Tied up in Eau Gallie

December 8 - 10

We left Daytona with the thought that we could make it to Eau Gallie in 2 days. It is the destination that really would mark 'Part 1 of the Adventure' for us. That is because we are fortunate enough to be able to return home for a couple of weeks to spend Christmas with family (and attend a few medical appointments). Dave had done his research and found a marina there that seemed like the perfect spot to leave Tiffany Rose. We wanted to get there with enough time to do a good size list of boat chores before we leave, and before some unsettled weather that is forecast for later in the week.

So we headed south from Daytona passing the Ponce de Leon Inlet which we had read might be a challenge as far as having enough water depth, but all was fine. We travelled through Mosquito Lagoon and then through the Haulover Canal where we had heard and read that manatees were often seen. Dave was up front with the camera and we were sure that we saw the round back of a manatee until a dolphin showed itself close by, then we weren't sure.

We anchored at Titusville and after Christopher sighted a train going by on land we got the motor on the dingy and headed in to the marina. We ran into a number of people that we had met along the way. John and Karen from Brockville had decided to leave their boat there to travel home for the holidays and two of the Port Stanley boats had stopped there to provision and get ready to head offshore to the Bahamas soon. We did hang out at the tracks for awhile but with the darkness arriving earlier every day we had to head back without any up close train sightings.

We weighed anchor the next morning feeling that this was a significant day. Providing that all went well and we made it to our destination, it would mark the end of this last three months of travelling south, which has been quite an experience for all of us. After anchoring for five days we needed to pump out the holding tank and so we headed in to the Titusville marina first thing to do that. That meant docking at an unfamiliar dock which always gets our pulse rate up a little. That went smoothly and we headed on our way.

I'm sure we've mentioned more than once that this trip south has felt temperature wise more like a trip north. So that morning when we had awoken to warm temperatures, we had opened the hatch in the v berth, something we hadn't done in all the cold weather we'd been having. So........ what had been a well established routine in the summer of always closing the hatches before getting underway, was forgotten seeing as this was not routine for us to have opened a hatch. Later the same day.................. a large power cruiser passed us leaving a larger than normal wake. I angled into their waves, but they were large and the bow dipped down and the waves came over the bow and then I saw the look of 'Yikes!' on Dave's face as he remembered that the hatch was open. Did I mention that the v berth is Dave and my bedroom? Sigh.........now completely soaked with saltwater.

After we each took turns trying to mop up and somewhat salvage things we tried to philosophize with forced cheerfulness that this was probably a good lesson and how fortunate that this happened on a day where we were going to a marina and so the clean up would be somewhat easier (laundry,etc.) than if we were at anchor.

Before we got to the marina we needed to stop for fuel so we started looking for a spot that had fuel. The first place we contacted was waiting for a delivery of fuel so no go there. The one we found we meant a short trip up the Banana River, again wondering on approach what this dock would be like. The first glimpse brought a "You expect us to tuck in there?" reaction but as we got closer there was plenty of room, the only really unnerving part was that the marina man undid our dock lines and cast us off before we had started the engine. Thankfully it did start in a timely manner and we were off to our new temporary home.

We got hold of Steve the manager by cell phone who told us what side to have lines ready etc, then headed up the channel into Eau Gallie. When we saw him gesturing where to turn we both misunderstood and thought he wanted us to tie up there and it did not look good. When we got to the spot we realized the spot was really the entrance to a row of docks. Steve was then gesturing to us to turn into a particular slip, which Dave did perfectly I must say until we came to a complete stop part way into the slip because we were sitting on the ground. There was some discussion then about what to do as this was the only slip available and couldn't we just plough through the mud, but no, with a wing keel we couldn't, etc. So then Steve said if we could back out he'd double us up with another boat in deeper water. We weren't sure what that meant or if we could back out, but soon Steve had moved back up the row and was gesturing by a space on a dock. This meant that after Dave managed to inch us back out of the too shallow slip he then had to back all the way down this row with not a lot of space a maneuver up to the dock. Anyone who spends time around sailboats knows that backing up in tight situations is not something that sailboats are designed to do particularly well. I must say that if I were Dave I would have been hyperventilating and whining "I can't do this' and wishing for some magic force to beam me out of there. But he backed us down the row with a wide eyed "I can't believe that I'm doing this" look on his face, but did a great job, as I sprinted back and forth from one side to the other as it was not clear at all with which side we would be approaching the dock. Eventually the prop walk made that decision for us (the tendency of a boat to turn one way in reverse) and we tied up with the help of Steve and two other boaters who had arrived a day earlier. Doubling up meant that we are blocking the exit of a slip holder who apparently does not go out very often. Christopher turned off the engine with ceremonial pronouncements of it being the last 'turn off the engine' of 2008.

Now that we are safely tied up it is a nice spot. It is more a marina that is associated with a condominium, where there are a few boats who have come to stay for a few weeks like us, then there are a group of liveaboard boaters (people who live full time on their boats), then the rest of the slips are rented out to people in the condominium or local residents. It is not really a place where people come in for one night while travelling. The other boaters tell us that it is a good hurricane hole, meaning that it is well sheltered for bad weather. There are manatees in the water by the boats!

Today was the last day for the forecast of nice Florida like weather so we put off boat chores (except for numerous loads of laundry when the machine is free) and went to the beach. We actually dug out our bathing suits for the first time and played in the waves. Seeing as we are staying put for awhile and it is the Christmas season, and we have electricity, Dave put up a string of Christmas lights on Tiffany Rose. Some boats are very decorated.

We are still in the " Wow, I can't believe we made it here from Ontario" phase. We are here until we fly home on the morning of the 18th. It will be Christopher's first time on an airplane. We return on January 2nd and hope to move on to the Keys for a bit before going to the Bahamas.