Tropic anchorage

Not bad!

Map

We are near Eau Gallie.

Tropic

We are anchored near Melbourne and Dragon Pt. at a place called Tropic. We had a nice run today and actually sailed for once. We are on the wide Indian River which allows us to hoist some canvas. By the way I forgot to tell you I saw 2 mermaids yesterday. Well...actually they were manatees. Pretty cool though!
Sailed by Cape Canaveral this morning. We have been there before and it is an awesome place.
Sunny and warm and near 80. I think it is shorts from here on out! Looks like a good sunset tonight so I'll hoist a sundowner for all my friends up north (who will no longer be my friends if I keep rubbing it in). Hunker down and stay warm!

Can I supersize that for you?

We are 30 something miles further south as we left the marina at New Smyrna Beach at 8:30 and arrived in Titusville around 2:00.  We had planned to anchor out tonight but since there is a front passing through we opted to check in to a marina.
We had a great evening with cousins last night as they drove down from Port Orange and we all went out for dinner. We went to an Italian place called Tiano's and I really enjoyed my meal of veal parmesan. Overall it was 4 forks for me!  It was nice to celebrate Claire and Judy's birthday, too. Back to reality tonight as we ended up at Burger King!

Joanna spent some time spotting homes along the shore today and we have been noticing many waterfront properties for sale during our journey.  The economy is definitely still hurting.  Also saw quite a few foreclosures while in Port Orange when we were there.

Hopefully it will clear up overnight and we will be off again tomorrow.  Threatening to rain which would be something we have yet to see on this trip in over a month.
Finally, we still cannot get over how few people are traveling south for the winter.  We still feel like the only people out here every day.  I'm sure that will change as we get further south.

Well, gotta go...Joanna is whining for a Pina Colada!

Family time

We just spent a wonderful 2 days in Port Orange visiting with my cousins.  Great time and so many good laughs!  Bonus time tonight as we are now in New Smyrna Beach and "the girls" are coming down for dinner.  Judy and Claire are having a birthday today!
Here is a shot of the whole gang lineup style:

Smooth trip here to New Smyrna this morning although we hit the bottom hard going through some shoaling water at low tide.  It got my attention so we will be ready on the return trip.  The state and feds are not doing enough to properly maintain this waterway.  Many stretches are in desperate need of dredging.

Here is a shot of "the cousins": Me, Judy, Alice, Claire, Nancy, and my brother Rich!

LakeBocacam.com

I spent well over a year planning for this trip.  During that time I had an easy way to lift my spirits by simply logging on to <www.lakebocacam.com>. Any time the weather was dreary, I could just click onto that site and most days it would be sunny and warm.  This was made more wonderful by the simple fact that I knew that someday we would be there. That someday is coming next week and when we get there you will be able to see us and Crossroads on camera as we wave from the anchorage.  How cool will that be?

So if you are feeling down by bad weather of late, and I know there are a lot of you out there, try Lakebocacam.com for yourself.  It is a good place to be...at least I think so.  Next week I will know for sure. Stay tuned for that!

Today we are gonna do some chores and pick up some stuff at the stores and then head over to my cousin Judy's house. We spent the evening there last night watching the super bowl and eating lots of wonderful food prepared by my cuzzint. That woman can cook!!!
Tonight more family arrives so it should be a fun evening!www.lakebocacam.com

The Daytona Blimp!

This is a story about what happened the last time we were in Daytona in 2006.  It's just too good not to reprint!

 Joanna and I had just arrived in Daytona, FL, on the northern leg of an ICW winter cruise.  We were attempting to anchor Cross Roads, our Irwin 38, just north of the downtown bridges in a postage stamp anchorage we like.  We had already made one unsuccessful attempt at getting the hook down.  Now we were circling, tired, and in complete disagreement about exactly where to let go for a second try.   

A nearby boater would have correctly assumed from our intense banter that we were having an argument.  I hasten to add that this is a good thing, since recent research says that couples who argue live longer.  It has something to do with not bottling up your emotions.  I tell Joanna that our life spans are being extended by what we now call “Life Extending Discussions” or “LED’s”.

This evening’s LED ends when Joanna correctly calls the second drop and our anchor set is a winner.  I know we are in the proper location when I see the distinct landmark overlooking this site: The Daytona Blimp.   Yes, I said blimp.  You see, random photos taken of the anchorage during a previous visit produced a surprise.  A snapshot of the ICW’s east bank included a water tower half-hidden behind two high-rise condos.  The tower looked exactly like a blimp poking its nose out from between the buildings.  We so enjoyed the picture that I posted it on our trip website maintained for family, friends and former students back home.  

