Intuition Log – 26 May 2007
Merritt Island, FL to New Smyrna Beach, FL
Leaving Harbortown at 0904 despite the objections of Noah (there were lots of kids in the marina) we were out the barge canal and back in the ICW by 0946. Heard “Stella Maris” calling a bridge and found out they were only three miles ahead of us. They left Green Turtle with us and continued on to the US without stopping at Great Sale.
Throughout this stretch of the ICW the dominant sight is the massive vehicle assembly building at Cape Canaveral. We had it in sight for over four hours of the trip. At 1310 we slipped through the Haulover Canal Bridge sighting a couple of manatees grazing near the boat launch.
Coming into the more open stretch of the river we were able to get a boost from the sails as the wind picked up to 21 kts. A boat tried tacking up the waterway and ended up running aground under full sail. Winds moderated to the low teens as the afternoon went on and we were safely docked at New Smyrna Beach at 1430 covering 44.9 nm.
Pelicans at New Smyrna Beach
New Smyrna has a very nice city marina with floating docks and John, the dockmaster, made us feel right at home. A fishing derby and boat show were going on at the park next door so we went off to explore that. John recommended Jason’s Deli on Canal Street for dinner. Canal street looks like a nineteen fifties downtown street with lots of little shops and restaurants. This was only the second night that Jason’s was serving dinner and we were the only customers when we walked in. Beth ordered steak for the first time in six months and it was excellent. The crab cakes on my plate were some of the best I’d ever tasted. This place is worth a stop!
After dinner we went to the very nice waterfront playground where Noah hit it off with some kids and they played spies. We checked out the boat show on the way back to the marina and met a couple with two adopted dogs that tried to talk us into visiting the local humane society. We stayed just a little too long as the sky opened up and Noah and I were soaked. Beth was smart enough to return to the boat earlier with the leftovers from dinner so she was enjoying a hot shower while ours was a little bit cooler.