The note below was in response to a reference Captain Todd made in another note about cruising to Cocoa "to get some great American food." I e-mailed Todd and asked "where in Cocoa?"

 El Charro.  We anchor out, dinghy to the public docks, and then walk about 6 blks to the south & west.  Downtown Coco is a neat little town with lots of shops & bars.  As we motor past it looks like they also have a carnival going on this week, complete with a ferris wheel!
Best thing we ever did was buy a Garmin Nuvi, it talks you right to where you want to go.  Also helps us find all sorts of things (Gro. stores, hardware stores, auto parts, ect.).
Don't leave the boat without it!
Todd

Harbortown Marina, referred to by Captain Sterling in his message below, lies along the westerly poriton of the Canaveral Barge Canal. You do not need to go through any locks to reach this well sheltered facility from the ICW, but, should you continue east to the briny blue, you will have to contend with one lock.
Captain Sterling is also quite correct about shallow depths on Banana River, outside of the marked Barge Canal passage. Whenever researching this body of water, I always use one our small, shallow draft reasearch vessels.

Subject: Banana river
Message: Don’t know if you will want to post this or not, but we just came thru the Banana River from Harbortown Marina to Vero Beach.
Harbor Town is a remote nice, inexspensive Marina, whith reasonable fuel rates. Paid $3.63 plus tax, and $1 a foot for transient.Has a nice bar/resturant on property.
Beyond that, There isn\’t much I can say about the Banana River. It\’s wide, nothing to see, nowhere to go, and shallow, very shallow. and ill marked. I will visit Harbor town again but not the Banana River.
See you on the waterways
Capt. Sterling

Click Here To View the Eastern Florida Cruisers’ Net Marina Directory Listing For Harbortown Marina