Daytona

"Whenever your preparations for sea are poor, the sea worms it's way in and finds the problems."

veteran singlehander Francis Stokes.

"Our anchor is our title deed to our property and we can claim our property all around our coasts and in forign countries either if we like."

Frank Cowper

So i have been claiming title to a different piece of the atlantic coast every night for the last seven weeks. Some nights i even claim two pieces as the first turns out to be unsatifactory for one reason or another. Two nights ago on the Tomoko Basin, north of Daytona, finding a place deep enough was difficult and i found the place on the basin that was charted to be 5 ft deep but it was right out in the middle, exposed to the north west wind which has brought in much cooler temps over the last few days. It was ok for awhile, and i slept for a few hours but woke with a rocking and thumping of the keel in a gusting wind that signaled the tide had turned. I tried to shorten anchor to head into the wind better, but next thing i knew i was dragging anchor and heading into the shallows from that very narrow strp of deeper water. Decided to pull up stakes and head to the Ormond Beach high level bridge lit up about three miles distant. Pulled stern anchor, started little putt putt, pulled bow anchor and then was really headed into thin water by the time i ran back to the stern and put the engine in gear and swung around heading for the Icw channel. 3.0 2.8 2.6 2.6 2.5 2.5 ( depth meter reading that means i am about to hit bottom) and then the engine is churning up mud and silt and i hope that i can keep enough momentum to make it to the channel. 2.5 2.6. 2.8 3.0 phew, i cleared it and made it into deeper water following the lights on the channel shore heading for the bridge. No other boats on the water this time of night and i just had to look out for the unlighted day markers, post stuck in the mud to mark the channel, so as not to hit one of them. Shivering now with this chilly NW wind I could just see them against the bridge lights about 50 ft away and steered clear of them ,following the depth sounder and the lighted bouys up to and under the big bridge. Found 5.5 ft of water on the lee side of the bridge and threw out the anchor again, crawling back into the sack until dawn.

Earlier that day i had past through an area called the Hammock, north of a very lage developedment called Palm Shores. Amazingly, i saw more wildlife in this stretch than at any other time. First, a huge flock of Cranes and Herons of all shapes and sizes, perching on the trees and resting on shore, that flew up into a wild display of winged motion as i passed. Then ahead i saw my first Manatee surface for air,an ospery take a fish and fly around with it apparently waiting for it to stop wiggling, a bald eagle, a Glossy ibis and a herd of deer on the lawn of a mansion as the channel narrowed and the development took over both sides of the channel.

i alos caught my first fish beside some channel cats and puffer fish. Cast a silver spoon near a small channel branching away from the main and hooked something big, i en thought it was dragging bottom at first. No , it was coming in little by little, and steering with my foot, and reeling in carefully on light tackle, i brought a 24 inch Redfish up next to the boat where i could net him and bring him aboard. Thinking of dinner while i was reeling in, the fact of the matter was the fish was so incredibly beautiful, i felt like a voyeur for having pulled it up from it's habitat. i layed the exhausted fish on the stern seat, grabed a needlenose from in the cabin and quickly removed the hook and having not removed it from the net lowered it back into the water and let it swim away. Will have to catch an ugly fish to eat next time...

Hitting the beach at Fernandina, St Augustine, Flagler Beach and now Daytona, have been practising yoga and Taichi and connecting myself to the surf energy. To really see the progression of beaches from LI Sound all the way to here is something that cannot be described adequately with words. Each beach is unique though the same forces of the same ocean work upon the same shore. Different textured sand, different shells, and different water color and wave pattern give each beach it's signature.

Arrived in daytona after making pancakes with our own maple syrup ( still living on the stuff) in time for the last day of Biketoberfest. Like and ag festival, with thousands of riders on their hogs wearing their cowhides, and reving up their engines. Free music and surprisingly, beer and liquor ( "jack daniels" the obvious choice) sold in kiosks all over the streets, so the bikers would not be denied. Had to admit it was fun to walk around town with a shot of jack on the rocks, and i enjoyed the music immensely, though the middle aged and older biker crowd was mostly interested in looking at the hardware parked as far as the eye could see and shopping for the harley stuff that was in endless supply.

Last night you could hear the bike rumbling out of town , and today the town is mostly quite. Traded in some books at the used book store and got some new ones for the next week or so. and oops my time is running out on this here computer. talk to you again soon...