The Cocoa Beach Super Boat Race held this weekend was a lot of fun to watch with boats racing just off the beach. The race, Thunder on the Beach, sanctioned by Super Boat International and was the first in what appears to be an annual event for Cocoa Beach. Pictured above is Superboat Vee Unlimited winner Instigator with an average of 96.12 mph.

Super Cat winner Popeyes had an average speed of 94.8 mph.

Superboat 750 class winner Warpaint had an average speed of 92.78 mph.

Local favorite Doug Wright, and his entry Mapei won the Superboat stock class with an average speed of 88.13 mph.

Fountain Talladega racing in the Manufacturer Production 1 class took second at 86.45 mph.

Team Mo Jo in the Manufacturer Production 2 class turned in a dismal 41.7 mph, the boat looked really slow in the water.

Instigator passes Velocity.

Crowds show up for Thunder on the Beach.

Crane moves Mapei into Port Canaveral.

Recently, there’s been a lot of talk about a lack of oil skimmers in the Gulf. Another kind of skimmer, the Black Skimmer, is native to Florida and much more pleasant to watch than the other kind.

Black skimmers have a unique way of feeding. They fly along at the water’s edge and use their longer lower bill to penetrate the water scoop up small fish.

Their method works really well, this black skimmer has caught a small jack.

During the months of May and June, the FWC set aside a protected breeding area on Cocoa Beach where the black skimmers could nest undisturbed which gave me a chance to get these photos.

One day while walking down on the beach, I saw a black skimmer sitting on her nest away from the protected breeding area, I assumed she was tending to her eggs and gave her plenty of room. On my way back by, I saw a man standing over the spot where she had been nesting, she was flying around the man who appeared to be ignorant of the circling and terrified hen skimmer. As I approached the man, he said to me “A bird just laid an egg”, which was lying at his feet. I then pointed out the circling skimmer, and told him he was disturbing a nesting bird, and to please leave the bird alone and that he was breaking the law. He stayed anyway, pointing to the egg as other beach walkers passed. I watched and he eventually left, I didn’t have my cell phone to call the law because I like to unplug at the beach.

As I watch these skimmers unique method of feeding on the beach, I wonder about all the skimmers in the northern Gulf and the impact of the oil on Panhandle beaches from the worst environmental disaster in American history. You can help by supporting groups like the International Bird Rescue Recourse Center, purchasing Dawn products and giving nesting birds their space.

An estimated 1500 people showed up at Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach on June 26 to protest Republican led efforts to allow offshore oil drilling off the coast of Florida. Hands Across the Sand is leading an international effort to say “No to Offshore Drilling” and “Yes to Clean Energy”, they are the ones who organized the event.

The Surfrider Foundation and Tony Sasso also played major parts, both have been instrumental in preserving Florida for future generations. Hands Across the Sand held events worldwide and had a strong turnout.

Oil from the BP-Deepwater Horizons disaster is still flowing, and our local Republicans still support drilling for oil off Florida beaches. As you may know Republican Senator Mike Haridopolos, who represents most of Brevard’s beaches, is the champion of drilling for oil within three miles of Florida’s Beaches. His next job will be President of the Senate. Mike Haridopolos supports offshore oil drilling even though the total impact of oil to Florida beaches is still unknown. This shows Haridopolos is either a tool of big oil or lacks the judgment to hold office, unfortunately he’ll be returning to Tallahassee as he has no opponents this fall.

Last month I shot these photos of the Beach renourishment project at Cape Canaveral. The beach is much wider now that the project is complete.

I shot the larger photo above on 4/10/09 behind my place in Cape Canaveral as this Orion spacecraft mockup was being towed by one of the shuttle booster recovery ships as it was undergoing water testing. The inset photo is courtesy of NASA.

President Obama was at Kennedy Space Center today trying to calm fears over the upcoming layoffs and the potential economic disaster on the Space Coast that will involve laying off thousands of workers when the last space shuttle launches. One plan being offered by President Obama is to use the Orion Spacecraft as a rescue vehicle for the International Space Station.

Brevard County has plenty of alligators and you’re likely to find them anywhere. I recently spotted these alligators at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge catching the sun and warming themselves from the recent cold weather.

There’s a scene right out of Pirate’s of the Caribbean playing at Port Canaveral. The first ship to enter the ghost fleet was the Liquid Vegas in May of last year. The company filled for bankruptcy and the ship has been sold, however its still docked at the port.

Then SunCruz Surfside Princess was the next to enter the abyss, it last set sail on Dec 13 and its parent company Ocean Casino Cruises also filed for bankruptcy.

Then two more ghost casino ships appeared out of nowhere, the SunCruz VIII from Myrtle Beach and the SunCruz VI from Jacksonville. We’ll keep an eye out for Capt. Jack Sparrow and more casino ghost ships.

Yesterday I photographed the Liberty Star at Jetty Park towing one of the solid rocket boosters (SRBs) from the STS-129 mission in which Space Shuttle Atlantis launched from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on Nov 16 at 2:28 p.m. EST.

The way the SRBs are retrieved from the Atlantic after a launch is pretty cool. The SRBs themselves will be refurbished and readied for a future shuttle launch from KSC.

The SRBs are 149.16 ft long and 12.17 ft in diameter, weigh 1,300,000 lb at launch.