Day 144:

Melbourne Harbor Marina to Cape Crossing Marina (we think), Merritt Island, FL (docked)

June 8, 2022

Although we are not doing the sort of short hops of just a few miles that we did in the Abacos, we are taking our time as we head north. This means that we can enjoy breakfast at a French restaurant in Melbourne, for example.

This part of the ICW has very limited tidal change – only a few inches between high and low tides. There’s not a lot of shoaling here, either, so the motoring is easy. Winds were low and the water was calm.

We could see some rain ahead so we slowed down and let it pass – another benefit of not being in a hurry.

We are staying in a marina that has recently changed ownership, so it is listed in some places with one name and in other places with another name. It’s right off the the Canaveral Barge Canal that cuts through Merritt Island.

This area is filled with ospreys and dolphins. On our way into the canal we saw at least 10 dolphins and there seem to be ospreys on every pole near here (as well as flying around).

Later in the evening several ospreys were sitting on sailboat masts in this marina. We are glad that they didn’t land on our mast because we think they could damage some of the instruments that are mounted there.

This marina was a great spot to watch the SpaceX launch this evening. There was a delay of about 5 seconds between what we were hearing online and what we were seeing.

We will leave here tomorrow and head to Titusville where we should have decent access to a Home Depot and grocery shopping. This marina is near a busy highway with no sidewalks or anything, so we’ll be eating on board tomorrow.

Tonight we pickled our watermaker because we probably won’t be using it again any time soon. This is a process in which the membranes are immersed in a preservative solution to keep bacteria from growing. The water here has so much sediment clouding it.