We departed from New Smyrna Beach at about 0650… very windy morning… 20 knots plus with gusts to 30 knots. Not a lot of exposed areas today to travel… well, actually there was… Mosquito Lagoon the NNW winds were blowing straight down it and it got a little choppy with 2-4 foot waves but as a following sea it was not an uncomfortable ride. Then we passed through the Haulover Canal into the top of the Indian River where we had the wind almost on our beam for the first leg before Titusville. At Titusville our path turned to more southerly path and again we had the 2-4 foot following seas for the rest of the trip to Cocoa, FL.

We had been given a certificate for a free night at Cocoa Village Marina and were going to use it for tonight’s stop. Made for a shorter day but with the wind it was nice to stop at a marina. Plus we always stop at Cocoa going north or south to get pizza… Ryan’s Village Pizza… we love it.

We arrived to Cocoa Village Marina with winds still blasting out of the north 20-25 knots. It was an interesting approach to the marina with the winds on our beam and to make the entrance you have to make a 180 degree turn downwind and then back with wind on your beam again… the slip they had us going in was one that we were able to turn into the wind bow first so that helped docking tremendously. We were securely docked in slip #7 at about 1350 at N28°21.489’, W080°43.538’.

We traveled today for 7 hours covering 44.85 nautical miles averaging 6.41 knots.

Our destination for the day was not far so we slept in and did not depart until 1000. I doubt we would of gotten away much earlier since it had been pouring rain until about 0900 but now it the sun was out and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day… a bit windy but all trip today was all well protected waterway.

The two days we spent in Palm Coast were great… got to see a lot of MTOA friends that we had not seen a quite a while and the hospitality you receive when you stop here is unsurpassed and we really hated to leave.

Today we traveled to New Smyrna Beach to stop and visit with more MTOA friends… Peter and Charlotte Behr and Ron and Mary Barringer. We will have dinner and spend what I sure will be a lovely evening with them.

We docked at the newly renovated New Smyrna Beach City Docks… we arrived at about 1615 hours and docked at the new floating dock installed with the renovations. It is very nice… about 50 feet long which is just perfect for us. The docks are located at N29°01.530’, W080°55.155’.

We traveled today for 6 hours and 15 minutes covering 39.59 nautical miles averaging 6.33 knots.

We departed from Jacksonville, FL this morning at 0730 and headed south on the ICW. Destination for the day/night is Phil and Sarah Lowe's home in Palm Coast, FL.

Currents and tides are extreme... guess from the hurricane run-off... so like the past few days we were either moving along with a huge boost or against us... less than 5 knots or 8 knots plus. The yo-yoing current is normal for the ICW with all the inlets you pass but this year they are much more diverse.

It was a cold and gray day of cruising... no sunshine... or even the hint of any appearing as the day progressed. The forecast does not seem to have any sunshine in it for the near future... but we are hoping it will change... need to see that sun!

Back to the tide levels... as we approached the high rise bridge just south of The Bridge of Lions in St. Augustine we could see two sailboats sitting in the waterway just before the bridge. As we got closer we overheard them on the VHF talking... they could not clear the bridge that normally has 65 feet plus in clearance... it was near high tide looking through my binoculars I could see the clearance boards and they read between 62.5 feet of clearance. A half mile away one of the sailboats proceeded and passed under the bridge... it looked very close from where we were but he cleared. Then the other sailboat hailed us on the VHF... "Your headed right at me... do you see me?" he asked... I acknowledged that I saw him and was not going to hit him... I was passing close... maybe 75-100 feet to his starboard side. He then replied with... "You are passing by way too close" Then I noticed he was anchored and he was dead center of the channel... as I passed he hailed again on the VHF... " SAILS you're a jerk" and he flipped me off... I replied that he should avoid anchoring in the middle of the channel... he flipped me off again.

Rest of the day went smoothly no more confrontations with sailboats and we arrived to Palm Coast and were securely docked at approximately 1545.

We will be staying here in Palm Coast two nights.... departing on Saturday morning.

We traveled today for 8 hours and 15 minutes covering 55 nautical miles averaging 6.67 knots.