The Space Coast

Most of Florida's 1200 miles of coast is divided up into semi-official 'Coasts' for some reason. The most NE section is called First Coast and as you travel south the next section is the Space Coast, obviously because of the large impact that NASA facilities have here. So after departing Marineland this past Friday we have transitioned to the Space Coast.

 

On Friday, to catch favorable tidal currents, we waited until after 10 am to depart which gave us time to walk the dogs for a final time on the nature trail and to get Spray's holding tank pumped out. In spite of gray skies and moderate N winds we had easy traveling driving from the 'downstairs' helm. It was a longish 40 mile run down past Daytona Beach, ending at the Rockhouse Creek anchorage near Ponce de Leon inlet. We dropped anchor at about 5 pm and just had time to dinghy the dogs to a nearby small beach.

 

Early Saturday morning we visited that same beach for the same purpose and were surprised to find that at least 75 cannonball jellyfish had washed up there overnight. Breakfast anyone?

Saturday was warmer and sunnier so most travel was done on the flying bridge, where there is less engine noise so Katie much prefers it. This run was 32 miles and took us through Mosquito Lagoon, then through Haulover Canal and into the Indian River, which is very broad and shallow, with essentially no tides or tidal currents. Kind of nice not to worry about timing travel with concern about 'uphill or downhill' issues.

 

Saturday's goal was Titusville, on the mainland side of the river. The weather prediction for Sunday was not good: strong winds and thunderstorms, so we pulled into a slip at Titusville Municipal Marina and paid for 2 nights. Back to hot showers and life on the plug. While Sunday's weather looked threatening at times we actually saw little wind or rain, and no thunder. Here's what we did see:

Several manatees came into the marina to drink fresh rainwater that ran off the roof drains. Very mellow creatures. Many of the ones we saw had visible scars from boat propellers, which is why sections of the ICW down here have posted restrictions on boat speed. Riggs was very excited about seeing the manatees while Katie didn't care. However both dogs liked the nice dog park adjacent to the marina. We also walked around the town a bit and bought a few groceries.

 

Today we had a short run of 18 miles to Cocoa village, also on the mainland side of the Indian River. We left Titusville at 1030 and had an easy cruise, dropping anchor just south of a bridge where we can dinghy in to a nice park. Cocoa has a quaint shopping district that was well populated with tourists (we're not far from Orlando). The 4 of us had fun this afternoon chasing a wild goose through unique Travis Hardware store. It's comfortable at anchor here tonight.

 

Upcoming travel has another short run to Melbourne, then a run to Vero Beach, where we will stay for a few days in their nice mooring field. By then we'll be half way down this long state.

 

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