12/20/09 Titusville to Dragon Point-Banana River, Fl

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Brrrr 32 degrees this morning. I put the pot of water on for the coffee, flipped on the wind generator and heater and jumped back into bed. Under the covers and snuggling into Wayne’s arms and chest I discovered that a snorkel would be a good thing for mornings like this. It was nice and warm and cozy back in the bed, but with one nostril smashed in Wayne’s chest and the other blocked and covered in blanket, I discovered it was difficult to breathe. Sigh, and I was getting warm before having to come up for air. Once the heat came up a few degrees in the cabin and I heard the water starting to boil and it was time to start the day.

Anchor up at 9:04am and we were off. Headed towards Dragon Point on Merritt Island. We weren’t sure what awaited us there because the locals had decided that they no longer wanted people anchoring in their area and they had started a lawsuit to prevent people from anchoring. According to the SSCA (Seven Seas Cruising Association) the judge ruled in favor of the boaters and this didn’t sit well with the property owners. I’ve never been one to go where I’m not welcomed, so felt a little nervous as we headed there.

The day turned into a nice one – sunny and in the 60s – a pretty travel day. I saw some reddish egrets, which shocked me! I thought maybe they were red flamingos or something but they weren’t the right shape. They DO have red egrets though. Who knew! I was amazed at the seabirds that followed us. At times, I felt we were in an Alfred Hitchcock Movie with all the birds following us!

Entering Dragon Point was a little depressing. The magnificent Dragon at the entrance of the Banana River is all but forgotten green debris. You can’t tell it was ever a dragon.

As we proceeded to anchor, a pretty Bayfield 29 passed by us while exiting the river. I watched them and waved. They watched us and didn’t wave. Hmmmm…. Normally boaters wave at each other. Normally fellow “Bayfielders” are quicker to wave back. I felt thoroughly snubbed when they came back by again and acted as if we weren’t there. Were we leaking oil or something? It clicked that they were locals, and we were transients later when a kayaker came by to visit.

We were sitting in the cockpit enjoying the sun. I was snapping pictures of birds and dolphins (as usual) and a kayak pulled up to us, asking us where we were from? He wanted to know how long we’d been here and if anyone had been by to harass us? He then informed us that the locals had taken anchoring rights to court and the court had found in favor of boaters. I guess they’ve been intimidating people that anchor here. We told him no, nobody had come by. He asked how long we were staying for and we told him we were leaving in the morning. He quickly left after that. Strange because when he approached, he was friendly and chatty but when we said we just got in and were leaving in the morning, he decided to abruptly leave. I sat up top for awhile looking at the remains of the once beautiful 20 ton 100 foot dragon. The more I stared at the remaining carcass, the angrier I became. The locals found it more fitting to spend money trying to prevent people from anchoring in water that they didn’t own as opposed to using those funds to restore a treasured and beloved landmark that they were known for! Spend money to keep boaters out. Why invest in their landmark that stands on a coquina point to guard against evil? They’d already allowed evil to creep in. You boaters might be allowed to anchor here, but you will not dinghy to any marina dock or shore to shop or spend money here! Keep out. Wow. Probably explains the Bayfield 29 snub.

I watched the sun set behind the remnants of a once powerful symbol then decided it was colder here than I liked and went below to make dinner. I really wasn’t very hungry tonight. Thoroughly lost my appetite.