Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Titusville - Last post in 2023



Taco Grouper - very  good 

We did the last of the packing this afternoon and we’ll be leaving early Thursday for Lagrangeville, NY. I spent most of the afternoon installing an automatic dewatering pump in the dinghy (since we leave it in the water - it tends to fill up from rains). 

We said goodby to Titusville with a dinner at Pier 220 Seafood and Grill. It’s a nice place with a view of the ICW although tonight it was very stormy, no boats were passing by. It’s popular with the locals and it has live music on Thursday through Sunday night. 

This is the last post of 2023 as we leave Fleetwing to tend to itself while we’re away. We will return the first or second week of January but I may not restart the blog until we head north again on April 15th, we’ll see. Until then, stay safe!  We miss Hoolie…




Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Titusville - ICW Cruising Guide Facebook work

 

This is a typical update. The blue dotted line is the new track, the red is the old track.

I review all new USACE surveys on a regular basis to see if there’s new shoaling that’s endangering the Bob423 track. In looking at the area between Beaufort, NC and Southport, I found several areas of concern so I spent the afternoon revising the Bob423 track for that part of the ICW. 

Another example, this one of Browns Inlet. A shoal is working its way out from G61A. Best to think ahead and avoid.

After revision, then I post it to the download site and upload to my Bob423 Aqua Map account which triggers automatic updates to those subscribed to Bob423 syncing in Aqua Map. It’s an efficient way to keep up to date once you set syncing up the first time. Everything after that is fully automatic. 

I’ve got the car half loaded for our trip north and we’ll pay a visit to a local restaurant for dinner to celebrate our departure and the start of the holidays. Then, it’s hit the road time Thursday morning. I figure I don’t need any of my summer wear for my northern visit so we’re packing light for the trip. We, sadly, have a lot more room now without Hoolie. 

Monday, November 13, 2023

Titusville - Workshop at Titusville

 

It’s handy having access to a workshop. A radial saw is available too. 

Titusville Marina has a workshop available for use by transients. You can bring your own tools but there’s more available. If you schedule in advance so a dockhand is present, you have the use of a radial saw and other major equipment. It’s handy for work projects on your boat. There’s no charge for the use of the tool room. 

Just like any house, boats are decorated too for the holidays, in this case for two at the same time. 

The marina is home to many liveaboards and they decorate their boats as they would their house (if they had one). When Halloween rolls around, the decorations come out. Thanksgiving is honored too and although it’s early, Christmas will be well represented when that time comes. For many of the boaters here, they’ve sold their house and their boat is their residence - a moveable residence, which is the nice part. 

Our car is now ready to travel. It received a multi-point inspection and an oil change so it’s all ready to go. We’ll start packing tomorrow and load the car Wednesday. Our time here is getting short.

Sunday, November 12, 2023

Titusville - A park nearby

I probably won’t be taking up this sport - at least not yet…

 The marina benefits from having a nearby dog park, skateboard park, play area for kids, and paths for running in the morning for us. We get out around 7:30 to 8:00 for our exercise during the week and perhaps in the afternoon, get out for another walk. It’s something that’s easy to do in the warm, Florida weather. 

For the kids. You don’t see wooden playgrounds anymore

However, when we go north, we find that our tolerance for cold weather has been comprised. If it’s less than 70, it feels a little chilly (where’s that sweatshirt?) We used to laugh at our southern friends when they came north in the winter or fall. We would out in tee shirts in any weather above 50 and they would be wearing heavy jackets. Now we’re in the same bucket - or rather will be when we get back to Lagrangeville, oh well. 

Next week will be a short week, just three days before leaving for home. We have friends on the dock that’s will look out for Fleetwing while we’re gone, good to have such friends!

Saturday, November 11, 2023

Titusville - Weekends are for lazing around

We have roaming flocks of ibis harvesting the grass

 There are boat projects to do but as we approach our departure date for returning north to New York, I find a lack of enthusiasm for starting any new ones. Since we’re spending the winter in Titusville, there’s no trip south to Key West - I have all the time in the world to get things done for the trip up the ICW in the spring to Beaufort, NC. That knowledge alone contributes to massive procrastination. 

Titusville Marina has a convenient dinghy dock by the office with showers and laundry nearby

Although we often tour through Black Point drive, there’s a goodly amount of bird watching to be done right in the marina and next door in the nature park. We have both manatees and dolphins swimming around as well as a large collection of birds that have no problem finding sustenance.

As if that was not enough, we have Space X launches too, usually one a week but sometimes twice a week. We walk down to the end of the dock and watch the rocket rise above the bridge in the distance. It’s a pretty sight at night. For last night’s launch, the rocket returned to the Kennedy Space Center and made a safe landing. It is turning into a very routine procedure now, who would have thought? 

Friday, November 10, 2023

Titusville - All electric boat

 

I don’t think it can run continuously on solar power but if it charges during the week, perhaps on weekends.

The way things are going with inflation, we all may be headed to either sailing a lot more than we’ve done in the past or switching our motive power to solar. I’ve seen several boats along the way going south outfitted with solar arrays and an electric motor but they are usually not very big. 

There’s one in our marina that, I guess, sits in a slip during the week gathering in the sun’s rays for use on the weekends. I’ve haven’t seen it out yet, perhaps it’s a summer use boat. For a place like Florida, it makes a lot of sense. 

Always the sunset,,, 

Meanwhile, we did our last provisioning, this time a Winn Dixie again. He find it to be a better store for fresh produce than Publix which surprised us. The prices are better too. The phenomenal weather continues, we’re spoiled not only for waters to come in New York but also for just the usual Florida weather. We haven’t had rain for weeks but I won’t complain.  

Thursday, November 9, 2023

Titusville - Beaudtiful days

 

Right next door is the dog park - where Hoolie loved to run. This is along the way. 

Now that we’re getting close to our departure date, it’s hard to stay focused on getting boat chores done. We did manage to get some essentials at Winn Dixie (love that name!) but that was about it. After working 38 years for IBM, I still have the mentality of “What did you accomplish today?” The answer today was, “Nothing” which strangely is bothersome. I wonder if everyone has that problem? (Or, anyone else?)

I’m a sucker for a sunset

The weather has been out of a travel brochure for Florida - winds less than 10 kts, highs around 80, full sunshine, no rain since we arrived 11/20 - just perfect days. Not that I’m complaining, mind you, but we’ll see a different weather report up north for sure. 

We sit on the back of the boat with our wine, watching the sunset so I keep taking photos of the event. Tonight, we’re scheduled to see a Space X launch, around 8:30 pm. The nighttime launches are the best, spectacular. I’ll see if can capture some worthwhile pictures.