Daytona Beach to Vero Beach

November 26 - January 4, 2017

Daytona Beach

Saturday November 26th we had the anchor up at 7:13 a.m. and made the Bridge of Lions opening for 7:30. Estrella del Sur would once again be sailing solo as 2Outrageous would be continuing on down the ICW later that day.  We had called ahead and booked space for a month at Daytona Marina and Boatworks, so that we could finish some boat projects and so that I could fly home for a visit and deal with some issues at home.  The reviews for the marina were excellent, if understated and as well our friends on Reflection2 would be parking their boat there and eventually heading home for Christmas.  Initially there was wasn’t any room at the Inn, so to speak, for a boat of our beam (width) but after a few calls the Harbourmaster Dave agreed to find us a spot…and what a spot…best spot in the marina, in our eyes.  It is at the entrance into marina and the back of the boat looks out onto the ICW and not other boats.  We got some rocking with wakes and had some rough seas, but all in all it has been pretty calm.  As we were making our way down the ICW Brad had a thought…initially we would be anchoring the first night and heading into the marina on Sunday as that was the reservation.  However, we were arriving to the marina around 2:00 p.m. so I called ahead to see if they could take us today and yes they had the room…the beginning of what would end up being a month stay at a great marina at a reasonable price (a little over $600.00) as well as the start of a great friendship with Dave and his wife Joyce.

Feeling very small in Daytona

Downtown Daytona Christmas Spirit

Entrance to the beach 

You can actually still drive on the beach within the markers

Beautiful beach - too bad the downtown has lost it's charm

The following Thursday we rented a car for the airport run, as I was only able to get a direct flight out of Orlando.  We decided to stay the night in a hotel as my flight was an early morning flight, not leaving much time if we headed directly from Daytona Beach.  The trip to Orlando was pretty uneventful as I had GPS on my phone.  Before leaving I put my US chip into a phone for Brad to use while I was away. I set the phone to guide Brad back to Daytona but somewhere along the way it redirected him to the fastest - and most expensive alternate route. He made it back but not before having to pay for five tolls.  

Been waiting a long time for those snuggles!

Very hard to leave this lil dolly - can she be any cuter??

While I was away Brad worked on many projects including sanding and varnishing the main salon and galley, had the leak in our diesel repaired, installed non-skid on the stairs, etc.  Refinishing the interior woodwork is quite a chore as you have to sand off all the old varnish - paint and varnish stripper destroys the surrounding fibreglass and gelcoat.  Unfortunately, he broke his nose while working on the holding tank - the 3/4”plywood cover and the mattress above it slipped off the support and came down on his nose and while working in another confined space he also took more layers of skin off the top of his head - all while his nurse maid was away!  Good thing I was able to bring back a few boxes of 2nd skin for future incidents…and there will be future incidents we are sure. 

Two days after my return to the boat our friend Kris from Sarasota arrived with her sidekick Toby (the dog) in tow for a two day visit. It was Toby’s first time on a boat and what a good boy he was.  As Kris had her car we decided to head to the beach.  We quickly learned that dogs are not allowed on the main beach and we needed to find a pet friendly beach.  The following day we headed for lunch and decided to find the pet friendly beach.  After a 40 minute drive we found it and after paying to enter, we stayed about 20 minutes.  Very small and nothing like the main beach which was deep and approximately 18 miles long.  In any event, we had a great visit with Kris and Toby, our first visitors aboard.

Toby enjoying the boat

After Kris departed we continued on boat projects, with our friend Eric hoisting Brad up the mast so that he could replace the coaxial cable connection to the VHF radio antenna right at the top.  Very finicky work when having to use one hand to hold on to the mast!  Brad also installed an additional VHF antenna on the Bimini hard top that covers our cockpit and we trimmed, edged, varnished (only time for one coat, more to come) and installed teak doors in the head compartments and the locker by the landing to our tub/shower compartment.  Brad also changed the oil and filters in both diesels in preparation for our trek to the Bahamas.

Brad at the top of the mast fixing our antenna

Brad down safe and sound- thanks to Eric's assistance

The stockings were hung on the bulkhead with care

Our basil Christmas tree - from our friend Corrine

During our stay we not only had time to spend with our friends on Reflection2 but as mentioned, we started to develop a a great friendship with Dave and his wife Joyce.  They are an interesting and rare combination of being good fun and loving to party, while also being bright and interested in world events.  Dave has some great stories about his career in the Coast Guard and the various places they lived and he is also an accomplished guitar player, singer and songwriter.  Brad was absolutely in his element and I immediately related to Joyce. Anyway, our month was soon up and it was time to get moving south.

