopefully).  We will be staying here in Vero Beach for at least one week, maybe two weeks...stay tuned.


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