"2000 December & 2001 March First Visit and Return" Top 5 Page for this destination Titusville Travelogue by grandmaR

Aid to Navigation

Saw a guy next to the channel with a hard dink in the cockpit of his small trawler repeatedly throwing and anchor over and retrieving it. We asked if he was OK, and he said he'd lost the cooling in his diesel. I don't know why he didn't pull the boat with the dinghy.

People were wading around next to the channel - in water up to their SHINS.

I called the New Smyrna Beach Marina manger to thank him. After 10, we got an OK to go to Titusville Marina. They don't make reservations until they see what boats have left the morning that you want a slip. It started to rain. We can see the rainstorm on the radar, and it is chasing us. It is clear ahead. I made Bob lunch.

Cape Canavarel Assembly blgs in good weather

As we turn into the Haulover Canal (and into the rainstorm), a big power boat passes us. I call the Haulover bridge, and he says he'll open when we get there. It is now pouring rain with very reduced visibility. Water is pouring in the bottom of the dodger (which we have had up and which I haven't fastened down on the bottom) and cascades down over the wind and water gauges. Then the curtains fog up. I hope the bridge tender can see us better than we can see him.

After we exited the canal (which is only a mile long) the depth sounder keeps going off (It sounds a warning starting at 7 feet.) The channel is very narrow but there are two tanks on the far shore ahead that the books tell us to use as a range, and we get through without running aground.

We can now see the big buildings at Cape Canaveral on our port (left) as we go down the Indian River.

Titusville Swing Bridge from inside the cockpit

As we were coming into the marina, it started raining hard again. (photo is from a trip with nicer weather)We ended the day with 32.3 miles at 6.7 mph for a total of 923 nm.

Gordon a guy on a Brewer from a couple slips down said he went to Towson State Teachers and student taught and taught at Towson HS in about 1950 when Bob and I were students there.

Banks of the Indian River on a sunnier day

I was completely unable to boot the Compaq as the batteries were all discharged. The marina let me plug in and download. We were supposed to do it outside, but not only was it wet, but there was construction which had the area we were supposed to use roped off.

We walked to Azteca for dinner. Bob had the taco platter (that's what he usually has in a Mexican restaurant) and I had something with a variety of things in it, but couldn't eat it all. This time I didn't take any home. We shared a frozen ice cream, which was vanilla with soft chocolate ice cream used like whipped cream on the top.

We walked back to the boat. There was a night heron on the piling at the end of the slip that was making a big racket. It also rained.

Titusville Swing Bridge

Bob signed up for the trip to ACE hardware at 8:30. He put the laundry in before he left. I went up to do pocketmail and get a shower, and was to put the laundry in a dryer, but the dryers were full. Also I didn't have any money. Bob got back as I was going to ask for change.

As I was in the shower, someone came into the ladies room and said what a racket the construction guys were making. I said yes that they'd be deaf by the time they were 30. They said it was a wonder OSHA didn't do something. I said that it was construction and that OSHA didn't have much of a noise construction standard.

We backed out of the slip without incident as there was no current or wind, and went through the Titusville swing bridge, and then the NASA bascule bridge by 11:15. There was a headwind of 20-25 knots.

Merritt Island

Green Heron on a Dockline

The next morning we had a very quick trip from Melbourne to Titusville sailing with the head sails. The wind was starting to kick up and we pulled the sails down before we got to Titusville. We got fuel first and then went to a slip. We had done 40.8 miles at 6.9 mph for a total since we left Miami of 201 nm.

We walked all the way over to the KFC for lunch (about a half mile). Then I went up and downloaded email, and Bob did a wash. Talked to a guy from MD in Titusville that we had met at Oceanside Marina in Key West.

We decided to go to Dixie Crossroads for dinner, but it was too far to walk. So we called a cab. When we got to DIxie Crossroads, the parking lot was chock full and there was also a tour bus there, and lots of people waiting to be seated. So we asked the taxi driver to take us somewhere else.

We ended up paying over $14 in cab fare ($10 on the way back), and eating at Steve's Diner. This was not a fancy place - good plain food and quick service. I paid $4.95 for spaghetti and meatballs and $1.00 for iced tea and $1.50 for pie. Bob had a slightly more expensive entre - $6.95 for seafood dinner, which included 2 vegetables. Then we had to get a cab back to the mari

Manatee in the marina

We left Titusville early the next morning. Bob worked out that if he backed up that the bow would swing out to starboard. But it didn't, so I took a boat hook and pulled the bow over to that side, and after that it was easy.

We wanted to get through the Haulover canal before the wind picked up because the channel on the west side is very skinny (depth and width). When we went through it before, it was pouring rain, and we had a couple of tanks on the west shore to line up as an informal range. This time they would be behind us (and more difficult to see). But this time it was no problem.

When we went by New Smyrna Beach, there was no one on the transient dock, and I was tempted to stop, but we wanted to try to be in St. Augustine by Sat. so we didn't. Saw a fancy house with bright yellow walls and also with bright yellow tiles on the roof. Also had a bright yellow pool house.

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