* Melbourne, FL to Cocoa, FL. *
The Now or Never crew is on the move again. A little over a year ago we pulled into Melbourne Harbor for two nights, and well, if you’ve been following along, you know a lot has happened, a lot of heartbreak, and we’re ready to be cruising again. We have become quite attached to Melbourne, the town, the marina, the weather, the water, the sunrises and sunsets, and the people.
Melbourne has been a pleasant surprise and our girl Remy got us to the right place for sitting idle the past year. It’s a good feeling knowing we’ll be returning in six months to a place we enjoy.
The past month has been a flurry of activity getting ready for cruising. Two trips to Florida from our home in Indiana, two packed vehicles, and lots of projects. Most of our projects have been completed and the boat has been fully loaded. Tasha continues to think we will never see a store or land again on our travels. We most likley have enough food and supplies to last us the whole trip, it’s just remembering where everything is tucked away throughout the boat.
We took a break from preperations and spent one night on the hook on the Indian River. We’ve been feeling a bit rusty with our skills after being away from boating a year. We anchored only three nights in our first 3500 miles. Having a large senior pup, it just wasn’t easy on any of us. We are hoping to anchor a lot more in our second 3500+ miles. We found a great anchorage and shared it with ten sailboats. We enjoyed a peaceful evening that included a dinghy ride, dinner on the grill, a beautiful sunset, and a nasty storm overnight.
The storm, including wind, rain, side to side rocking, and 360 swinging on the hook did not wake the Captain but the first mate was alert and watching from the flybridge for a couple of hours. All was well in the end, and it was good exercise to brush up on our skills.
We have been ordering a ton of items for our jouney and upon returning after being home a few days the dockmaster was glad to see us to reclaim space in the office. We had lots of last-minute items shipped including a Starlink internet system the Captain gifted himself for his birthday.
David was happy to celebrate on the Now or Never this year. Last year his birthday was the eve of our ER visit and the beginning of his heart project. A lot has changed. This year’s birthday project, Starlink, was one that didn’t take a lot of motivation to complete, just multiple trips to stores on the bike to get the needed supplies.
The directions were very thorough (ha-ha! See photo!). We are hoping this adds consistent internet service for our trip – especially the Canadian waters we will be traversing in the summer of 2024 and possibly 2025.
The Captain finally broke down at the first mate’s insistence and hired a crew to buff and wax our boat. After a year and a half in Florida waters had her looking duller than ever. With our limited time left in Melbourne before we shoved off, we were only able to contract the top half, but we were very pleased with the job done. The Captain has always maintained the Now of Never, it was hard for him to sit back and relax.
With the going rate and availability of crews for washing, waxing, and maintenance, we’re happy Dave does our work himself, probably the only reason we can maintain our boat and make this trip. The horror stories of crews working on boats include long wait times, poor work, incomplete work, and leaving boaters high and dry, are a common theme at boater get togethers. We also contracted our diver for one last bottom job before we take off, we want that clean bottom to prevent drag as we head out.
We cruised to a free dock in Cocoa, just 20 miles from Melbourne for our first day back on the water. We left the dock just after 8, in no hurry for the short cruise that took us just over 2 hours. It was uneventful, just as we hoped. Tasha headed out front on the bow for the first 30 minutes of the trip, reflecting on the past and moving on to the future. Morning cruising on the bow was a favorite of Remy’s. The air is cool and crisp, the waters calm, it’s a perfect way to start the day. Most days Remy headed out on her own as we left dock and camped out waiting for Tasha to join her. When the sun rose higher and the air was warmer, and Remy couldn’t find any more shade, Remy moved into the sundeck with her two fans. Today was a salute to our girl and one Tasha will continue to experience in her memory. It is the most tranquil part of the day that Remy so loved. It was just a little lonelier today.
Twenty miles was the perfect distance for our first day back on the water, unlike the 121-mile journey the first day of our loop on the Ohio River. That was 22 ½ months ago! The free dock in Cocoa is in a great location in the heart of the downtown riverfront park. We walked into town, ate lunch, walked the Cocoa Village area, and checked out the Cocoa Village Marina. We are reacclimating into the tourist mode and trying to soak in the adventure of exploring our great nation by water. Most stops we make are places we have never been and probably would never visit without this journey, making it truly a sampling of Americana.
We were hoping to check another bucket list item off our list. With the tremendous winds yesterday which had us rocking at the dock, we were hopeful a SpaceX launch would be scrubbed because of weather. Unfortunately for us, the winds died down and it went off. We were able to see the launch from our boat, and it was pretty cool. We had just hoped to be up close at Cocoa to see it. We will make sure we leave the dock next winter while back in Melbourne and venture to Cocoa for this incredible experience.
We’re feeling good about being on the move again, following our dream to cruise America’s Great Loop. While everything fell into place, we still had the first day jitters. Boy is it good to be back on the water!
Cheers! David, Tasha,
& Remy forever in our hearts!
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So great to hear about your adventures and share this with you ! Please keep us all included as you make your way. Love to you and Dave 😘
Dan and Mary
Thank you! It is good to be back on our way. We have missed the water.
So nice to hear from you both, have a good time on the Now or Never,
Be safe, keep the blog going its so interesting.
Thanks. Dave, and thanks for reading along!
Thanks for the update. I just can’t wrap around my head that you two are traveling COMPLETELY around the waters of the US! I thoroughly love reading about your adventures but sorely miss your 3rd mate Remy
We try to look at it as a lot of one day trips – a little less daunting. Glad you are reading along. We look for Remy everyday and it’s not the same without her, but feel her with us. The boat and the water was her happy place too! Thanks for loving our girl!
So glad to see you guys, cruising again! Love tagging along with you via your posts and blogs.
So happy to have someone reading them! Good to be back – you’ll need to come join us!
Oh! I feel your “feels”, truely.
Have a BLAST! Have the safest travel. Our hearts are traveling with you.
Can not wait for more adventures!
Thanks Debbie – all happy times ahead!
So happy to hear you are both back on your adventure. Praying for health, happiness and good weather throughout your trip!☀️
Thank you Sabrina!