About once a year we get complacent and trust last night's weather when we leave our slip in the morning- and that always fails us! True to form, we left Titusville early Monday, confident we were starting a good five to seven day run, and just an hour out of the marina a 20 knot wind blew up, gusting to 30 all day on the Indian River to the Halifax River. Usually, we can sail this stretch but not this time. It was a chore just to stay in the channel and get to protection. It appears the cold front had not passed and it blew itself out over the next 36 hours. Hence we made an on the spot decision we could not dock in New Smyrna in those winds with current moving in from Ponce Inlet. So, we kept moving on up to Daytona Beach. Halifax Harbor is very safe but there is little to do if you don't make your way over to the beach, which we decided not to do. Instead, we washed the ton of salt off of Promise and ourselves, and we took in a foreign film at a theater within walking distance.
End of visit to Daytona. Tomorrow, fair winds but lots of bridges, St. Augustine the destination.
Lesson relearned, check the weather before you leave the harbor.
