Haulover Canal and the Mosquito Lagoon

Titusville to New Smyrna Beach, FL  – July 11-12, 2016

Miles Today: 28.7 NM

Total Miles:  131.0 NM

It was an early 7:15am departure from Titusville.  We’ll be cruising through areas with shallow water and manatee hangouts, which dictates very slow speeds.  Our travel plans each day include being off the water and secure at a marina or anchorage by early afternoon.  The winds usually come up in the afternoons, which can make maneuvering and docking more difficult.  Enjoying early morning cruises and a leisurely afternoon tied to the dock makes sense to us.

Today turned out to be one of our best days in our short time of cruising the Great Loop.  First we successfully passed the NASA Jay Jay Railway bridge. With the end of the Space Shuttle program, the railway sees very little traffic now.  It’s usually in the ‘up’ position.  However, since no one mans the bridge, boaters have to be watchful for flashing red lights that signify the bridge is about to lower.

NASA'S Jay Jay Railroad Bridge

The Haulover Canal and Mosquito Lagoon were beautiful, calm and filled with manatees.  You must precede at ‘idle speed’. The propeller is still turning very slowly and there is still some forward momentum, but the boat is coasting very slowly.  This protects the manatee, which are huge and very slow swimming creatures. They bob to the surface now and again and, if you are lucky, you will catch a glimpse of a nose, some whiskers, maybe the eyes and then the huge bulbous back as they 
s l o w l y go back under the water.

Approaching the Allenhurst (Haulover Canal) Bridge.  It has a
27 foot vertical clearance, so we can pass under without
requesting an opening.

Jim tried

desperately

to get a picture of a manatee!  All we saw were snouts!

Our cruising guides warn us to carefully observe the markers after leaving the Haulover Canal and turn to port (left) at marker G47 (Green 47), leaving the red markers “R44” and “R46” on our port side or we’d be aground before we knew it.  At first these dire warnings had us on high alert.  We hadn’t encountered such serious grounding warnings while sailing around San Diego or in the San Juan Islands.  We aren’t becoming lax, just less anxious.   Always pay attention, go slow (try driving your car at 8 mph and you’ll see how ‘fast’ we’re zooming along).  Almost everything has worked out much better than anticipated.

After passing thru the Haulover Canal, look sharp and turn to port!
The black numbers in the blue sections of the chart represent water depth -
1 foot, 2 feet - we need more than 4 feet.

As we turned up the Mosquito Lagoon, we decided to move downstairs to drive from the inside pilothouse.  No, not because of the mosquitos (we didn’t see any), but due to the heat.  We’re realizing that we’re getting dehydrated driving from the flybridge.  Even a light breeze gives the illusion we aren’t sweating.  As soon as we slow down or stop, we are drenched. Time to enjoy our generator and air conditioning!

The shoreline delights us as we pass miles of small islands of trees, bushes, mangroves, and tiny sandy beaches.  A lone fisherman here and there.   A variety of birds enjoying a sandbar.  It’s a peaceful ride.

A cormorant drying its wings after diving for lunch 

Soon the river narrows and we find ourselves in a canal of houses, side channels, and docks on our port (left) side, while passing small wild islands on the starboard.  Quite an interesting contrast – but a fun ride, with friendly residents or boaters waving as we glide by.  We passed some teenagers swimming in the water and dashing about on their wave runners.  A girl swimming near shore started sputtering and tried to get the attention of her friends, “Hey, did you guys see that?!  That boat’s named Bazinga!”  We wondered if she thought Sheldon or Penny were driving?!