New Smyrna Tow

We woke to a beautiful sunrise on a lovely Saturday morning in Titusville. We said goodbye to Mike and Mary aboard Rough Draft, cast our lines and set out for the run to New Smyrna. We had no idea that today would be the day we'd use our Tow Boat US insurance. It was a day of beauty, challenge, and learning. It was a day from hell with a little “oh my” mixed in.

Mary waving goodbye to us

We passed through the Haulover Canal between Indian River and The Mosquito Lagoon. We were here with our daughter Brie in January. We stood behind the manatee viewing station and took photos. Today, the manatee were right there where we’d seen them before; surfacing, flopping and diving in slow motion. It is so beautiful here. Lots of people are fishing along the banks and wave at us.

Approaching the Haulover Canal Bridge

Fishing Kayaker

Kayaking tours

Crossing the Canal

Passing Under

Haulover Canal Viewing Station

Manatee on Haulover Canal

Favorite Spot

Gentle creatures

Beautiful day for a sail

Flying the AGLCA Burgee

Friendly Boaters

Mosquito Lagoon is very pretty, lined with barrier islands. The waterway is busy on this lovely Saturday morning. We passed several house boats along the ICW. We also pass sailboats that had broken away during Hurricane Matthew and still sit in the sand, listing on their sides, seemingly out of place.

Beauty and the Beast along the ICW

Beautiful home along ICW

Cute little Fish Camp along the ICW

We hoped to stay in New Smyrna but when Dave called ahead, we learned it was too shallow for us to get into the marina. If only we’d put more thought into that information. Shallow would end up ruining this perfect day.

As we made our way through New Smyrna, the channel took a dog leg to the west. Dave knew that it would be difficult for us to navigate here due to a strong current coming in from the Ponce de Leon inlet. What we didn’t know is that this spot has chronic shoaling. To make things worse, the wind was coming from the south pushing us north and we have arrived at low tide. We made the turn and right away, Mystic slid sideways to the North while the depths dropped dramatically. Dave turned away and made a second approach. This time, the wind grabbed us and, with the current, shoved us hard aground inside the channel leaving Mystic listing to the starboard side. We had our beach umbrella up. Dave told me to drop it but it flipped inside out creating a metal and canvas mess. Dave called Tow Boat US almost immediately. He knew there was no getting off this sand bar on our own and it appeared there was no waiting for the tide to come in. We needed help. To make matters worse, the sky opened up and dumped big fat rain drops on us even though there wasn’t a cloud above us. Mother Nature was taking advantage of our misfortune!

Ponce de Leon Lighthouse

Shoaling near the Inlet

Sand Bar

Ponce de Leon Lighthouse

Sky to the South of us

The Tow Boat US captain arrived pretty quickly, within 15 minutes. He tied off to our bow cleat and fed his huge line through our chock. Dave didn’t want the line in the chock but the tow boat Captain requested it so he left it there. Tow Boat US pulled us through sand, spun us around and dragged us over to the red side of the channel. He was so close to the marker that I could have reached out and touched it. There is no way we would ever go that close to a marker. The general rule is, "STAY IN THE MIDDLE", unless, of course, you have local knowledge that tells you one side of the channel is deeper. In the end, we learned that we cannot take Mystic through this channel at low tide. With shoaling and current, it’s too shallow. Next time, we’ll make sure it’s high tide or we’ll pass on the outside.

Once we were into deeper water (7 feet). The Tow Boat US captain completed paperwork with us as we motored along with him rafted alongside. Dave noticed that our chock had been ripped off the bow of the boat. He asked if we could get it back. The Captain, gave him his big tow line and Dave was able to pry the chock free. We're disappointed but it can be remounted. Since we had insurance, we did not have to pay for the tow. We did, however get a copy of the bill which came to almost $700. Thank goodness we put our money in tow insurance. It is worth every penny!

The Tow Boat US captain talked us through the next section of the ICW that would lead us to Daytona. There was another low spot ahead that had four temporary markers. He said we should just stay in the middle and we would be fine. My adrenaline was pumping as we approached and saw another sailboat struggling within the middle of the channel. They had run aground. We watched as they were able to pull themselves off then we ran aground as well. It is hard to explain the frustration that you feel when you think you should be able to move forward and you can’t. Dave was able to pull us off but we bumped and bounced along until we passed this shoaled spot, hearts racing, fingers crossed, holding our breath each time we hit bottom.

The rest of the trip to Daytona was uneventful but we were on edge and tired. It was 42 miles and took us 9 hours. Daytona Halifax Harbor Marina was ready for us when we arrived. A dock hand helped us get settled. We are so very glad to be here. Cruising can be so hard some days. We made dinner and had a few cocktails (maybe too many) then we crashed into a deep sleep. Tomorrow would be a better day. We will go to Palm Coast and connect with friends Al and Lora Robarge Feldman. This is something to look forward to!

Broadway Bridge welcoming us to Daytona