Moorglade's Voyage - Cocoa Village

Cocoa Village - 897 miles to go

Moorglade's Voyage

Ted Wilson

Sat 14 Apr 2012 22:22

Our position is: 28:20.993N 80:43.142W

In spite of the late night we were up in time to leave our mooring at 7. John was on deck in spite of the early hour, so we took a turn round Moonlight to say goodbye and wish them bon voyage for their return to the UK. This resulted in a close encounter with M/V Morning Star, who was just leaving her mooring behind Moonlight but we all came through unscathed and we were soon on our way behind them. The weather was most unfriendly. The wind was in the north and this gave us an adverse current of between 0.5 and 1 knot all day. Coupled with that it wasn’t very warm and jumpers had to be worn for the first time in a long time. It was disappointing not to be able to sail as this stretch of the Indian River is the area best suited to sailing but we ploughed on trying not to be too jealous of the people sailing in the opposite direction and making the most of the bird watching opportunities. We spotted ospreys nesting on poles with bowls fitted on top within the Pelican Island Wildlife Refuge area and there were many pelicans fishing the waters around us, not to mention yet more dolphins, but still no manatees in spite of the many notices exhorting us to go slow to protect them.

We had several radio encounters with faster boats wanting to come past. The protocol is that they request a “slow pass” and then we slow down (even further) and they reduce their wake as they come past. This obviously only applies to motor boats, of which there were many heading in our direction.

After lunch the wind went round more into the east and we were able to unroll the genoa and sail, which was faster and much more pleasant. Unfortunately the weather was not and it rained heavily, but it had stopped by the time we reached the anchorage south of Cocoa Twin Highway Bridge.

The next day we dinghied ashore to the fine riverside walk dinghy dock and walked into Cocoa Village. Again this had come recommended by Steve from Clear Day as “quaint” but from the anchorage we had been quite underwhelmed by the view and weren’t quite sure what to expect. We were very pleasantly surprised. There is a delightful park next to the water with a stage for outside performances and various tablets commemorating war heroes and victims of other memorable occasions (9/11 for one) We easily found the post office and sorted out the answers to our postage queries and then wandered down the hill and into the building of the local historical society. This proved to be a really interesting encounter, where we learned a lot about the history of the town and area from a charming lady, who couldn’t have been more welcoming or helpful. She also told us to keep an eye out for an aeroplane moving one of the shuttles to Washington, where it will be going on display, as it was apparently happening soon (but she wasn’t sure exactly when).

After that we wandered a bit more, visiting Harry the Potter, who had some amazing decorative fish and other sea scenes. Ted said the area reminded him of Totnes in its arty, crafty, hippyish demeanour. We followed this with a delicious, if somewhat large, sandwich lunch at a pavement cafe. Ted was particularly impressed by the Native lager. After lunch we decided to walk onto the bridge over the river to take some photographs. Our route took us past a hardware store so a detour was made to see what they had. Inside it was a positive treasure trove, not only of hardware but also of very helpful staff. It was a real nostalgia trip for me as it was very reminiscent of the shops I grew up with. In no time at all hinges and hose fittings had been located and purchased and Ted was being given a list of dishes we must eat when in New England. I was just taking some photos of the amazing interior when who should be at the counter but Pat from Sea Cat; Tom was enjoying himself wandering round. They had just arrived at the anchorage so we quickly issued an invitation for them to come on board for a drink later, then went to take our photos.

On the way back to the boat we stopped to chat with some Norwegians on Trixi, who had also just arrived. They had brought the boat from Greece to Barbados last October and were planning to return to Norway by the Northern route this year as they could only get a one year sabbatical from work. I thought they must have had a hard time fitting everything in but they seemed fairly relaxed about it and had even managed some time in Cuba. Back on the boat there was time for a quick tidy up before Tom and Pat arrived. Tom lives on Chesapeake Bay so was able to provide a lot of information for us on good places to go while we are there. They are leaving their boat in Jacksonville so Tom may be able to sail with Ted later, when I am back home. Once again it was a really convivial evening and this time it was them clambering back into the dinghy in the dark, but by then the wind had got up, although from the south-east, and they were likely to have had a splashy ride back to their boat.

We had intended to move the 17Nm to Titusville the next day but when we woke up it was overcast and blowing 15-25 knots and the water was quite rough. We still needed to take the engine off the dinghy, which was bouncing around like a bucking bronco behind the boat, so we agreed to stay another day at the anchorage and catch up with the jobs before moving on tomorrow when the forecast is for reducing winds.