Bellatrix

Stuart, FL

3 November 2015

Anchored in South Daytona and motored sailed to Titusville. On the way we were boarded by the local police, they wanted to check our overboard holding tank valve. It was closed of course but they suggested we drill a hole in the handle and wire tie it in position.

We spent 2 days in Titusville near Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center. A launch was scheduled for Friday and we decided to stay an extra day to watch it. We needed our propane tank refilled and walked a mile to the refill station only to find it was no longer there. We walked back to the marina and were told there was a refill station just a block up from where we went. I turned around and started walking back. I was picked up by a local who told me he was a boater and he would take me. As we traveled he told me he was retired on a disability due to Alzheimer’s. He took me to “Bob’s Gases” and dropped me off. Bob’s gasses only refills fire extinguishers, I was informed “Bogg’s Gases” was about a mile away. Off I go again. I returned to the marina, well exercised, and Robin and I walked BACK to town for lunch and a visit to the Titusville Space Museum. This is a small museum, not the one at Kennedy, run by volunteers, many of whom had worked at the Space Center. The exhibits ranged from the beginning of the early satellite program through the current International Space Station. It was fun and informative, our guide had worked on many of the projects and spent 3 hours talking us through.

Friday we sat on the boat in a good position to watch the launch of an Atlas V carrying a GPS satellite, only to find the launch had been rescheduled for the next day, we moved on. We anchored near Melbourne, Fl and went to a bar on the water, had dinner, and listened to a great band.

Saturday night anchored, and Sunday on a mooring ball in Vero Beach. We met Mike and Deb on “Resolve” out of Annapolis who we had met last year in the Bahamas. We went to a sports bar on Sunday to watch the Ravens beat San Diego, the Steelers lose to Cincinnati, and Jeff Gordon win at Martinsville, sensory overload trying to keep up with it all.

Monday we motored to Stuart, Fl, anchored for the night. We will have the boat hauled today at the Hinckley yard to see if we can straighten the rudder post.