Cocoa Beach Babies

Lots of babies on the Cocoa Beach Country Club course this time of year. Mother and baby coots above are either swamphens, moorhens or gallinules, all of which are related to and commonly referred to as coots. The cute little fella below was making his way to the same pond probably to a less than enthusiastic welcome from Mother Coot.

Mystery boat on the beach

Woke up yesterday morning to what looked like a burned-out African Queen on the beach out back. This strange homemade craft has a metal skin over foam with a wood deck and a small diesel engine with vertical exhaust pipe amidship. It has been severely burned and had no contents other than the burned engine and battery. Reminded me of the period in 1994 when hundreds of Cubans made the risky trip by sea in all manner of homemade vessels in search of freedom. Dozens of those boats and rafts washed ashore along our beaches. I'm guessing this one originated in either Cuba or Haiti but there's no clue whether it was being used by refugees seeking a new life to the north or whether some fishermen suffered an unfortunate incident at sea.

Beneath the surface

About 25 miles due east of Cocoa Beach on a beautiful calm May 21,2011.

Super Boat races this Sunday

We got a chance yesterday to check out some of the super boats that will be racing offshore Cocoa Beach this Sunday. Minutemen Causeway was closed off for the afternoon and night and these beauties were on display. Races start at 11 AM Sunday just north of the Pier but there are plenty of events between now and then. Full schedule here.

Meanwhile, eastward

While the love bugs were swarming yesterday, this is what
the beach looked like at midday in south Cocoa Beach.

They're baaaaaack!

We have love bugs every May but the quantity this year is beyond anything I've ever seen beachside. The hatch has been biblical in proportion. Luckily with a top speed limit of 35 MPH in Cocoa Beach, one's car never gets going fast enough to make a mess on the grill and windshield.

Godspeed Endeavour

Space Shuttle Endeavour streaking towards the space station a few minutes ago.

Fun surf today

Can't really tell much from this pic I snapped at 5th St. around 7 AM this morning but the NE long-period swell is still here and the wind switched around to the southwest during the night. Tide's still deep but I saw some head high sets. Conditions should improve with the dropping tide. If you're here or within driving range get it before the onshore wind gets on it this afternoon. See you in the water.

Astronauts all over the place

The Astronaut Parade just finished in downtown Cocoa Beach with dozens of space travelers all in Corvettes although moving at much lower speeds than when they used to burn up these roads back in the day. This is to celebrate 50 years of Americans in space that began with Alan Shepard's flight on May 5, 1961 aboard Freedom 7. That first manned American space flight lasted 15 minutes 28 seconds, achieved a top speed of 5134 mph and traveled just 303 miles. Street party all day downtown today with Minutemen Cswy blocked off between Orlando and Brevard Avenues. Come join the fun if you're around.