Sailing down the ICW
26 November 2006 | Indian Harbor Beach, Fla
Jim Lea
A bit of an impressive start to the day today... we were second out of the anchorage, but of only four boats, so maybe not too much to brag about. We had decided to go into the town of Cocoa, about five miles further along, and dropped the anchor there at about 10 am. We launched the dinghy, which for longer passages we carry on the foredeck, put on the motor, and motored into the dinghy dock. In the anchorage we saw a few boats we recognized from other stops, but didn't stop to chat as we were racing a rain squall ashore. We found a very attractive town with some very nice shopping districts, a beautiful library, and as always necessary, a good deli. We bought some nice Italian wine (running short on reds) and some nice cheese, and headed back to the boat. Because the ICW runs through the Indian River, which is quite wide with navigable depths (here defined as six feet or more), we decided to sail for the balance of the day, with a beam reach carrying us south at over six knots. Our anchorage choice for the night was Indian Harbor Beach, a small harbor created where the Banana River empties into the Indian River. We dinghied up a few canals, and had a chat with a boat that we have been meeting since the Dismal Swamp, and returned to the boat just in time to avoid a squall and its accompanying rain. We saw it coming, as we did one earlier in the day. The systems are very similar to Belize, where we can watch them come in from the Caribbean. But the good part is the temperature. Today's high was 78F, which is something in Celsius, but all I can say is nice! We are now busy with lists of things to buy before we head off to the Bahamas. I am buying every critical motor part I can think of, and will spend about $1,000 on stuff I hope never to use. But there are a few things that could shut the engine down that would be impossible to jury rig, such as a fuel shut-off solenoid, and other such parts. And other buy stuff ranges from beer/wine/gin to walnuts, roasted red peppers, SCUBA and other such stuff. We are making plans for a marina in Miami, but at $3.00 per foot, the most expensive we have ever seen (for us that's $132/night... in NYC we paid $30) but we will tough it out, and even have dinner on South Beach, where we ate with Philip & T Hughes last year and had great fun (until Jeannie left her glasses in the cab back to the hotel). But for the next few days we will continue to sail (weather permitting) down the ICW and begin our shopping as we stop in places that we know have some good stores. For dinner we had Beef Bourguignonne with one of our recently acquired Italian reds, with some nice cheese with a mango (far from Beliezian standards, but still good) for dessert. Our plans still are to be in Miami for the weekend, but which exact day is still a mystery.