Northbound

Yesterday, March 30th, 2010, Scooter & crew departed Boot Key Harbor northbound to the Chesapeake Bay & home. We elected to head up the ICW inside passage, as opposed to using Hawk Channel in the Atlantic. We started on the ICW, so it seemed appropriate to finish the trip using the ICW. While we have good memories of our stay in the Keys; all the quirky, neat little places, the fun people we ran into, the gorgeous scenery on the water, I think we'll most likely let it be just that for now; a fun memory.

Yesterday's leg brought us to Tarpon Basin, a little spot behind Key Largo. Peaceful, cool relaxing after a long day watching the depthfinder hover around 5'. I say hover, but I should really say average out at 5'. I have finally decided to add 1.5' to all the readings I see on the screen when it comes to depth. That is the approximate depth that the transducer sits in. The reading from the unit comes from the transducer. 'Sides, it makes me feel better. The puzzle still remains as to why the thing simply goes blank when we get into really shallow water. Guess that is what happens when you close your eyes. Anyway, once we got used to the readings we decided to press on regardless. Why my concerns on this issue? The boat needs 4' of water to float, Chuckie!

Today's leg brought us to the site of the once renowned powerboat racing stadium in Miami, Florida. We are actually anchored in the man made basin that was used for the racing events. There were actually teenage skateboarders rolling on the roof as we ate dinner. The view of Miami's skyline was pretty impressive from our vantage point.

Tomorrow's journey will be painful, or perhaps surprisingly pleasant, depending on our luck, or lack thereof, with the drawbridges that we have to clear. There are 9 bridges, out of 21, in the next 60 miles, that will need to be opened before we can go thru. If tides are up, or the wind has pushed more water in, we may have to ask for more openings. Some of them only open on certain times, some only on the hour, or quarter hour. Complicate this with no-wake zones, manatee slow speed zones, and you can see how tomorrow may be a long day. Be that as it may, we are eager to tackle it; it is all part of the deal, and certainly adds to the learning experience. Nothing quite like dancing around a little channel with a bunch of itchy 30,000 # boat drivers while waiting for Bubba to open a 25' wide slot that ya'll can go thru. Gives me the thumps & meagrams just thinking about it!

Be safe, enjoy Spring; we'll catch you on the flip side!