Depart: Vero Beach Anchorage 9:20
Arrive: Melbourne Bridge Causeway Anchorage 1:30
Distance: 30 nm
Normally I spend the majority of the time cruising up on the flybridge with Clark. Today, however, due to the chill in the air, I decided to stay down below. I cleaned the galley, worked on my blog, and cooked dinner while Clark piloted the boat. On one of my trips up top, I did get to see some dolphins playing in our wake.
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| Dolphin play time |
We prearranged with Joann and Jim on Namaste II that we would spend the night in the same anchorage and then continue on together to Titusville for our joint visit to the Kennedy Space Center. About the time Jim and Joann pulled into the anchorage, all heck broke out on our boat. One of the smoke detectors decided to go berserk.
Last time the smoke detector went off for "no apparent reason", Clark blamed my cooking even though I had long since completed my dinner preparations. This time there was no excuse.
I had my hands over my ears to cut down on the noise, and I told Clark to go get his engine room ear muffs to protect his hearing. He carried it outdoors and set it on the deck. Even in the fresh air it would not stop squealing. I nearly suggested he throw it overboard but thought it might offend the dolphin's ears!
He left it on the deck and came back in the cabin to call customer support for the unit. The person he talked to indicated it might be a known defect, had him run some tests that, per the tech's decision, failed to provide satisfactory results, and then said she would send a replacement unit under warranty.
Fortunately, during the process of the conversation, she helped Clark make the unit stop generating noise. She told him to spray air from an aerosol can into the unit to clean away excess dust. (Clark just happens to carry this on the boat.) He did as she said, and voila, no noise! For the time being, Clark has put the unit back up on the wall. If it starts to squeal on its own at 3:00 a.m. for no reason, it might just sail off the boat into the "drink" with a little help from me.
During all this chaos on our boat, Namaste II arrived at the anchorage. I saw them arrive and wondered if Sammy, their dog, was disturbed by the ear-piercing noise coming from our boat. After Sammy had her requisite trip to the beach, Jim and Joann rowed over to our boat for docktails and a visit.
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| Jim and Joann coming to visit |
We had such a nice time talking, we did not want our time together to end. Fortunately, I had cooked more than enough food for four earlier in the day while traveling. All I had to do was heat it up and we had dinner on board Sunset Delight with minimum fuss and bother.
When the sun started to set, it was time to say goodnight. Later, Joann must have had the same thoughts as Clark and I. We took pictures of her boat, and she took pictures of ours.
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| Namaste II Anchored by Melbourne Bridge Causeway |
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| Sunset Delight at Sunset! |
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