Beautiful Day on the Indian River (ICW)

Launching at Taylor Creek Marina.
By now, I should know the drill: call ahead and Taylor Creek Marina in Fort Pierce will launch the boat. Not much to it! But I always get butterflies in my stomach the first trip of the boating season. Will the engine start? Will it keep running? Have I thought of everything? I was even more nervous than usual because I hadn't purchased Sea Tow or Boat US towing insurance for this season. I've been boating for 40 years and never missed it -- now I feel at risk without it. I may buy it. I'll decide later. Previous boats have been sailboats, so if the engine conked out, I could always sail home.


Approaching Vero Beach City Marina, kind of a
tricky entrance running along the Route 60 bridge.
In about a minute, "Lil' Green Tug" was launched, the engine fired right up, and I was out on the azure-blue, tropical waters of the Indian River. The wind was from astern at about 10 knots, and a nice cooling breeze blew through the open windows and roof hatches. That's another thing I worried about -- wouldn't I be uncomfortable in the pilothouse in the hot Florida sun? The answer is no! I felt cool underway. The roof hatches made all the difference.

After about two hours of motoring at 2,200 rpm's making about 6 knots headway, I arrived at Vero Beach City Marina. I was elated, just being back on the water. I tied up at my assigned slip, and called for a taxi to take me back to Ft. Pierce to retrieve my car.

At Vero Beach City Marina, slip 5C. Note the shore power
cord. I'll have the luxury of air-conditioning, a
refrigerator, and even heat if it is needed. 
I'm used to children admiring "Lil' Green Tug" ("Oh mom, I WANT one of those." "It's so cute!"), but I was surprised when three veteran sailors stopped by to chat. "Can you sleep on it?" ("Yes, it has a 6-1/2 foot v-berth.") "How does it handle heavy seas?" ("I've never had it out in more than 3 to 4 foot chop on the Chesapeake Bay, but it handled it nicely. It doesn't have a self-bailing cockpit so whatever water might come aboard has to be pumped out by the bilge pump, but I've never had any water come aboard.") "What kind of engine?" ("A 30-hp Yanmar diesel"), etc., etc.

One of the sailors stuck around for a bit. His name was Phil, and he had just arrived from Annapolis aboard a 45-foot Freedom sailboat. He made the trip in 9 days. I was amazed, as my experience had been three to four weeks for that trip. He pointed out that they had gone offshore from Beaufort, North Carolina, and sailed for four days, arriving at Saint Augustine, Florida. By sailing 24-hours a day for four days, they had covered a lot of ground. On the Ditch (the ICW), you need to stop every evening and anchor. Travel at night on the ICW is dangerous. The commercial tugs with their unwieldy barges travel at night. His plans for the winter included a sail to the Exumas and maybe the Abacos, both islands in the Bahamas. I had to express my regret that "Lil' Green Tug" would probably never cross the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas, although I had read about some hearty souls who made that trip on 21-foot Ranger Tugs. I'm too much of a chicken for that trip!

So it's good to be back. I have two weeks to move aboard. That's when my Canadian renters arrive, and I have to vacate the condo. It should be a fun winter.

P.S.
Saturday, November 2, 2013
I bought the Sea Tow insurance :-)

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