We left the St. Augustine Inlet on Saturday, January 13, heading out into the Atlantic Ocean once again. Our destination was Cape Canaveral, about 100 miles south. Initially, there was enough wind to sail but after a few hours, the wind clocked around directly behind us. We don’t have a good system set-up for downwind sailing yet (it’s on the list), so after trying a few different tacks and sail trims, we had to drop the sails and motor.
The most exciting part of the passage came in the late afternoon. I was napping in the cabin when Lucas called out for me – dolphins on the bow! I ran up the stairs, putting my life jacket on as quickly as I could. There were two beautiful dolphins playing in our bow wake. This was not a drill!! The water was clear enough that we could see them dive under the boat and come up on the other side. It was so magical!
SpaceX had a rocket launch scheduled for that night and we were hoping to watch it from sea. Throughout our sail down, we kept hearing the coast guard annonce a safety zone around Cape Canaveral due to the launch. Unfortunately, a few hours before the scheduled liftoff, that launch was postponed to Sunday night. Dang it!
We motored through the night, the sea state was manageable but rolly. We started our approach into the Cape Canaveral Inlet around 8 a.m. Cape Canaveral is a huge port, there were three massive cruise ships docked along the shore as we motored in. We had to go through a small lock on our way back to the ICW. So far on this trip, we have been through nearly 40 locks but never one with a group of dolphins and a manatee. It was so hard to keep focus on my job while also ohh’ing and ahh’ing at the wildlife going through with us. Apparently, they like to hang out in the lock because it stirs up the water and it makes for great fishing. Once through the lock, we motored for a few more hours to Titusville, where we planned to stay for a couple of nights.
12 miles from Kennedy Space Center, Titusville is one of the closest places to park your boat for rocket launches. Around 8 p.m. that night, we suited up (it was still very cold) and prepared to watch the rescheduled launch from our deck. With 15 minutes to go, the launch was moved back by an hour. Dang it again! We waited another hour inside and then suited up again.
5…4…3…2…1 Lift off!
This time, we saw and heard it – the bright flash, the speeding ball of fire shooting into the sky and a few minutes later the low rumble of the launch. It was pretty cloudy that night but the rocket was so bright, it lit up the entire cloud bank. We could even see it flying through some of the thinner clouds. Amped, we immediately started planning how to watch the next launch, scheduled for Wednesday, from even closer. We were hooked!
After a great night’s sleep, we woke up early and made a beeline to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. We visited all the main attractions. Our favorite part was all the spacecraft on display, they were so huge! It was inspiring to see these pieces of engineering magic up close. Lucas was in heaven – visiting the space center has been a dream of his since he was little. We spent the entire day walking around the center and then headed back to the boat. We planned to return again on Wednesday for the rocket launch.
Tuesday was spent on our computers in the marina’s lounge. I made really good progress on my editing and Lucas started working on his first blog post (coming soon!) while managing the laundry. In the laundry room, Lucas ran into some sailors from Toledo Beach who we shared mutual friends with. It is amazing how small the sailing world really is – so fun!
On Wednesday, we packed another round of lunches (Lucas has been making these delicious buffalo chicken wraps) and headed back to the space center. We were at the visitors complex for a few hours when we got the dreaded notice that the launch had been rescheduled to Thursday – Dang it! We’re quickly learning that seeing a launch from the famous bleacher seats takes luck, schedule flexibility and patience. Disappointed but not deterred, we headed back to the marina.
It was very windy that afternoon, so we went to the lounge to mentally prepare ourselves for a very wet dinghy ride back to Alaya. While sitting there procrastinating, we ran into an ICW legend – Bob 423! Bob is a lifelong sailor who has created these amazing resources for boaters on the ICW. His recommended navigational track was a lifesaver for us in some of the trickier parts of the ICW, especially in Georgia. It was so cool to meet him and we totally fan-girled asking him for a selfie.
We eventually took that rough ride back to the boat, the waves were so big even my hair got wet. Alaya was rocking like a Rolling Stone. We quickly changed clothes and headed back to shore. With the wind behind us now, the ride back into shore wasn’t nearly as wet. Bob and his wife, Anne, were kind enough to invite us to their boat where we spent a few hours learning about their adventures. Afterwards, we ran into another set of friends who had no idea they were docked near ICW royalty like Bob and Anne. They also fan-girled once we shared our story. After a few more hours of computer work in the lounge, the wind had finally died down and we made a much drier trek back to Alaya.
The rocket launch had been pushed to Thursday, so for the third day that week, we ubered over to the Kennedy Space Center the next day. We nervously waited in the bus loading line, checking our phones every few minutes along with the hundreds of other people in line. If the launch was scrubbed after we boarded the bus, our ticket is no longer transferable. We got on the bus and everything was still a go.
We found a great spot in the bleachers and waited watching the large screen to our right with the countdown. The bleachers at approximately four miles away, are the closest civilians can get to a Cape Canaveral launch. We met some of the coolest people as we were waiting for the launch. This was a manned mission, carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station, including the first Turkish astronaut. There were people with Turkish flags everywhere – their excitement was infectious.
30 minutes to go – the storm clouds looming on the horizon appeared to be waiting for the rocket launch too.
15 minutes to go. Weather still looked threatening but cooperative.
5 minutes. All systems nominal.
1 minute. Cleared for launch.
5…4…3…2…1 Lift off!
There was a crazy bright flash and then liftoff. The rocket shot up into the sky so incredibly fast. Lucas snapped two photos and then we put our phones away to take in the moment. A few seconds later came the rumble of the launch – you could feel the explosion in your chest for a long time after. We watched the rocket hurtle into space, eventually losing it behind some clouds. The viewing area’s announcer reminded us to watch for the return of the rocket booster to land and suggested where to look. A few minutes later, we saw a bright flash and watched the booster come back from space and land perfectly. Seconds later, we heard its sonic boom. It was crazy!!
The rain started minutes after the launch and we slowly made our way back to the buses, trying to process what we just saw. We enjoyed a delicious dinner in downtown Titusville with our new friends we had met at the launch and then headed back to Alaya.
Needless to say, SV Alaya has officially been bit by the space bug and we’re already planning our next watch opportunity. If anyone is thinking about visiting the space center for a launch, let us know!
