When we awoke at 6:30am this morning, the water was as calm as can be in the St. Augustine Marina and it was a quiet and serene morning. We had a very quick discussion about how busy the day would become here given that it is American Thanksgiving...and made an executive decision to ask the Marina staff to help us throw off the lines so that we could make our departure at this opportune time. Our plan is to find an anchorage along the way, but for now it is enough that we are underway once again.
We have entered manatee territory now as evidenced by all the signs and warnings posted all the way along the ICW. So far we have only seen one, though, so I suppose they are hiding somewhere. Still the odd dolphin - lots of pelicans, egrets and cormorants.
Gary and Line on Rum Line II called on the radio to say goodbye. They are planning to stay in St. Augustine until at least Monday as they need to have some mechanical type issues addressed.
The scenery along the ICW was actually quite something and varied - from new homes all over with lots of people on their docks or their fishing boats waving at us. I'm starting to feel like the queen of the world with all the waving (or at least some kind of celebrity!)
By the time we found our way to the Halifax River, the channel widened thankfully, making it a little easier to navigate without constantly worrying that you might run aground in shallow water. After passing through the last of the four bridges in Daytona Beach, we were hailed by a Morgan sailboat exiting the Halifax River Yacht Club. They knew our boat name as they claimed to have seen us last night in St. Augustine. They were very lovely - admired our hard top (although Blair swears they were admiring our hot tub!) Their boat name is: "Jeanne.......something or other (my memory fails me here). They plan to be at Riviera Marina in Lake Worth until at least February getting some work done on their newly acquired Morgan.
We tuck into an anchorage just south of the Daytona Beach Memorial Bridge - only touched the bottom once, but managed to get off on our own. So far (knock wood!!) we have not needed to call Tow Boat US once! We manoeuvred our way in with 1.3 foot clearance under the keel (at high tide - YIKES) and dropped the anchor. At least we were stopped safely for the night.
In honour of American Thanksgiving, I made a roast chicken with all the trimmings. It was good to have a relaxing meal as it seems like we have been participating in the Amazing Race recently. Michael called from home just to check on us and to make sure we are still in one piece. I do miss home and kids and family, but don't want to think about it too much or I start to tear up.
We spent some time planning our departure in the morning before bed. Although Blair has added air to our dinghy and tested the outboard motor, we did not go to shore. Perhaps we will on our next stop in Cocoa.
Some interesting facts about Daytona Beach:
The airport area in Daytona is home to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University which specializes in aviation-related degrees that usually lead to airline careers. Also, the Daytona International Speedway is where the nations top drivers and automobiles compete in the Daytona 500 every February and the famous 24 Hours of Daytona endurance race. Daytona's 23 miles of beach were once a proving ground for automobile engines in the early 1900's. Automobile pioneers like Louis Chevrolet and Henry Ford found the hard-packed sand, gentle slope and wide expanse of beach to be the perfect venue for auto racing. Today, the beach remains popular with motorists, though they are restricted to a leisurely 10mph pace and must pay an access fee. Automobile racing moved inland to Daytona International Speedway in 1959 as cars became faster and crowds of spectators grew larger.
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