Thursday May 24, 2012
The alarm went off, Fred’s phone was ringing and then mine was ringing. Guess it was time to get up and do something about all three. It was Rod, making sure we didn’t oversleep I guess. As we stuck our heads out of the companion way, there was already a party going on at the crossroads of our finger dock. Barb, Jen, Rod, and Stuarts girlfriend Maggie were sitting there waiting for us to get up. They had come to bid us farewell and help us cut the ladies lines! I offered coffee to all, Rod took us up on a cup and we joined them, welcoming the beautiful day ahead of us. It was Stuart’s birthday, so I suggested we all go to his boat and sing “Happy Birthday” to him. We did and then came back to the boat and cast off. Fred took the helm most of the trip and then gave it to me. “Red to the left and Green to the right going North on the intracoastal. It’s very narrow so make sure you pay attention” is all I needed to hear to come to full attention of where I was going. The auto pilot was trying to drift off course as the tide was with us but strong and I kept resetting, one degree at a time. Fred was below so I made the decision to steer it myself without the autopilot. My nerves calmed down a bit, remembering as we were leaving for our adventure he put me at the helm, and I hit something (a sunken vessel we think) in the middle of the intracoastal along Jupiter, Florida. Scared the bejeebers out of me and I didn’t want that to happen again. You never know what’s in that water and not marked. I can tell you of one, that’s enough for me! It was at the 203 mile marker I saw the most fantastic site all day. A Spotted Eagle Ray jumped about 4-5 feet out of the water, making a spectacular opportunity to see one close up and airborne. I have seen plenty of flying fish out of the water but not a ray. This was amazing. I was glad I could identify it as I had seen my first one at the beginning of the trip coming out of Norman’s Cay I believe. They are a site to see, enormous. I asked Fred what would make a giant ray like that jump out of the water, thinking they were big as it was, hard to believe anything could send them airborne. He said, “Sailboats” Go figure. We had to motor all the way as there was no wind to even put a sail up although we averaged over 6 knots. We arrived at Fort Pierce about 1:00 and dropped anchor in front of the Tiki Bar at Fort Pierce City Marina. I made lunch, sandwich and raw veggies before we set out for the day. As Fred was lowering the dinghy, I heard some voices asking Fred to move. It seems they were uncomfortable with us there so close to the barges moving huge rocks. We moved, closer to the bridge, got in the dinghy and went to meet Tut at his boat in the marina. Tut let us use his car and we went to a marine salvage warehouse looking for some Lexan but didn’t find any to suit our needs. We did buy a dinghy ladder though. We found when snorkeling, it’s not so easy to get back into the dink at our age. I believe this will help us on our next trip to the islands. We picked up a few groceries and met Tut and Dawn at their place and spent the afternoon with them. Tonight Fred grilled steaks and we ate out in the cockpit watching the sunset and egrets stalking the shores for their dinner also. It is quiet here. We welcome the breeze blowing thru the boat as it has been a humid still day. Tomorrow we will be heading for South of Melborne, Florida. Fred brought up a moment of cherished memories when he said, “well, I guess we won’t be seeing any more green flashes.” “Maybe we will” I explained, “They say it is possible to see them at sunrise but you have to know exactly where to look because when you see the sun, it’s too late”. We begin our voyage home, up the intracoastal waterway reflecting beautiful memories of our Winter. I have learned to pause, reflect and be grateful.
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