Like all things, the motivation to keep up with an account like this waxes and wanes. I was just coming out of a slump when I was plunged into a Garmin induced nightmare that kept me completely distracted and seething every moment I wasn’t at the wheel. I’ll report more on that when it isn’t still causing dangerous blood pressure spikes thinking about it. Dealing with aggravation and stress is like a muscle, it gets weak when it isn’t used. I’ve managed the nearly 4000 miles of this cruise so as to stay “in the zone” well enough that having to deal with a clueless company about something vital to navigation was a shock. It’s very strange to have the back of my mind roiling 24 hours a day after all these months.
I will say that their customer service reps are great. The first lady was very nice and patient. ‘Now sir, you’ll have to stop swearing. I’m sure I can help you out but I can’t do anything if you’re abusive.” She and the next fellow did the best they could with the hand dealt them by a company whose lack of understanding of users real world needs is just astounding.
Anyway, quick recap: I ran through beautiful wild channels of islands and state park on the way down to Saint Augustine. I plan to spend quite a bit of time there exploring in the dinghy. Saint Augustine struck me as the most vibrant and exciting place I’ve gone ashore yet. The marina is great and has $20 a night moorings. I’d planned to spend at least a couple days there when I learned that friends were arriving back at their boat in Titusville and planned to be there a couple days so I underway shortly before dawn to meet them.
I ran through the infamous Volusia County Potty Nazi http://cruisersnet.net/important-boarding-incident-in-volusia-county-between-new-smyrna-beach-and-mosquito-lagoon/ gauntlet without seeing law enforcement of any kind. I did see some obvious liveaboard vessels moored with 3 – 4 anchors which obviously hadn’t moved in a long, long time. I’m sure they are not pumping out. Whatever has been prompting the local authorities to hassle passing cruisers by handing out multiple $250 tickets a day for things like not having wire ties on valve handles doesn’t appear to have anything to do with keeping poop out of the water.
I’m glad I came down here. It was a thrill to see the Vehicle Assembly Building and launch pads of the space center come up over the horizon and the huge lagoon and Indian River is a remarkable bit of geography.
I spent some time in Titusville with my friends before they headed on south and then ran down to Cocoa the next day where I’m writing this. I spent some time last night looking at charts and using the great tool of Google Earth. The next nice area of the Indian River is a long way down and running the straight channel in the middle of the flats gets pretty old. I think the nicest places are probably behind me and the fellow at the marina said the same thing. I’ll be coming down here again so I don’t have to see everything. I’m therefore going to turn around here and start slowly working my way back north. I’d planned to wait for a good south wind like I bucked into yesterday but I see that is a week away with current forecasts.
This part of the world is in the middle of what is turning into a major drought. I’ve only had a couple days of rain in months. I’ve seen two of the largest clouds of smoke I ever saw in my life and ash was coming down like the start of a snowstorm in Titusville. The fellow of the marina told me that the water level in the river is down 18 inches and evaporation has made it saltier than the ocean which may start to have a serious impact on fish and wildlife. The shallow water is also another reason for turning around. The islands and seashore look very inviting but it’s hard to get close to them in a sailboat. I don’t carry an outboard so I’m going back up to the state park area where I can anchor closer to them.
My final reason for turning around is that I finally saw a Manatee. I thought at first it was dead but someone said that they only act like that when they are very excited. Normally, they are even more lethargic and slower moving. Anyway, I’ve seen one. I can check that off my list and point my bow towards Nova Scotia.
I will say that their customer service reps are great. The first lady was very nice and patient. ‘Now sir, you’ll have to stop swearing. I’m sure I can help you out but I can’t do anything if you’re abusive.” She and the next fellow did the best they could with the hand dealt them by a company whose lack of understanding of users real world needs is just astounding.
Anyway, quick recap: I ran through beautiful wild channels of islands and state park on the way down to Saint Augustine. I plan to spend quite a bit of time there exploring in the dinghy. Saint Augustine struck me as the most vibrant and exciting place I’ve gone ashore yet. The marina is great and has $20 a night moorings. I’d planned to spend at least a couple days there when I learned that friends were arriving back at their boat in Titusville and planned to be there a couple days so I underway shortly before dawn to meet them.
I ran through the infamous Volusia County Potty Nazi http://cruisersnet.net/important-boarding-incident-in-volusia-county-between-new-smyrna-beach-and-mosquito-lagoon/ gauntlet without seeing law enforcement of any kind. I did see some obvious liveaboard vessels moored with 3 – 4 anchors which obviously hadn’t moved in a long, long time. I’m sure they are not pumping out. Whatever has been prompting the local authorities to hassle passing cruisers by handing out multiple $250 tickets a day for things like not having wire ties on valve handles doesn’t appear to have anything to do with keeping poop out of the water.
I’m glad I came down here. It was a thrill to see the Vehicle Assembly Building and launch pads of the space center come up over the horizon and the huge lagoon and Indian River is a remarkable bit of geography.
I spent some time in Titusville with my friends before they headed on south and then ran down to Cocoa the next day where I’m writing this. I spent some time last night looking at charts and using the great tool of Google Earth. The next nice area of the Indian River is a long way down and running the straight channel in the middle of the flats gets pretty old. I think the nicest places are probably behind me and the fellow at the marina said the same thing. I’ll be coming down here again so I don’t have to see everything. I’m therefore going to turn around here and start slowly working my way back north. I’d planned to wait for a good south wind like I bucked into yesterday but I see that is a week away with current forecasts.
This part of the world is in the middle of what is turning into a major drought. I’ve only had a couple days of rain in months. I’ve seen two of the largest clouds of smoke I ever saw in my life and ash was coming down like the start of a snowstorm in Titusville. The fellow of the marina told me that the water level in the river is down 18 inches and evaporation has made it saltier than the ocean which may start to have a serious impact on fish and wildlife. The shallow water is also another reason for turning around. The islands and seashore look very inviting but it’s hard to get close to them in a sailboat. I don’t carry an outboard so I’m going back up to the state park area where I can anchor closer to them.
My final reason for turning around is that I finally saw a Manatee. I thought at first it was dead but someone said that they only act like that when they are very excited. Normally, they are even more lethargic and slower moving. Anyway, I’ve seen one. I can check that off my list and point my bow towards Nova Scotia.
