Titusville Municipal Marina to Banana River Anchorage. Distance: 33 nm/Time: 6 hours
The forecast for today was for rain to start around 9 am and continue until about 1 pm. There were also going to be southerly winds. Even though it wasn’t cold (mid-60’s) I didn’t really relish a day with the rain blowing in my face all day. The next day was supposed to be much nicer. I had also had a long day/late night the day before, so thought I would extend a day and get some rest. I would ask the marina as soon as they opened if that were possible. I didn’t think it would be a problem since when I had asked for a two-week extension before going to Pinellas County, they said that they couldn’t because someone was coming in my slip three days after I was supposed to leave. If that were still the case, one more day for me shouldn’t matter.
However, something had evidently changed in previous two weeks, because they said my slip was going to be used that afternoon. Okay, then leave it is, I guess, rain or shine. I told the lady dockhand that I would need help getting off the dock in about an hour. I wanted to at least depart and be heading south before the rain started if possible, and that was supposed to be at 9 am.
I had the boat ready by 8:45, all the dock lines removed except the fore and aft starboard lines and a spring line on that side, and was about to summon the dock hand, when a boat called in with a minor emergency: someone had fallen down a hatch during the night, and they needed to come in to the fuel dock to meet an ambulance. Right then another boat showed up at the fuel dock, so the single dock hand was busy with that for the next half hour. She was finally able to help me launch at 9:30.
It was a bit tricky getting off the dock. I planned to back up out of the slip (obviously) and let my prop walk bring the stern around to port, and then back up out of the fairway (about three boat lengths), then continue turning backwards to port off the fuel dock before reversing and heading out the channel. So, I asked her to keep the bow tight against the finger pier as long as possible to help point me in the right direction.
The plan sort of worked, but Serendipity wasn’t coming around quickly enough, the stern still heading for boats on the opposite (north) side of the fairway. At the same time, the wind was blowing the entire boat in that direction. So, I put it in forward, gave it a burst of power to move the entire boat more parallel to the fairway and back toward the south side to give me more room. Then I put it in reverse again, and, going in and out of gear to avoid prop walk this time, managed to back out of the fairway easily. Then after exiting the fairway, some bursts of reverse brought the stern to port, turning the boat north toward the channel. It all worked. Got to love physics!
The good news is that it hadn’t started to rain and the sun was starting to poke out from the clouds. In fact, contrary to the forecast (surprise, surprise) which had called for a 91% chance of rain, it didn’t end up raining until after I had dropped the hook in my anchorage after 3 pm. Wonderful!
The 33-mile trip proved uneventful. I spend the first couple hours stowing the dock lines, fenders, and fender boards and raising the solar panels while trying to keep the boat in the very narrow channel. There were very few boats out, and most of the anchorages I passed were empty. I hoped it would be the same for the anchorage I was heading for.
This one would be a bit unique. In fact, my deciding to even pursue this anchorage was a reflection of my change in attitude. For what really felt like the first time, I had no timeframe, no deadlines, no agenda. In fact, the only true deadline was heading north again for hurricane season, but that was six months away. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go to the Keys or the Bahamas or neither. I decided that I would slow down, enjoy the sites, visit little towns that I hadn’t taken the time to before because I had always been having to either get away from the heat/hurricanes, away from the cold, get to Ohio, etc. Now it was just me and my boat and no deadlines.
So that brings me to the Banana River Anchorage. It was about 30 miles way, which is my target distance for multiple consecutive days in the ICW. But there were also a couple of other, easier and more convenient anchorages right along the ICW that would have been more efficient.
But the Banana River anchorage was up a picturesque little bay (well, the Banana River, actually) and on the other side of a swing bridge which opened on demand. Previously, I would have just opted for one of the easy anchorages which I would have to pass on the way, not wanting to spend the extra time and distance or deal with a bridge tender. But the reviews sounded nice, I wasn’t in a hurry, so I decided to go explore a bit!
And it was very quaint. The bridge was also very picturesque, the bridge tender very responsive, and when I got on the far side of the bridge, it was super calm and quiet and pretty. I was glad I had taken the extra time. And, as soon as I had set the anchor, the rain that had been promised finally hit, but only for an hour or so. I was grateful it had held off for so long!
The Mathers Bridge has a rather interesting history. If you wish to dive deeper, here are a couple of links:
https://indianriverlagoonnews.org/guide/index.php/Mathers_Bridge_Historic_Engineering_Record
https://www.florida-backroads-travel.com/mathers-bridge-restaurant.html