I slept a little bit later that usual this morning. There was a DJ at the Tiki Bar until midnight. He was playing great music, but I was more into sleeping than dancing. But, a fair night's sleep nonetheless. I got up and prepped the boat for departure. Then, I treated myself to a sausage-egg-cheese-on-a-biscuit at the marina's restaurant.
I had, as I do every night before a cruise, plotted the course to my next destination. Prior to departure, I called the Indiantown Marina to see if they had any transient slips available. The woman who answered the phone said that they did, but that they close at 1p. It would not be a problem, however, to just dock on the "long dock" next to the sailboats.
With that taken care of, Capt. Sam (Viet Nam vet, we talked) of Roland Martin's Marina helped me get turned around and shoved off. I was back out in primitive Florida, alligators to the left of me, alligators to the right of me. Again, no good pictures.
Getting out onto the lake was a treat. The water is really low and apparently the markers had moved or the channel had moved because I kept getting a shallow water alert from my GPS. But, I finally made it out on to the lake for a very long crossing. As Capt. Sam had predicted, the water had a light chop and the wind was only about 15 kts. It was a much better crossing than I had originally anticipated.
After several hours, I pulled into the Fort Mayaca Lock which locks through to the St. Lucie Canal. And... back to primitive Florida. It was beautiful. It was peaceful. There were very few boats to be encountered. I was talking to a couple this morning at breakfast. I told them that I had a 5 knot boat and they said that I must be a very patient man. Well, my response to that was that cruising on the canal was so sweet, I slowed down.
I pulled into the Indiantown Marina at about 4:30p and got tied into the dock.
About half an hour later, I hear the rumbling of a big engine and see a 50 footer moving past my boat. The captain yells at me and another man on the dock. He's on one (of two) engine(s) and can't hit reverse. And, he's about 40 feet from the end of the channel. The mate on the boat throws a bow line to the other guy and runs to the stern to throw me another line. The two of us managed to wrestle the boat into the dock and get it secured.
So, with all the adventure for the day over, I find myself sitting on a lovely patio on the marina grounds sipping a glass of wine and enjoying a cool evening by the water.
Cheers!
I had, as I do every night before a cruise, plotted the course to my next destination. Prior to departure, I called the Indiantown Marina to see if they had any transient slips available. The woman who answered the phone said that they did, but that they close at 1p. It would not be a problem, however, to just dock on the "long dock" next to the sailboats.
With that taken care of, Capt. Sam (Viet Nam vet, we talked) of Roland Martin's Marina helped me get turned around and shoved off. I was back out in primitive Florida, alligators to the left of me, alligators to the right of me. Again, no good pictures.
Getting out onto the lake was a treat. The water is really low and apparently the markers had moved or the channel had moved because I kept getting a shallow water alert from my GPS. But, I finally made it out on to the lake for a very long crossing. As Capt. Sam had predicted, the water had a light chop and the wind was only about 15 kts. It was a much better crossing than I had originally anticipated.
After several hours, I pulled into the Fort Mayaca Lock which locks through to the St. Lucie Canal. And... back to primitive Florida. It was beautiful. It was peaceful. There were very few boats to be encountered. I was talking to a couple this morning at breakfast. I told them that I had a 5 knot boat and they said that I must be a very patient man. Well, my response to that was that cruising on the canal was so sweet, I slowed down.
I pulled into the Indiantown Marina at about 4:30p and got tied into the dock.
About half an hour later, I hear the rumbling of a big engine and see a 50 footer moving past my boat. The captain yells at me and another man on the dock. He's on one (of two) engine(s) and can't hit reverse. And, he's about 40 feet from the end of the channel. The mate on the boat throws a bow line to the other guy and runs to the stern to throw me another line. The two of us managed to wrestle the boat into the dock and get it secured.
So, with all the adventure for the day over, I find myself sitting on a lovely patio on the marina grounds sipping a glass of wine and enjoying a cool evening by the water.
Cheers!
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