Day 348:

Cocoa, FL to New Smyrna Beach City Marina, FL (docked)

December 29, 2022

It was really quiet with no waves or wind in this nice little anchorage at Cocoa – even though we were near a bridge (and probably a train, too). We had a great night’s sleep before an early start for New Smyrna Beach, which is 51 miles from Cocoa.

Most ICW bridges are at least 64′ from the water line and Lailia only needs 53′ to clear. At this point in our adventure, we have lost count of the number of bridges we’ve crossed under – but every now and then I have to remind myself that it’s an optical illusion that we won’t clear the bridge.

I still kind of enjoy watching bridges open for us – especially when they’re “on demand” and we don’t have to wait a long time for an opening.

We have been in proximity to the NASA Vehicle Assembly Building all day. This is the largest single story building in the world and with the flatness of the area, it’s been visible for hours. Going north, our last view of it is when we head into the Haulover Canal.

We saw manatees the last two times we were in Haulover, but the cold front that dropped down last week must have made the area less hospitable to them – hopefully they have found warm water and are doing ok

Ospreys are everywhere – on channel markers, in trees, even on a few boat masts – although we didn’t see any nests yet. In the summer almost every channel marker has a giant nest squished between the signs.

The best reason to stop at the New Smyrna City Marina is we get to see John’s brother, Warren, and his sister-in-law, Linda. We always seem to share a lot of laughs. A huge bonus of our trip is that we’ve spent time with them three times this year. When John was searching for a boat in Florida a few years ago and found Lailia, Warren was with him so he’s a part of Lailia’s history.

After dinner (and before we hit the delicious ice cream parlor) Linda and Warren took us for a quick drive to see some Christmas lights. This house had synchronized music to their light show.

Even the marina restroom had some holiday decorations.

Instead of trying to travel 68 miles from New Smyrna Beach to St. Augustine tomorrow, we plan to go about 43 miles tomorrow to spend the night in a marina in Palm Coast, a new stop for us.