Southbound ’17 – Travel Day 28: Cocoa to Vero Beach, Fl

FROM: The Captain –

Conditions: Early fog, mix of sun and clouds, warm with calm winds

Distance traveled:  48.5 nautical miles

Time underway: 5 hours 22 minutes

Average Speed: 9 knots

Max Speed: 12 knots

Fuel used: 51 gallons

We had an easy going morning as we waited for the heavy fog over the waterway to lift and got underway just before 10am.  Another big thanks to Cocoa Village Marina, a highlight stopover for us.  We can’t say enough about how nice the crew there is and if it made more sense with our plans for us to have stayed another day or two we most certainly would have.  We’ll be back.

It was an easy day of cruising down the ICW.  As you get underway you start hearing familiar vessels hailing each other on the VHF to make passing arrangements and start to have a sense of who you’ll encounter along the way.  By and large it was a good day of boater interaction with virtually every boat, sailboats included, responding to passing requests on the radio.

We started out the morning running OLOH from the pilothouse inside while we waited for the mist in the air to subside.  But Jasper was allowed to ride up top from the beginning of the run which made him happy.

The water being so glassy-calm coupled with the low-lying fog created a surreal quality at times.  As the sun burned off the remaining fog the temps heated up and we headed up to the bridge.  That’s when it really started to feel like the Florida boating we’ve been waiting for.  We were in shorts and t’s, passing small, uninhabited islands while dolphins gleefully played in our wake.

When I first reached out to Vero Beach Municipal Marina in the morning I was told they didn’t have a spot for us so I made a reservation at what I considered our “plan ‘B'” marina.  A few hours later Vero Beach called to let me know they had a cancellation and could tie us up on their fuel dock for the night which was fine as we needed to take on around 500 gallons of diesel.

It’s our first time here – another terrific spot in a quiet, park-like area (beware of the crab holes), very different than the many Florida marinas that are surrounded by condos.  There’s also a huge dog park next door that we may have to take advantage of on another visit.

Next Stop – Stuart.  See you out there…

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