Titusville Municipal Marina Or Manatee-ville

This is not our first visit to Titusville aboard Mystic. We stopped here in 2017 on our way North along the ICW. We liked our stay at the municipal marina well enough to plan a month long visit this time. Titusville has a good microbrewery called Playalinda and the marina is close to almost anything we could possibly need. In addition, we have many friends living in the Space Coast area.

Playalinda is in a historic building formerly a hardware store

Playalinda is very connected to the Titusville community

Playalinda brew tanks

The beer

There is a community feel to this place. We get to know people rather quickly. Mike and Mary aboard Rough Draft are still here. We met them on our first visit and learned that they began their journey 25 years ago from Knife River, the same marina as us. Our neighbors, John and Sarah, aboard Corsica Lady are Gold Loopers, which means they have completed their Loop. Along the docks we met Hannah, Dan and their adorable children, Atticus (4 years old) and Yael (18 months). Atticus is full of energy, curiosity and joy. He loves to watch the silly short videos I create for him. Yael is sweet and fearless. She loves to climb and chase after her brother. Hannah and Dan are living the cruising life aboard a Gemini catamaran while raising their family.

Mary & Mike from Rough Draft

My new friend Atticus being silly

Hannah with adorable Yael

John & Sarah aboard Corsica Lady

We were thrilled to learn that the marina is full of manatees. They love fresh water and visit any boat with a flowing source. This usually happens when we fill our water tanks. They come lumbering along, hoping for a fresh cold drink. We found these gentle giants with their noses peaking out of the water to slurp from our dripping hose on more than one occasion. It is illegal to touch, feed or offer water to manatee here. The fine is substantial but it discourages interaction for the well being of the manatee. Many of these creatures have deep scars on their backs from contact with boat and dinghy props. It's sad to see this.

Encountering these creatures in their own habitat is one of the highlights of living and cruising on the waterway! In addition to the manatee, a dolphin often makes it's way up into the marina to feed. It drives it's dinner between the rows of boats and traps them at the retaining wall, guaranteeing a good catch. 

Manatee slurping water off of Mystic

Two manatee under Mystic - You can see the prop slashes

Popping up for a sniff

Flipped over on his back to get a better spot to drink

Catching rainwater from the downspout

Manatees under Mystic

Osprey are abundant here as well. They fly overhead, constantly chirping at one another, often stopping to perch upon one of the highest masts. They are very social and loving parents who seem to attend to their young long after maturity. We've also seen storks, herons, ducks and ibis in the marina and nearby parks.

Osprey love to perch on the highest masts

Osprey in flight

Ibis caravan

Wood Stork

First time seeing storks in Titusville and we found a pair

Of course, there are other critters to entertain us. We run into lizards everywhere, including inside buildings. They seem to know their way out so we let them be! The parks nearby have squirrels that will walk right up to us. We sense that they are used to getting a handout from visitors.

Lizard inside bathroom window

This ain't no tea party - Brown Anole Battle

Over achiever squirrel looking to hide a bagel

Hungry raccoon visitor

Muscovy ducks

One of the greatest perks of this marina is the promise of the most beautiful sunsets. We get outside each evening to see what the sky has in store for us. We have yet to tire of the views!

As we prepare to leave this wonderful place, we reflect on how bittersweet cruising life can be; especially when we spend an extended time in one place. We take with us fond memories of the people we've me and the places we've visited and hope to pass this way again.

Youtube: We may never pass this way again ~ Seals and Crofts

Titusville Reunions

The Space Coast is filled with our friends, many who originated from Connecticut. We enjoyed several wonderful, fun-filled visits while we were in Titusville. One friend, Charlie Farinha, grew up with me in Groton Connecticut. We hadn't seen each other since our high school graduation, over 40 years ago! Thanks to social media, we were able to reconnect. I really enjoyed getting to know his lovely wife Gina and hope to see them again.

Dave and I love visiting old friends and meeting new ones. We often go out of our way to see the people we know and love. It's a big part of our life's journey!

