Our position is 28:37.216N 80:48.522W

After the day stuck at Cocoa Village we did not need to leave particularly early for the 16.5Nm trip to Titusville and there was only one opening bridge to contend with on the way. The weather was bright and sunny with a 10kn south easterly blowing so we were able to supplement the engine with the genoa. As we were sailing with the sunshade up the mainsail was not available but this gave us plenty of flexibility when the navigation got tricky. Before long the huge buildings of the Kennedy Space Centre were visible in the distance on the starboard side and we were able to enter the channel for the Titusville municipal marina. We had been told the water was thick with manatees so were hopeful that we might finally get to see some.

We had planned to have a concerted effort at cleaning and tidying in anticipation of John and Kath’s arrival the next day but John and Judi from Breez’n Thru, a Moody 40 in the mooring field outside, who stopped to say “Hi” to a fellow Moody owner but stayed to tell us about all the good places to go in Maine, their home state.  Next a sportsfisher, just arrived  on the pontoon, started to wash down, which attracted two manatees (they love fresh water but too much is bad for them) so at last we were able to see some in the flesh and take some photos. By the time we had finished’ all enthusiasm for jobs had gone and so we headed ashore in search of something to eat. As it was Sunday the choices were limited so we bought a huge pizza (Papa John’s had a special offer on and large were cheaper than medium!) and went back to the boat.

We were up early the next day to take the boat to the pump out station as well as organising the hire car, making use of the laundry, and defrosting the fridge, as well as getting the boat ready for guests. We just about got everything done before we were driving towards Sanford and hoping we’d got time to find the West Marine closeish to the airport. However this proved a step too far. In spite of thinking we knew which road junction it was at, when we got there it was not in evidence. We were running out of time and everywhere seemed further than it looked on the map. This was our first experience of driving in America and it was a lot more challenging than the islands.

We abandoned the hunt for West Marine and headed for the airport, where John and Kath’s plane had already touched down and before long they were out of the arrivals building and we were able to set off for the return to the boat, only stopping briefly at the Publix supermarket to buy a few essentials and something to eat that night.

When we got back Rick, the owner of the Moody 34 on the other side of the dock, was on board. He told us the planned flight of the shuttle piggybacking on the 747 up to Washington was scheduled for 6.30 the next morning. He was planning to move out to an anchorage that evening to get a good view. We both wanted to see inside each other’s boats but he was just leaving so we never did get shown the wood panelling he had fitted in his aft cabin.