Manatees, manatees, manatees everywhere ...

Yes- you will see pictures of manatees - but you have to look at these first. This is the helm station and I thought you might like to see the equipment that is used on a regular basis: 2 pairs of binoculars, charts (2 sets), 2 VHF's (one portable) and 2 chartplotter GPS's. All these are used without letup all day while cruising - Linda generally on one set of electronics and monitoring the charts and talking on the radio and me trying to figure out what all the funny red and green floating things are. You'll also notice on the top of the dashboard little red and green plastic pieces - because the ICW northbound is red on left, and all the harbor entrances and inlets are red on right, these pieces of plastic are on velcro and can be changed to remind me the proper orientation - a mistake in these shallow waters is immediately punishable!

A better pelican photo for Alison- this pretty young girl was off our stern as we fueled up in Ft. Pierce.

This is Linda, all tanned and relaxed sitting in the living room. You can see the kitchen to her left and the master bedroom behind her. She can easily reach the bathroom to her right. It's a little tight.

Cory meets his first manatee - this one is sleeping behind our boat slip. He comes up for air every once in a while. I can't imagine what Cory is thinking because a couple of minutes ago this guy let go with some bubbles, if you know what I mean, and the bubbling lasted for about 30 seconds. However, I am unaffected. Ken

Linda here- I am proud of this shot of 2 manatees playing "kissy face" right near our dock. They are so homely/cute/huge!

The gray mass in front of the dock in the foreground is our sleeping manatee- to show you how close they are to our "Venture". This marina is a nice place.

This is the manatee that is drinking the drips of water from the hose at the dock. They roll on their backs to drink it. A face only his mother could love!!!!It's illegal to touch them or to initiate contact with them, but it seems all the dock people here do it regularly. These guys don't seem to be suffering at all, but they each have propeller scars on their backs.

We're now at Titusville Municipal Marina- MUCH nicer place, but not the Hyatt, either!! But we were greeted by dolphins, and we are surrounded by manatees! Ken had seen one earlier in our trip ( in a lock with us), but this is the first I've seen of them. Very big & slow & gassy! Must be all that roughage(grass that they eat)!They love fresh water from a hose, but you're not supposed to give it to them- a man walked by & turned on a faucet just so that it leaked- and said- watch them flip on their backs to catch the drips! I took tons of photos of the same manatees - right near our boat. I LOVE being so close to them- I will definitely go swimming with them next year. One of them even snorted at Cory!

We now have 35 hours on the engine and I am getting some kind of noise that sounds like it may be bearings on the fan belt. They go away after the engine is run a little. The only hope for a Volvo dealer is in Daytona - so I hope we make it - if not, I am on a first name basis with SeaTow and BoatUS tow. The landing today at the Titusville Municipal dock was the worst one I have done yet. It was a simple back-in to a slip. The nose got caught in the wind and I could have saved my dignity with some fast action - well, my action was rather fast, it was just wrong, and I made the situation worse. I got sideways and had to throw a stern line to the dock master to be rescued. No harm done - except to my pride.

We moved from the last marina to this one this morning. It was only a 5 mile ride. We got 35 gallons of gas - I didn't completely fill up because the dock master said, "Don't even think about dropping one drop of gas into the water." It sounded like I ought to be careful - so I was. The price is still reasonable for the waterway - $2.99/gal. The dock master said there are about 40 manatees in this basin we are in. We immediately found a bunch of them. They are the sloths of the water - they aren't concerned with, or very interested in, people. They are all around the boats in the slip eating sea grass. One is sleeping directly across the finger pier from us - he has been there for about an hour - his back out of the water and he comes up to breathe every minute or so. I saw their mouths and they have teeth like a cow or a horse. They have 3 toenails at the end of their front flippers. It's neat to see them after being warned every 1/2 mile that they are here.

Indian River City - as short a stay as possible

We're on our "2 minute" walk to 'New York, NY' - a local fish and chips restaurant just down the road. Unfortunately it was a 2 minute car ride - we walked it in the rain - Cory was brown by the time we returned. This is a local short cut - I'm sure there are bodies in the woods - if the gators haven't eaten them yet. Good thing Cory is so protective of us.

This is 'NewYork, NY' where we picked up lunch - it is directly across the street from the Juvenile Correctional Center - which to be truthful, reminded me a lot of Boy Scout Camp with a chain link fence 20 feet high.

