CHAPTER SIXTY ONE: ON THE MOVE AGAIN

CHAPTER SIXTY ONE: ON THE MOVE AGAIN

“On the road again, I can’t wait to be on the road again.” Even though it may now just be a hazy blur for Willie Nelson, he knows what it means to be on the move. Yee-hah!

We left Legacy Harbour at 7:20 a.m. with the sun at our back, for a while, and not much wind, for a while. As the day progressed, and we maneuvered around shallow waters of 3 to 5 feet, the sun came over our heads and blasted the Admiral straight on. And the wind beat up our San Francisco Giants pennant pretty good. As the Admiral sits in the salon this evening, he glows a burnt sunset red. With my history of basal cells, I apply the sunscreen daily and am neither glowing nor burning. Will the Admiral change his ways? Not likely. He says this was a good day to “get accustomed” to the sun, so he can tolerate more burning in the future. Venus and Mars again.

It was a beautiful day for our first travel in the Gulf of Mexico, white caps and all. These were seas with waves of “about 2 feet”. Add to that the six feet wakes that some of the fast (read rude) boaters threw up, and we had some rough moments. But all in all, the Gulf was kind to Slow Motion and her trepidatious passengers.

The radio traffic was another story. My God, it was like a soap opera out there today. First, a lady called in a loud, fearful voice that a man was in the water and yelling “Help.” She insisted upon talking to the “local” Coast Guard, even though the Coast Guard radio person told her that St. Pete IS the closest she was going to get. As she was dickering over whether she would talk to this Coast Guard rep, presumably the man was still in the water yelling “Help!”. Once satisfied that there was no Ft. Myers Coast Guard, she told the CG rep that there had been a huge fight on a houseboat, and this man who was yelling “Help!” was either thrown off the boat or jumped. As she told the story, she said: “You know, they can hear every word I’m saying to you, and I’m afraid they’ll come after me next, so please get here!” She was screaming her lines on the emergency channel, VHF 16, so all boaters could hear, not just the fighting ones. Then she reported that the yelling man had made it to an island, but was heading back into the water, still screaming “Help!” And the houseboat fighters were just “hanging around”, not helping the man and not leaving either. Everything was happening near “green marker 7”, so you can bet any boat that was nearby headed in the opposite direction. Not that boaters aren’t a helpful lot, but it’s really best to avoid a fight, when you don’t know what weapons the other side is bringing to the battle. We were not anywhere near green marker 7.

This drama was eclipsed by a real life emergency, when a woman called to report that her husband was apparently suffering a heart attack. Boy, did the helping professions move fast on that one. The Coast Guard, the local Sheriff, the local police, Sea Tow – everyone seemed ready to come to their aid. As we listened, and the woman was asked for her husband’s age and nationality (no kidding), in between helpful suggestions on how to dislodge anything in his airway, the police arrived and took the husband off to a hospital in their boat. This happened in a matter of minutes. We were left wondering whether any of the officers who showed up stayed on the boat with the woman and helped her get the boat to a port near the hospital. That’s something we’ll have to investigate. You never know when a medical emergency will arise, and you’re the one calling the Coast Guard, police, fire, sheriff, Seatow for help.

I could tell you about some bonehead navigation mistakes I made today, like starting to follow the private markers into a very shallow channel rather than staying in the Okeechobee Waterway Channel, or like mistaking the height of a day marker for its number (which was “SC”, not “16”, the height). But then you would lose confidence in me and wonder whether I had actually passed my Boating for Women course last month with flying colors (I did.) I put myself on probation today, however, after those errors. And it didn’t help when, at the end of the day, instead of tying up at a face dock on the port side, we ended up backing into a narrow slip and tying up on the starboard side. Naturally, I had all the fenders down on the port side and the lines were ready to be handed off to Bruce, the dock master at Rose Marina. So when we got the word at the last minute as we pulled into the marina waters, that we were backing into a slip and had to tie up on the starboard side, I noted that I had just two fenders on that side and all the lines had been neatly bundled and tied to the railing. I scurried to untie one of the lines to hand off as we backed into the slip. Bruce was there waiting. Then I ran to untie the next line to hand it off to a helpful neighbor in the slip next door, who suggested I better get some fenders down. All my best laid plans for the port side docking – for naught. This is the hard lesson I learned today: Prepare the lines and fenders to dock on either side at all times. Meanwhile, the Admiral acted completely unflappable, backing Slow Motion into the tiny slip like it was a piece of cake. I remember just 10 months ago we didn’t think this could be done without damaging either a piling or the side of Slow Motion. But now, with nerves of steel, the Admiral made it look easy today. Only later did he “confess” that he had some concern about this quick change of plans, and when the wind in the marina kept pushing Slo Mo’s bow in the wrong direction, then he had some real concerns about getting into the slip. But somehow he did it, while all the time I was fumbling with the lines and the fenders. This docking is still tricky stuff for me.

Ooh, ooh, the speedster ferry just arrived at our dock from Key West! The Admiral insists that we watch the people as they debark. It’s kind of a cross between watching a parade and watching animals at the zoo. Some of them wave at us, so who’s being watched? This ferry looks really eerie at night, sleekly black and white with a lot of bright Las Vegas lights. And it disgorged a city’s worth of people, almost all with suitcases. This must be the great Key West diaspora we’ve been hearing about. Just kidding! Were they coming to Marco Island for the weekend, or returning from a week of debauchery in Key West? Next time, we’ll have to do an on the spot survey as they pass Slow Motion. This is clearly a happenin’ marina, with a Tiki Bar in full Friday glory, a beer and wine joint dispensing chili and Fox News (or was it chilly Fox News?), and a 21^st century fast track ferry boat pulling into our dock under cover of dark.

I have one question for Laura Bush: When you tell Larry King on television that you support gay marriage, do you really think that is a private conversation and that no one will disseminate your views? Lighten up – you won’t be excommunicated. You’re not Catholic. And if that’s what you believe, then be proud and say it loud: “I support gay marriage.” That would be a great legacy for you as a champion of civil rights, something that your hubby will not be remembered for. Do it for posterity. Do it for yourself. Just do it. And while you’re at it, how about equal pay for women? Asking too much? I thought so, but I had to give it a try.

Back to the journey. We await calm waters to travel to the Keys. And right now, it’s expected to be calm on Sunday. If so, we will rise at dawn and take off soon thereafter because the trip will take 10 hours, if we can sustain 10 knots an hour. It is about twice the distance we went today. With the additional speed, we will need calmer waters than we had today. We were averaging between 6 and 7 knots today and it was pretty choppy at times. Stay tuned to this station for the next exciting adventure of Slow Motion, replete with the latest list of legerdemain – hahahaha—if only I were competent enough to pull off some maritime tricks. Anyway, if you want to feel superior to someone, this is the place to read. Can I travel for a whole year on this boat and still not have the skill set needed to be an able captain or first mate? Tune in next blog, and the next blog, and the next blog, to find out.