Motored from New Smyrna Beach to Palm Coast, Florida!
19 April 2024
• Palm Coast Marina, Palm Coast, Florida
by Helen Humphreys • Overcast with no wind in the morning. Sunshine and light wind after lunch.

We woke up at 6:30 am and decided to get up and go. Mark got the boat ready for leaving. I made us hot drinks. The breeze was cold. I wore a sweater and jacket while at the helm.
Mark hauled anchor just before 7 am. I was at the helm until he was done. We motored out into the channel and headed North, once again, on the ICW. The sailboat, Phlyer, pulled out in front of us from a different anchorage. I mopped the deck and part of the solar panels as they were coated in dew. The wind was too light all morning, so we couldn't add a sail.
There were plenty of boats on the water, with most of them being power boats, going fast. There were residential areas and acres of wetlands with no buildings.
There were many bridges and thankfully most of them were high enough for us to get under. Then, there were a few that Mark called for an opening. We were following a couple other boats and when they got to the bridge, the bridge tender made them wait for us to catch up. That was really good for us not to have to wait at all.
I cooked lunch underway. It was tricky holding on when boaters waked us. Mark ate his lunch at the helm. He added a reefed genoa sail for a short time. The wind filled in. Mark noticed the starboard engine fuel tank was pretty low, so he started the port engine and turned the starboard on off. After we finished eating, I cleaned up the galley and then joined Mark at the helm for the last leg of our motoring today. There were many boats on the IntraCoastal Waterway today. We got rocked by their wake.
We arrived at Palm Coast around 2 pm. We got docked and Mark filled up both fuel tanks with diesel. Mark walked to the marina office and checked us in. Then, we walked up and enjoyed an ice cream in their boaters lounge. We got to take a long hot shower, before heading back to Sunnyside. We have at least 12 more hours of boating to get home, which will be split into two days for sure.
Comments