20091201 Daytona Beach FL

20091201 Daytona Beach Fl

The trip from St. Augustine to Daytona Beach did not go as planned.  We thought we travel down the Intercoastal Waterway, anchor out overnight and proceed to Daytona Beach.  We learned that the Indian name Mantanzas near Rattlesnake Island means shallow water do not come through at low tide.  As we passed Mantanzas Inlet out depth gage read 14 feet, clearly enough to allow our 5.5 draft to pass.  As we passed buoy 81A in the channel, our full keel bottomed out on a shoal sandbar and we stopped abruptly.  Another sail boat, coming along after us, passed in the channel near the red buoy and then proceeded 100 yards along before hard aground and stopping.  Two other sail boats we warned by our radios of the shoaling conditions.  One turned around, the other passed slowly at the extreme edge of passage. 

There was nothing for us to do, but to sit and wait for high tide.  The other boat called Tow Boat US which arrived after 2.5 hours, but did not use their services.  We contacted them and they came to our rescue.  Attaching a tow line to our bow and attaching our spinnaker howuard to their vessel we heeled over and pulled us to deeper water.  Even at two hours before high tide we grounded two more times as we passed Rattlesnake Island.  The entire ordeal took 4 hours out of our travel time.  We contacted The Palm Coast Marina who took pity on us and even though they were full, allowed us to dock in a slip without power overnight.  We arrived after dark and some live aboards came over to handle dock lines when we arrived.  We walked to a nearby shopping center for comfort food, then a shower at the marina and a good night sleep.

This morning we set out early with Daytona Beach as our goal.  The sky was gray, but the air was warm for our trip.  As we proceed south, the frequency of bridges that must be negotiated is increasing.  We arrived at Halifax Harbor Marina around 1 p.m. secured the boat and headed for West Marine for a new depth sounder.   We then walked downtown and noted approximately 75% of the business we closed with only a few restaurants and jewelry stores remaining open. 

20091202 Tourist in Daytona Beach FL

We cleaned up this morning, call Enterprise Rental Car for a pick-up, then spent the day around town.  There are closed businesses everywhere.  Even on the beach, the out-of-business signs and empty buildings make the area look like a ghost town.  We went to the main pavilion/mall and watched the movie “New Moon”.  On the way back to the marina, we stopped by for some shopping, since we had wheels. 

Overnight, the wind blew, the rains fell and we snuggled warm in our bed.  We are finding that we are sleeping more on the boat than at home.  I am tired at 8 pm, struggle to stay up until 9pm.  Sleep comes fast once I climb into bed.  It is not hard to sleep until 7 am.  We awake refreshed and ready for another day.

Routine Tasks – Our daily living duties are becoming routine.  We rise, dress, heat water for hot tea, listen to Robin Meade (Sirius HLN) for a news update, listen to marine weather; then get to our daily activities.  We straighten and put away, check batteries, bilge and boat systems.  When morning tasks are finished, we pause for oatmeal or grilled cheese with a fresh apple or pear.  Weather is warmer, so we have put away the propane heater and rearranged storage of some of the seldom used supplies.  Cathy has reorganized our food stores to make more sense, and allow us to find things more easily.

Today we are in Daytona Beach FL once more to allow the bad weather to clear.  Tomorrow early, we head south.

Cathy & Jim