Log 121; Day 334; April 20, 2009; Cocoa Villiage Marina; Cocoa, FL.

This is how pretty and calm it was as we left our slip in Fort Pierce

The ICW is wide here...but the channel is still narrow

At many places along our route there were these islands with lots of boats on them

We were treated to a gret dolphin show along the way

These guys seemed to be having a blast

This sail boat, and I, had a little disagreement on where each of should be. He knew he cut me off...but said he was racing. I guess it must be ok then?

A shot from the ICW to our marina...Coca Village Marina

You can see HQ in the center of the picture here. This is not a large place...but very nice.

Log 121
Day 334
Monday, April 20, 2009

7:30 AM EDT
Location: Cocoa Village Marina; Cocoa, FL.
Weather: 70 and partly cloudy, with calm winds...forecasted to be 81, with 50% chance of rain this afternoon

It’s a nice morning here in Cocoa, FL. A light wind, and 70, with the sun just coming over the marina. Looking to the west the sky has less clouds, but there is a cold front coming through this evening, and storms are predicted ahead of the front.

We had planned to spend another day in Fort Pierce, but when I woke up Sunday, and listened to the weather (the first thing I do every day is listen to a complete weather update from NOAA weather) I found out that Sunday would be a much better cruising day than Monday...when the stronger winds, and storms would come through. So we decided to head out, and go 68 miles from Fort Pierce to Cocoa. Also...because we were parked right inside the fuel dock, we could fuel in our slip, so we took on 190 gallons @ $2.31 a gallon (with a 10 cent Boat US discount) before we took off.

We left Fort Pierce a little after 8 AM, and arrived in Cocoa just before 3 PM. When we left the wind was almost calm, and as you can see from the pictures the waterway was flat...and beautiful. There were fisherman everywhere...many in the channel, but they really were not in the way. The navigation along the route was not an issue. In many places the ICW was very narrow...but not difficult to follow. We saw a few big boats, but the land of Mega Yachts is behind us now. Most of the boats we saw (and being a Sunday, there were lots of them) were small runabouts with center counsole. The further north we traveled, the windier it got, and by the time we reached the Cocoa area there were small white caps on the ICW. But the good news was the wind was out of the SE, so it did not affect us...until we tried to pull into our slip. Just as we were backing in, a strong gust of wind came through. It made it a little interesting for docking...but no damage...so no issue. Once at the slip, I rinsed off the boat, and got things set up, while Deb did a couple of loads of laundry. I also got a chance to watch the NASCAR race I had recorded on Saturday night in Phoenix. For dinner we had BLT’s, and fresh corn from the farmers market in Fort Pierce. And we caught up on 24 (the TV program).

Today...we have some minor boat chores to do, and then head into town to explore. Andy and Mary on Good News were just here, and they said they liked the town, so we plan to check it out. Speaking of Andy and Mary...we plan to head out first thing tomorrow, and catch them in Daytona. Although we have stayed in touch, we have not seen them since we were in Fort Meyers in early December. Deb and I both look forward to seeing them again. We follow their logs each day, so we know about their adventures...but it will be good to hear them first hand.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob