Mark hauled anchor by 7:30 am, but had to spray off all the mud off the chain and anchor. Thankfully, we had a hose attached to the anchor locker. The water was calm and everything reflected into it. There were two cruise ships at the port.

We enjoyed being able to watch last night’s SpaceX launch from our sailboat. There is also another launch tonight. We will be on the lookout once we stop for the day.

We motored on the Barge Canal and had to wait for the first bridge opening on the hour and half hour. We just missed the 8 am opening. We saw one alligator cross the canal, a sight we haven’t seen in a while. There was a marina or two, plus some businesses on Merritt Island. We saw many boaters, kayakers, rowers and fishermen.

We had almost a knot of current slowing us down. Mark added the genoa when the wind picked up, but our route changed and we were motoring into the wind. We passed through a couple more lift bridges following a sailboat from Pennsylvania. There are lots of power boats on the water, mostly trying to see who can best wake us. There were two larger powerboats who were kind enough to slow down.

Mark did most of the driving. I cooked lunch underway. The sun is shining for a high of 80F today. On the water, the breeze is cold to me.

We should arrive in New Smyrna by 4 pm. Mark added the genoa sail and for the first time this morning, we didn’t have the current against. Our current speed with one motor and a full genoa sail is 7 knots. Sunnyside is doing well!