Finishing Florida: Vero Beach to Fernandina Beach

Vero Beach to Cocoa, FL (Wednesday, March 3)

Guided Discovery and Present Moment departed Vero Beach at 8:53 AM and headed north along the ICW to Cocoa, FL.  Skies were clear, temperature was 70 degrees and the wind was southeast at 4 knots. Everything was perfect except for the current, which was running against us and did so for 80% of the trip. Still we covered the 48 NMs in 6 hours and 15 minutes.  Guided Discovery burned 41 gallons of fuel (for an average of 1.16 MPG) at an average RPM of 1,400.
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Another pleasant cruise made entirely from the flybridge.

We arrived in Cocoa at 3:01 PM and docked on the face dock at the Cocoa Village Marina.  Late in the evening we were joined by Pam Rose who drove up from Aventura.  She will be cruising north with us for awhile.

Guided Discovery of the face dock at Cocoa Village Marina

Side Story #1: There is an old fashioned hardware store in Cocoa called Travis Hardware that has been in business for 125 years.  We visited to see if there was anything we could not live without.  And, of course, Kodi entertained the staff with here wide range of behaviors.  This proved to be a very good thing.  Turns out there marina has VERY limited parking, which I learned when I asked if Pam could leave her car while she cruised with us.  The marina manager had no solution for our parking problem.  So I went back to Travis Hardware and asked if they would let Pam park.  They remembered Kodi and said OK.

Side Story #2: Thanks to Darrell and Sue we now have reservations as follows:

• Friday, April 4: Daytona at the Halifax Yacht Club
• Saturday, April 5: St Augustine at the municipal marina
• Sunday, April 6: Fernandina Beach
• April 11-12 Charleston SC at the municipal marina

Cocoa, FL to Daytona Beach, FL (Thursday, March 4)

Today's run was 58.7 nautical miles.  At an average speed of 8 knots we needed at least 8 plus hours to cover that distance (especially allowing for no wake zones).  Sue suggested a 7:30 AM departure so as to arrive in Daytona Beach in mid-afternoon.  The day worked out as planned.  We departed at 7:35 after a lovely sunrise and were docked at the Halifax River Yacht Club at 3:15 PM.

Sunrise at Cocoa, FL

Another beautiful day with clear skies and light winds out of the southeast.  We ran at 1,400 RPM from the flybridge and covered the distance in 8 hours and 15 minutes.  Fuel burn was 44.5 gallons for the 58.7 NM journey or 1.3 MPG.  The boat performed flawless in you do not count all the beeping sounds.

This boat has way to much "idiot proof" technology.  We get repeated beeping noises to warn us of problems.  The most annoying in the VHFs which beep every hour or so.  The VHFs are reminding us that we have to enter a MMSI number if we want our AIS (transponder) to identify our vessel to other vessels. Unfortunately we can't get an MMSI number until we receive our USCG documentation and that, according to my last contact with the National Vessel Documentation Center, is way down the road.  When I spoke with them in December 2013 they told me they were processing applications from September 2012.  Thanks US Congress for sequestration.  We will putting up with this annoyance for months.

Another annoyance is the alarm system.  We opted not to run the generator so the system beeped to indicate a shore power disruption and a high temperature alarm when it got warn in the cabin.  To make matter worse I can barely hear the alarm as the beep is above my high end range.  But Diana can and it drives her nuts.

The low water alarm is set for 5.0 feet and it beeped several times.  This is a good annoyance as we draw 5 feet of water.  Due to the placement of the transducer, which is not at the bottom of the keel, we still have about two feet of water under the boat when the alarm goes off.  We draw five feet of water.  We think the transducer is within two feet of the bottom of the keel.  Hence, my best guess is that were are in seven feet of water when the alarm goes off.

The wild life of this run was spectacular especially during a half mile stretch called the Haulover Canal.  We saw as many as 10 manatees and plenty of dolphin.

Haulover Canal Bridge

Pam alerting us to Dolphins ahead
(Look close and you can see them to the right of the sailboat)

Diana captured a good photo of a dolphin

Diana and Pam at the bow looking for manatees & dolphin

More wildlife

Darrell is a member of a Florida yacht club and is entitled to stay at any of 30 some Florida yacht clubs who provide reciprocity to members of affiliated clubs.  We are not members of any yacht club and are not entitled to use yacht clubs docks or restaurants.  Darrell used his charm to get us dockage at the Halifax River Yacht Club.  This was a nice treat.  The dockage fee was only $95.00 and their club facility was spectacular. The food was also first class (yacht clubs can be a bit uneven).  The only negative was fixed docks, which is very typical of Florida marinas.

