CHAPTER SEVEN - SLOW MOTION'S 2nd DAY ON THE ICW

CHAPTER SEVEN –SLOW MOTION’S 2^ND DAY ON THE ICW (Intracoastal Waterway)

Wait until you see the photos from today. We’ll download them tonight if we have time. The weather was much more dramatic, going from sun and puffy white clouds to menacing dark clouds filling the skies to the west, then the east. Few boats joined Slow Motion in the afternoon on the Hobe Sound or the southern part of the Indian River. So we “enjoyed” the impending storm mostly by ourselves – and with the pelicans that sit on many of the pilings on the sides of the ICW.

We started out at 11 a.m., because we had – you guessed it – a repair to make. This super-efficient Aussie fellow showed up at 8 a.m., obtained oil for our transmission and a new blower in the engine compartment, and installed it. While Soverel Marina was a bust, except for the shower, the people who fix boats around there are aces.

There was a stiff current most of the day, as various inlets (Jupiter, St. Lucie) flowed in from the Atlantic Ocean. We were just a few sand dunes away from the ocean part of the day. There was another parade of mansions along both coasts, but intermittently the local, state and federal governments have carved out some wildlife refuges and parks. Does the Tea Party oppose money for these beauties? They’re the best part of our government at any level. Oops – soapbox – gotta curb that tendency.

From time to time the Admiral gets called away, to open windows or perform some bodily function, and then I sit in the captain’s chair and actually steer the boat. It sounds easy, but with tricky currents and winds, you always have to correct your path to stay in the ICW. If you deviate, you may end up on a sand bar – hate to think what the rescue would cost. I picture the Italian cruise ship lying on its side in what appears to be shallow water, the captain in a boat with his lady friend and 100 plus passengers left to fend for themselves.  I don’t want to turn Slow Motion on its side. Art and I are both somewhat tense at times, as we face new situations each hour. (Memo to self: get a neck and back massage in St. Augustine). Today had a lot of new features, with the winds and the rains. Also, we had to get off the ICW and take a private channel, with shallow water on both sides, to get to our marina for the night, Nettles Island.

Nettles Island is what a marina should be like. We were greeted like royalty by a long-bearded fellow, ready to take our lines and help us dock. Then a second fellow came along to help us too. No problem with a tight fit today, as you will see by the photos. We are lined up alongside a long dock – lots of lines going in all directions. The winds continue to blow, but thanks to the folks who helped us and to Art’s rearranging of most of the lines after they left, we are secure. And Art put three fenders in place, so we are not hitting any wood from the dock or from pilings attached to the dock.

This end-of-the-day docking job is pretty tricky. I have a lot to learn about the ropes (lines). Still can’t reliably tie a clove hitch knot. I may need to take a remedial knots course.  So you’re thinking to yourself perhaps: What part of this journey is FUN? There’s a lot of vigilance involved in the steering part, and a lot of skill involved in the docking part, and a lot of knowledge involved in the line tying part. And the darn ship keeps showing her age and running up our credit card balances. Then there’s the added expense of $1.50 to $2.00 per night per foot for the services at the marina. Yikes! We’re pensioners! Those of you who own homes know that they often become “money pits” too. Or even as a renter, you probably put a lot of money into a car, presents for loved ones, or into pets or travel.

So this is our travel adventure. Flying is not much fun anymore. Traveling by car is limiting and expensive. There is always hiking, but then you have a different set of worries – weather, accidents, bears, bugs, illness in a remote place. So when you compare boating to the other ways to travel and see the world, it becomes more and more attractive. You have time to check out the passing scenery. You wave to everyone else in their boats and feel an immediate sense of community. You choose each day where to go and what to do. You have no airports, bus stations or railroad stations. You have no crowded highways. You feel a breeze in your face (or a very strong wind) all day. You watch the weather change in front of you. You can outrace storms. You can stay and enjoy a sunny place. You get to visit historic places like St. Augustine for as long as you want – no hotel costs, no plane tickets. You get to make your own meals. All that’s missing are the “free” marinas we had heard about. They may be mythical, but we’ll keep looking. Art has urged me to try to bargain for lower rates – me, who couldn’t sell Girl Scout cookies, except to a city councilman who had to buy them for political reasons. But I’ll give it a try, if it means we can continue to live on the boat and travel and see the Atlantic Coast.

Yes, we really miss our puppies and our family and friends and neighbors. This is why the Blog is so important to us, to keep connected with you and keep you in our lives. Please keep us in yours.