Roland Martin Marina March 8-9, 2021

  March 8, 2021; Still Day 92. Still waiting for the RR bridge to open!

As soon as we received the message on the radio from the lock tender that the railroad bridge was in fact finally open (I guess the sugar company that owns the bridge finally found an employee to in fact open it appropriately and fully), we proceeded through the bridge and to the lock. Roland swapped out the long fenders for the round fenders (hauling and schlepping and tying and untying, and stowing and moving). The Captain preferred the round fenders in the lock, rather than the oval fenders because he felt that it was better protection from the lock walls, against which we had to hold the boat as the water level changed. This lock went up only 2 1/2 feet, but we still had to switch positions from stern to bow in order for me to hold the rope (the rope was too short and it took too much pressure in the stern), as the water rushed in from the front. This time we used the headphones, which made the situation work much better.

It was a slow, a short cruise, to the Roland Martin Marina in Clewiston, Florida. Captain Roland was rather nervous because he knew he had to back down a very narrow waterway in order to dock. We had not done a lot of reverse docking (actually, none at all I could think of). Fortunately, when we arrived, there was no traffic. 

 A couple of days before, a very large yacht had had a mechanical problem, said the captain, and his boat rammed into and punched a hole in, part of the dock. This did not inspire confidence in Captain Roland. We had hoped to get the first out space on the dock because we were planning to leave before 7am (it would still be dark, but we were anxious to leave in order to cross Lake Okeechobee as early as possible. The wind is normally way less early in the morning and we were hoping to not have to deal with heavy seas.

Captain Sam helped us dock and made suggestions about dinner at the Roland Martin restaurant behind us. Apparently it is a major party place with bands most nights (this was Monday so we only had to deal with the jukebox ), but the music was very loud and went on until midnight.

I had the opportunity to catch up with several friends and had a couple zoom events before we went to dinner where we had down-home, fried food, at the Roland Martin restaurant. We sat near the open windows and away from everybody else. Our waiter was very attentive and the food was plentiful.

I prepped for crossing the lake by applying a patch, taking a pill, hydrating and, after tonight, fasting. The plan was for me to steer across the lake; my sister and Captain Roland's friend Stephen , thought that would help. In any case, we were hoping for calm seas.

Tuesday, March 9, 2021. Day 93.

We were up early and off the dock by 6:10 am. When we approached the lake, the wind was at 10 kn but it wasn’t really bad. By 6:30 am, the wind had reached 12 to 13 kn. 

 

As we were cruising, dozens of birds were flying over our wake,

 (apparently, we were turning up the fish or they thought we would be turning up fish). Keep in mind, we were leaving the bass fishing capital of the world. It was quite a sight to see the birds following us. Maybe the birds agree that Clewiston, Florida, is the bass fishing capital of the world, and were looking for breakfast.

I steered, and we crossed Lake Okeechobee in less than three hours, with zero mishaps or discomfort.

We went through the last lock (14 feet down), and preceded in to the St. Lucie Canal at about 2:15pm. We anchored near Stuart in the St. Lucie River, just above Coconut Point; close to Sunset Bay Marina, where we would be docking the next day. Although it was cool and very sunny, it was too windy for the dinghy or the sups (sigh). I had the rest of the afternoon to start to contact various creditors to try to straighten out my US Postal Service mail problem (all mail being returned to sender – marked: undeliverable).

Roland made a great dinner to celebrate the successful Okeechobee crossing and our returned to the East Coast of Florida.

We were happy to be back on the East Coast, crossing without my getting seasick (yeah). The anchorage is quite pretty, we had a wonderful evening, and we were looking forward to checking in with some of our friends in Stuart for the next two evenings.

Return to Moore Haven March 7-8, 2021

 Sunday, March 7, 2021. Day 91.

I slept very poorly. I fell asleep early, but was up at 4am. Originally, we had planned an early start but due to the forecast of winds for the next 2 days, we changed plans. Captain Roland didn't want to cross Lake Okeechobee in winds and heavy choppy conditions (Yes! Thanks!), so today and the next day were now rather short cruising days, while we waited for calmer seas. So Roland slept late and I nursed a headache.

It was a chilly morning but the forecast said sunny. I hoped we would have a quiet productive day. When I awoke the birds were singing it really was a pleasant morning. Franklin Lock National Park is sweet and it really was very pretty in our tiny cove with the birds singing and dawn breaking.

