afloat again

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After 9 months ashore it is great to be back aboard our second home, Gust O'Wind again.

There was a major cleanup to be done before we could get under way. We had been warned about mud daubers in this part of Florida but now have first hand knowledge of the little brutes! They are wasps that squeeze through the tiniest of spaces to build mud nests - some as large as an orange - in the deepest, darkest cavities of the boat. We thought we had plugged up all entry points with screening - Wrong!
We found at least 50 of them - fortunately all uninhabited as the kids and parents had all moved on. The upside was that GOW is cleaner than ever after 3 full days of labour.

Crossing Lake Okechobee was very pleasant with a favourable breeze and warm weather. It is only 6' deep in many places but is still the 2nd largest lake in the US after Michigan.

Right now we are in Stuart - a few miles north of West Palm Beach and plan to enjoy the excellent boating facilities. The other plus is that we have our car here - giving us lots of options to explore on land and water.

The only downer is that we have realized that we don't have time to get to the Bahamas. With our trip to Africa coming up, we can't risk getting stuck there by bad weather or worse still try to cross the Gulf Stream in dangerous conditions because we have to meet a deadline - if anyone needs a Bahamian courtesy flag we have one for you!

So we have decided to spoil ourselves and do something we have not done before - we have taken a slip at the Loggerhead Marina- a great facility with heated pool, spa, 2 restaurants and the convenience of a secure dock with all the conveniences we need - for less than $20 a day. There is a beautiful beach and a good anchorage nearby. We'll stay here until we are ready to begin our long trip back to Wiarton.

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Photos

'gator alley
we saw many alligators as we motored along the canal leading to Lake Okechobee

airboat
hunters and fishermen use these noisy airboats to skim through swamps and canals

mud nest
one of 50 or so wasp nests we found aboard - luckily they break off easily

lake crossing
a nice sail across the 27 miles of Lake Okechobee

low bridge (everybody down!)
this railway bridge at Port Mayaca has a clearance of 49' - we need 48' so it was a very slow, careful squeeze under it

into the St. Lucie lock
this lock controls the water level of Lake Okechobee at the east end.

down we go
the lock drops us 12' into the St. Lucie River for the run to Stuart

mooring bruise
we both have a collection of scars and bruises from various boat adventures - this bruise was a souvenir of a struggle to pick up a heavy mooring line with the boat hook from a rolling deck

Sunset Bay
our first week in Stuart was spent on a mooring ball with about 80 other boats

wind instrument
we liked the graphics on this neighbouring catamaran which was built in Australia

large neighbour
almost a basketball court sized fore deck!

on the dock
our comfortable home for the next while

Loggerhead Marina
having all these facilities and our car opens up lots of options for us this winter

Comments

[Penelope Jayne]

Bon Voyage
There certainly is no dust on you two. Have great, safe sail, and keep those blogs coming

[Lin]

HI There
Sounds like a sensible decision, wouldnt want to miss Sth Africa and the Wedding. You'll have a fab. time. Keep the pictures coming. Safe Sailing to you! Be warm and happy. LUV LIN AND RICK

[Garry and Yola Grant]

Winter retreat
Sounds great that you are back in Florida and with another big trip coming up as well. Enjoy. Yola and I are off the N.Z. again in the middle of February for 5 weeks and so looking forward to that. That should break the back of winter. Before we know it, it will be spring and we'll be back up to the boat again. Went to the TO boat show last week, didn't buy anything but a good respite from winter. Stay well and we'll see you in the late spring, early summer or whenever you get back to Wiarton. Garry and Yola Grant