Vero Beach to Daytona Beach

—Blogpost written by Bob

Vero Beach to Coconut Point

Before we departed from Vero Beach City Marina we bailed all the rainwater (from yesterday’s rain) out of the dinghy and purchased two bags of ice cubes and three quarts of oil (for our next oil change in about 75 engine hours).

At 8:45 AM on Friday, May 1, we backed out of our slip and were on our way out of the marina.  A cool 11-knot breeze (low 70’s) out of the north kept us nice and cool as we proceeded north on the ICW—in fact, Maggie and I put on sweat shirts to keep warm.  S/V Rainy Days moved along at 6.3 knots (@ 2250 RPM) through the calm water.

Here, we just passed two other sailboats
traveling on the ICW.

About half way into our day’s trip the tide turned against us—it cost us 1/2 knot of boat speed, even while increasing our RPMs to 2450.  This part of the ICW (through Indian River Lagoon) was a little boring with the shoreside buildings all looking pretty much alike—except for the unique Grant Farm Island on the east side of the ICW.

Fifty-acre Grant Farm Island is the only island 

on the Indian River Lagoon that has 

permanent residents.

Grant Farm Island “has been undergoing a conversion during the past 30 years from a fishing-camp community where lots could be purchased for several thousand dollars to one where homes are listed for several hundred thousand dollars.”  Grant Farm Island was first settled in the 1960's.

We stopped for the day at Coconut Point (MM 924) at 1 PM and anchored in 10 feet of (murky) water about 1/2-mile off the ICW.  Coconut Point has become one of our favorite anchorages because of it’s 1/2-day distance from Vero Beach, where we always stop from several days to several weeks.

Tomorrow, we continue our trek up the Indian River Lagoon.

Coconut Point to Titusville

The Coconut Point anchorage is wide open with very little protection from high wind, particularly wind from the north—in most areas, it would not even qualify as an anchorage.  One other sailboat was in the anchorage with us last night.

This morning was the first time we used our new Ultra Flip Anchor Swivel.  At first, I thought it wasn’t working because the anchor, for the longest time, still hung from the chain facing the wrong direction.  The anchor doesn’t turn until the swivel contacts the anchor roller—this was a little different than I expected but it worked as intended. 

We weighed anchor at 7 AM, just after sunrise on Saturday, May 2.  The outside temperature was a chilly 59 degrees as we got underway.  We were wearing jeans and sweatshirts.  It certainly didn’t seem like typical Florida weather.  I had bran flakes cereal with fresh strawberries for breakfast while underway.

There always seemed to be a fixed 
bridge ahead of us.  We would 
see them hours before
reaching them.

We assumed our normal 1-hour shifts at the helm today.  I was finally able to take off my sweatshirt at 10 AM--I still wore jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt.

We dropped anchor just south of the fixed bridge at Titusville, Florida at 1:30 PM, after a 6-1/2-hour day on the ICW.  I was tempted to go further than the 46 miles we traveled but Titusville seemed like a natural stopping point.  We’ve anchored in this vicinity several times previously.  The next convenient anchorage area was pretty far away and would make for a very long day.

Since it was Saturday afternoon, there were a lot of local boaters (fishing boats and jet ski’s) out on the water—I’m sure tomorrow (Sunday) will be the same way.

We grilled pork chops and sweet potatoes on our onboard barbecue grill and Maggie made cucumber salad as an accompaniment.  We enjoyed one of our favorite white wines (Fetzer Chardonnay) with dinner.

The sun setting behind the fixed
bridge from our anchorage
near Titusville FL.

Titusville to Daytona Beach

We were up early again today, weighing anchor at 6:45 AM on Sunday, May 3 for our 48-mile trip to Daytona Beach.  The sun was just rising over the Indian River as we went under the fixed bridge at Titusville.  There was hardly a breath of wind.  The morning was cool and I had to put on a sweatshirt for warmth. 

The Haulover Canal Bascule Bridge
is in the center of this image
as we approach from
the West.

The Haulover Canal Bascule
Bridge opened upon
request.

In an hour and a half we were going through the Haulover Canal and the bascule bridge in the middle of the canal’s length opened for us upon request.  After the canal, we entered Mosquito Lagoon (I love that name!) which is a shallow, but wide, body of water—the ICW runs along the west shore (about 1000 feet off the shoreline) of this lagoon for about 10 miles in a perfectly straight line.

Even Lola was bored through
this stretch of the ICW,
along the Mosquito
Lagoon.

We, then, entered an area with fish camps, RV campgrounds, and small modular homes on the low-lying banks of the ICW.  As the banks became taller (like 3 feet or more) the homes got larger and fancier.

A colorful boat shop among
the RV campers.

Going through the New Smyrna Beach area of the ICW was like a zoo—little boats, including jet ski’s were all over the place.  Adding to the zoo-like atmosphere, it was low tide and we had to watch out for sandbars that came in from the ocean inlets.

From our observation of the boat traffic and partying on sand bars along the ICW you would never believe we are in a pandemic.

Looking north from our Daytona
Beach anchorage.  We face
a lot of bridges in the
morning!

We finally reached our day’s destination and anchored about 1/2-mile off the ICW in 11 feet of water near Daytona Beach at 1:45 PM, exactly six hours from the time we left Titusville.   This is the third time we have anchored in this area.  There was a nice cool breeze out of the east northeast as we began an early Happy Hour.

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Stay tuned as we head for a very brief stop for fuel at St. Augustine FL and then onto Jekyll Island GA...


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