Vero to Cocoa to Daytona

Vero Beach Raft: IP460 Cutter Loose & IP35 Island Spirit

With the Bahamas / Abacos adventure behind us, we are now focused on moving Island Spirit north towards our home dock in Rock Hall where we will conclude year #1 of full time cruising. We plan to be back "home" Memorial Day weekend. This trek north on the ICW will be our second, as we did it in March of 2008 from Vero to Rock Hall and really enjoyed it. Highlights of our time in Vero included breakfast with Cutter Loose & friends Marlene & Don at Mrs. Mac's Filling Station and going to the the farmer's market in Ft. Pierce together. We pulled out of lovely Vero Beach after 5 relaxing days and two storms / squalls and powered our way 50 miles north to Cocoa Village.

Anchored off Cocoa Village, FL

Anchoring there, we took the dinghy into town where we met up with our good friend and IP380 owner, Bob W. The great aspect about IP ownership is the people and the IP owners you meet along the way. Bob is one of those owners who has always gone above and beyond to support us and connect with us as we pass by the "space coast" where he lives. Also joining us was Blaine P., long time friend and sailor, who helped us avoid Hurricane Irene last August as we dashed from Block Island to Rock Hall.

Our good friend and IP380 owner Bob W. always makes us feel welcome

 Blaine, our #1 IP Delivery Captain joins us as well

We enjoyed a great dinner in Cocoa Village  at Murdock's with Bob and Blaine, IP delivery captain of http://ParksMarineServices.com  Blaine has recently relocated his business from Charleston to the Tampa area. We wish him all the best!

The next day, we pressed on, with our good buddy boat and close friends Eric and Patricia on IP460 Cutter Loose for our destination of Daytona Beach. This was another 50+ mile day with 8 bridges and an 11+ hour run under full power. Upon arrival at Daytona, we needed to anchor twice as we were too close to a sunken wreck that a local boater alerted us about. Thanks to this kind local boater, we were directed to a better location and set our anchor finally. Since we had a hot lunch under way today in the sunny but cool weather, we simply had cheese and crackers for dinner. Ahh....the boating life can be so simple and so relaxing that sometimes you forget what it is really like to live in a house...

Radeen manages the log book. Yes, that is fleece she's wearing!

Tomorrow we need to make a bridge opening by 0730, so it is anchor up at 0700 and underway again. Destination will be St. Augustine where we will go ashore and enjoy some time off the boat. With our good buddies Eric and Pat, we will revisit the wonderful Spanish Restaurant in town, along with the local micro brewery which we will thoroughly re-evaluate.

Photos of Vero and area

The massive squall line approaching, see video on previous post

Departing Vero with the Merrill Barber bridge to the port bow....sad view

During the run to Cocoa, we took on the most salt spay ever on Island Spirit
25-30 knots NW, port bow, continual spray over the solar panel roof

The NASA VAB, Vehicle Assembly Building....it can be seen for over 20 miles!

This run north on the ICW is easy, the markers are many, it is very clear where to go, and it is so protected. To some it is boring, to us, it is interesting and enjoyable. We look forward to places like Charleston, Georgetown, Myrtle Beach, Wrightsville Beach, Dismal Swamp, Newport News, and the home waters of the Chesapeake Bay. Life is fun on a cruising sailboat....