A Little Loopy

Cocoa Village FREE Dock to Titusville: 7.9 mph; 20.2 miles; 2:38 hours Titusville to Daytona Anchorage: 7.3 mph; 47 miles; 6:24 hours Titusville Municipal Marina The water was like glass on the Potomac River in the dead of summer ... but with dolphin. $1.75/ft; clean showers, reasonable coin-laundry prices, and key-card gated facility. The staff is quick to help you and check-in was easy through Dockwa . This is another location you could use as a home base for the Kennedy Space Center or Orlando. The small quiet town of Titusville is a few blocks away from the marina. We went to the Sunrise Bread Company for a breakfast, coffee, and a loaf of bread. You need to get to the bakery early and they close at 2:30 PM. The bread turned out to be a winner. For lunch we went to Pier 220 Seafood and Grill . It was “ok” - Key West has spoiled me with what seafood should taste like. Pier 220 blackens Ahi Tuna and I will never have it again. Any fish you want here you can have it fried, blackened...

Turkey Creek to Cocoa Village Marina: 8.0 mph; 24.9 miles; 3:06 hours Cocoa Village Marina to Cocoa Village FREE Dock: 4.6 mph; 1751 yds; 0:12 hours Cocoa Village Marina $2.50/ft plus electric; showers/laundry; next to the village. Make reservations way ahead of time; this is a smaller marina with excellent staffing. Our night here was peaceful, safe, and clean. Cocoa Village FREE dock The winter winds are out of the North, making this dock, on the south side of the causeway, a perfect location.  The Village has big plans for the waterfront; so, I’m not sure this FREE Dock will be free much longer. They are dredging at the end of February 2022 and have turned off the boat power/water. It didn’t deter us (or the other boats); it was like anchoring out but at a floating dock. The Village plans to add a dock master facility, re-establish the electric and water, and later add a mooring field. I hope they keep the village charm when thinking about the design. It's adorable here. We...

Peck Lake to Fort Pierce: 8.1 mph; 26.7 miles; 3:16 hours Fort Pierce to Indian River Anchorage: 7.0 mph; 20 miles; 2:50 hours Indian River Anchorage to Turkey Creek Anchorage: 7.5 mph; 25.9 miles; 3:28 hours Fort Pierce Municipal Marina: $2.25/ft plus electric $ (happening more often now); showers; laundry $3/wash and $2/dry (pretty expensive); docks have locked gates and the marina is within walking distance to the First Friday Night activities and Saturday Farm Market. The Farmer’s Market was the best I have seen sine St Pete's: breads, honey, FRESH fruits & vegetables, soaps, and local talent. Fantastic morning.   HANDS DOWN! YADA IS THE BEST DOCKHAND! The office staff is pretty friendly and helpful. Spent time with New Hope swapping stories; this is the marina where they recently crossed their wake. I needed to mail some letters so we walked a little ways to the restaurant, Mervis , that shares space with the post office; Cuban Sandwich and a Stamp - works for me....

Manatee Pocket back to Peck Lake: 5.7 mph; 6.5 miles; 1:08 hours ANCHORAGE:  When anchoring here, we needed to be careful of shoaling - read the charts and watch the electronics. The best place to drop anchor is closest to the wooden tower. It was really windy here but that didn’t stop us from taking the dinghy to the little beach. Once we tied our dinghy to a tree, we walked through this sea-grape canopy that opens to an enormous beach. Only a small handful of people were on the beach (all boaters from the anchorage). It’s so peaceful, I can see why it’s such a popular stop along the ICW.  While walking the beach, near the dune line, I saw something that looked like a collection of deflated helium balloons. Turned out to be the egg shell remains of turtle eggs. No tracks around; so I guess it was a few days before. I could have stayed here a while longer and hopped back and forth between here, the free dock in Manatee and Manatee Marina. It's just a great little spot.