Mosquito Lagoon to Daytona (Halifax Marina)
31 NM and 5.75 hours. NEBO, the program that tracks our routes (for me and for you to follow) sometimes acts sketchy and leaves gaps in the route. This one started around Edgewater and ended in Daytona.
It was such a lovely night in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. We weren’t that far from civilization, but the nice breeze, absence of artificial light, and the cool temperature delivered a good night’s sleep. My latest discovery is an anchor app called Anchor Pro. It is simple to use and the alarm is a car horn that will wake the dead, if the boat starts dragging anchor. Leaving it on at night provides a level of comfort, knowing I will be notified if we drift outside the parameters.
We puttered through New Smyrna on to Daytona. It is Sunday, so we accessed Compassion Christian Church on the iPad and listened to Cam teach and preach from the pilot house (instead of the pulpit) :). Sunday has to be the worst day on the water. I admit, we all need to be in church, and nobody misses the fellowship of gathering more than I do right now. But since we can’t, people are congregating on the water. And it is my humble (okay, maybe more like critical) opinion that most of the people have learned no more about the rules of boat etiquette and navigation than they have from the sermons they would normally be hearing on Sunday morning. Defensively driving quickly reminded why I try to stay in a marina on the weekends. I’ve been the owner of a little boat for 40 years and a big boat less than two. I always feared the big boats. Their size intimidates and their wakes can be devastating to a small craft. But apparently, the boat I now own is invisible. People pull out in front of us like we can stop on a dime. They merge into the ICW in their 14’ aluminum fishing boats ahead of us, and then slow down. Stopping 36,000 pounds happens over a couple hundred feet, but these folks are clueless. Steve, in his 70 footer, told me later he wished he had a paint ball gun today. Pontoon boats almost run into us from the rear end and then dart around us like we are a dead dog in the road. They must want a view of the inside of our boat because they pass so closely they could step off their own and onto ours.
But the sermon I heard today reminded me that I just don’t know what is going on in their lives and I need to be kind and understanding in situations like these. So, I smile, grit my teeth, and say, “bless their heart.”
We arrived at Halifax Marina mid afternoon. Amanda observed that Halifax is the first marina we have been to twice. It was one of our stops after buying the boat in January of 2019. I suddenly felt so…experienced. I was able to go directly to our assigned slip without detailed instructions. Halifax is a nice marina, very large, and very well maintained by the city of Daytona. The boats seem to be of higher quality than in many marinas, and people do take care of their boats. Halifax is also a great hurricane hole. Apparently, it has survived a number of storms over the years with little to no damage.
After we got settled and had our little nap (during the rain), the Muck’s and us walked the downtown area of Daytona. Depressing would be an understatement. Nothing was open that was still in business and the rest of the buildings on main street were empty. We got some exercise by walking, but we literally never set foot in a store.
Colorful, modest, comfortable homes also border the ICW 
Ah, there’s just something about a sandbar…. 
This little creek off the ICW is clearly a popular spot. I’m sure everyone was practicing proper social distancing behavior. 
The excitement of downtown Daytona–jaywalking is not that risky here.
When we had had all the excitement we could handle, we backtracked to the Chart House adjacent to the marina. One of our favorite restaurants back home, this one equaled the high standard. We enjoyed salmon, crab, shrimp, prime rib, calamari, and mud pie for dessert. What a delightful meal. We walked the short distance back to the boat where I worked on and got current on the blog (finally!). I don’t know what I will do with all the time on my hands when we get home. I suppose I’ll need to find a new adventure. Maybe I will write short stories, like 1 page long. Somehow, I just don’t think my talking about cutting grass on the tractor all day will have the same charm and appeal this boat trip has delivered.