There's the camp. We're outa here!

Linda here- today (Monday) we had a LONG ride from Ft. Pierce to Titusville- about 80 miles. It was chilly & cloudy- but the rain held off until the last 20-30 minutes. We are staying at Kennedy Point Yacht Club & Marina. It looked SO good on the internet! Actually, we are just glad to be safe & secure and warm & dry & out of the wind! We passed a boat from Lyme, CT today & talked briefly on the VHF. We saw (in the distance) Cape Canaveral/Kennedy (whatever they call it nowadays!) where the shuttles are launched. We also saw HUNDREDS of mansions - making Fenwick look small- tons of them lining the ICW. Who ARE these people?!? And are they really happy?!
We always follow the “Slow- Manatee Zone” signs- we went under a bridge, thought we were out of the slow zone, and started to come up on plane. Someone came over the radio- “Northbound cruiser- it’s a no wake zone for construction”.(We saw no construction.) Since we did not see the usual “Resume Normal Safe Speed” sign, Ken wondered when we could go fast again. Ken asked on the radio “How long is the no wake zone for?” The guy answered, “About 2 months!”It gave us a good laugh!
It was also pretty funny when we were out walking the dog down a secluded road, when an osprey started circling overhead- he REALLY was checking Cory out for dinner! Then he tried to dive bomb us & left. We have to watch for gators AND birds of prey!
It sounds like more rain & wind & cold (70’s)for tomorrow, so we may move just 5 miles North- to a nicer marina that has fuel. If it’s pouring & too windy, we’ll have to stay here :( . For one night, it’s nice to be dry and cozy with my man & my dog! Love to all- (more photos ASAP!)- Linda

We had a nice quiet night without heavy rain and woke up this morning to an overcast but warm sky. Since this marina is pretty run down and doesn't have fuel we decided to cast off and continue another 5 miles north to the Titusville Municipal Marina. Linda didn't mention in her writing the chained juvenile detention area just down the street from this marina. The marina has fallen on rough times. When the hurricanes hit they didn't have enough money to fix the marina so they sold it. The new owner then promptly went bankrupt - so there has been no upkeep, maintenance or improvements for 1-2 years. Most of the occupants moved out and only live-aboards who have no other option still remain. There is a lot of construction in the area but no food/comfort things. Showers were out of the question at this marina, too bad they have a wonderful web site.

Lazy days...

This picture was taken just for Garth and Alison. We believe that a similar plan for your place should be considered. Notice the tiki hut, several slips, a thatched roofed cabana and attached changing room. What do you think? Of course down here they do not worry about the pesky endangered black rail.

This is Cory's favorite piddling tree! No, really- I just wanted you to see what the trunk of a palm tree looks like up close!!!

This purple martin house & cool tree were at our marina back in Clewiston. The birds had a beautiful song and it was a pleasure walking by this tree.

Here is our boat at the funky but friendly marina back in Clewiston. Note how low the water is- our boat should be level with the tiki bar to the left. This is where the gators swam right along our boat all night. I'm glad they weren't TOO friendly!

