We left Titusville at about 6:30 am. Although we knew we’d likely see rain, the chances of thunderstorms was predicted as small. The sky and water were blue-gray and calm ahead,  threatening and black behind.  Along this narrow stretch,  we saw well over a dozen manatees,  and even had to slow and alter course in some areas to avoid them.

About 10:30am the clouds caught up with us and a downpour ensued which wiped put nearly all visibility.  We had seen a large powerboat following about a quarter of a mile behind us, but the rain so totally erased us from each other’s view that he hailed us. He had only  caught a glimpse of us, and thought we were heading towards him, instead of away! He seemed relieved that we were both north-bound, and once the rain let up a bit, he and another powerboat made a slow pass.

We did see a few interesting sights in between the rain episodes. This area included a lot canals just off the ICW that appeared in every way to be the “mainstreet” of a neighborhood. We also saw another example of the phrase “home can be anywhere”.

We traversed two drawbridges and one fixed bridgewithout incident, and Paula got some piloting experience in holding steady against a following current while waiting for the span to rise. We reached Rockhouse Creek and anchored just in time before several hours of thunderstorms began. The featured picture today is what the sky looked like just as we dropped the anchor. Our anchor is holding well and we now have a respite. Some rain is predicted for the early evening, but then should end.