Daytona to Titusville Mile 883

     The thermometer hovered in the high 30’s as we left the dock at 7:30 this morning, but the winds of yesterday were missing, so it was a little more pleasant traveling today, especially for Seville without the enclosure. During the morning the winds built to about 10-15 from the north. However, the sun shone brightly and warmed things up nicely.

Sevilla passes through the Haulover Canal and Bridge between Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River

     The birds and dolphins continue to keep us company. I still tend to check when I hear the pelicans diving into the water, as it sounds like someone falling into the water!  I also saw my first manatee surface briefly today.  As for the scenery, vegetation does vary as does the styles of homes and the skylines.  Just below Daytona, there were some high-rise apartments for a while, but then it returned to the barrier islands along the Indian River, Mosquito Lagoon, and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

     There were some tricky navigation spots again today. On the Matanzas River, we needed to favor the Red by G19. In Titusville, we were delayed north of the J.J. Rover Railroad Bridge. (This is not the name listed in the guide - It is listed as the NASA FL East Coast RR Bridge!)  It was closed for 45 minutes while a barge was across the passage way while the crew was doing some work.  There was never any “Security” broadcast over channel 16, just a call out to a sailboat approaching the bridge, which was given the choice to hurry to pass through the bridge before they began the work or to wait. (They foolishly chose to wait!) Our biggest concern today was that the most of the channel we traveled is very narrow with shoaling within it in many areas. It always amazes me that we can be surrounded by all this water, but it is so shallow I could walk across it with my head, and in many cases my knees above water!

Gulls monitoring traffic though one of the bridges.

     We passed the Ponce De Leon Inlet today and I realized today that the ICW has very few marked passages to the ocean. There are a few inlets like St. Augustine’s that are unmarked and state on both GPS and charts, “Rely on local knowledge.”  Talk about scary!

     I checked Wikipedia and found that the ICW was authorized by Congress in 1919. The ICW links natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, sounds and artificial canals, providing a navigable route along its length without many of the hazards of travel on the open sea. The waterway runs for most of the length of the Eastern Seaboard, from its unofficial northern terminus at the Manasquan River in New Jersey, where it connects with the Atlantic Ocean at the Manasquan Inlet, then around the Gulf of Mexico to Brownsville, Texas. The ICW is a significant portion of the Great Look, a circumnavigation route encircling the eastern half of the continental United States. It also allowed for the safe movement of goods and supplies up and down the East Coast during World War II.

     It was another beautiful day on the water topped off with a great dinner with Glen and Maureen at a restaurant named Chops here in Titusville. When we came out of the restaurant, the street was closed for a holiday celebration with street vendors, holiday music, performers and, for some strange reason we cannot explain, a Darth Vader complete with his red light saber.  He must be wishing, “May the holiday force be with you!” Since Christmas is only 21 days away, if he doesn’t, we will!

51.8  / 1075   Total Statute Miles                                ~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete