Titusville

Friday, January 20, 2023

We left the Melbourne Yacht Club dock at 8 AM weaving our way out the creek and passing a sailboat coming in with two gentlemen on board in full foul weather gear. Possibly an all night passage? Rain was in the forecast.

We had a beautiful morning. The wind picked up a bit as we traveled North but nothing to cause concern. Oddly, there is an area around Cocoa Village where we did not have an existing path on the GPS. We previously had turned down the barge canal over to Cape Canaveral and then traveled the Banana River South so we had skipped a small portion on the ICW.

We couldn’t help but notice the two anchoring places near the Melbourne causeway that we got rocked out of last year were pleasant and calm this year. This was a stop for a couple nights on a fabulous cruise with the Rinne’s to Peck Lake. So very memorable —Paradise. We will be meeting them on Thursday for lunch. They keep their boat in the New Smyrna City Marina which is where we met them— possibly in 2016. They have a beautiful new puppy named Lily so we are going to have a doggie meet and greet as well.

We arrived in Titusville about five hours later. There is a large mooring field outside the city marina. We can see several of these anchored boats succumbed to either Ian or Nicole and washed up on shore. We radioed the marina and were directed to our slip. A dock hand was waiting to assist us. The slip was pretty narrow with pelican poles to tie to and a short pier. Most people back their boat in but we enjoy our cockpit away from the dock for privacy. This does make it a little more difficult getting on and off the boat but we are such nimble seniors 😬

Once we got the boat settled in we were more than a bit chagrined to note the boats on either side of us were quite derelict. One was a yellow Chris Craft. Whoever designed the boat was most likely fired that same year. Horribly ugly design. Well we figured we were not going to be here that long so we would live with it. We closed our curtains. We could hear some type of a radio program from the yellow boat all day long. Annoying.

The third morning the decision was made to ask for a new slip. Bright and early the occupants on the yellow boat were having a very loud Effen Hymer filled domestic. Enough is enough. The really odd thing is we actually never saw the occupants on the boat. I got a glimpse of a male bald head one evening from a part in the reflective window covering. But the fight was with a woman. We still haven’t seen any people on that boat but they are there. You can see lights on. Odd and rather scary. The harbor master was very agreeable to moving us. We are now out on the dock with bigger sailboats and have a much nicer view all around.

This is a City run marina. It has newly remodeled bathroom and showers and a very nice office and boaters’ lounge. The walking areas are incredible. There are large parks on either side of the marina and a dog park on one side. There are walking paths, exercise stations, a kid’s playground and splash pad. Next to this Marina is Westland marina and boat yard where many people on this side of Florida haul their boat out to work on it. The docks here are in pretty sad shape but my understanding is the dock we are on is getting ripped out and replaced soon. It apparently suffered some damage in Ian as well. We would stop here again.

Joe spent the better part of one day trying to find the gremlin living in our old generator. Last year we couldn’t get it to turn over at the end of the season. Of course this year it popped right off but would not stay running. Possibly an electrical issue somewhere. He worked on the electric fuel pump where the wires had pretty much disintegrated around the fittings. Nope, still no luck!

We had dinner one evening at an Irish pub here in Titusville with a very interesting waiter. We were dining alfresco so Miss Coconut could join us. Wonderful beer selection and great food. Our waiter probably had the best rescue dog story ever (better than Coconut being found knocked up in Fargo). He was on his way to go look at a dog at a shelter when he found an abandoned puppy at his land; he was in miserable shape. He wondered how the poor thing had survived the alligators! I believe there is a special place in hell for people who abandoned dogs or any animals in this manner (My sister-in-law Donna rescued a sweet little kitty right on the road by our old house). He nursed the puppy back to health and says this dog is now his best friend.

Yesterday we drove out to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, just north of the Space Center. It was a sunny, but very windy and cool day. First stop was the visitor’s center with its raised wooden walkways. Placards are placed throughout with descriptions of trees, shrubs, etc., we have been here before but it was many years ago. A nice walk. We did see a species of small bird that was not familiar to us. It had a green back and red breast with a black head. We have not been able to find it in an online search. The visitors center was not open (even though it said it was) so there was no one to ask. We couldn’t get a picture of one either but are trying to find one on the Encyclopedia Google.

Driving toward the coast to Playalinda beach, we went through an area marked as “Scrub Jay habitat”. The Jays are in very specific scrub habitats with small trees. The Florida scrub-jay is only found in Florida, its population in decline and severely limited by lack of habitat. We felt fortunate to see them.

We drove out to the Playalinda Beach area of Canaveral National Seashore. We learned that this is the longest stretch of undeveloped Atlantic coast line in Florida. It’s composed of Dune, hammock and lagoon habitat. There are ancient Timucua shell mounds. We have seen these mounds up in new Smyrna Beach.

At Playalinda, there are 13 boardwalks. The last one, number 13, is the infamous nude beach. We only made it to the first boardwalk. Like I said it was cold and windy. So because this is a National Park, it does cost money to get into it. However we have an official “old person‘s card” that allows us to get in for free. The normal fee is $20. So, if you want to go see a bunch of naked people, you could pay $20 and go down to boardwalk number 13. Possibly a good spot to see a rocket launch 😳🙄

Dogs are not allowed on the beach and we were not tempted. It was brutal out there with the wind.

We spotted this guy on our way out of the park.

The weather this January has been much better than last year. It’s warmer and less windy. Not saying we haven’t had windy and cooler days but last year we extended several stays in marinas because we didn’t want to venture out in big winds and waves. We know better than to complain it’s cold here but….. when the temp drops and especially if the wind is off the water the locals wear lots of gear!

We have explored the town a bit and drove halfway between here and New Smyrna to meet my brother and Wendy and then friends Cindy and Jeff. Coconut has a new friend. We have spent a bit of time chillin’ on the boat but there is always boat projects and things to do.

We leave here Monday morning (1/30) and will travel about 3 hours to the marina at New Smyrna Beach. We will spend only 2 nights there. We could not get a slip long term. Next, will be Daytona for the month of February.

The heart of man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths, it has its pearls too."

-Vincent Van Gogh.