Ships of Discovery
Today was a beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky. The breeze was cool, although it could be hot in the sun. The air was a little drier too because of the weak front that passed through yesterday.
We didn’t get started until 9:30. A shark (bull shark according to the dockmaster) led us out of the little cove we were in with it’s dorsal fun slicing the water’s surface. Close by the marina, there’s a couple of low bridges over Crane Creek that we would be able to go under in the dinghy. Would have been nice to do an exploratory run up the creek.
We explored the Space Coast today. Running north on the ICW we passed all of the area that was initially developed because of the space race of the Kennedy era. Today a SpaceX rocket was scheduled to launch during a window of 4 to 7 p.m. The weather could not have been more beautiful for a launch. But we don’t know if it went off. You would think we would have seen it.
All day we heard traffic on the VHF coming in and out of Port Canaveral, including Warship #7. Now that would be a sight to see!
But, we did see two ships of a different type. At Addison Point bascule bridge (ICW mile marker 885) we saw the Niña and the Pinta - Ships of Discovery — imagine that! These are the most historically accurate replicas of Columbus’ Spanish caravel ships. They were in Titusville on their way to their next stop in Ft. Myers. They are open to the public and support the Columbus Foundation, an educational foundation. They have been to St. Marks a couple of times, including this past March.
At ICW mile marker 746, we came up to the Florida East Coast Railroad bridge. The railway was used to bring the rockets to the Kennedy Space Center and the VAB.
Working our way north we passed through Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. We have many fond memories of work done at this refuge, including seeing a space shuttle land, for the first time on its own (without piggybacking on a 747) at Kennedy Space Center.
Passing through Haulover Canal, we saw so many manatees! They were packed in like cord wood. We could see kiosks and signs on railings that we installed so many years ago. It’s heartwarming that these projects have lasted so long and served the public for all these years.
The channel about 5-7 miles south of New Smyrna Beach is narrow and winding with islands and marsh to the east. We arrived at the New Smyrna Beach city marina. The marina people were very nice and helpful. They even had a dock cat named Fritz so I could get my cat-petting urges satisfied. The marina is next door to a rookery of common egrets and pelicans.
After getting settled in, we walked a short distance downtown to Canal Street, the main downtown road with shops, antique stores and restaurants. It was cool and pleasant in the shade, especially at the intersection with Live Oak Street. There was a little park with lots of beautiful live oaks.
We stopped at an art gallery called The Hub. What a great space! It's an artist co-op with 70 artists. There was a bird carver that had some beautiful pieces. All of the artists were exceptional, working in painting (oil, acrylic, watercolor), collage, jewelry, photography. All were local artists. There was even a luthier whose guitar faces were works of marquetry art.
From there we took an Uber ride to Publix where we stocked up, then took another Uber back to the marina. Marvin cooked dinner on our never-before-used gas grill. Dinner was great.
We didn’t get started until 9:30. A shark (bull shark according to the dockmaster) led us out of the little cove we were in with it’s dorsal fun slicing the water’s surface. Close by the marina, there’s a couple of low bridges over Crane Creek that we would be able to go under in the dinghy. Would have been nice to do an exploratory run up the creek.
We explored the Space Coast today. Running north on the ICW we passed all of the area that was initially developed because of the space race of the Kennedy era. Today a SpaceX rocket was scheduled to launch during a window of 4 to 7 p.m. The weather could not have been more beautiful for a launch. But we don’t know if it went off. You would think we would have seen it.
All day we heard traffic on the VHF coming in and out of Port Canaveral, including Warship #7. Now that would be a sight to see!
But, we did see two ships of a different type. At Addison Point bascule bridge (ICW mile marker 885) we saw the Niña and the Pinta - Ships of Discovery — imagine that! These are the most historically accurate replicas of Columbus’ Spanish caravel ships. They were in Titusville on their way to their next stop in Ft. Myers. They are open to the public and support the Columbus Foundation, an educational foundation. They have been to St. Marks a couple of times, including this past March.
As we looked west we could see Columbus’ ships and as we looked east we could see the Vertical Assembly Building, built to house the ships of discovery of the 20th and 21st centuries. Just north of
the bridge we stopped to take a photo of the VAB.
Working our way north we passed through Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. We have many fond memories of work done at this refuge, including seeing a space shuttle land, for the first time on its own (without piggybacking on a 747) at Kennedy Space Center.
Passing through Haulover Canal, we saw so many manatees! They were packed in like cord wood. We could see kiosks and signs on railings that we installed so many years ago. It’s heartwarming that these projects have lasted so long and served the public for all these years.
The channel about 5-7 miles south of New Smyrna Beach is narrow and winding with islands and marsh to the east. We arrived at the New Smyrna Beach city marina. The marina people were very nice and helpful. They even had a dock cat named Fritz so I could get my cat-petting urges satisfied. The marina is next door to a rookery of common egrets and pelicans.
After getting settled in, we walked a short distance downtown to Canal Street, the main downtown road with shops, antique stores and restaurants. It was cool and pleasant in the shade, especially at the intersection with Live Oak Street. There was a little park with lots of beautiful live oaks.
We stopped at an art gallery called The Hub. What a great space! It's an artist co-op with 70 artists. There was a bird carver that had some beautiful pieces. All of the artists were exceptional, working in painting (oil, acrylic, watercolor), collage, jewelry, photography. All were local artists. There was even a luthier whose guitar faces were works of marquetry art.
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