The only time I ever called on this port by ship was aboard the USNS OBSERVATION
ISLAND T-AGM 23. This visit took place in 1994 while my wife and daughter were
on the plane back from Hong Kong. Any guess what I would do since my wife and
had our home in Tampa at that time? You got it. I caught a cab to Cocoa Beach
and rented an Alamo rental car and drove to the house the night the ship got in.
I returned the next morning to Canaveral with my loved ones and gave them a tour
of the ship. The chief engineer was nice enough to let me spend the day and
night with my family and I took them home the next day. We went into Canaveral
at the behest of Space Command who had the control of the ship from Patrick Air
Force Base . Now the port is mainly a cruise ship haven but then it was mostly
an industrial and fishing port . Some of the old ships were there like the USNS
RANGE SENTINEL T-AGM 22 which was stricken for scrap in 1997. Now here is a bit
of history for you. The O.I. was the last ship that JFK toured before he flew
off to Dallas on that fateful day and he toured it while it was berthed at Canaveral.