Easter Sunday - Hi, we’ve been at the same marina since our last post. We decided to spend a third night to relax. We’ve spent the time cleaning the boat, reorganizing, restocking, and relaxing. This is a beautiful marina with a fine restaurant which we have visited twice now. We just finished our Easter meal. I’ve decided that I should come clean about the ride over here. We were supposed to turn off the St. Lucie River onto the Indian River at a nice little place called “Hell’s Gate.” This area is where the St. Lucie River, the Indian River and the Atlantic ocean all meet. We got so engrossed looking at a huge dredging machine that we missed the turn onto the biggest river in Florida. We proceeded right out into the Atlantic Ocean. Linda began to get concerned that we were off course - but I stuck to my guns that we were on the Indian River! It only took about 30 seconds of checking the GPS to determine that I was wrong. Thankfully the inlet was calm as we entered back into the protection of the ICW. Last night, Saturday night, we spent a wonderful evening of drinks and conversation with Wayne and Lana on their boat “Crazy Lady.” They are from Tampa and are on their way to spend 2 months in the Bahamas with their new, hypoallergenic cat (a Siberian Forest Cat) named Chekov. Linda didn’t have any reaction to the cat at all! They left this morning to head across the gulf stream in the next day or so. We wish them easy seas and a tailwind! Their boat is a 37’ Carver and is really setup for cruising - it was as comfortable a boat as we have ever been on. They are a fascinating couple having lived and been all over the world. We also gained much needed advice and knowledge on what is to come for us as we head north. Tomorrow we have a dock slip reserved in Melbourne, FL which is only 43 miles away. We talked about going further today and we’ve decided that, if the weather is good and we can get dockage, we will pass Melbourne and head for
Titusville. That would be an 83 mile day - a good day for us. That would also set us up better for the next leg which is the entry into Mosquito Lagoon - which has a very narrow and lengthy ‘No Wake’ zone - about 10 miles long. Just that 10 miles will take us about 1 ¾ hrs. Then we would stay at New Smyrna Beach. That’s the goal for the next 2 days. Everything depends on the weather. The wind, which has been out of the north, is slowly supposed to change to a southeasterly wind. That will bring more moisture into the picture and there are increasing chances of rain in the next few days. The winds are supposed to be moderate though and a SE wind is great for heading north. Rain - not so good. Tomorrow we leave here by 10am, spring around a piling to get out, get gas and go… Thanks for all the comments it makes us feel much more connected to everyone. Ken
Linda here- what a beautiful sunny day- warm with a slight breeze- Happy Easter, everyone! We learned a new acronym- LOB- “Lost On Boat”- for the many articles that get lost in all the nooks & crannies on boats that we boaters fill with “stuff”!
Cory is still with us-getting used to making the jump from the boat to the dock, and vice-versa! He finds his way back to the boat very easily-this could come in handy as we visit so many different marinas! I don’t know if I told you of the smell of orange blossoms on the way from West to East coast- poor Ken can’t smell them- but I can smell them before we see them! Thank you to Bree for my baseball cap and little flashlight, and to Dave for making the CD’s, and to Barbara & Lanny for my iPod and the beach bag they gave me YEARS ago- I take it to the shower every night. We’re getting spoiled now with wifi right on the boat at this marina!! It’s like opening Christmas presents every time someone leaves a comment or emails us! You guys are great! Pray for good weather for us for our big trip tomorrow! Love to all- Linda

On to Ft. Pierce...

Leaving Clewiston and entering Lake Okeechobee, looking back, we must not have fully extinguished our campfire. Linda thinks it must have been the tiki torches next to the propane. The follower is "Wally World," a couple from Michigan that crossed the Big O with us.

Yes - that is an alligator quietly passing in front of us as we enter the lake. As if we weren't worried enough.

The vastness of Lake Okeechobee - this scene in all directions - and never more than 8' deep - and much shallower in most areas. It took about 2 1/2 hours to cross and it is about 27 miles on the route we took.

After reaching the far side of the lake we entered the St. Lucie canal at Port Myaaka - greeted soon after by this guillitine (sic) bridge - the first of its kind that we have seen.

The "hurricane hole" marina that we stayed at last night. Note the climb to get out of the boat - Cory was humiliated with being carried up and down repeatedly. This is just a concrete lined inlet from the St. Lucie canal that you can see at the top of the picture. It rained soon after this picture was taken. Linda asked for the rain for the people of Clewiston, next time she should wait until we are out of the area.

The St. Lucie Canal - 10 ft. deep and this wide for about 25 miles. Some areas that are developed and many that are not - we like the not developed areas because then we can go faster. Lots of fish jumping from the water 3' into the air - we were told that they are mullet and are used for bait. They're about a foot long - I don't know what they're using them to catch!
Ospreys and herons and hawks, oh my!

The St Lucie lock was opened just for us - we even had an audience of people on the top of the lock from New Jersey. I watched the depth gauge and we were lowered about 7 ft. in this lock. Going down is much faster than going up. We were the only boat because traffic is so light across the big lake.

This bridge, in Stuart, did not have to open for us - we squeezed behind a HUGE Hatteras, brand new, and went thru after they opened for him. They started to close the bridge before we were through.

Cory met Julio at the Harbor Town Marina in Ft. Pierce where we are staying tonight and tomorrow night. Neither liked the other but no fight.

Tucked into our slip - safely resting in 3' of water. We're staying here until Sunday. We've made about 175 miles in the past three days - only 1400 more to go! But we are now on the ICW heading north - we are officially at Mile #965. The main ICW, which we were only on today, is crowded with boats - both power and sail. My first impression is that sailboaters and power boaters do not play nicely together. The radio is full of sailboaters yelling and reporting powerboaters with too much wake, and power boaters responding by making bigger wakes. Some very unhappy people on the water - but not us!

