While it was difficult leaving family in Boston, the prior week of missing the sun was history and it felt great to feel the warmth of the sun and blue skies now that we are back in Florida once again. As we had rented a car to get from Orlando airport to Titusville, we made the most of the few hours we had wheels before the rental car had to be returned. First on our list was to retrieve our refurbished mainsail and new jib from the sail loft in Cocoa, FL about 20 minutes to the south, and to return some items to Walmart. These tasks went off without a hitch and to celebrate, we stopped at a Wendy’s for lunch. Did a major grocery shop at Publix and rekindled friendships with Forrest and jolly Chris, two solo-handed sailors on A dock who watch over things and are sort of like front desk clerks welcoming everyone to the marina. We had the added benefit of meeting Katrina and Phil who’d sailed from Australia (but who also have a residence in Texas) before their departure for the Bahamas as well as Bob and Ann Sherer on Fleetwing (Beneteau 423) just a few slips down from us who just returned to their boat as well. We had some bird droppings to clean up on the decks and in washing down the boat, we got our first glimpse of a manatee up close. Apparently the manatees like the fresh oxygenated water that was cascading from our boat so much that he/she was hanging out at the drain, sucking in the freshness. The manatee was about 8 feet long and had a fair amount of vegetation growing on his/her back and then slowly swam away.
Our days were consumed with preparing Juno for the Bahamas. This included changing the engine oil, putting on the new jib and mainsail, and refilling the water tanks. Juno was looking pretty good. On Saturday, we even started to replace the caulking in the starboard toe rail that had deteriorated and was a potential source of a small leak we noticed in the galley. As with most projects, this one took longer than expected, making us late for our 5 pm cocktail invitation aboard Fleetwing. Thankfully our hosts Ann, Bob, and Hoolie their dog were kind enough to to reschedule and we learned of their tips for sailing to Key West and how to secure a vacant home in the north during the winter months. Friday night, at Chris’ urging, we joined in the weekly potluck and barbecue where all the marina inhabitants are welcomed. The gathering started around 6 pm around the picnic tables and concluded around 10 pm. There we met a young family (Chelsea and Tom)with two girls (Isabel and Ambika) and grandparents (RuthAnn and ?) from Warwick, RI sailing south on RISE as well as Tony, a live-aboard and former DJ from Revere, MA who put us in touch with his buddy Mike as a possible DJ for Katie’s wedding.
When Monday Jan 10 arrived, we planned to vacate our slip as our monthly rental was up. However, we needed to stay close by as the boatyard next door wasn’t able to haul Juno until Tuesday, Jan. 11th. Harry had arranged for the haul out to clean the bottom and to adjust the propeller. With strong winds out of the NE forecast, we planned to just go about a mile to the southeast and drop anchor in the protection of land on the east side of the ICW. However, we soon discovered a problem with our windlass - the mechanical device that lowers and raises the 55 lb anchor and chain weighing 2.5 lbs/foot. So we returned to the marina, luckily in time to get the only vacant mooring in the mooring field. This was a safe place to assess the problem as the windlass is a crucial piece of hardware to life afloat.
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