Hot Diggity Dog

Spaced Out in Titusville

Strange things float in the ICW in the early morning...

Titusville deserves a special mention.  Not only because it’s the gateway to Kennedy Space Centre & Cape Canaveral complex but because it hosts the most amazing thunderstorms.  We’d set anchor out from the Municipal Marina and had dinner watching an amassing cloud bank, even taking pictures of huge lightning spears piercing nearby country-side.  Then suddenly it turned.  We watched from the cockpit in horror as it came quickly toward us.  The Cap’n stowed some electrical gear in the microwave (No, it wasn’t on!) for protection, turned everything off and disconnected anything electrical.  Cap’n Vigilant then stood in the cockpit (not holding anything metal) in the pouring rain, as if Zeus, warding off a lightning strike.

That means BIG trouble - Florida Hazard #2

Suddenly, bang, fizzle!  Sparks flew, GS screamed and the Cap’n swore.  We’d been hit!  For a few seconds, our fishing rods and horse-shoe life buoy appeared unseasonably decorated by Christmas sparklers.  Sadly, all that remained of our masthead VHF antenna and wind instruments lay charred in the cockpit; the stainless steel antenna bracket blackened and peeled like barbequed onion. With no time to waste, our Cap’n Resilient started an ever-growing (shopping) list of items to be replaced, including a VHF radio. Always the optimist!

Space Glove

Now, you can’t miss the giant Vehicular Assembly Building sitting proudly above a vast expanse of Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge.  After our “supernatural” experience, we decided to give science a go!  We hired a car – there are no scheduled buses.  Titusville doesn’t have a single community bus!  Nobody walks.  They all drive.  Nothing is convenient to anything else!  It’s truly amazing how shop owners make a living.  

Anyway, back to the KSC.  We had an interesting day poking old rocket bits, watching new parts being assembled and learning from IMAX 3D movies.  We toured the grounds (yes, even NASA has buses!), touched a piece of the moon and sat through a staged launch countdown.  It was interesting to hear how close the moon landing was to being aborted (20 Jul 69).  We ate lunch under Saturn V (the largest rocket ever made) and avoided kiddies on the newest “ride” – a vertical launch experience at 17500mph?!!  (Mmmm, actually that’s not such a bad idea!  Pay to have your kids propelled into outer space!  Now, where do I sign them up?)

We returned from KSC just in time for our evening’s entertainment – another growing thunderstorm.  The lightning just missed us this time, but gale force winds did not!  We could only hold on and hope that Bertha (a big 72lb Rocna) and lots of heavy chain would hold. 

“If we survive this,” said a decisive GS, “we are leaving Titusville tomorrow, very early.”  And so we did…