We left our marina side of the Ponce de Leon Inlet and made our way to the New Smyrna Beach side. It is not navigable to the inlet from our side but there are issues on the other side as well.
There is an area near buoy 18 that has shoaling. Bob’s 423 (ICW expert) said to go an alternate route around it. We called sea tow for a recommendation and they told us to go the regular route but the consensus on ICW Facebook group from people who had done it recently was to do the alternate route. We waited for tide to come in a bit and then went through on the alternate route. No problems.
Waves were breaking around the inlet but inside it was clear. It was a little rolling as we started down the coast. It was not as cold as our other passages outside but the boat was more rocky and we could not cook.
We went around Cape Canaveral taking care to go around the restricted zones. There was a possible rocket launch at 10 pm. We were well past the immediate area by 10 but could still have seen a launch but it was cancelled.
A half moon rose and helped a good bit with visibility. David steered most of the night shift as it was downwind with big waves and there was not much room for error. We spoke with nearby boats on the radio to make sure they saw us.
This morning, the sun came back, It calmed enough for me to steer a bit. Dolphins came to play and swim under and beside the boat. We hope to complete the passage to Lake Worth inlet in a couple of hours.
