Crew Log for December 14th – 16th, 2022
Trip Summary:
• Daytona to Titusville
• Trip Distance of 42 NM, Total Distance To-Date of 2,374.0 NM
• Departed at 07h00, arrived at 16h15
Titusville was named after developer Henry Titus in 1873. Legend has it Titus “won” the right to change the town’s name from Sand Point to Titusville, after winning a dominos game. Development was aided by the railroad, which still active today. Trains were instrumental in bringing tourists into the town to enjoy the milder weather and to provide a shipping link for local pineapple and citrus production.
However, the development of Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center on nearby Merritt Island was the major economic driver that resulting in an increase in Titusville’s population and tourism. Titusville earned the nickname, “Space City USA” as a result of the association with the space program. Just as growth in the space program was responsible for economic growth in Titusville, the termination of the Space Shuttle Program in 2012 contributed to the town’s economic and population decline.
A few hours out of Daytona, we started to hear Coast Guard announcements and radio chatter between boats regarding the NASA Haulover Canal Bridge. We made our way past New Smyrna Beach and headed up the river towards Mosquito Lagoon. The Haulover Canal Bridge connects the lagoon with the Indian River and Titusville. Mosquito Lagoon is a popular viewing spot for rocket launches, given it’s unobstructed 360 degree views and lack of light pollution. However, it offers very little protection in the anchorages.
Several boats were making their back towards New Smyrna and radioed us to confirm the bridge was closed. When we called, the Bridgemaster was fairly vague on the reason for the closure and less specific on when it might be opened. Finally, after several calls on the radio and by phone, they confirmed that the closure was the result of a high voltage cable becoming dislodged and falling in the water. The estimated time for reopening was a couple of hours. It wasn't reassuring that another boat was told it would be a "couple of hours", several hours before we inquired.
Rather than going back to New Smyrna, we decided to idle our way towards the Bridge and hope that it would eventually open. In the meantime, we looked for possible anchorages on Mosquito Lagoon in case we had to spend the night. Another sailboat, Lola, an Alberg 30, had also decided to follow our lead. We would later meet Skipper Guy in Titusville who was single handing the boat from North Carolina to the Bahamas.
Several hours later we received confirmation that the issues had been fixed and the Haulover Canal Bridge was now operational. Like all inlets, cuts and canals along the ICW, the currents are very strong. We approached the canal entrance with caution and radioed the bridge requesting an opening. Just as we entered the canal current, the bridge requested we stay outside of the canal while they complete the switch over from auxiliary power to shore power. We did a quick 180- degree turn in the mouth of the canal. While we hovered in the canal approach, we were entertained by several dolphins playing in the currents.
Once we received the OK to proceed into the canal we were rewarded with an amazing display of bird and wildlife activity. We entered the Indian River, a massive, shallow body of water with a narrow ribbon of a cut for us to navigate. Luckily, the wind was perfect to allow us to unfurl the headsail to help us along, which was welcomed since we were several hours later than we expected. The last bridge before Titusville, was a railway bridge that remained opened. There was no bridge operator however, so it closed automatically whenever a train approached. That of course lead to a conversation on what would happen if the train approached when we were partway through the bridge.
As we entered the Titusville Marina, we were greeted by a high energy dockhand, Michael, who provided constant communication over the radio. I am glad he did since this was the first time we would be tying up to pylon docks. The boat just fit through the outer pylons and his instructions and Judy’s execution on getting the boat secured was perfect.
Just as we were enjoying our traditional “capful” of rum to celebrate a successful day, Guy from Lola radioed the marina sounding a bit upset. It turned out that Guy had been running on fumes for the last bit of the trip and had a “fuel emergency”. He managed to make it to the fuel dock with little to nothing in the tank.
The following day we made our first big provisioning run. As we scanned the loaded cart, we commented that it was a very “dense” pile of food, unusual for us. Generally, we shop on the perimeter of the grocery store. Fresh, single ingredient food. The cart was piled high with cans of non-perishable food, which would come in handy when we got to the Bahamas.
Gloria, was our Uber driver on the way out. She also drove for Lyft and had switched her sign on and off depending on whether she was driving an Uber customer or a Lyft customer. Gloria was originally from Columbia and came to the US after marrying a marine. Their first US posting was Camp Lejeune, where we stayed in Mile Hammock Bay.
Rachael was our Lyft driver for the return trip and luckily had an empty trunk since we filled it with cans and other non-perishables. Rachael was originally from Puerto Rico and came to the US to get better care and schooling for her autistic son. They were having renovations done to their rental house and it wasn’t going well. Given it was less than 2 weeks before Christmas, the stress levels were pretty high.
Just as we pulled up to the Marina, the skies opened up and it started to pour rain and thunder and lightening. As we were scrambling to get our groceries under cover, 2 fellow boaters ran out and started grabbing bags and boxes and carried them in for us. What a great community. Fortunately, we got everything on the boat without it getting too wet and thanks to Judy’s efforts, it all got catalogued and stowed.
Coming from eastern Canada, it always disappoints me when I think about the state of our railway infrastructure and how little it gets used. More than once on our trips from Nova Scotia to Ontario, I would note how many trucks there were on the road, and how few containers there were on the train running parallel to us. It was encouraging then, to hear a train whistle several times a day, moving freight up and down the Florida coastline. Mind you, I could have done without the 5 am whistle, although I was generally up anyway.
In previous blogs, I have mentioned running into Sailing YouTubers. We met Honu Time in Beaufort, North Carolina and Sailing Zephyr back on the Alligator River. We ran into James and Natalie from Zephyr and their 2 Weimaraner pups again in Titusville and found out they were headed for the Panama Canal and across the Pacific later this year. They had spent the last several months doing a number of repairs and upgrades to the boat in anticipation of the trip.
We also connected with 2 other familiar faces from our past. Our friends Steve and Judi on Adanaco had just arrived in time for the first 2 rocket launch in history. There was a SpaceX satellite launch schedule for 16h20 and a second a half an hour later. We had front row seats for both.
The launch time had been changed a couple of times, we think due to overcast weather. While we waited Judy decided she would try and finish the end of the Rom-Com movie she started in the boaters lounge the day before. The experience was weirder than usual given there was another guy in the lounge soaking up the air conditioning (his words, not mine), who was engrossed in his phone. Every now and again he would make random comments, I am assuming directed at us, since there was no one else in the room.
We joined Steve and Judi on the deck of Adanaco and waited for the launch of the first SpaceX rocket. Unfortunately, we won’t be witnessing history today since the second launch was postponed. It was also quite overcast so we didn’t get a nice clear view of the launch. We did see a massive streak of fire followed by a loud rumble that seemed to go on for minutes. I am always amazed at the difference between the speed of light and the speed of sound. We saw our first rock launch.
The Titusville Marina was quite comfortable, but not ideal for provisioning given the grocery stores were so far outside of town. And while Judy explored the downtown area close to the marina, it wasn’t the most scenic of places we have visited. The waterfront was strewn with sunken and damaged boats, and the town itself look “tired”.
We decided to make our way towards Fort Pierce, which we heard was good for provisioning and pick up the last few things for our trip.
But more about that, next time.
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