Watching Endeavour launch, to Vero Beach
Trip Start
Jul 21, 2001
1
35
45
Trip End
Apr 22, 2002
Vero Beach,
Florida,
United States
Friday, December 7, 2001
As we left Titusville marina, we cleared the first two sets of channel markers and with two more to go to take us out of shoal water, the RPM indicator slowly went to 0 and our faithful engine died. Whenever we traversed a narrow channel, approached a bridge with the tide pushing us forward, or entered a marina past very expensive boats I would be ready for the engine to quit on me as Im afraid I have little faith in engines especially one 17 years old but it still came as a surprise and a shock.
Thankfully when it died, a quick check of the chart showed that we had just enough depth outside the channel to anchor. Margaret ran forward to be ready to put down the anchor and we slipped out of the way of incoming boats to a safe spot with about 5 inches of water under our keel. Now to find out the problem.
The motor would start and run fine for about 10 seconds, then stop. Start - stop. Start - stop. Obviously a fuel problem. I replaced both the primary and secondary fuel filters. With a diesel engine, you must ensure you have all the air out of the fuel line and a little manual pump accomplishes this task - but very slowly. Finally pure fuel was coming out.
Now Margaret, watch how I've fixed the problem!
Engine started and after 10 seconds stopped again. Oh, boy! After continuing to bleed the line, try to start, bleed the line again, etc. the engine finally started and ran perfectly (and has ever since).
For the rest of the day and the next few days, I worked on the log (published as St. Augustine to Titusville). We did boat chores, maintenance and read and I had one fabulous day visiting the Kennedy Space Center. We had toured this facility back in the 1970's when Margaret and I took our brothers with us on a holiday to Miami. My brother, Roger, returned with his family in the early 90's and said we had to see the difference. Margaret said she just wanted a pyjama day where she did nothing but read and relax so she was happy to stay on board and enjoy the sunny weather.
I was picked up right at the marina by a local sailor had started this service as a way to earn a little extra money and now had quite a touring service established. The boundaries of the Space Center also includes the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. What a remarkable profusion of different birds. The driver even slowed to point out three alligators as we drove beside two canals. The guide book stated that the refuge hosts over 500 species of wildlife including 21 on the endangered species list.
Kennedy Space Center has changed dramatically and is second only to Disney World as a tourist attraction. Spaceport USA hosts twin IMAX theaters which show two space movies, one in 3D. Seeing any IMAX movie is quite an experience but in 3D it is truly awesome. I purchased the special Shuttle Tour in addition to seeing the normal events included in the $25 admission fee. I found it well worth the extra $15 as about twenty five of us had our own guide for two hours. We went aboard the Explorer, a full scale replica of the Space Shuttle, saw live shots from mission control of the shuttle Endeavour sitting on the launch pad, received special briefing notes and had a personal guide at the Apollo/Saturn complex.
Going aboard the space shuttle it was a special feeling to see the Canada Arm. Also in one of the IMAX movies whenever they showed the shuttle bay of a shuttle, there was the Canada Arm at work. As Canadians, we certainly take a back seat to American patriotism but seeing our flag in space gave me a special feeling of pride in our country's participation in the space program.
Wednesday, December 5, 2001
After seeing where the launch site was we moved to the south side of the Titusville bridge to be in the optimum viewing area. For a third evening, we prepared for a launch and kept our fingers crossed that this time would see a success. The previous evening, the launch was aborted with only five minutes to go due to an errant cloud. Pauline and Martin aboard FOREVER YOUNG invited us to watch the launch from their boat.
We watched the preparations on the local tv channel. The wind was reported to be gusting to 12 knots and if it reached 15 knots from the east the mission would be scratched again.
We stayed positive and said no way it would increase 3 knots in the next twenty minutes. When the countdown reached three minutes, we knew it would be a go and went outside to watch. We kept the VCR running so later we could see the countdown and takeoff close up.
It was a perfect takeoff, directly in front of the boat about five miles away. With the heightened security this was as close as ordinary people could get. Through each day of a launch the Coast Guard established a control zone of the waters in a twelve mile area north and south of the site and then on the ocean side the same. During each day, we could hear ocean going vessels being intercepted, asked their headings and given new headings, if necessary, to keep them from going into the exclusion zone. Viewed from our position on the water, we could see the launch from the very first moment the engines blasted off. Half a minute later, we watched the booster rockets fall to earth. The evening sky turned surreal with the shuttles launch trail lit up by the setting sun.
Back inside, we watched a replay of the launch and, while the close-ups were interesting and certainly showed more detail, the TV experience was nothing compared to the reality of what we had just witnessed. There was no way that television could capture the incredible ferocity of the explosive sound of the engines on takeoff. Nor could it capture the vibrations and buffeting we felt from the booster stage rockets. The boat, the rigging, our bodies shook from the shock waves sent out from those booster rockets and then to view the sky's aftermath - INCREDIBLE - a very, very special moment for the four of us.
Dec. 6 Mile 918
We anchored south of the bridge at Melborne. Apparently this is a nice little city but after a long day of motoring we decided to just stay put. Since we had supper aboard FOREVER YOUNG the previous evening, Pauline and Martin were invited over to MYSTIC LOON for this evening. Much of our talk was still about the beauty of the previous nights launch and how happy we were that we had stayed the five days waiting for the launch and hadn't left our perfect viewing area for a spot down the coast.
Dec. 7 Mile 952
We are now secured to a mooring in Vero Beach. A number of years ago, the city council passed a law prohibiting anchoring in Bethel Creek where their municipal marina is located. Instead, what they did was to fill the basin with moorings capable of holding up to 60 foot boats. These moorings have held boats during hurricane winds and have proven to be an excellent idea after much initial opposition. We plan on staying here a few days to explore the area.
Another reason for getting off the ICW is that it is the weekend. During the week, the power boaters transiting the waterway are excellent and very courteous. Both groups of boaters get along very well both on the waterway and at anchor or in the marina lounges. On the weekend, the ICW seems to turn into a racetrack for local power boaters making the most of their two days off. Not a pleasant ride for sailboats being tossed and tumbled in their wakes.
In closing, we are sitting here under sunny skies, the high today is 83F, 28 C and life is wonderful.
