Captains Mel and Jean are quite right. The anchorage they describe below is not in the Net’s “Eastern Florida Anchorage Directory.” I’ve certainly never tried to drop the hook here. However, I took at look at chart 11476, and it looks as this this cruising duo found a side channel, which I (and I suspect most other cruisers) have always missed. No guarantees on depths, but what an interesting place to watch the shuttle launch!

Dear Claiborne,
I don’t see a spot for this on the website. We are anchored on the Banana River north of the Port Canaveral Lock in position 28 degrees 25.151 N and 080 degrees 38.208W, with the idea of watching the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on Monday. We really don’t know that we’re in the best spot; just going on what we’ve read that space launches seen from the Banana River are most spectacular. This is definitely not a protected position and we’re hoping that the forecast holds for light winds. Will let you know how it works out. Boats are no longer permitted north of the powerlines (less than a mile north of the Barge Canal) during launches (according to the Coast Guard whom I called.) I expected a lot of boats here but most seem to be partying on the small spoil islands. We’ll see what tomorrow brings. The launch is Monday at 6:21 AM.
Mel and Jean Thomason

Dear Claiborne,
After two days of speculating which of the structures might be the shuttle, we finally had a clear view of the shuttle on the back of that big rocket on Sunday. Sunday night it was illuminated – beautiful! Though visible to the naked eye from our anchorage, it was very clear with binoculars. The Launch went off without a hitch. Seeing that big rocket rise slowly at first and then more rapidly into the sky was about what we expected from years of seeing launches on TV. What we weren’t prepared for (and what made it all the more real) was the rumble and vibration which shook us a minute after blast off. Then I could imagine how it must feel to be in that shuttle headed out into the wild blue yonder (except it was still dark and what we mostly saw was the flame of the rocket). Was it worth waiting three days? You bet. Was the Banana river anchorage a good place? I can’t imagine a better place, both for seeing the shuttle beforehand and for the launch. It’s probably the closest unobstructed view if the shuttle is launching from pad 39 A.
Jean