Central Florida Cruise Club - CFCC - Harbortown - Merritt Island

Harbortown - Merritt Island

Posted: 28 Feb 2010 07:46 PM PST

We had a great trip to Harbortown Merritt Island this weekend (26-28 Feb)! As many as 12 boats were signed-up at one point, but alas only 6 boats
and 2 drive-ins turned out for the festivities. Dire weather
predictions and virtual farm animals caused some last minute
cancellations. But the no-shows missed out. The weather was fantastic
on both Friday and Sunday. Saturday had a rainy start to it, but the
rain was gone for good by 2:30 and the party began (actually it started
during the rain, but that’s another story). Most of the boats arrived
on Friday to the great hospitality of the Harbortown staff. These folks
know you by name, and only charge 75 cents per foot! The fixed wooden
docks were not much of an issue at this marina, as the tide is less
than one foot and they have the docks built to an optimum height.
Friday evening we had docktails on Pam’s Paycheck, largely due to us
being too lazy to haul out the tables. Several of us had dinner at the
marina restaurant, where a very lively band was playing for a private
party. It was good to see Fire Escape back on the water after a very
long absence.

Saturday morning light rain moved in, but most of the group moved out to Cocoa Village for an early start to the Mardi Gras party. They spent the entire day in the village, enjoying the party. The rest of
the group waited for the rain to stop, then went to work on the CFCC
float for the Mardi Gras parade. Andy Carlin volunteered his truck to
pull Bob Poindexter’s dinghy, and, once decorated with beads and CFCC
banners, we had a float! We had Andy drive and put the Fleming’s in the
dinghy throwing beads and the Poindexter’s and Mittauer’s in the back
of the truck throwing beads. We threw 1440 of them to a very eager
crowd! The locals REALLY like this Mardi Gras, and enthusiastically
expressed their feelings. It was also televised - some of you couch
potato shut-ins may have seen us. With some practice, we were able to
put beads on target like no other float. We all had a great time!

Sunday came too soon, along with a blazing sun. Summer is definitely coming! We headed-out back to the real-world. Can’t wait for the next trip, which for me is Caladesi. For those going to St. Augustine,
ignore the weather reports and go boating. The weather forecasters are
wrong more than they are right, and even when they are right it’s
better to be on a boat in the rain than NOT on a boat in the rain.