We leave tomorrow!!!! (We hope!!!) The weather has not been cooperative for our departure. Can't remember a February this cold and windy in this part of the world. Although tomorrow is "iffy" the rest of the week looks good for our travel across the Okechobee Waterway (Caloosahatchee River eastbound from Ft Myers; across Lake Okechobee; into the canal system and exiting into the ICW on Florida's east coast around Port St Lucie). Along the way we will encounter numerous bridges and locks. There are only a couple of bridges that we will need to ask to open but we can fit under most of them (We are right at 17 feet including the radar mast and anchor light on the fly-bridge. The lowest bridge that we will negotiate without asking them to open is around 25 feet. It will be a bit nerve wracking with only 8 feet of clearance but it shouldn't be a problem even at high tide. This will be Diane's first experience with locks (From Ft Myers to the Lake the locks will raise us up to lake level--each lock only rises a couple of feet on this side) They'll be taking us down on the east side of the lake and the last lock is about an 8 foot drop--should be interesting. Fortunately, I experienced several locks on our way from Houston to New Orleans in Assisted Living back in 2010 and know that they are not as intimidating as they may appear to Diane. My confidence, however, has done little to alleviate Diane's anxiety. "Seeing is believing"
We were fortunate to have some great weather last week-end for a 3 day side trip back to Pelican Bay and Cabbage Key where we celebrated my 39th birthday again.
After 2 nights in Pelican Bay we cruised over to Cabbage Key, about 1 hour away, where we anchored across from the Key, showered and dressed and dinghied across for my birthday dinner at the restaurant. Just as we were preparing to leave the boat a dense fog settled in and stayed through dinner and our return to the boat. Up to within 50 yards of the boat it was not even visible but we managed to find it (We had left the running and anchor lights on as well as our salon lamp so once we were close enough it was easy to spot). The next day we motored on back to the marina where the wind and current were up and it took me several attempts before I was able to back the boat into our slip--to the amusement of quite a number of our anxious neighbors. BUT--I succeeded, once again without incident. Each time is a new experience on the learning curve and I'm getting more confident. Just take it slow and easy and avoid running into stuff.
We drove our car to FT Lauderdale yesterday to leave it at the home of my cousin Jane, so we are now officially car-less as we make our last minute preparations for our departure tomorrow. (Fill water tanks, empty holding tank, last minute provisions, check all engine fluids, a last minute tutorial from Eric, the dockmaster, on the use of our Furuno chart plotter and radar instruments, chart study--general clean-up and a "Farewell Lunch" with our dock neighbors.
Let's hope the forecast is correct (a very rare phenomenon down here) and we're able to finally get on the road tomorrow. More later.
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