Between Mosquito Lagoon and Haulover Canal, near Titusville, Florida.
Tuesday January 21, 2008
written from: N 30°19.393 W 081°36.871
Leaving Las Vegas. After a long stretch of alternating cold and wind and then a combination of the two we finally set forth again. Pleasant temperatures, sunny skies, and light winds all made good omens; so after a short stint in Green Cove Springs, FL to visit family and make repairs we severed the thick yellow umbilical cord and slipped away from Hotel California (You can check out any time you like but you can never leave…)
Wind got blustery & the sun played peek-a-boo – we added layers, removed them…added, removed. Wind was on the nose so it was all motoring but that’s fine…we were content to sit with hands in pockets and let the iron jib do the work. Wind was lessening the effect of current as they were opposing and at 1300 we made a command decision to stop for the day. Our original destination, Sister’s Creek, was 15 miles away, a narrow area with wicked current…and when wind and current oppose it can make for an uncomfortable night. So, with hunger in our bellies, the sun on our heads, current keeping us slow, and Exchange Island just ahead we changed course and anchored in a sweet little spot between Exchange Island and the mainland. Current is low back behind the island, wind protection is supreme, and though we do have noise from one bridge it dies down come evening time.
All four of us are glad to be back on the hook, back to solar and wind, back to what we know, do, and love best.
Wednesday January 23, 2008
Written from: N29° 29.360 W081° 02.916, 2300hrs
30 miles to Ponce de Leon Inlet. We got up this morning and looked at the weather as usual…the offshore forecast looked nice. We had resigned ourselves to go ICW but….a window of opportunity had presented itself. We plotted our course, checked tides and could it be??? Everything is in our favor? We delayed about two hours so current would be with us. Finally, about 9am we pulled anchor and headed out. At Mayport inlet tide/current were opposing wind so it was a nasty little exit but we were screaming at almost 9 knots…with the rocky ride we made the soonest possible turn south and skimmed along. We saw between 50 and 75 dolphin in the inlet…the opposing forces must have made for some phenomenal fishing as they were tossing fish all through the air and in general playing with their food. We were also lucky enough to see a Right whale surface, blow, and dive. Also unique was a VHF call we heard from a boat finding a dead body. A week or so ago several refugees stowed away on a commercial freighter and jumped into the water then they were found…I think they just found another one.
The wind is being helpful…clocking around from light SW to moderate W to NW so we’re getting a nice push. My watch is over soon and I’ll be glad to get some shut eye. Thunderstorms rolled through Jacksonville on Tuesday night so neither of us got a whole lot of sleep. I can see the lights from 10 commercial fishing vessels and several more on radar…since they are spread from here to about 17 miles west of Kingdom Come we’ll have to do our best to pick our way through.
Thursday January 24, 2008
Written from: N29° 03.932 W080° 55.131, 0945hrs
It’s always nice to accomplish something. We had never been in Ponce Inlet…and new inlets, especially ones with the reputation for shoaling can be a cause for anxiety. Thankfully a nice jetty protected from the building north sea (the winds picked up to 15-20 and seas were responding.) We made such good time that we had to slow down over and over (a sailboat slowing down on purpose is sort of a noggin-scratcher in itself) but at 0300 we were at Ponce and the sun hasn’t been rising until 0630 or 0645. At that time there wasn’t enough wind/seas to heave to so we just set a course 180° from the inlet and sailed out and back, trading watches in between. Heather’s watch was sailing out, she woke me up at our designated point and I sailed us back. Before the inlet I called the Coast Guard on the radio to inquire about a bridge closing we had heard rumors of. Nope, no restrictions…all is normal. Cool! As we round the inlet into protected waters Heather calls the bridge to inquire about an opening. They are close for construction daily until 1700hrs. Well… so we found a nice spot off the main drag and dropped the hook, made bacon and eggs, and have been hearing calls on the radio warning of a jumper on a bridge in Daytona. It’s been a lively radio-time this trip. We will haul anchor about 1630 and mosey up to the bridge, pass through and anchor up another mile or two. Time for some much needed and much deserved shut-eye.
Friday January 25, 2008
Written from: N29° 00.920 W080°54.738, 0950hrs
We found a sweet little spot to anchor last night after going through the bridge fiasco, just before dark we set the hook in about 8’ in a hole between shoals with a deep opening on one side. Unfortunately we watched a boat run aground. We took the Sheepshead Cut route around the ICW route as we’d heard of shoaling…sure enough the boat in front of us made the decision to go ICW side and promptly came to a stop whereas we chose Sheepshead Cut and saw no less than 12’. The wind has been howling all night at 20+ and is forecast to do so all day. Every morning we get up and as we’re making the bed and breakfast we listen to the VHF weather radio then switch to VHF channel 16 to listen to the “traffic.” This morning, the few boats who had gone through the 7am Mussen bridge opening (the last before closure until 5pm) pressed on and were talking back and forth…they were quite cold, uncomfortable, and being blown about the narrow stretch from Mosquito Lagoon through Haulover Canal. While drinking morning coffee we decided it best to sit here today and leave at dawn tomorrow for Titusville. No need to get blown around when it’s both warmer and a more favorable breeze for a narrow, shallow stretch of the ICW. We’re warm and cozy here, no wave motion as we’re quite protected.
Saturday January 26, 2008
Written from: N28° 37.323 W080° 48.152
After 2 years gone the Cats & Crew of S/V Holding Pattern made a triumphant though prodigal return to Titusville, our hailing port and our original home on the East coast of Florida (though Sarasota is still our first home in sunny Fla.) It was a grand trip through Mosquito Lagoon (sounds awful, eh? But it’s actually quite pleasant, if shallow.) The trip was mostly uneventful….no dead people found, no bridge jumpers but we had lots of dolphin to keep us company and they were quite active fishing in the shallows and riding our bow wake. It is really cool to be watching a pod of dolphin and watch them notice you, divert their activity, and swim your way to check out this interloper. It did start to rain about ¾ of the way through but it was a light rain and we stayed dry but the 15kt breeze kept us in multiple layers. We found a nice spot in 8’ of water and dropped the hook and after lunch dropped the dinghy and puttered into shore. We hadn’t been off the boat since Monday and we were ready top stretch our legs. The first person we saw was JW, one of the dock guys, and his first words were “Welcome Home.” We’ve now heard that wonderful greeting in St. Mary’s, GA, Green Cove Springs, FL, and Titusville, FL…it’s nice to have these people scattered about so everywhere becomes both home base and a new adventure. We’re going to have dinner with an old friend, Paul on Ivanhoe, tonight and on Tuesday we’re going to visit with Sue & (another) Paul from Knot a Clew (fantastic name!) The anchorage here is bobbly as always but the holding is good and there’s lots of “stuff” within walking distance here. Mail is coming in by Tuesday so hopefully by Wednesday we’ll be meandering down past Canaveral, Melbourne, Cocoa, and on to Ft. Pierce (not all in one day, mind you) and then we have friends on Light Blue (that we met in Chestertown, MD) in Ft. Pierce that we’re looking forward to seeing (though if they had moved on it would be great news because it would mean their boat issues had been fixed…
Already 1 job aloft has been found and got confirmation that 2 more atricles will be published soon...more on that to follow.
All in all it has been a fantastic week… Tuesday thru Saturday (4 of 5 days underway,) 185 miles past, a quick overnight into a new inlet, and a pleasant stretch ahead of us.
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