Day 205: Thursday, March 28, 2013
Port to Port: New Smyrna to near Flagler Beach , Florida
Underway: 9:45 am Motor Off: 4:35 pm Miles Traveled: 34 Stayed At: Anchor
Mile 845 to Mile 809: Remember yesterday. Today was pretty much the same except maybe a little bit warmer and much smaller and more protected channels to navigate. We got a late start waiting for the temps to warm a little and we met some fellow Loopers – Ken and Candy on 7th Sun – who just started their Loop in Fort Myers. We enjoyed chatting and hope to cross paths again in the future. We passed through four basquale bridges which opened exactly on time for us to pass through without slowing down – these guys know their business. We passed by Daytona Beach – a chilly day for all the spring breakers there. It was nice to see houses under construction and others being fixed up along the way – still some that look like they have been abandoned but not very many now.
Dolphin greeted us as we were leaving the marina. In case you are keeping track, since leaving Mobile Bay, we have had only two travel days where we haven’t seen dolphin. They are a special treat every time we see them. We just ticked off the miles 5 miles at a time. We were lucky today to get a nice boost from the current and we were going 6+ mph for most of the morning. What a gift! That extra mile per hour over 5 hours gets us into our anchorage or marina an hour earlier than expected. It’s too hard to plan for but a welcome surprise when it happens.
There are tradeoffs every day we travel. We could have stayed at the marina for an extra day to wait for less wind and warmer temps but then the threat of rain and storms usually increases. There are advantages to traveling on these kind of days – less traffic, less crowded anchorages, we burn more calories to stay warm, we don’t get sun burn (we are covered head to tow), there are no bugs (frozen), its not raining, and the sun is warm. Sounds like a perfect travel day to me.
Our goal today was the cement plant anchorage about 34 miles north. The plant is shut down but the side channel they used to load and unload is protected and has plenty of depth to anchor. You never know how good these places are until you get there but this one was perfect. We were alone in a circular cove at the end of a long channel. It is quiet. There is a Sea Ray (they make big cruising boats) factory just next to the cement factory but it was quiet when we arrived. And the anchor held the first try. Oh, and one more thing.
We got set up to grill some pork chops and boil red potatoes for dinner and who happens to join us but a couple of manatee – laying on the surface looking like a couple of rocks just 30 feet from our stern. They stayed there the whole time we ate dinner and only moved when we drifted over within 15 feet of them. What an amazing end to a wonderful, if cold travel day.
