New Smyrnra Beach and Pineda Causeway Bridge

2/19/16   To  29 00.992N,    80 54.797W    "G45" Anchorage, New Smynra Beach    52.3NM

Around 0530 Friday morning the anchor alarm went off, a shrill siren that would wake the dead, and a false alarm.  The wind had been light and the anchor set well, the probability that we'd drug was slight.  Leonard used the app on the tablet instead of the cell phone and it apparently lost GPS signal. It took a moment to re-acquire a GPS position to see how far we were from where the anchor was set (the easiest way to see if you've moved - we had not) with the alarm blaring away.  Maybe it was a good thing no one else was near us.  While it's nice to know it 'works', I'd have rather slept.

After that less than stellar start, we had a day for the records, with a favorable current most of the day.  Other than a very short segment N of Ponce de Leon Inlet, the current averaged over 1kt in our favor, this should happen more often!  We'll try to remember this the next time we spend the entire day fighting current.

The day was spent traveling with 2 sailboats (we were in the middle) and Mojito, the sport fish that had gone through Bridge of Lions with us yesterday.  As Leonard commented,  Mojito was unusual for a sport fish.  They were polite, motored at trawler speed, and anchored out (they anchored again at New Smyrna Beach just S of us).  Usually sport fish roar by doing 20+kts, throwing huge wakes, act like they don't see you, and stop at marinas so they can plug into power.  This crew looked like a father and 2 sons on fishing trip with a Bahamian flag along with the Stars an Stripes

Dirigible N of Daytona - I thought we'd see it again,
but perhaps it had been tethered for the jet flyover

It was race week at Daytona, and we saw both a dirigible and a fly over of military fighters as we puttered along on the ICW. All but 1 of the 4 opening bridges were on demand so the day wasn't spent trying to time arrivals.  Unfortunately our timing at the New Smyrna Beach bridge was off - maybe if we'd pushed, we could have caught the 1520 opening. Instead, we slowed down and and waited until 1540.

We hoped the floating town dock in town would have a spot for us, but a good sized trawler was already there filling the dock, and neither if us wanted to tie up at the nearby slightly curved fixed dock, an invitation to scratch the new paint job.  Instead, we scoped out a spot further south to drop the hook where some of the locals moor just off the channel.  We've seen numerous dolphins on the ICW the past few days, and a couple surfaced alongside us as we settled in for the night.

2/20/16    To  28 12.676N,    80 38.742W    Pineda Causeway Bridge Rt 404    57.8NM

A flock of white pelicans on the Mosquito Lagoon

With a bit of current still flowing S, we were underway by 0715.  It held until we cleared the Haulover Canal and were headed down the Indian River where current becomes less of a factor.  It was a cloudy morning, and as we headed S, the clearing skies  just  N of us, indicating the day would improve.  A N breeze would have been nice so we could have sailed, but with the high slipping off the coast, the next wind direction will have a southerly component, dead ahead, so we weren't complaining, the calm conditions make for easy motoring.

An alternative life style for retirement, although not everyone gets a spot on the water

A few of the anchored fishermen at the E end of Haulover Canal - the bridge was open for Mojito

Being a Saturday morning, the local fishing fleet was out in force, especially as we approached the Haulover Canal.  Dodging anchored runabouts, I lost count around 18, made for an interesting passage since the channel makes a dogleg at the entrance and it was difficult to see which side of the channel they were anchored.  The parking lots, both by the bridge and the W side of the island, were packed with cars and boat trailers.  Both sides of the canal had numerous fishermen trying their luck casting from shore.  I'm surprised we didn't have a lure land on the deck.  It must be a prime spot for fishing!

These fishermen were a long way from shore -
the island behind them is a rookery filled with nesting birds

With the assembly building and launch site in sight, Leonard checked for the next scheduled launch date on the cell phone, Feb. 24, longer than we want to wait.  It was a bit of a surprise to see the rocket, ready for launch, when we got further S.  Several trips ago our timing was perfect and we had grand stand seats at a night launch - being anchored nearby makes great viewing.

Wednesday's rocket, ready for launch

A bit after noon, when an onshore breeze started to fill in with a bit of E in it, we raised the main.  Eventually as it shifted a bit more to the E, and we unfurled the jib.  Not quite enough wind to turn off the engine, but enough to save some fuel while motor sailing.  Unfortunately Leonard spotted a twist in the jib at the furler that hadn't been noticeable offshore while running downwind, but it was with the jib sheeted in tight.  An attempt to correct the problem while underway wasn't successful, we'd need to unfurl and lower the sail a bit, easier to do once anchored.

We passed Cocoa shortly after 1400, and the Captain declared it too early to stop, so we did another 10NM, anchoring in the lee of the Pineda Causeway (most anchorages on the Indian River are on one side or the other of the river at a causeway, depending on the wind conditions).  Seemed we traded last night's sound of the surf breaking on the shore for traffic crossing the bridge.  Given my druthers, I'd pick the more constant sound of surf .

We'll arrive at Vero Beach by mid afternoon tomorrow where we'll pick up a city mooring (with less current and more protection the moorings don't tend to tap on the hull and anchoring is prohibited).  It's not clear how long we'll stay with the arrival of the next cold front due sometime Tuesday or Wednesday.  We prefer to do the next leg to Lake Worth offshore, avoiding shoals and a number of restricted bridges.  So we'll try to time things to avoid strong S winds and inclement weather.  Vero is a convenient place to wait for a window, the moorings offer good protection from the weather, there's a dinghy dock, and the free shuttle bus makes it easy to provision.

 Lynnea