Rockledge, FL to Daytona Beach, FL August 15

Private Island for a Day?

We were underway by 0715 from a very calm anchorage near Honeymoon Bay, and passed the Cocoa, FL bridge at 0750.  We were at the NASA Causeway Bridge by 0915, and Titusville at 1000.  We passed a number of small islands, many of which were occupied by one small boat and family…somewhat like having your own island for the day!  Some were a mere ten feet in diameter, and one occupied only by 20 or 30 gulls was even smaller.  It was interesting to see the NASA launch structures and buildings on Merritt Island, and we cut through over to Mosquito Lagoon, passing through the NASA Haulover Bridge across which spacecraft are towed from one end of the property to another. 



Ponce Deleon Inlet Light

Ponce Deleon Inlet Light

Soon after entering Mosquito Bay, we were treated to three or four manatees cavorting about in the shallow water.  There were lots of dolphins as we moved north, and we even saw several more manatees just surfacing and submersing in the waterway near Ponce DeLeon Inlet.  Other locations passed were New Smyrna Beach at 1335, and Munson Bridge near Ponce DeLeon Inlet at 1350. 

 We planned to anchor out at one of the few available spots near Daytona Beach, but it was largely full of permanently moored boats, and much shallower than what the chart avers.  After poking around a bit, we moved on a short distance to the Halifax Harbor Marina.  This is a very large marina complex; some have claimed the largest on the East Coast.  Whether or not that is true, it is nonetheless impressive!

Halifax Harbor Marina