Now I sat sipping a glass of wine and admiring our blimp in the waning daylight.   I imagined it suddenly rising free and floating away in the evening sky.  Joanna says I have an active imagination.  I admit to being a bit of a dreamer, but isn’t that a requirement for people in this sailing business?  I guess my mermaid story fairly illustrates her point.   I’ll tell you about it, but you gotta promise not to spread it around, OK? 

Two of my former elementary students, Zack and Ronnie, had written to me suggesting I might see a mermaid on our trip.  I didn’t want to disappoint these wonderful 10 year olds, so I had diligently maintained a lookout throughout our voyage.  I was rewarded south of Daytona at about 2:00 in the afternoon on a sunny and hot day.  (Perhaps a little too hot.)  The admiral and I were passing through a canal when I saw something swimming underwater nearby.  It was human-like and had fins!  

I called out and waved, but “she” did not come to the surface.  I had an overwhelming urge to dive in and say hello, but Joanna reminded me from the helm that we were moving and stopping was not in her plans at that moment.  She suggested it might be time for me to go below and have a cold drink.  I dutifully grabbed a soda from the fridge  and returned ready to begin an LED about what I had seen.  Joanna asserted that it was a manatee and that seemed to make sense.  A faint but knowing smile appeared on her lips and I was forced to agree. 

 Now back at the Daytona anchorage, we finished our sundowners, bid our flying friend good evening, and went below for dinner.   Later we did some trip planning and web surfing, then turned in to rest up for an early morning departure.  

I tend to sleep lightly when we are on the hook, sort of in a dream state, ready to respond quickly when our anchor alarm announces my deficiencies.  That night in the depths of darkness I was awakened from dreams of dirigibles not by any alarm, but instead by a ripping sound followed by a thump on deck.  

My eyes snapped open and I sat up instantly awake.  I recognized the ripping sound as the zipper on our cockpit dodger.  Dark thoughts invaded my head and adrenalin began to surge in my body.   I’d read about boats being boarded at anchor in the middle of the night, but this wasn’t supposed to happen in the good old USA, was it?  

I stumbled out of bed and rushed toward the companionway ladder in my boxer shorts, soundly whacking my skull on a bulkhead in my haste.  As the Milky Way Galaxy magically appeared before my eyes, I fumbled for a flashlight with my right hand and rubbed my stinging noggin with my left.   I groped toward the companionway ladder in fading starlight like an aging prize fighter in the late rounds.  My throbbing brain wondered why we had recently given up owning large dogs and switched to cats.  BJ and Scamper could do little to stifle this intruder. 

My heart beat like a tom-tom as I stealthily climbed the companionway ladder, hoping to surprise the intruder and scare him off.  I poked my head out and  yelled “HEY!” as I switched on my flashlight in a vain attempt to blind the aggressor a la Jimmy Stewart in “Rear Window”.  

I cringed as a ball of fur scooted by me headed below.  Prepared for the worst, my flashlight beam swept over what proved to be an empty cockpit and deck.  This left me puzzled but breathing much easier.   I sat down to slow my racing pulse and contemplate the flood of events.

  I assumed the persona of that great detective from a bygone era, Charlie Chan.  Mr. Chan had the unique ability to solve a case in almost no time at all, usually aided by one of his overzealous sons.   A humble investigation of the clues revealed the cockpit zipper on our dodger had indeed been pulled open, but by who?  Since Scamper enjoyed staying up late to chase bugs in the cockpit and had been the racing ball of fur earlier, I was confident that she had been at the scene of the crime.  I quickly deduced that she must have gotten tangled in the little rope pull attached to the zipper.  The thump that followed had been her disengaging and landing on the cockpit floor, abruptly awakening her master.  

Satisfied that the case was solved, I returned to my bunk fingering the growing lump on my head. I slipped back under the covers as Joanna inquired as to what was going on.  I briefly explained what had happened. Then announced as I lay my head gingerly on the pillow, “Yes, Charlie Chan has deftly solved another case.” 

“You sounded more like #3 Son to me with all that bumping and stumbling.”   Although I couldn’t see the smile on her face in the dark, I knew it was there.  

A life extending discussion followed…

My friends, the next time you are in Daytona, look for the blimp on the east bank just north of the bridges.  When you spot it, drop the hook.  You’ll be glad you did.  Oh... and be prepared to repel boarders.