I learned that “fetch” referred to the distance over which the waves build. Windy in the tiny cove, the chop was not bad, because the fetch was small. The same wind in Lake Okeechobee, with a great fetch, the chop, for me, would likely be unpleasant, possibly, sickening.

We left the cove at 10am, and I steered while Roland washed off the anchor and continued at the helm until the first bridge. We had bought new navigational software in Punta Gorda, so we had much better information. I had to learn to watch the iPad as well as the large, primary screen, and, of course, the waterway.

We had a pretty passage to the Alva Broadway Bridge from Franklin Park. Roland asked for an opening and it was quick. Obviously little vehicular traffic, so opening was not a problem. We slowed down to avoid bridge openings near the vessel “Reel Efficiency”, which had passed us too fast and rather recklessly out of the lock. A water skier was down and Reel Efficiency didn’t slow down and actually waked the man in the water even after Roland told him on the radio to slow down and watch out for the downed skier. Because we reduced our speed, Reel Efficiency was about an hour ahead of us and we expected to avoid future contact.

The passage continued to be rather pretty; very green foliage, and a ranch that raised English Longhorn cattle. The cows are short and stocky with amazing horns; excellent beef I read when I googled the description of the cows as we passed.

We passed two more bridges before we reached, at 1:19pm, Oratona Lock. It was stunning and sunny day. Oratona Lock is 8 feet up and I was surprised and mystified as the water rushed in from the bow and yet push the boat forward. I was on the stern line, hanging on for dear life and could barely hold on while the water was rushing around like a whirl pool pushing from behind. Quickly, Roland and I switch places; and the bow turned out to be easier. The lock had nice new lines since we had been through going west. That part was a pleasure.

There was another boat in the lock with us, and the visual was incredible. On the other boat, was this tall, thin, blonde woman, holding her line, with one hand, as she reclined in a relaxed pose on the bow, while I was struggling with all my weight and very awkwardly, trying to hold on to the line. Of course, Magic Moments is 20 times heavier than her 26 foot boat, but the picture of her going through the lock versus a picture of me, was totally entertaining.

We arrived in Moore Haven, where Bob, the owner of the marina was waiting for us. His new dock was completed, and we moved right in, port side, easily, at about 3:30pm. It was great catching up with Bob, his new dock was beautiful, and in front of us was a boat called SEA 20/20, a fast boat which had passed us hours ago. The captain had kindly slowed down as he passed, to avoid waking us, which is the appropriate way to travel, yet, so often ignored by fast boaters. They had just crossed the Gulf from Alabama. Obviously, much more sea worthy cruisers than I; the waves, as you may remember, had sent me ill to Ft Myers Beach after an hour. They spent days in that chop!

We were texting with Red Tail, who had spent an extra day in Franklin National Park. We took a walk along the water. Moore Haven was much nicer than I had remembered it. Bob, the owner from Boston, had picked this area so he could be near Clewiston, Florida, which he claimed was the best bass fishing in the world.



Roland made an elaborate air fryer orange chicken dinner, with rice and broccoli, and there was enough left over for us to have the next day. I worked on the blog and went to bed way too late.

Monday, March 8, 2021. Day 92.

At noon, we left the dock, for the first time that day, after a very busy morning. The plan was to go a short distance to Roland Martin Marina, in Clewiston, Florida (the best bass fishing in the world said Bob), before we entered Lake Okeechobee. But before we left Moore Haven, I had to deal with the mail issue.

All of my mail (which had been temporarily forwarded and handled as arranged for several months), was suddenly being returned to the senders marked “undeliverable”. And, due to a change on December 31, of the US Post Office, the procedure I had used to establish my temporary change of address was no longer available to me, so I was unable to end, correct or renew, the temporary address change, on the USPO site. So, I walked 1.1 miles to (and then, of course back), to Moore Haven's main post office, to fill out the appropriate forms in an attempt to cancel my temporary change of address.

Even if I could get this to work, I still had to make many, many calls to various credit card companies, insurance companies, utilities and other senders, to let them know that they could still use my address. I felt like going in person to the Moore Haven post office, was a ridiculous and frustrating, waste of time, but hopefully it would, in fact, work.

