Coconut point; 3/6/2019

Go to Green # 17 on the Indian River, turn left, drop the hook... and there you are; anchored off Coconut Point, FL. Actually near Palm Bay, FL. Did that help? How about just north of Sebastian Beach? Remember the pelican comments? Well,  today I watched two of them do the attack helicopter thing. Granted, we had 20 to 30 kt winds blowing, but they actually hovered over the water; dead stop, Chuckie, really! Then folded the wings, dropped straight down, and came up with dinner.

Sorry, trivia. Speaking of 20 kt winds; NOAA had posted a small craft advisory for today; essentially says " its gonna be rough and nasty, stay at the dock" In this particular case, it is cold 40's into the 50's; 20 kts, gusting on occasion to 30, but from the North. Tide was headed south as well. So, following seas and a fair wind. I know that you've all heard that expression, on at least one occasion or so. So I took it as gospel; came from the gov'mint, after all, gotta be right, eh. Even said the winds would die down by 1500 or so. I was concerned 'cause the only available anchorage is pretty, no, make that very, exposed to N/NW winds and waves.

Yup, here we sit bouncing around like the proverbial cork, tied to the ground with 120' of heavy chain, just waiting for the forecast wind reduction. Gonna be a long and noisy night. They got the cold part right, tho' so the lil' red Honda is purring away outside; so the little black box can do a hot hum away inside.

For dinner, well let me bring you up to speed on that story, Scooter is a 1984 vessel. Back in those days CNG was installed as a popular fuel for stoves/ovens, etc in lieu of propane. The difference being that CNG rises when it gets loose; propane sinks and forms pools in low spots; Boom,  goes the boat when the starter sparks. With the advent of all this modern tech, the hazards of using propane have been brought under control. The advantage of using CNG on the other hand, has faded away, particularly in boats. Interestingly enough, it has been gaining ground rapidly in vehicle use; it is relatively inexpensive and clean burning. Our problem was finding a source to fill our CNG tank(s). We hunted, unsuccessfully, until we got to Palatka; ah, ha; a source, and we had the adapter to use with the tank. However, when Bubba and Brett showed up to help us put it all together, we found that; 1.) the tank could no longer be certified; 2.) No tanks were available that would work with our system; and 3.) we were just plumb out of luck, and cooking fuel. Lest we look inept; I suppose I should be correct in that assessment; lest I look inept and guilty of poor planning, there has been a good deal of research done as to replacement units; even looked into getting something installed during the trip. For now, no luck; so, we are cooking with a single burner propane stove that requires  a non-bouncing boat to operate safely. We also grill, and do the salad thing. Advertised gourmet . meals pale in comparison to what pops forth from Scooter's galley.

Tomorrow will see us headed for Vero Beach, FL; hang for a day or two, pick up mail, provision the boat, etc then on to Lake O for the cross Florida adventure

                                                             
Stay safe, play hard; catch you on the flip side.