Guided Discovery at the Halifax River Yacht Club

We had great help landing from the dockmaster and several members.  This proved to be a very friendly place.  Guided Discovery was the largest boat there and it got a lot of attention.

The missing line mystery.

Background: I usually set up four lines and fenders on the side of the boat that I expect to dock.  Today, however, I set lines on both sides as I wanted the option to dock either to port or starboard.  That meant there were a total of eight lines secured to a cleat and ready to throw.  This proved to be a good plan.  I thought I was going to stern in to starboard but the club switched our dock and due to the placement of the power pedestal docking to port proved the best strategy.  No problem we were all set up.

Later in the evening I went to remove the extra four lines and found that there were only three.  What happened to the line?  I do not have a clue.  All lines were fully secured; they were passed over the rail and through a haws whole and then secured to a cleat.  The bulk of the line is laying on the deck.  Even if the loop got lose and fell through the haws hole it would not fall overboard as the bulk of the line, 20 or 30 feet, is on the deck (basic physics).  We searched the entire boat and did not find the line.  Both Pam and I racked our brains and could not come up with a rational explanation.  Eventually I will replace the line but in the meantime I have an extra line (actually three but two are heavy duty 50 feet 3/4" and only useful for limited situations).  Bottom line I can still set 8 lines and be flexible if the situation warrants a change of docking side.

Daytona Beach to St Augustine  (Saturday, March 6)

We arrived in St Augustine at 3:30 PM after a 46.3 nautical mile run that took just under seven hours.  Fuel efficiency computed to 1.29 MPG (36 gallons).  Notice in the photo below that it's very overcast. Thunderstorms were on their way.

The municipal marine put of the north side of their fuel dock

Our standard procedure is to take Kodi for a potty break as soon as soon the boat is secured.  Well, our timing could not have been worse.  The fort fired their cannon as soon as Kodi stepped off the boat. Regular readers will recall that Kodi is spooked by loud noises including fire crackers, cannons, thunder and gun fire. Kodi immediately ran up the dock and did her business in the dog area.  Then she REFUSED to return to the boat.  It took help from several strangers and then Pam to get the furry kid back on board.

We visited St Augustine three years ago (4/24/2011) and did not look forward to this visit as we knew Kodi would be upset by the cannon fire.  St Augustine is a serious tourist town with great restaurants and lots of attractions.  Diana and Pam took a walk to town while Kodi stayed on the boat.

El Galleon  just across from our boat

Another "pirate" ship

Darrell and Sue joined as for dinner.  Our plan was to have a leisurely cocktail hour with good wine aboard Guided Discovery but it being Saturday evening it was difficult to get a reservation.  So we cut short the cocktail hour and adjourned to Cellar 6 on the promise that they would take us if we showed up early.  That proved to be the best plan as 10 minutes after we got to the restaurant it poured (buckets).  Dinner was excellent and the rain stopped just before we left the restaurant.

Diana and Sue after dinner at Cellar 6

Sue and Darrell chose to pick up a mooring ball rather than dock at the municipal marina.  So they dingied over to our boat and secured the dingy to our swim platform.

Sue and Darrell heading back to Present Moment after a lovely evening

St Augustine to Fernandina Beach  (Sunday, March 6)

Another early departure (7:25 AM) as today's run was 53 nautical miles and we had to make a bridge that opens at 7:30 AM and then closes until 9:00 AM.  

The forecast was for a chance of shower due to a stationary front running east and west along the panhandle. I set up our multifunction screens so as to navigate, watch depth and monitor the storm.  We were very lucky, the rain stayed north of us.

Garmin multifunction screens
Port: GPS & Chartplotter.  Starboard: Satellite Weather and Sonar

As it was a bit chilly in the morning I opted to run the boat from the pilot house.  This was Diana's first time running from the pilothouse and she definitely enjoyed it.  We never made it to the flybridge.

Operating from the pilothouse is pure pleasure.  The combination of air conditioning, great visibility. a very comfortable helm seat and plenty of work surfaces make this the perfect place to operate the boat.

My plan for the instrument lay-out proved to be very functional 

Great visibility

We arrived in Fernandina at 3:00 PM and docked on their 1,000 foot face dock and promptly adjourned to Darrell boat for cocktails.  Dinner was at Bretts', which is right on the marina premixes.  It proved to be a fitting end to a great day.

Cruising Plans:

• Wednesday 4/8: St. Simmons Island - Morningstar Marina (41 SM)
• Thursday 4/9: Tea Kettle Creek - Anchorage (29 SM)
• Friday 4/10: Thunderbolt - Isle of Hope Marina (62 SM)
• Saturday 4/11: Hilton Head - Harbor Town Marina (27 SM)
• Sunday 4/12: Charleston - Charleston City Marina (99 SM)

Written by Les.











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