I wound up spending a couple of days in Indiantown. I got my fill of alligators while docked there. There were several of them living on the bank not 40 feet from where I was tied up. They are fascinating to watch. They seem so at ease with their environment.
So, I got some shopping done. Most importantly I got some much needed engine maintenance done. Turns out that there is a Yanmar authorized service center at the marina. It took an extra day to get the parts I needed, but the guy did a great job and now the engine just purrs. The whole time he was working on the engine he was tutoring me on the functions of everything mechanical on the boat. When he gave me the bill, I asked him how much he had charged for tuition.
I left Indiantown around 9:30 this morning and had a beautiful cruise on the Okeechobee Waterway. Again, only 200 feet wide in most places. I had a little problem with a swing bridge. I didn't have the right info. They opened it, but I missed the opening. He reopened it and told me to hurry because there was a train coming. I did hurry and I apologized profusely. I cruised on and eventually got to St. Lucie lock. That's a 13 foot drop. While waiting for the lock to open, another boat pulled up and waved at me. We pulled closer. They had noticed my AGLCA burgee. The couple on the boat had done the loop and traded in their trawler for a 32 foot speeder. They had 600 HP hanging on the transom. We chatted for a bit while the west bound traffic locked through.
I had a bit of a tough time locking through. Being single-handed isn't easy when it comes to going through locks. But, I made it through without dinging the boat.
I wound up in Loggerhead Marina. Pretty nice place. After I got docked and checked in, I went up for a shower and some dinner. I had an amazing Ahi Tuna salad and a couple of beers. I was talking to the guy sitting next to me about the loop and suddenly I was giving a mini-presentation to a group of folks that were hanging out at the bar. Fun!
I'm going to try to do about 35 miles tomorrow. I'm going to anchor out near Vero Beach. The weather looks like it's going to hold for another week. I need to get more miles behind me.
So, I got some shopping done. Most importantly I got some much needed engine maintenance done. Turns out that there is a Yanmar authorized service center at the marina. It took an extra day to get the parts I needed, but the guy did a great job and now the engine just purrs. The whole time he was working on the engine he was tutoring me on the functions of everything mechanical on the boat. When he gave me the bill, I asked him how much he had charged for tuition.
I left Indiantown around 9:30 this morning and had a beautiful cruise on the Okeechobee Waterway. Again, only 200 feet wide in most places. I had a little problem with a swing bridge. I didn't have the right info. They opened it, but I missed the opening. He reopened it and told me to hurry because there was a train coming. I did hurry and I apologized profusely. I cruised on and eventually got to St. Lucie lock. That's a 13 foot drop. While waiting for the lock to open, another boat pulled up and waved at me. We pulled closer. They had noticed my AGLCA burgee. The couple on the boat had done the loop and traded in their trawler for a 32 foot speeder. They had 600 HP hanging on the transom. We chatted for a bit while the west bound traffic locked through.
I had a bit of a tough time locking through. Being single-handed isn't easy when it comes to going through locks. But, I made it through without dinging the boat.
I wound up in Loggerhead Marina. Pretty nice place. After I got docked and checked in, I went up for a shower and some dinner. I had an amazing Ahi Tuna salad and a couple of beers. I was talking to the guy sitting next to me about the loop and suddenly I was giving a mini-presentation to a group of folks that were hanging out at the bar. Fun!
I'm going to try to do about 35 miles tomorrow. I'm going to anchor out near Vero Beach. The weather looks like it's going to hold for another week. I need to get more miles behind me.
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