We had hoped to leave at 11am, but the railroad bridge was down, blocking the waterway. After the train went through, we foolishly thought that we would be good to go. We said our goodbyes to Bob, and as I said above, left the dock at noon, to go a short distance to see that the bridge hadn't been totally reopened after the train had passed. After wasting too much time and fuel, circling in front of the railroad bridge, Roland agree to go back to the dock and wait. We called the sugar company who owned the bridge, the next lock tender, and several other numbers, on the radio as well as the phone, in an attempt to get the bridge open. Finally (I think, after the sugar company employee finished his lunch, at 1pm), the lock tender just after the bridge, called us to let us know that the waterway was clear, the bridge was open and that we could pass. Talk about indifference! No reasonable sized vessel could pass in this navigable waterway while this guy had lunch! Really!! We were told that the sugar company times their crossings in a way that is a problem for boaters all the time: no notice, times that conflict with the lock schedules; really not cooperative and very inconsiderate.

My main regret with this entire episode, however, was not trying, for the first time ever, docking MM myself when we went back to the marina to wait. There were no boats around, it was a straight and empty, long dock, and we had nothing else to do; a perfect opportunity, and we were so busy being annoyed, that we missed the ideal opportunity.

Captains note: we have officially stated our trip back north yesterday .

The Okeechobee Waterway March 6, 2021

 Saturday, March 6, 2021. Day 90.

I got up early and was able to run 3 miles on the beach. I was so grateful that our second vaccine reactions had been so minor.

The beach and the town were crowded with walkers and joggers and dog walkers and cars. The employees at the concessions lining the beach were setting out jet skis, chairs, umbrellas, paddleboards, kayaks, parasailing kiosks, and other toys. It was Saturday, after all, and spring break, and the beach was hopping for a half mile on either side of the center of Ft Myers Beach. I had to swerve frequently to avoid being close to maskless folks (which was everyone). The parking lots were beginning to fill up and the mobs were arriving.

I returned to the boat and we prepared to leave Moss Marina and Fort Myers Beach. to start our trip on the Okeechobee Waterway and then to cross the Lake.

Fort Myers Beach is very touristy, there are vrbos everywhere, lots of bright colored residences for rent, a tram to shuttled visitors around, and lots of parking lots; a real family place.

When I got back from my run, Captain Roland had Magic Moments all ready to leave the dock and had asked the dockhands to help with the lines. As you may recall this was a very narrow slip with only 6 inches to spare on the beam. Captain Roland backed out beautifully, we pulled up the fenders and at 9am we left Moss Marina and went through Matanzas Pass headed to the Okeechobee Waterway.

Sadly, we had to again abandon the plan to go through the Gulf to Naples and then down the west coast to Key West due to the weather; it was just too windy, and choppy seas are not my forte! So, Plan B: go back across Lake Okeechobee to Stuart, to Miami, to Key Biscayne, to Key Largo, and maybe even to Marathon Key. We shall see; it is all weather and timing dependent.

I steered and Roland secured all the fenders and put the lines away. It was overcast and cool and then and the rain started around 11am. Because the weather was unpleasant, the traffic was light even though it was a Saturday.

There were lots of bridges but most were passable for us without requested openings. Although the scenery was gray and muted, it was attractive in its own way, almost matted.

Captain Roland realized that the Wilson Pickett, Bridge, which we reached at around 1:12pm, was only 20.5 feet above the water (maybe it was because it was high tide). The paper charts said the clearance was 27 feet, so this was a surprise. Magic Moments is 25 feet high, so with only a 20.5 foot clearance, we needed to contact the bridge tender at the last minute (they usually prefer a bit of notice). Fortunately, this bridge tender was quite kind and said they would raise the bridge for us when we arrived. Right before the bridge, we passed by a marina that had a cruise – in, boat wash, similar to a car wash. One just motors right into the slip and they wash your boat. I thought it was pretty cool.

Our plan had been to dock for the night at Calusa Marina (formally known as Calusa Jack's). It should have been an easy docking for us to pull up to a straight dock on our starboard side. Unfortunately, when we arrived, we saw that the dock to which we were to tie up was almost in the center of the waterway, a slow speed area that, in violation of the law, was used as a speed boat drag racing practice area. Calusa had failed to mention this issue when we had booked the marina. When we tried to tie-up, the racing boats going back-and-forth at high speeds, were creating immense wakes, rocking Magic Moments like crazy. Notwithstanding, we optimistically tried tying lines, the dock hand tied us up with six lines crisscrossing to hold us in place, but it was impossible. Furthermore, when we tried to attach to the electric, there was no power. The dock hand said, the boats racing by and creating havoc were not even the fast ones!

