Well, Thursday, 3/17/2010, was a good day, and it was a not so good day. Lets' go with the good news first. It was a crystal clear day with all the promise of possibly putting on shorts! False promise, as 
it turned out, 'cause a really cool wind kicked up right out of the NW; not so gently either, I might add. We finally crossed out of the brown water into tropical blue/green, clear water. We ran from Vero Beach to Stuart, Florida to catch up to some long time friends from Utah. We boated on down for 4 hours, they drove up from Singer Island in 40 minutes or so. It was great to see all of them. Our thanks for a wonderful evening, dinner and a fantastic bottle of typing lubricant. It was a neat visit! You have to get used to the 10 mph concept; it takes some adjustment. Getting into Stuart along the St. Lucie River was an experience. Lots of traffic, dredges working to clear shallow spots in the inlet, lots of wind, and bridges to get thru. All I did was steer & utter iconic statements like; "turn here"?. To which the superior navigator on board would reply; "Doesn't that look like a green marker to you"? Can't beat teamwork!
it turned out, 'cause a really cool wind kicked up right out of the NW; not so gently either, I might add. We finally crossed out of the brown water into tropical blue/green, clear water. We ran from Vero Beach to Stuart, Florida to catch up to some long time friends from Utah. We boated on down for 4 hours, they drove up from Singer Island in 40 minutes or so. It was great to see all of them. Our thanks for a wonderful evening, dinner and a fantastic bottle of typing lubricant. It was a neat visit! You have to get used to the 10 mph concept; it takes some adjustment. Getting into Stuart along the St. Lucie River was an experience. Lots of traffic, dredges working to clear shallow spots in the inlet, lots of wind, and bridges to get thru. All I did was steer & utter iconic statements like; "turn here"?. To which the superior navigator on board would reply; "Doesn't that look like a green marker to you"? Can't beat teamwork! Anyway, we pulled into Sunset Bay Marina early in the afternoon to refuel, pump out, etc. The bad news part? Scooter got waked by a knuckleheaded 
sportfisherman's driver & tore up some rubrail. Sometimes it is hard for me to figure guys like that out. An obvious spot for wake damage to occur & they can't pull a throttle back a bit? No one recognized the boat, or got a name. Into every life a bit of rain must fall occasionally, I guess. Could have been worse. We also ran out of CNG, Scooter's stove fuel. Apparently none is available anymore in Florida for little things like stoves. COFFEE, HOW ARE WE GOING TO MAKE COFFEE!
sportfisherman's driver & tore up some rubrail. Sometimes it is hard for me to figure guys like that out. An obvious spot for wake damage to occur & they can't pull a throttle back a bit? No one recognized the boat, or got a name. Into every life a bit of rain must fall occasionally, I guess. Could have been worse. We also ran out of CNG, Scooter's stove fuel. Apparently none is available anymore in Florida for little things like stoves. COFFEE, HOW ARE WE GOING TO MAKE COFFEE!Today, Friday, 3/18/2010, we moved into the Okeechobee waterway, 
which starts out as the St. Lucie canal & crosses Lake Okeechobee(imagine that) on its way across Florida to Ft Myers on the west coast. Biggest adventure today was going thru our first major lock. Scooter transited the Great Bridge lock in VA on the way to New Bern, NC in November, but that was fairly mild. The St. Lucie lock lifts, or drops a boat about 8'. It is a bit intimidating. You are waaay down in a big, slimy, concrete box. The lockmaster throws you 2 lines; bow & stern, then lets the water in from the front end. 20,000# of boat is no match for that, & starts to jump around. Trick is to hold the lines to keep the boat next to the wall & not let it get sideways to the incoming current; that would get ugly in a hurry, 'cause there is no stopping the process. As the boat rises the crew must keep the lines snugged up. It was nice to be able to see sunlight a
gain. As you can see, the lock gets pretty full. As much as I wanted to, I could not get pics of the lock in action; couldn't let go 
of my rope(sorry, line). All in all, an interesting experience for early morning. We have 3 more locks to go thru before we reach the Caloosahatchee River in western Florida. Scenery has started to change, more wildlife, and more of a rural ambiance, i.e
. fewer mansions and pastel colors. Arriving at Indiantown Marina, we cleaned off 1000 miles of salt & piling marks, kicked back, had beer & crackers, cooked boat chicken, made a salad, and settled in for the evening. Winds are forecast to light tomorrow, ideal for a lake crossing. we'll give you an update on that adventure Saturday. Be safe, and hope for Spring
which starts out as the St. Lucie canal & crosses Lake Okeechobee(imagine that) on its way across Florida to Ft Myers on the west coast. Biggest adventure today was going thru our first major lock. Scooter transited the Great Bridge lock in VA on the way to New Bern, NC in November, but that was fairly mild. The St. Lucie lock lifts, or drops a boat about 8'. It is a bit intimidating. You are waaay down in a big, slimy, concrete box. The lockmaster throws you 2 lines; bow & stern, then lets the water in from the front end. 20,000# of boat is no match for that, & starts to jump around. Trick is to hold the lines to keep the boat next to the wall & not let it get sideways to the incoming current; that would get ugly in a hurry, 'cause there is no stopping the process. As the boat rises the crew must keep the lines snugged up. It was nice to be able to see sunlight a
gain. As you can see, the lock gets pretty full. As much as I wanted to, I could not get pics of the lock in action; couldn't let go 
of my rope(sorry, line). All in all, an interesting experience for early morning. We have 3 more locks to go thru before we reach the Caloosahatchee River in western Florida. Scenery has started to change, more wildlife, and more of a rural ambiance, i.e
. fewer mansions and pastel colors. Arriving at Indiantown Marina, we cleaned off 1000 miles of salt & piling marks, kicked back, had beer & crackers, cooked boat chicken, made a salad, and settled in for the evening. Winds are forecast to light tomorrow, ideal for a lake crossing. we'll give you an update on that adventure Saturday. Be safe, and hope for Spring
1 comment:
Looks like you are having a great time. If you get a message from Woody Vinson (Scott's )Dad I forwarded the blog to him. They live just outside of Wilmington NC, I am sure they love to meet up to chat boat/airplanes if you stop in the area on the way back North.
Sounds like you are having fun.....Jody Vinson
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