Just out looking for some Excitement on an otherwise Long and Winding Waterway type of Day. Read on...
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It was a 7 a.m. type of early, a bit of chill in the still dark skies that required an extra sweater, as we called for the bridge opening that led us through to Adventures further South, with hopefully some warmer temperatures in the forecast.
Engines droned on as we sipped our second cup of coffee over Breakfast. Routine type of chores got done. We switched up Watches. Motor on Under Bridges. Had Lunch. Stayed between the never-ending red and green markers, somewhat on the magenta line. Passed some boats, and pulled to the side to let others pass.
By the time we'd gotten to MM 869 we were more than ready to make a sharp right turn from Mosquito Lagoon,
towards the relatively narrow but short Haulover Canal of a waterway, with its Bascule Bridge waiting to hear our request and open on demand. There was excitement in the air, almost as if there would be something new waiting for us?
Sure enough, some Rocky Action that needed avoiding,
but otherwise all was still and peaceful and serene, the waters and air smelling of slime and green, and as soon as we'd thanked the BridgeMaster for his opening, averted the many fishermen along the way, as well as the humps of the manatees grazing on the grasses,
we were out on the other side,
heading into a new large expanse of water, with building winds and fetch. But, AH!, they were from the right direction!
"Let's let a little Jibbie out," said the Capt'n, "see if everything's working right", and I was Action Stations ASAP, ready for the Thrill of the Wind, the dousing of the engines, and well, some fun on our Long and Winding Journey so far.
Just like that, WOW, we were sailing. The winds having us moving along at hull speeds, the Capt'n's smile exuding happyness and all within the narrow parameters that is the ICW, on the large expanse of waters that is the Indian River.
It was a bit of a different story though when we tried to haul it back in. Somehow she was wound too tight and we were out of line before the job was tucked away, and it took all of three tries to unfurl and furl. Again, and Again. Sigh. We'll have to reposition and readjust. Before long the Action was over, the lines were put away, and the engine purred back to life. Life was back to being Long and Winding.
Our plan was to stop in Titusville for the night, yet a quick visual on the time of day, and current comfort factor conditions had us reevaluating. The South Winds and building fetch was predicting a bit of a bumpy night, so back to the books we went, and that's when the NASA Causeway Bridge got in our way.
"Speed, time, distance..." I said, "it's closed from 1530 to 1700! Damn, we will miss by like 15 minutes, and the next one is not until 5:00 p.m.We could anchor there though and it'll offer up some protection too."
We ventured towards the protected waters behind the causeway, found there to be ample depth, and anchor was not long in going down. A quiet anchorage that had us in NASA's Kennedy Space Center very own neighbourhood,
the place where Space Shuttles launch. The Vehicle Assembly Building, one of the largest buildings in the world, sat just right there, over on yonder horizon. Some Googling showed that we missed the last launch by a week and the next one scheduled for December 7th. How totally cool was all that?
The Arrival Beer, cold and refreshing in very calm waters, and then there was this...
that somehow dissipated into nothingness, thank goodness.
It was a Long and Winding 52 nm, full of excitement that was complete with sailing, dolphins and manatees and osprey, stories in the making that told of firsts in NASA history where half the graduating class is female, rain squalls and ending with a spectacular sunset over NASA Causeway Bridge.
Pretty Darn Wow. For a Long and Winding Waterway Type of Day.