Across the lake - pictures to follow

Now that we have left Clewiston and are safely in Stuart- I can tell you about my time at the “good ol’ boys” bar & grill that we stayed at last pm. In Clewiston, the people could not have been friendlier- they need rain SO badly- and they are all just doing their things! But I felt like I was from another planet! No recycling! smoking at the gas dock! Smelly propane heaters (not in use because it’s 90 degrees and 99%humidity!and my favorite- burning tiki torches in the middle of a drought right next to the gas dock & propane!!! This is not my idea of safety! AND Bob Smith would have a health inspector field day at this restaurant- sure the dog can come right in & sit with you!!! The shower stall was not as bad as I thought it would be- and we had a good night’s sleep with the alligators RIGHT OUTSIDE OUR BOAT!!!! We left Clewiston this am with another couple we met (from Michigan- in a 4 Winns)- when we turned to look back at where we had been- there was a HUGE fire somewhere in Clewiston! (Of course, there were several fires all around the perimeter of Lake Okeechobee. It’s SO dry here- I really wish these people could get some rain- they have been very friendly, and it must be hard to make a living off the boating community when big boats can’t make it across the Lake. Anyway- tonight we are tied up to a tall concrete wall in a “hurricane hole” called River Forest Yachting Center. There are 4 other boats here- it looks like a storage yard for boats with huge buildings and a quanset hut. Once again- everyone is real friendly, and tomorrow we hope to make it to Fort Pierce where we will get to turn NORTH!! So far we are hot & sweaty (Alison would have melted long ago!)but doing fine. Ken hooked up the rabbit ears to the TV (no service here) so we can watch Survivor tonight!WooWoo!!Thanks for reading & commenting- Happy Holy Thursday, Batman. Love to all- Linda
Wel. we made it across the lake with no problems. We saw depths of 4' in the channel on the Clewiston side of the lake. We stayed directly in the middle of the channel and proceeded at no wake speed for about an hour. At that point you are far enough into the lake that it deepens a bit and you can run faster. We never saw a depth deeper than 8'. There were only 3 others boats on the lake thatwere transitting across - there were a lot of small fishing skiffs. There are no sailboats going across for obvious reasons. We are staying at a basic concrete walled marina - but once again they are very friendly. One of the liveaboards offered us his car to go to town - but we didn't really need anything. We ordered pizza delivered and ate on the boat as we watched Survivor. Then it started to rain.
Woke up this morning with everything wet outside the canvas. But it turned into a beautiful day - we are planning to leave the marina at 1000am. Just a word about our canvas... we are only 2 days into this trip and we have noticed numerous problems with the canvas - 3 zippers have ripped free, a seam has split 12", a snap has pulled out of the boat, and this morning we noticed several leaks. Four Winns needs to use better materials for this - we are "babying" the canvas and have from the beginning. Enough about that.
We talked to a couple of boaters and they told us that you cannot get insurance for your boat down here unless you belong to a "Hurricane Club." Basically it is a marina built like Fort Knox. The seawalls are high and concrete, all buildings are built to withstand 160 mph winds, and there are thick steel rings buried in concrete in the ground for additional holding support in storms. You don't normally stay in these marinas - you pay, I'm sure dearly, for the privelege of using them in a hurricane. Next stop - Ft. Pierce, FL on the ICW!! Ken

We're off and away!!!

This bridge actually opened just for us - it was our first swing bridge and also the first bridge that Linda talked to the tender and asked for him to open it for us. The bridge is on the Caloosahatchee River in Denaud, FL. It turns out that the VHF radio is used constantly to talk to the bridge and lock tenders. The tenders have turned out to be very friendly and helpful, which is a big relief to us "newbies."

This is the first lock that we entered (the Franklin lock) and the shot is to the rear where other boats are still entering. The boat directly behind us is the next size up Four Winns from our boat. We rode with them for a while and then went on by ourselves after they stopped to get gas. We then met up at the same marina at the end of the day.

This is a picture of the same lock facing forward. In this lock, unlike the others where we were only raised a foor or so, we were raised about 5 feet. It's interesting to be in the lock as they start to open the doors and let the water in. Also in this lock with us was a manatee about 8ft. long. We only saw it twice when it came up for air and were unable to get a picture of it. Very cool.

