St Augustine, New Smyrna Beach, Fl and Titusville and on to Vero Beach.

     This was the longest time we have waited to get enough tide to pass the shoaling water of the ICW.  Even though we didn't pull away from the dock until 9:30, which gave us an hour of incoming tide and almost 2 hours of tide before we hit the shallow areas, we still passed one section which showed only 3 feet of water under the boat.  Our props will hit at 2.9 feet!  Nevertheless, we got through without hitting bottom.
                                                                             

     We were now seeing an increase in big boat traffic, passing a number of cruisers going in the opposite direction.  Several passed, but only one had the courtesy to ease back on the throttles and give us a slow pass....hmmm....seems like things have changed  a little here....but I guess I will continue to slow down for the passing cruisers (except of course for the Sea Rays and Sports fishermen who continue to show complete disregard for anyone on the water!)
                                                                                 

                                              Two boats that had some bad luck!

     Leaving late of course, put us at risk for the afternoon thunderstorms but I reasoned that with the violent deluge we sustained in St. Augustine there couldn't be that much turbulence left in the atmosphere. This appeared to be true. Other than a constant wind on our nose that slowed us down we had clear cruising all the way to New Smyrna Beach Municipal Marina.

                                                                                 

                                                  Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse

                                                                                 

     The former days deluge, however was strong enough that our upper helm depth finder leaked and showed droplets inside the screen.  After we settled in, I pulled the monitor off, disassembled and cleaned out the water, dried it, and siliconed every place a heavy rain might penetrate. This Datamarine monitor is original equipment and of course the transducer for measuring the depth will apparently not match up with any of the new monitors on the market, so I will treat this one tenderly.

                                                                           

                                    This fellow does not seem to be frightened of the owl!


                                                                               

                                                    Not sure what this was about.


     Not having the aft saloon air conditioner working we have to put up with a very hot seating area that takes a long time to cool down.  Sophie and Spencer relish the fans we set up for them.  They could go down into the bedrooms where the AC keeps everything comfortable but like humans they are "pack animals" and would rather put up with the heat rather than be separated from us.

                                                                               

                    
                                                                                 

     The highlight of New Smyrna Beach was the Saturday morning Farmer's Market.  We were able to  stock up on fresh veggies and Indian River fruit.  We didn't mind the 10 o'clock departure time because we were only going 35 miles to Titusville. It was Saturday and we knew all the fishermen, pontoon boaters and marine police would be on the water necessitating a slow ride.

                                                                               

                                                    Many dolphins riding our wake    
                                                                                    

                                              and lots of Manatees to slow down for.
                                                                                     

     The Titusville Municipal Marina was an easy in/out and only one block away from a very large and clean dog park.  Spencer ran around with the other dogs while Sophie stuck close to us only cautiously venturing a few feet away when another dog approached her.  She has not seen this many dogs in one spot since she was a litter mate.
     Sophie and Spencer were in awe of these large critters. Affectionately known as "Sea Cows", the Manatees were in abundance around the boats in the marina and we had to come to a full stop a couple of times to avoid hitting some in the ICW itself. Apparently they are vegetarians and just float around munching on any floating sea grass. It just wouldn't be a pleasant experience for the Manatee or the propellers if one hit one of these weird creatures.
                                                                            

          Manatees at Titusville Marina getting a drink from the water pump on the boat!

                                                                                  

                                   Manatees in the Marina Harbor feeding on grass on top of the water            

     A follow up on the depth finder....no glory.  It will have to be sent to Datamarine for a fix.

                                                                             

                                                                                 

                                                                               

                             Beautiful sunrise this morning as we were leaving Titusville.


     The rest of the ride to Vero Beach was plagued with Sunday boaters, who were out enjoying a nice sunny day on the water.  I felt sorry for those who had beached their boats as the sports fishers and Sea Rays continued to wake them.  
                                                                                   

                                              Cape Canaveral Nasa launch site

                                                                               

      Dolphins..dolphins and more dolphins.....everywhere....even pink bellied dolphins!


    Vero Beach has remained the same. Tim, the manager was very helpful and offered to drive me to the nearest West Marine and K Mart so we could replace our worn flag and get batteries for our spot locator.  Seems this is their slow time of year and he chocks up the 40% increase in transient traffic during the busy time of the year to the lower fuel prices.