It was absurd: there was no easy way to get on and off the boat, we were rocking madly, there was no power. The situation was untenable. We saw no choice but to leave, even though we had no plan, no alternative marina, and no known anchorage.

We told the marine owner and the dock hand, that we were really sorry, but had no choice but to leave; this dock was not remotely reasonable for Magic Moments. We asked if they had any other dock or slip. Nope.

Captain Roland had tipped the dock hand generously (even more than his usual good tip.......and Captain Roland tends toward the generous normally), when we tied up; afterall, he tied six crossed lines. So, we expected that he would help us untie, but no, the owner and the dock hand left the dock and left us to fend for ourselves. It was totally inappropriate and disrespectful. I would recommend that absolutely nobody go to this marina, ever.

We were 4 miles from the first lock at Franklin National Park. Fortunately, it was still early enough to get through the lock (the last lock entry is 4:30pm). Franklin Lock went up 1.5 feet, which was a fairly short lock, thankfully. By this point we were pretty stressed. We went to Franklin National Park, although, we knew there was no real chance for a slip big enough for us. Only one slip in the Park worked for us, and, of course, when we arrived so late in the day, it was taken.

The only alternative was a dolphin, and my view was NO WAY was I doing that again! The Captain tried to assure me that we could do a dolphin, just differently: anchor on the bow and only tie to the dolphin on the stern. He had a plan and it would work.

I, however, believed the small, protected cove next to the slips would work for anchoring. The Captain gave it a try, and it was perfect. Yay, yay, and yay, the thought of the dolphin was far too upsetting for me. I was relieved...and I believe the captain was as well!

Red Tail was in a slip at the Park. We caught up by text. They had enjoyed their month in St. Petersburg. It was too bad that we couldn't get to shore for a socially distance happy hour. It made no sense to take the dinghy down as we had to leave the next day at dawn.

It had been a very difficult day, and the problem at the Calusa Marina had really aggravated the situation. The stress level was off the charts, then, to top it off, Roland's phone was no longer functioning.

We had a couple of more days before we got to Lake Okeechobee; they should only go well.

By hook or by Crook aka crooked boat hook and crossing the Okeechobee

  Sunday, January 17, 2021. Day 42. Up early so that we can get through the Port Mayaca Lock and enter Lake Okeechobee early. The first opening is 7:30 AM. Probably won't get through the lock until closer to 8 AM.

However the first chore will be getting off the dolphin.

Not simple. Captain Roland decided we should start with the stern. It was a little awkward, but we were able to remove the stern line from the dolphin cleat. Roland then ran to the bow so that we could remove the bow line. Roland was going to remove the line and I was going to be at the helm. I needed to steer so that he could untie from the dolphin cleat. Very tricky; especially for me. Please bear in mind, neither of us have ever de-dophined!

We put on our headphones (known as marriage savers), so that we could hear each other. I was receiving a barrage of commands: Neutral! Reverse! Port thrust! Starboard thrust! Reverse! Slow! Steer!......very stressful and I was sure the boat was going to be damaged banging into the dolphin. Finally, after probably three minutes of staccato commands and nerve wracking manipulations, which felt like at least 30 minutes, Roland untied and we moved away. I was more than relieved. The boat had survived, reasonably unscathed......(I needed a drink).....He then displayed the mangled boat hook that had given its life to protect the boat as it, rather than the boat, had been smashed into the dolphin. We still use the crooked hook; I am too grateful to just toss it; a reminder of what I hope is my only dolphin experience!

So, off we went to enter the Mayaca Port Lock with less damage, but a little more stress, than I would like to start the day.

The lock was only a quarter of a mile away and it would take the boat only 2 feet up. As we approached the lock another KK trawler arrived to join us in the lock, Red Tail. I totally messed up the approach to the lock wall, again a port side request by the lock tender. I really did not know what I was doing; it was only my second lock and I was still freaked from trying to avoid a collision with the dolphin. Foolishly rather than mistakenly, thought we were too close to the wall. I was busy protecting Magic Moments from smashing against the wall. I could not reach the hanging lock ropes forcing the Captain to back up the boat and start again. He was rather embarrassed in front of Red Tail, but I assured him that they had watched me push away with the remaining intact boat hook, and mostly sympathized with his challenge of relying on such an inexperienced first mate.

We crossed Lake Okeechobee without incident without any incidents. Because the water level in the lake was unusually high, we were able to cross a section of it rather than have to go around the entire perimeter on the south.

