DAYS 237-241: Cocoa Village Free Dock to Titusville - PASSED New Smyrna Anchorage - Daytona Anchorage

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 or broiled - pretty basic stuff. If not for the 20 knot winds, the outside bar would have been a better choice.

Because of higher than normal winds, we stayed an extra day in Titusville.


New Smyrna PASS

In addition to marinas, New Smyrna has a lot of anchorages to choose from and a city dinghy dock. When we were scouting it out, it had a odd vibe about it. One of the Looper books states that Travel & Leisure Magazine listed New Smyrna one of the top 10 “Coolest Beach Towns.” For me, “beach town” equals Atlantic Ave in the tourist section of Virginia Beach - PASS.


Daytona Anchorage

Traveling Northbound: We anchored on the west side of the ICW after R44 and directly across from the Halifax Sailing Association at Bethune Point Park & Ball Fields. Be sure to NOT go any further north and leave this anchorage exactly as you entered it - from the south at R44. 


GOING ASHORE: The docks, in order from south to north, on the west side of the ICW, are the Sailing Association dock, an observation/fishing dock, and the Bethune Park’s Public Boat Ramp with floating dock. We left the dinghy tied to this last dock mentioned and walked to town. Such a sweet little town; eats from the Dancing Avocado and the ABRAXAS used book store will always be favorites. Later we spent the day with Dave Houtchins and had lunch at Crabby Joe’s Deck & Grill; a landmark restaurant over the Atlantic Ocean with plexiglass windows floor to ceiling. Crabby Joe’s screams tradition but the food is mediocre at best - all fried in the same oil.


FUN FACT: Walking from the dinghy dock, you will pass Ed Walden’s Bar. This hole in the wall is an iconic biker/dive bar, once a gas station, here in Daytona and sits adjacent to the Bethune Ball Park. This little tavern has been in business since 1948, is a tradition among locals, and a staple of Bike Week. I’m not sure about food, there was a picture of a mammoth peanut butter and jelly sandwich online, but the beer is supposedly ice cold and a cut above the rest. If there were Michelin Stars given to dive bars, this bar would demand the award of all three stars.


MARINAS: Daytona’s city dock has been shut down for repairs since April 2021, is locked up tight, and has derelict vessels tied to the dock. It doesn’t look like anything will happen anytime soon. 


Halifax Harbor Marina: $1.70/ft plus electric, all amenities and it’s close to downtown (you would need to head south to get to Ed Walden’s).

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