Monthly Archives: May 2015

Motor-sailing to Marineland

5/4/15
Marineland FL, ICW
Position: 29 40.142N, 081 12.895W
Posted by Bill

We left at the butt crack of dawn again, and nobody got any sleep last night. First, the no-see-ums slipped through our screens and tortured us all night. We had the sheets pulled over our heads to escape them. Second, the boat next to us (yes, the one concerned about our anchor scope) ran a generator all night right next to our bed. Third, the boat next to Sofia Jeanne and Byrd Ketcher woke them at 2 AM to tell them they were dragging anchor on top of them. They were not. Some words were exchanged. Kurt and Matt ended up hauling the anchor and moving. After you re-anchor, you need to watch to see if you are well set, which takes at least 30 minutes. You get the picture.

We headed for Marineland Marina, a full day of motor sailing, and since we draw the deepest draft we needed to get there by 3 PM to make the tide so we could get our boat into the marina. We pulled ahead of the our buddy boats and used our speed to make the entrance with time to spare.

Along the way we had several bridges to deal with. Here is Byrd Ketcher and Sofia Jeanne coming under one of the tall ones at Fort Lauderdale:
DSC_0057
We saw more derelict and sunken boats:
DSC_0055
DSC_0056

This marina is small but really nice and clean:
DSC_0059
Across the street is a place called Marine Land that is an attraction with dolphin tanks and other marine life displays. We didn’t go. The beach is right across the street too, and we checked that out for sure. Pretty rough today. Beautiful beach:
DSC_0062
I am always at awe looking out at the ocean. It is the perfect example of beauty and power that is as close to a view of God that we can get here on earth. So much respect for Him and the perfection of the creation.

Tomorrow it is up at the butt crack again, working the tides to get in to St Augustine to ride out some weather that is coming over the next few days.

Ponce inlet and Rock House Creek

5/3/15
Ponce Inlet, Rock House Creek Anchorage, FL
Position: 29 03.671N, 080 55.861W
Posted by Bill

Today we had another long day. Leaving at the butt crack of dawn and motor sailing to Ponce de Leon Inlet just north of New Smyrna Beach. Last year we grabbed a dock on the north side of the inlet, but this time Sofia Jeanne and Byrd Ketcher turned us on to an anchorage called Rock House Creek on the west side of the inlet. It has some sandy beaches and a great view of the inlet and light house. There is only room for about 8 boats in the anchorage proper, and it was pretty crowded mainly due to it being a weekend. We found some room and did our usual thing, Sofia Jeanne and Byrd Ketcher rafting off of one another and us anchoring solo. This is a great anchorage…good holding, a place to go ashore, good protection from the winds.

On the way we passed the islands that had the flamingos in the trees:
DSC_0012
We also got some sailing in!:
DSC_0014
Saw a few sunken boats:
DSC_0016
And while watching our anchor for dragging, we saw a pod of dolphins come by right off the boat:
DSC_0022

We all got together for dinner tonight, eating the rest of the mahi mahi that Kurt caught (yum!), and everyone bringing sides. It was really fun and also delicious! I also got a call on the marine radio from the boat next to me. They were concerned that we did not have enough scope on our anchor for the impending tidal shift. The guy was really professional about it and after I told him we had 60′ of chain out, his fears were calmed. Actually, I think his wife nagged him into calling us.

Before dinner we went ashore and took some pics of the inlet:
DSC_0047
DSC_0043
DSC_0038

Long day…good dinner…nice anchorage!

Cruiser addendum:
If you are interested in anchoring here, I sounded most of the anchorage in the dinghy. To enter the anchorage, when you exit the ICW, stay on the north side going in. There is plenty of water to the right after you get in for about 150 yards, where a shoal develops to the right. If you go straight in hugging the north shore, you have 10 to 15 feet of water all the way to the beach in front of you for a width of about 50 yards to the right. Strong currents! Make sure you have swing room for the tides.

Onward north to Cocoa

5/2/15
Cocoa FL, ICW
Position: 28 20.957N, 080 43.161W
Posted by Bill

Yesterday we took the bus and got groceries and liquor, and as usual, it took most of the day. Then we jumped in the dinghy and hit happy hours at Mr Manatees and Riverview Cafe. It is good to get fresh shrimp again. We were surprised that they didn’t have that in the Bahamas. Here we all are rafted in Vero (photo courtesy of Sofia Jeanne):
Rafted in Cocoa 2015

We left at 7:15 this morning and stopped at Cocoa…long day! We traversed the Indian River and this part of it is wide, leaving us exposed to the NE winds that were not forecasted to be this strong…go figure! It was also a weekend on the Florida ICW, which you all know is a lovely experience…not! it wasn’t as bad as south Florida, but there were several Ass Captain awards being handed out as large power boats came by us at full speed. Everyone was tired and we have all been here before, so we didn’t even go to shore. Tomorrow we head up to Ponce Inlet and will make our way to Saint Augustine from there. Most of the next couple of weeks will be long day trips to re-trace our steps back north. If we experience something new I will elaborate and post more pictures, otherwise you can check out the blog entries from last year as we made our way south.

Here is the anchorage at Cocoa:
DSC_0003
DSC_0002