While on Lake Okeechobee, we saw a lot of dark smoke and fires on the shore. We learned that they were burning the sugarcane fields. The ashes were all over our boat. I was totally unhappy; it was only yesterday that we had left Stuart with our shiny, newly waxed, beautiful looking boat (at a very high cleaning, waxing and buffing fee), only to have it full of black ashes. Even worse, washing down the boat could cause the ashes to stain the surface, The ashes were even in the boat lockers!

We exited Lake Okeechobee after going through the Moore Haven Lock. Captain Roland asked the lock tender (all this is on a radio), if we could be on the starboard side. This is important to us because MM has a walk around only on the starboard side. On the port side, one has to run through the living space to get from bow to stern. The lock tender said OK but the ropes on starboard are rather short; he left it up to the captain. The captain said starboard and we made it work. With short ropes, I am at the bow (which is higher), while Roland mans the stern.

All worked out fine and we were through the lock. The lock tender decided to replace some of the short, tattered ropes after we left; good idea!

A half mile later, we docked at Moore Haven, a small working class town, near a prison, the sugar cane fields and citrus orchards. It was Sunday and everything was closed. The closest open store and restaurant, were a taco shop and a convenience store which were 11 miles away. Due to a miscommunication, the dockmaster wasn't on site when we arrived. We called him again, and he was 20 minutes away. We circled in the water until he arrived.

The dock was very reasonably priced, only a dollar a foot with free electricity, and adjacent to the city dock which was also a dollar a foot but without free electricity (the city dock used to be free, but all towns need funds nowadays). The dockmaster said the water was potable but that he wouldn't drink it. Needless to say, we weren't going to drink it. After we had spent three days and a fortune cleaning the boat, taking a risk that the ashes from the sugarcane fires, together with brown water would stain the boat, sounded dumb! 

 The dockmaster suggested using a broom rather than water. Great! Roland had bought a broom before we left Maryland and we thought we would just take it home; we had no good place to store it and we would never need it. The broom saved our finish and the portable vac got the ashes out of the lockers. We would wash the boat at another marina.

After tying the boat to the dock we walked around town. It was overcast and quiet. We didn't see a single soul. Moore Haven, although a small town, is the county seat. We learned some interesting history about how Moore Haven enticed an adjacent area to join their county to increase their base, but after a few years, the adjacent area voted to return to its original county; they felt Moore Haven wasn't treating them fairly. Politics will never change!

The folks from Red Tail, with whom we had been texting since we left Port Mayaca Lock, and had followed us across Lake Okeechobee and through the Moore Haven Lock, had docked at the town dock. We had learned a little bit about each other from our texting during the trip, and then had a chance to meet after docking, socially distanced. Roland collected a lot of tips and information, as they had been this way before. Kevin and Caroline had even taken Red Tail through the Panama Canal; well, I was really impressed!

Monday, January 18, 2021 Day 43. MLK Day; lots to think about. We left the dock at Moore Haven at 8 AM; Red Tail had left at 7 AM. It was 18 miles until the next lock, Ortona.

 It was an 8 foot down and Roland had to be at the stern, because the ropes were really short and frayed, yet again.The lock tender directed us to the port, as there was a boat ahead of us on the starboard, (no mercy for us novices with no walkaround on port!). Roland hung on as the boat went down and the rope was really not long enough.

The scenery was quite pretty on the Caloosahatchee Canal. We passed sugarcane fields, citrus orchards and three bridges. My favorite was the center rotating bridge that the female (not that common) bridge tender had to walk out to the center to operate. She must walk out and back 30 times a day.

I spent a lot of the day trying to get a vaccine. No luck yet and I was getting rather frustrated but I had to keep checking frequently.

At 1:30 we docked at Franklin Lock and Dam National Park; a great bargain, only $30 and even less if you have a senior pass. I do have a senior pass to the national parks however I did not bring it with me. Live and learn.

Red Tail had arrived at Franklin before us and was on our dock to help us tie up. It was quite an amazing slip. We went in bow first and the whole front of the boat was covered with foliage. It looked as if we were grounded. After we docked, we sat on our back deck, which is our practice, and watched an alligator swimming nearby.

The park is small but rather lovely. There were many RVs in the park. We went for a walk and then met Kevin and Caroline, socially distanced, on a picnic bench. Caroline graciously brought some snacks and we each brought our own drinks.

No success trying to get a vaccine; did a session of yoga with Adrienne, and went to bed looking forward to my run in the morning before we left Franklin Lock and Dam National Park.

