Day 11 Captain Will Garner tapping the keys

WOW, what a night and what a breakfast at the home of Jonn and Joyce, great hosts they were, and well did they treat us (two thumbs up). Breakfast - well yes, eggs, two types of bacon, sausage, biscuits, coffee, orange juice, cranberry juice, and homemade jam. If it was not for Shirl we would have stayed until next summer but alas we had to go.




Now leaving was not that easy, not just because of the hospitality, but wow there is this girl down here called Hurricane Ida and man does she want us to do what she wants.


This morning she wanted us to tear up the dock before we left but the three of us, no wait - five of us, would not have any of that. Strategic placement of fenders, appropriate rigging of lines, and a lot of pushing, grunting and a firm hold on the stren line with a quick release from Jonn allowed us to get underway.

Now Ida has been kicking waves, wind, and salt spray in our face all day, but we are three determined captains and we have experience on our side so we are out there surfing the high waves, spitting in the wind, and beating on docks when possible. Really, it has been fun and while there are wind and waves it is not all that bad but we are heading toward the south and we are using all of our experience and being safe as possible. If you listen to the news about Ida, well everything south of Alaska and east of the Mississippi is getting devastated. Even at the marina where we are, boats are strapped to the ground in the event of inclement weather.

In Ft. Pierce, Florida we made a lunch stop for fuel and food with a short trip to Publix (grocery store). You should have been here to see three guys rolling a grocery cart down the street about one-half mile to the marina (wonder what the neighbors thought). Well anyway we returned it as soon as we unloaded.

Next stop Lake Okeechobee and its many locks and bridges. More wind and rain forecasted for tomorrow but at least it will be warm and in the presence of good friends. Dang this is what adventures are made of.

We are now in Stuart, Florida at Pirates Cove Marina at the entrance to the St.Lucie River. The temperature is in the high 80s at 9:00 at night. The wind is in the 25-knot range but the boat is handling it as are the captains. Tomorrow we will be heading west across Florida via the Okeechobee Waterway and are planning on sneaking around the back side of Ida arriving as planned in New Orleans.