This picture was taken in the 13 mile stretch along the southern part of Lake Okeechobee. We are in a narrow canal (75 ft. wide, depth 7-10 ft.) and thru that grass is the lake on the other side. You can see how high the water should be.

Another view showing how low the canal is. This is a boat launch and a gas dock - see the gas tank on the hill? Good gas, I'm sure. And yes, this canal, 13 miles long, is absolutely full of alligators! As we approach their beady little heads just slowly submerge.

This friendly scene welcomed our arrival at the Clewiston lock. This is directly across from the entrance to the lock. The lock is currently wide open because the lake is so low. We entered that area and found the channel to be 3' deep. We are staying at Roland Martins Marina - a very friendly but funky marina with a restaurant, bar, and gas. We are trying to find a marina for tomorrow night and it looks like we might have to make it all the way to Stuart before finding an open marina.

This is Linda speaking now- we saw more dolphins and herons and ACRES of crap land -don't worry about "open spaces" in Florida!!! Of course, no one lives there except gators and birds!

We are hot & sweaty- thank GOD for AC! This IS a funky marina for tonight, compared to the upscale Fort Myers marina we were at-but we all are glad to stop after a long day of boating (especially Cory- he REALLY thinks he's gone to hell now!!) More later- love to all- Linda

Ready to set out

Help - they continue to hold me prisoner! If you would just send $5.00 each I am sure that I could buy my way past the guards! If only I had thumbs, or pockets, or a forehead...

Do not let this picture fool you. Although it looks like I'm sleeping on a pillow, I'm actually posing for the evil doers camera. By the way - notice the most important electronic navigating piece of equipment behind me? Got to keep watching Survivor.

Two days before take-off picture of the boat.

This picture was taken especially by request of Alison. Sorry about the quality but the delay between pushing the botton and taking the picture is about 3 seconds.

Florida is beautiful with ugliness hiding behind the landscaping & security gates. Today we drove past the Red Sox training field (for Lanny & for Peter) We drove thru some scary, poverty-stricken areas of East Fort Myers- where you may have read they recently found 8 bodies buried- (CSI for REAL!)
Every evening since we got here, a sweet smell is everywhere- at the beach, in the city, at the marina. I found out it’s night-blooming jasmine.
So with all the gorgeous flowers & aromas&blue sky&dolphins& warm& miles of sugar-sand beaches- there are slums & VIOLENT crimes & drugs & bugs. I guess it’s like that everywhere- good & bad- but Florida seems to me to have EXTREMES of both.
I am so glad we did not move here- I would love to spend winters in Florida- but the culture seems tacky &fake to me.
The last 2 pm’s on the boat have been sleepless for both of us- Ken in the aft cabin with a VERY low ceiling & the AC blowing fiercely on his right side! Meanwhile- Cory & I are in the front V-berth, very hot & then cold (as usual)- but instead of a flat bed-my “mattress” is a mogul hill of lumps and bumps. Imagine a bunch of skinny bolster pillows abutting unevenly, then put an ill-fitting sheet over the whole thing. If I want a flat surface, I need to lie on my back like an Olympic luge person- but with a slight lateral bend!
Garth was right- we should have gotten the 40 foot boat!
Ken puts up with my griping and even makes chores like washing and waxing the plastic windows of the canvas fun! Love to all- Linda

Tomorrow - Wednesday is the day we leave! We gassed up today with 41 gallons at $3.13/g and pumped out. We are ready to go. We have planned the first lock to arrive about 1 hr. early - at 0900 hrs. It only opens 4 times a day so we can't be late. After that it is about a 65 mile day - transitting one more lock before arriving at Lake Okeechobee. We then continue down the south side of the lake to about 1/2 way where we spend the night at Roland Martin Marina - I forget the name of the town. The next day is the crossing of the lake.

Many, many boats are no longer able to cross this way because of the low water. I called the Army Corps of Engineers and the official height of the lake is 4.28 ft. There are areas of the channel where the depth is about 3' 6" - which is about what we draw. Everyone that crosses needs to pay real close attention. So - the next 2 days could be nerve wracking. But there is no time but the present - actually both Linda and I are getting a little tired of the constant sun and heat - everyday has been at least 85 and sunny. We are looking forward to Spring time weather. See you all tomorrow.