With Teri & Scott Bradley aboard Mystic

With cousins Steve & Lila Rogers at Playalinda Microbrewery

With Gina and Charlie Farinha aboard Mystic

With Teri & Scott Bradley at Intercoastal Brewery

With Dave Boner at Intercoastal Brewery

A toast at Intracoastal Brewery

Dave & Deshone Boner at Silver fox

Intracoastal Brewing with Dave and Deshone

With Dave & Deshone Boner at Coasters

As we head north in a few days, we begin a new chapter and new territory on the Great Loop! To cross our wake, (complete our loop), we'll have to make our way to the Hudson River and through the Erie Canal then return to the Great Lakes. Dave and I have cruised the waters from Norfolk Virginia to the Space Coast before, but most of that was accomplished a very long time ago. Last summer we traveled from Beaufort South Carolina to Hampton Virginia aboard sailing vessel Veritas with friends Susan Beabes and David Taylor. We met them along the western half of the Great Loop and have kept in touch. This is what happens in the cruising world; we make life-long friendships!

When we reach Hampton on this journey, I will be in completely new waters. Dave traversed the eastern portion of the Great Loop back in the 80's aboard our 23 foot Coronado S/V Keewatin. It has been such a long time since that trip that this section will be somewhat new to him as well. We are excited to experience this together.

SpaceX Rocket Launch

It took a little convincing to get me to agree to a trip up the Cape Canaveral Canal and into the Banana River to stage for the launch of a SpaceX rocket. I'm still acclimating to being aboard Mystic. Moving each day leads to visits to new places that we haven't been before. It can be a lot of work, but this ride turned out to be well worth the cruise. The canal is very sheltered and filled with wildlife. It's all a 'no-wake' zone so it's very calm. We waited for the Rte. 3 bridge to open with another sailboat. Turned out it was our new friends Dave and Lusevery aboard their Watkins 27 My Space. We met them in Vero Beach. Once we got under the bridge and through the Canal, we stopped just before the lock to find a good anchorage. My Space went through the lock and we waved goodbye.

Interesting live aboard boat on the Cape Canal

Several boats line the canal
local boats tied to trees

Sunset on anchor

We are anchored right off of the Port Canaveral lock on the Banana River. We are hoping for a perfect view of the 3:00 am launch from here, only 10 miles from where the launch pad sits. We are beyond excited!!!

Cape Canaveral Lock

Kennedy Space Center framed by trees

Our view of the launch pad from the Banana River

We picked a great spot to be on the hook. A huge ketch is right behind us. It is sitting hard aground on the bottom. We are surrounded by several derelict boats and one anchored trawler, a Looper boat. Unfortunately the launch was scratched due to electrical issues on the space station long before we went to bed. We were only a little disappointed because we were really enjoying everything else about this experience. SpaceX rescheduled the launch for May 3rd. We'll be able to catch it in Titusville.

Huge Ketch aground on the Banana River

SpaceX countdown clock

In the morning, we pulled our anchor and aimed west for the ICW. We arrived at the Rte. 3 bridge in time for the 9:00 am opening but the bridge tender informed us that the DOT was on the bridge with a bucket lift, changing lightbulbs. He could not tell us when the bridge would open. We decided to make circles up and down the canal while we waited. Another sailboat joined us and hollered over asking what the delay was. I had to resist making 'government workers changing light bulbs' jokes when we told them we'd be delayed indefinitely. The bridge finally opened at 11:00. We arrived in Titusville around 2:00 and tucked into our slip #137 between two big trawlers. We'll be here for the month of May and can't wait to begin exploring.

Rte. 3 Bridge with mast-less trimaran passing under 

Mystic at Titusville Municipal Marina

On Friday, May 3rd, we set our alarm for 2:00 am to watch the rescheduled rocket launch. We were on the Titusville pier by 2:50, waiting with a small group of bystanders. The 3:00 am launch may have time kept a few folks away. We could hear the groan flow through the crowd like a wave when SpaceX scratched the launch at 2:55. The next attempt would be 24 hours later. We spent Friday catching up with friends in the area then set our alarm for 2:00 once again. It was a little harder to get up, with our motivation flawed by the possibility of another scratch; yet we are standing on the pier by 2:30 with our eyes fixed eastward, straining for any sign of light. At precisely 2:48 am we saw an incredibly bright glow at the Cape Canaveral launch pad. The sky lit up like we were under a full moon. The rocket rose quickly, which surprised us. We watched as the boosters separated. It looked like swirling, boiling water in the sky. It took a while, but when the sonic boom finally arrived, it filled our chests with a deep rumbling vibration, literally rocking our world. We made our way back to the marina in awe! How lucky are we to experience this on our America's Great Loop adventure!

The next scheduled launch is 10:30 pm on May 15th. You can bet we'll be out there with our eyes fixed on the launch pad! 

Our view of the launch area

Separation - swirling heat and smoke