The Day of the Dolphin Saturday, January 17, 2021 Day 42

 As we left Stuart, we traveled on the ICW, into the St. Lucie Canal. The canal is wide and deep, so steering was pleasurable. Also, although a Saturday, there was not much boat traffic; always a joy! 

There were lovely homes along the way and at approximately, 1 o'clock, we approached our first lock, The St. Lucie Lock. It is quite a large lift, about 14 1/2 feet; the deepest lock on our trip across Florida. Unfortunately there was another boat in the lock when we arrived so we had a long wait while that boat was lifted and the water drained before we could enter.

Expecting to tie on the starboard side of the lock, all our fenders (the inflatable objects protecting the boat from damage when next to other objects, like other boats, docks, pilings, and lock walls), were on the starboard. The dock tender directed a port side tie up, so we rushed to untie and move the lines and the fenders to the port.

Roland had given me some advice with respect to the lock procedure, expecting help from the lock tender. Forget it. No assistance was available. It was on us. Ropes were hanging every 5 or 6 feet, and I had to grab one with the boat hook. This being my first serious boat hook maneuver, it took several tries, as the boat went past several hanging ropes. Finally I snagged one and pulled it in. Roland had already tied up the bow, and ran back to help me pull in the stern. It required way more strength than I could have mustered on my own.

When in the lock, I felt as if we were in a deep well. The eastern gates closed and the water started to flow in from the western gates. It was really weird as the boat was lifted slowly at first, I was hanging on to keep the boat close to the wall as the water lifted the boat. The sky had been overcast and as we rose up to the top we saw that the lock was located in a lovely park, the grass was very green, and suddenly, the sun was shinning as we were magically lifted out of the well. It was ethereal.

The scenery was very lovely after the St. Lucie Lock. It was flat, very few homes and, in parts, wilderness. We even tried steering on the flybridge for a while even though it was not really warm enough. The flybridge is at the top of the boat, is all open and provides a wonderful view.

At about 4:15 PM we reach the Port Mayaca Lock , a mere 2 foot difference, also up. The last lock transit was in 15 minutes. The lock tender suggested that if we wanted to go through we really had to do so, immediately. He also mentioned that the waves not only in Lake Okeechobee on the other side, but also in the lock, itself were 4 feet high with 15 to 20 knot winds. We told him that we had planned to go through in the morning when conditions were calmer. He said that the last boat that went through didn't even tie up; they just tried to stay in the middle rocking all over the place. They had to use both their bow and stern thrusters just to keep from smashing against the walls. We only have a bow thruster. Captain Roland knew the conditions were unacceptable, and that the forecast for the morning was beautifully calm, so we declined the lock until the morning, and kept to our plan. Roland's planning was exquisite. He had, as usual, checked out the weather, and the conditions and knew exactly what we what would be best for us to do.

The plan was for us to tie up to the dolphins, which are located immediately before and after each lock. I think they were designed for barges and other work boats.

Neither of us had ever tied between two dolphins (I had never even heard of or seen one before today), but we were going to give it a go. The dolphins are several pilings, tied together, wider at the bottom than the top, and look a bit like a teepee. They have cleats and the idea is to tie the stern and bow with lines to two different dolphins. We have since learned that it may be better to tie put out the anchor at the bow, and tie the stern to the dolphin (Now you tell me?!). The dolphins are spaced differently so that smaller boats and larger boats can still use one set of dolphins. We chose the medium size. I did not think we could get into the smaller one and the bigger one was way too big. So like Goldilocks, we thought the middle one was just right. Wrong! We had to tie 2 lines together at the bow, go back and forth slowly to tie up without smashing the boat, to make this work. Dophining was not easy; I probably should have been davening instead.

Tying up to the dolphins was not fun, but it was cake compared to untying. It is amazing that it worked. It was stressful, but as I said, not as stressful as untying Sunday morning; but that comes later.

The sunset was beautiful, and we had a great steak on the grill. I had a zoom with 25 or more of us from TIAW who meet every year on this weekend in Safety Harbor, near Clearwater. It was great to see everybody and catch up.

After dark we went out with a very strong flashlight and looked in the marshes for the shiny red eyes of alligators. Fortunately, we didn't see any.

We were extremely tired after the stress of my first lock and first dolphin experience. I had not slept much the night before, so after I finished the dishes, I went to bed. Fortunately, I had no idea of what lie ahead in the morning when we were to untie from the dolphins.