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Four days ago we left St. Augustine for Vero on the inside.
We hadn't done this route in 10 years and we now remember why. It is
hateful. We met jerks, unscheduled bridge construction, one hard thump,
and lots and lots of skinny water. Trip to Daytona went without incident
except for the jerk. At Mantanzas, a big cat crossed our bow for the
deeper water, forced us into the shallow water and then cussed us out.
After the jerk came the bridge. This on-demand bridge (Knotts bridge)
became a 3 times a day bridge. No LNM, no channel 22A announcement, no
nothing. We were lucky that we were late for the 1400 opening as they
were late moving the barges out of the channel. Later we anchored under
the twin bridges at Daytona Beach. Nice anchorage!
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Next day came the dreaded Ponce inlet crossing. The Ponce light
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'warned'
us that the inlet was approaching. The first intersection posed no
threat but as we passed the second crossing, Jule stopped with a thump
(R 18). It was low tide but we only draw 5.5 ft. and the
controlling depth is supposed to be 12 ft. No LNM, no 22A, no
announcements. A month later, it was reported by the USCG on 22A.
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After we passed through Haulover Canal, we were greeted by thousands of
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birds, most being cormorants. They were peacefully resting until Jule
interrupted them. The show was quite impressive. We experience more
skinny water but nothing serious. Later we passed the 'new' Titusville
mooring field. It looked quite nice but also quite empty. We hope it
had more occupants earlier in the season.
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We passed Titusville late in the afternoon as were heading
for the anchorage on the SW shore south of the Addison Pt. bridge. This
is special to us as it is very close to our favorite campground at
Manatee Hammock. It turns out that Butch and Vicki saw our boat as they
were staying at the campground. Kewl. Sunet Annie took this picture
after we secured the hook.
The next day we made the short trip from the bridge to the Cocoa anchorage.
where Butch and Vicki drove by to say hi and bye. We explored the S.F.
Travis hardware store with them and the new Mexican restaurant. Early
in the afternoon, we parted company where they went back to the
campground and we had a very wet dinghy ride back to Jule. Glad we are
not in the outside.
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Today we left the anchorage and headed for Vero Beach. No
jerks, no bumps, no bad bridges. Life is good. This is our favorite
part of the Floida ICW. Many great family memories. Sammy Jane was our
forward lookout but she was not the best. She was easily distracted.
That is OK as there are not too many hazards on this stretch of the ICW.
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We arrived in Vero today around 1500 and were assigned a great
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mooring ball (#25). As the mooring field had several empty slots, there
was no need to raft. We were not surprised as it was late in the
cruising season. Sammy was happy as she could now go to the BBB anytime
she wanted.
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