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February 17, 2013  Day 282

At anchor near Palm Shores Bridge
Melbourne, FL
Total miles to date: 4835.1



One of many large homes on the ICW

As expected, the cold front came through and we woke to a very strong wind in Vero Beach. We called the marina office to confirm that another boat was scheduled to arrive in our space on the T-Dock. (They had no other place to put the 96 foot yacht.)  Those plans had not changed so we did have to leave.  We left shortly before 11:00 and headed north on the Indian River and ICW. We had the wind on our bow the entire way which made it much more tolerable.  At least the sun was shining brightly! We practically had the water to ourselves as there were few Sunday boaters braving the cold wind today.

We saw lots of dolphins and pelicans today. The ICW was lined in many places with large beautiful homes, so we had much to admire along the way.

A great day for sailing near Melbourne

We chose our anchorage at Melbourne, just south of the Palm Shores Bridge. There is a small park nearby and we were protected from the wind.  It was much easier to anchor than to dock in this wind. Besides, we like to anchor!

We had a nice glass of wine before dinner on board and started talking more about our boating plans once we complete the Loop.  Tomorrow we will go to the Cocoa Village Marina where we will stay for a week. 



Sun setting over Melbourne