Tuesday December 27th, the morning of our planned departure, we woke up to some horrific fog…delayed!  It was not predicted to be so thick, but there was well less than a1/4 mile visibility - we couldn’t even see the marker boys into the marina.  The fog was refusing to lift but by 11:00 it had lessened a bit and the Captain had made his decision - we were off.  With a sad goodbye to our friend Dave we headed out of the marina back into the ICW.  The first day was a short one as by 3:30 p.m. we were anchored down in the appropriately named Mosquito Lagoon.  For the last hour the fog had rolled back in with a vengeance-  it was so dense we could not see the marker boys in a narrow channel until we almost collided with them and venturing any further would have been dangerous.  A boat that had been following us at one point radioed us to inform that he could not longer see us, even though were were maybe 50 yards in front of him.   We stayed connected informing of our speed and when we passed markers until we decided to pull off and anchor at the first appropriate spot just off the ICW.  Our ‘shadow’ quickly followed suit.  That evening as were were anchored out we started to hear this womp womp sound, it came closer and closer until it was between the hulls.  It went up and down the centre of the hulls vibrating the floors, then it would disappear and come back again.  We unanimously decided it was a manatee having some fun swimming under our boat.  Quite an experience.

Our rear view from the dock the morning of the departure

The fog hanging over the city

Very intense fog just before we pulled over to anchor

Our travelling partner for the day, anchored behind us

The following morning we were up and ready to go at 7:30 a.m.  Again we travelled in tandem with the boat that anchored with us.  The fog again became very dense to almost zero visibility but we repeated what we had done yesterday and managed to make it to Titusville where our new friend departed the ICW.  We continued on as the fog lifted and anchored down in Eau Gallie, Dragon Point.  Nice anchorage and very secluded, as we were the only boat.

Morning fog rolling in again - like a wall coming at us

The trip the next day to Vero Beach was quite interesting.  The fog was gone, but it turned out to be a very ‘high traffic’ area through some very winding waters .  “Power boat Hell” as Brad called it.  Not that most power boaters are ignorant or have zero regard for other boats, but this was the case that day.  We watched as they swamped out other boats one after another.  Then it happened…diesel engine alarm.  Brad shut off the offending diesel and went below to discover that we had dropped two belts on the starboard engine.  Unfortunately, not the area you want to be working on the diesels as there was wake after wake after wake and the engine was insufficiently cooled down.  I tried to inform him when a wake was coming but I felt like I was constantly hollering ‘another wake’ as I steered around the boats and focused on keeping us in the ICW, as there was very low water levels just outside the channel.  Despite the inconvenience of where we were travelling and a small wake-induced burn (and drenching through an open porthole), Brad was able to install two new belts and we were back up to two functioning diesels in about a half hour.

The calm before the invasion of power boats

Vero Beach

Our scheduled two days at Vero Beach turned into a week.  We decided that as Saturday was New Year’s Eve it would be nice to spend it at a dock and head out somewhere, so we extended the stay by a couple of days.  Plans were made to head out to dinner and see where that took us.  Well it took us to a piano bar after dinner where we met two other couples, then to the town party for a ball drop and live band, then back to the marina where there was a dock party beside our boat.  We always seem to find a party!  Unfortunately, at some point during all the festivities I lost my credit card.  This led to the extension of the stay to the full week as we waited for the bank to send the new one.  We have learned how important these cards are to us, as on a regular basis the bank will put a hold on one of the cards for ‘suspicious’ activity.  Thus the importance of each of us having a card.  Frustrating yes and very inconvenient, but apparently the ‘holds’ are computer generated so we are forced to deal with it with it on a regular basis.  Anyway, I am sure it has nothing to do with the amount of money we are spending! 

A rare beautiful sunset from our marina- never tire of the beauty, every sunset is different

Vero Beach Marina

An odd looking bird that was not afraid of humans 

During the stay at Vero Beach we decided to rent a car and do some more provisioning for our trip to the Bahamas where supplies are scarce and expensive. Also, as we were going to be there for awhile we decided to order a new VHF radio for the cockpit (as our unit there wasn’t functioning properly) and a new SSB radio receiver to hear weather broadcasts. Brad also went out with our new friend Charlie to a boating store where he managed to find some great deals, including our new fish filleting table that he installed on the aft deck on the new stainless steel stern rail he had also installed.  Now all we need to do is learn to fish!  After defrosting the freezer and finding storage for all the provisions (including 19 stripling steaks, 20 pork loin chops, etc., etc.) we knew it was time once again to get moving! 

Brad's find for the day - our new fish filleting table