North on the way to Clearwater Beach

Tuesday, January 19, 2021. Day 44.

We were approaching seven weeks. I got up early and ran 3 miles around the Franklin National Park. I am still running slowly. Hopefully speed is not an important part of my work out. The day was sunny and beautiful. It was a bit crisp, perfect for a morning run.

There was no wind so it would be easier to get out of the weeds and off the dock. Kevin and Caroline, from Red Tail, came over to give us a hand with the dock lines. They are staying another day or two before they go to St. Pete’s for a month.

We said our goodbyes and thanked them for a wonderful couple of days “buddy boating”. Kevin turned us on to a yacht club that is very reasonably priced, and may allow us to get a night or two at affiliated yacht clubs. Roland decided he was going to join.

We left the dock at 10:50 am, and went through the Franklin Lock at 11:17. This time on the starboard side which Captain Roland prefers, not withstanding the lock tender's warning of the shorter ropes. We were only going down a foot and a half. It’s my understanding the Franklin Lock is the newest and it is designed to keeps the salt content in Lake Okeechobee as low as possible.

There was another trawler or motor yacht on the port side ahead of us. The lock tender saw that we hailed from Philadelphia PA, and asked our opinion as to where to get the best cheese steaks, Pat's or Gino’s.

After we left the lock, I steered as Roland put all the fenders and lines away. Because today was so beautiful, we went to the fly bridge to steer. We were now on the Caloosahatchee River. We had to call for a requested bridge opening notwithstanding that the bridge was under maintenance on one side and only one side was being lifted, we got through comfortably (it looked really narrow to me), but the Captain did an excellent job. 

The Caloosahatchee River is wide and deep and we had several bridges to pass under, some of them, thankfully, fixed and high enough for us to go under, without opening. Around 12:45pm, as we approach Ft Myers, we saw circular patterns on the surface of the water. Roland believes that the circular pattern is a sign that there is a manatee under the water; cool, I couldn't see her.

Around 2:30pm, 3 or more dolphins were riding our bow, jumping, cavorting, and playing with us for quite a while. I took a couple of photos. It was really very joyful.

 Pleasure boats and fishing boots were zipping by, making wakes, and crossing in front of us making it difficult to cruise; maybe they were looking at the dolphins playing with Magic Moments. At around 3:30 pm, we anchored across from Sanibel Island. The view was again, serene and really pretty. One of the delightful parts of cruising is that every night the view is different and every night it is beautiful.

 Wednesday, January 20, 2021. Day 45.

I was up before 5 AM am, ready to go online at 6 am to try to get an appointment at Publix for a vaccine. It was very frustrating; it took over an hour and no appointments, other than in the panhandle and we really couldn’t get there in time. We would have to find a marina, leave the boat, rent a car, and drive eight hours each way, at a minimum. I also tried calling Lee County for an appointment (Fort Myers), but after a very long time on the phone, nothing worked. I was tired, frustrated, and stressed.

 But, at 11am, my day was changed! I watched the inauguration. So impressive, and I was very emotional. And also very hopeful. The views on the water as we cruised were terrific and beautiful but I missed most of it dealing with the frustration of not getting a vaccine, and then, the joy of watching the inauguration and participating in positive change. It was thrilling!

 We entered Lemon Bay, which is a very long bay, intending to anchor there for the night. Unfortunately, on our way, there was a surprisingly shallow spot and we ran aground. Wonderful. Roland tried a couple of maneuvers to to get us off, but we were not successful.

Roland called BoatUS (he has unlimited towing - like AAA), gave them our coordinates and a description of our boat along with his membership information and they arranged for a towboat. The towboat operator called, he knew exactly where we were stuck, right outside Grove City, he even described the restaurant that we were eyeing across the water. We were at the intersection of two channels and apparently a very common place for boats to run aground. The channel markers were a bit confusing. The towboat Captain said that if we wait about 15 minutes, the current would come in very strongly and it may just release the keel. In any case, he would be on his way. Sure enough in 15 minutes the current must have come in; we moved off the ground, motored back into the channel, and called the tow boat and thanked him.

We were back in the channel and at 3:15 we approached the Tom Adams Bridge, requesting an opening. Tuscan Sun, another KK, passed us going south, and we connected on the radio.

 3:37 pm, we anchored, near Englewood in Lemon Bay. It was a beautiful evening, drinks on the back deck to celebrate, and then Roland gave me a tour of the engine room: the two diesel tanks, generator, motor fuel filters, through holes, coolant level meters, hot water tank and then the strainer and cooling water for the engine (I cleaned out the shells and stones that we had collected in the strainer when we had run aground). The engine room is not full height so I had to be seated or on my knees on the floor and it is also extraordinarily hot. But it is a clean and well maintained area, even the bilge was clean.

 I went to bed early, it had been a long and stressful day, and I hate waking up at 5 am, but, with a sigh of relief and joy, I savored the fact that we have a new president. Yeah!!