Vero Beach to Coco, FL Anchorage

FUN!!!

Note the beautiful dolphin and girl statue in our photograph today.  Many real dolphin sightings today – its just cool when they play around the boat but we never can get a picture.  Today we probably saw 30 dolphins in our long trip from Vero Beach to Cocoa.  This afternoon there was a radio announcement from the Coast Guard giving a look-out for white whales in the Atlantic in the Florida coastal Atlantic.  White whales are an endangered species and someone had called in a sighting of mother and calf white whales.  The Coast Guard gave a latitude and longitude area and told anyone spotting any whales to consider them white whales and report their location.  I don’t think we will see them in the ICW.

This is the house, the statue is to the left of center

Yesterday I referred to the channel being obstructed by small boats.  What the non-boaters may not know is that the waterway may be 1000 feet, or perhaps half a mile wide but only 3to5 feet deep, but the ICW Channel – where the water is deep enough for a larger boat – is usually only 50-100 feet wide.   The Channel is clearly marked with red and green markers to delineate those deeper waters.  If we stray out of the channel there is a very real possibility of running aground.   So when two boats our size are passing each other you actually have to pay close attention, and a small craft sitting still in that passing zone ….. well …..not so good.

Last night on our arrival at the marina, it became obvious that our bow thruster battery was done or at least we hoped it was just the battery. Three automotive parts stores were close by and the third had the Group 31 Deep Cycle Battery we wanted. Thanks to Bob and Martha and a car they borrowed from relatives in Vero Beach, we were able to go to Bennett's Auto Parts and make the purchase. The thruster battery is located under the forward bunk two levels down. Unloading the bunk to get to the battery is a bit of an issue, but we managed. We were pleased with the operation of the thruster this morning when we departed. Problems occur in every part of life and so far we have been quite fortunate ours have been small and manageable. 

Tonight we are anchored near the village of Cocoa, Fl. Right next to a big highway bridge.  It’s quite windy so we will be keeping an eye on the anchor to make sure it holds.  Fortunately the wind usually quiets down by dark and we will have a nice restful spot.

REMINDER to family and friends – we are doing some cruise planning for late spring and early summer.  If you would like to join us for a visit please speak up now and we will try to incorporate that into our plans.  We would love to see you.

 

Neat little island, a Dad and two youngsters were playing

 

The marina last night was tucked behind this Island