I wound up spending an extra night in La Belle. The forecast was for rain and thunderstorms Friday morning and evening. Sure enough it was raining Friday morning and I didn't want to risk arriving at the other end in a thunderstorm.
It was a pleasant day, after the rain, in La Belle. I did some shopping. Picked up a few staples and a suction type phone mount. I hung that in the window at the steering station. Seems to work pretty well. We'll see. I took myself out to dinner at Forrey's Grill. Nice place.
When I got back to the boat, I did my engine check so that I wouldn't have to spend time on it in the morning. I might have to do that more often. Oh, and the evening thunderstorms never arrived.
I had a good night's sleep and got up, had coffee and cereal for breakfast. I'm getting a little better at single handing. I docked in a difficult situation on Thursday and cast-off under less than ideal circumstances this morning.
It turned out to be a great day cruising. Thursday's manicured lawns, boats on lifts, Spanish Moss covered trees turned into primitive Florida. The Caloosahatchee River is about 300 feet wide. Both sides of the channel have trees right down to the water. It had me thinking of the movie "African Queen". Here's me chugging along in my little boat with my little engine doing about 5 knots. My African Queen reverie was jolted back to reality by 14 (yep, counted 'em) jet skis doing 9 or 10 times my speed. They didn't cause too much concern or wake and were out of sight in a few minutes. I cruised on.
As mentioned, it was a beautiful day. I had to pass through 2 locks. I'm still pretty new at the whole locking process. I managed to ding the starboard stern rub-rail in the first lock. Then I dinged my bow rail in the second one. Nothing too serious. I just need to make sure that I've got fenders properly deployed prior to entry. Might have to look into wearing gloves, too. Hanging on to the ropes while the chamber fills is hard work.
The downsides of the day were when Captain Oblivious and Captain Discourteous waked me in the narrow channel. They seem to have no problem passing me in their big boats doing 20 knots, not even 25 feet away. One guy even waved as he passed by nearly swamping. I have to make a 100 - 110 turn so as to face the wake and not get harmed. Oh, well, I cruised on.
Late afternoon and the jet skis that went tearing past me all those hours ago were apparently headed back to La Belle. As they passed, they were all waving and giving me a thumbs up. Everybody likes my boat.
Back to primitive Florida. I saw 5 alligators (yes, counted them, too). The first one was lying on the bank and I thought - strange log, no wait... alligator... nah, log... no alligator! By that time it was too late for a picture.
Well, after so many people have been so nice to me, I finally got a chance to pay-it-forward. As I'm nearing the end of the day (about 3 miles to my destination), I see a fishing boat lying across the channel. I thought that it was an odd way to fish. Usually, the fishing boats are closer to the side. As I passed, one of the men in the boat waved and shouted something. I slowed and leaned out of the back of the cabin and shouted - What? He said, "Can you give us a jump start?" I said, "Sure." And he said, "Do you have jumper cables?" If he only knew how many battery problems I've had. Anyway, I said that I did and maneuvered close by. We tied together and I got the cables and jumped him off of my air conditioner battery bank. I don't think the whole operation took 10 minutes and we were both underway again.
So, a couple of miles and I arrived at Roland Martin's Marina on the rim of Lake Okeechobee. I got fueled up and tied to the dock. I was told all about the showers, the Tiki Bar, the restaurants, and the WiFi. And, as I'm sitting on the back of my boat up walks the guy that I helped and he hands me the bag that I keep my jumper cables in. Somehow it got on to his boat.
Tomorrow, with a little luck, I'll cross Okeechobee. I'm excited to be so close to making that left turn to head north!
It was a pleasant day, after the rain, in La Belle. I did some shopping. Picked up a few staples and a suction type phone mount. I hung that in the window at the steering station. Seems to work pretty well. We'll see. I took myself out to dinner at Forrey's Grill. Nice place.
When I got back to the boat, I did my engine check so that I wouldn't have to spend time on it in the morning. I might have to do that more often. Oh, and the evening thunderstorms never arrived.
I had a good night's sleep and got up, had coffee and cereal for breakfast. I'm getting a little better at single handing. I docked in a difficult situation on Thursday and cast-off under less than ideal circumstances this morning.
It turned out to be a great day cruising. Thursday's manicured lawns, boats on lifts, Spanish Moss covered trees turned into primitive Florida. The Caloosahatchee River is about 300 feet wide. Both sides of the channel have trees right down to the water. It had me thinking of the movie "African Queen". Here's me chugging along in my little boat with my little engine doing about 5 knots. My African Queen reverie was jolted back to reality by 14 (yep, counted 'em) jet skis doing 9 or 10 times my speed. They didn't cause too much concern or wake and were out of sight in a few minutes. I cruised on.
As mentioned, it was a beautiful day. I had to pass through 2 locks. I'm still pretty new at the whole locking process. I managed to ding the starboard stern rub-rail in the first lock. Then I dinged my bow rail in the second one. Nothing too serious. I just need to make sure that I've got fenders properly deployed prior to entry. Might have to look into wearing gloves, too. Hanging on to the ropes while the chamber fills is hard work.
The downsides of the day were when Captain Oblivious and Captain Discourteous waked me in the narrow channel. They seem to have no problem passing me in their big boats doing 20 knots, not even 25 feet away. One guy even waved as he passed by nearly swamping. I have to make a 100 - 110 turn so as to face the wake and not get harmed. Oh, well, I cruised on.
Late afternoon and the jet skis that went tearing past me all those hours ago were apparently headed back to La Belle. As they passed, they were all waving and giving me a thumbs up. Everybody likes my boat.
Back to primitive Florida. I saw 5 alligators (yes, counted them, too). The first one was lying on the bank and I thought - strange log, no wait... alligator... nah, log... no alligator! By that time it was too late for a picture.
Well, after so many people have been so nice to me, I finally got a chance to pay-it-forward. As I'm nearing the end of the day (about 3 miles to my destination), I see a fishing boat lying across the channel. I thought that it was an odd way to fish. Usually, the fishing boats are closer to the side. As I passed, one of the men in the boat waved and shouted something. I slowed and leaned out of the back of the cabin and shouted - What? He said, "Can you give us a jump start?" I said, "Sure." And he said, "Do you have jumper cables?" If he only knew how many battery problems I've had. Anyway, I said that I did and maneuvered close by. We tied together and I got the cables and jumped him off of my air conditioner battery bank. I don't think the whole operation took 10 minutes and we were both underway again.
So, a couple of miles and I arrived at Roland Martin's Marina on the rim of Lake Okeechobee. I got fueled up and tied to the dock. I was told all about the showers, the Tiki Bar, the restaurants, and the WiFi. And, as I'm sitting on the back of my boat up walks the guy that I helped and he hands me the bag that I keep my jumper cables in. Somehow it got on to his boat.
Tomorrow, with a little luck, I'll cross Okeechobee. I'm excited to be so close to making that left turn to head north!
First time checking on you have enjoyed your posts. Glad things are going well.... Continous safe travels. Tom and Joni from Perdido RV Resort
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ReplyDeleteJack, I am really enjoying the blog. Sounds like you have gotten comfortable and settled into a routine. Extra fenders and gloves are a great idea for the locks.
ReplyDeleteMarvellous reads Jack. Keep up the good work & Travels
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