Wednesday, 10 December 43.2 SM
Steadfast goes nowhere without “On the Water Chart Guide.”
It appeared the highlight of the day would be chatting with the skipper of Semi-Local, the power catamaran that passed Steadfast about 1030. Not that it’s unusual that a power cat would pass Steadfast. After all, ev-v-v-v-erybody passes Steadfast. No. What makes this notable is it’s Semi-Local, the “home office” of Diana and Mark Doyle, editors of the world-famous “On the Water Cruising Guides.” Along with the books, Mark and Diana are key persona of the now-annual Hampton Snowbird Rendezvous, a three-day seminar that’s now a “must do” for anyone plotting this endeavor. Likewise, their publications—hard copy or on-line—are, at the risk of hyperbole, indispensable to anyone who does The Ditch. They’re great!
Empty boosters go by at New Smyrna.
So that was fun, seeing Diana and Mark motor past, ever so slowly, and swap a few notes of their current role co-leading the Sail Magazine ICW Rally headed to Miami. Check out that blog on line.
From there, it was pretty much just stay in the middle. Keep ‘er between the banks. All the way down to the turn off to New Smyrna Beach. Then, Steadfast pulls off the ICW at the NSB boat basin just before a pair of tugs—one towing the other pushing—coax around the curve a big barge loaded with the boosters from NASA’s latest launch. Now, that’s interesting. One just doesn’t see Mars launcher boosters every day. Not in Hallieford, at least.
Josie takes time at Half Wall to visit with a couple of Dad’s friends.
Then, with her once settled in her slip and on a walk into town, there was the introduction to Josie, daughter of our Com-Pac friend Bob up in frigid New Jersey. She works at The Half-Wall, a brew pub just a few blocks up from the waterfront that boasts something on the order of 80 different craft brews from all over the country. It was great fun meeting her and, thus, fulfilling Bob’s request (the fish-and-chips are good, too). Josie’s a charmer, just like her dad! But then, stepping out into the December evening, it became apparent that the rest was just prelude. The day’s true highlight—or perhaps, more accurately, highlights—sparkled above in the palms that line Canal Street. Downtown New Smyrna is something to behold this time of year, bedecked as she is in ways a non-Floridian just can’t conceive.
These qualify as highlights by any measure!
Christmas lights illuminate the palm fronds that spread high above Canal Street. Now those, friends, are high lights! Steadfast out.
At Sea with Steadfast 
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