Indiantown to our first anchorage in South Bay

We have finally left the dock, taking the rim route around Lake Okeechobee, heading for Punta Gorda, Florida.

Some pics enroute to our first anchorage at the bottom of the Lake, South Bay.  Totally solo for three days - with the exception of gators, howling 'somethings' in the trees around us,

accompanying tunes of the many species of birds.

OUR NEXT BOAT....in our next life!



Our first lock in the Lake Okeechobee Waterway, westbound, Port Mayaca

approaching the lock....dolphins to the right to tie off



ah yes....seagulls chasing the wake - hoping for fish

entering the canal portion of the Waterway

Florida's oldest (and only) manually opened lock

A view thru my galley window in South Bay - sitting on a glass of freshwater

of course it would not be Florida if we did not have a gator riding side saddle - just one here

just another lousy sunrise in paradise



an early morning crop dusting plane put on quite a show....the photo inspired a memory for Peter, of a poem his Mother quoted frequently.......

High Flight

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . .

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

— John Gillespie Magee, Jr

http://www.skygod.com/quotes/highflight.html

you can see the crop dusting dispenser running parallel to the wings of the plane

The small red star is where our boat is anchored - until tomorrow, when we depart for either Clewiston or Moorehaven Lock

a man with a rod.....apparently size does matter because this one is huge...
large mouth bass...3rd one of the day!

sadly, the pristine oasis is destroyed on a daily basis with the burning of sugar cane



this sign speaks for itself...and for the gators!

ashore we took a visit to the top of the levy...
and discovered cars, people and a huge RV park

South Bay RV Campground...what a shock from the view we see below! 
And did a 180 to discover this view!




Standing ashore at the top of the levy...that's Pelican Rose in the bay off in the distance

 

 

AROUND AND ABOUT INDIANTOWN & STUART

STUART CAR LOT......CHECK OUT THE T-BIRD...AND A FEW OTHERS BELOW.....

 

 

 

PETER BESIDE HIS 3116 CATERPILLAR ENGINE

JABBERWOKIES - SANDHILL CRANES....these guys make a very loud prehistoric sound

 

 

 

Indiantown Marina throws an incredible four day marathon of celebrations for Thanksgiving.  Here is one gathering of boating mates enjoying one evening, from left to right:  Cathy of BnG, Thai, Robert of BnG, Peter, Carol Anne and Jim of Seaduction and Wayne of Leeway (originally from Port Whitby Marina...small world out here!)

Jessie and Alex...our faithful work crew who do everything from launch to haulout,
always with a smile and a warm greeting.

A cool night before Thanksgiving and a happy camper.....let the wine flow (and it did!)

1st night dinner - Island Food.....chicken, ribs, baked beans, marshmallow salad...yum!

 

 

 

Celebrating Robert McConnell's FORTY THIRD birthday.

Assisting in the celebrations, fellow boaters who own a catamaran:  Bev and Dave

OOPS!  Someone (who shall remain nameless) spills her glass of red wine on the cream coloured carpet.
All three men to the rescue.  Arrrgggg.....good pirates saving the damsel in distress.....or at least saving the carpet!

 

About 300+ motorcycles converged into this park in Indiantown.  An organized event of some sort.

 

 

Note the eagles worked into this!

Honda Goldwing

 

 

 

Local Gator at our marina....sighted across from the stern of our boat....close enough that we shut the door to our transom.
NO GATORS ALLOWED!

 

A QUICK TRIP TO PUNTA GORDA.....

I WILL LEAVE THIS PIC TO YOUR IMAGINATIONS.

 

 



CHEESEBURGER IN PARADISE?

A second black panther siting today. Ran in front of our car as we drove along hwy 75 towards Indiantown.

 

But even 'less' exciting....

Last nite....

10:30pm

All is quiet in this sleepy little place named Indiantown Marina.

Peter and I are brushing our teeth, getting ready for bed

I'm in my birthday suit, lights are out (good thing cuz I'm in my birthday suit)

Drapes all closed.

I mention to Peter that there is a rather unusual number of car lights reflecting into our stern from the parking lot. Odd, but not earth shattering or remotely interesting....one would think.

Suddenly there are bright flashlights jumping all over our boat, followed quickly by loud banging on the side of our hull.

Wha???

"Anybody in there? This is the Sheriffs Office!"

Wha???

Peter (trusting soul that he is) steps outside and goes to the bow of the boat.

I scramble for clothes!

Me (not so trusting) grab my cell phone and get ready to call 911. After all, that could be anyone out there, not the Sheriffs Office just because they say so! 

I can hear a man speaking to Peter.

Slowly, I poke my head around the corner outside the boat.

Yup. It's a man in a Sheriffs uniform alright. Several men actually. Four cars in the parking lot facing our boat! 

Seems there was a report of a stolen vessel in the area. A dark blue hulled boat. They scanned all the boats in the water and found only one dark blue hull. Ours!

Peter invites them aboard, explaining who we are...blah blah blah.

They decline, deciding we are not the thieves and the boat is not stolen. They offer up their apologies for having disturbed us so late and for scaring us.

Peter responds, "No problem, we are fine and we weren't scared".

I blurt out "yes we were! Look! I'm holding my cell phone getting ready to dial 911 for help!"

The Sheriff responds by saying, "well, we are already here. Fast survice don't you think?"

Needless to say, I was not able to fall asleep after all that commotion.

It's very quiet and uneventful here in Indiantown. Just the occasional gator swimming beside us in our dinghy, black panthers jumping out in front of us while on a walk, and every so often, the Sheriffs Office makes itself known to a select few.

Cheeseburger in Paradise anyone?

                    

                              

DESTINATION - INDIANTOWN MARINA, FLORIDA

HURRICANE SANDY

We left just in time to miss the rath of Hurricane Sandy heading north up the east coast.  Here's a few pics at Daytona Beach after the hurricane had passed and was still out at sea.  Quite rough along the shoreline!

 

 

HOT RODS AT DAYTONA BEACH

 

Meanwhile....

we uncovered the boat shrinkwrapping...to discover the solar panel had lost one corner of protective covering...and created a hole the size of a dime.  Oh the water that flows in from such a small hole.  And the roasting pan that was filled with charcoal to assist with odour control...

filled with water....

turning the charcoal to mush...

which then flowed over the pan and...the pictures will tell the story from here. 

 









Robert and Cathy,

S/V BnG, rented a 2 bdrm house here and invited us to come aboard until the boat was more inhabitable.  You learn a lot about people when you live with them!  For example....Robert eats FRUIT LOOPS for breakfast!

 

 

HALLOWEEN POTLUCK - SUNSET BAY MARINA

THE COWARDLY LION WITHOUT A MASK!



ROBERT AND MIKE



JANICE, CAROLYN, JAMIE, CATHY, PETER

CAPTAIN MIKE, M/V NAVIGATOR



 

OUR NEW DECK CHAIRS! Eucalyptus wood. 
Thanks Sherry for finding these treasurers!

 





It was a relief to discover the snowbird car we were delivering to Jupiter Florida was a spacious and luxurious Lexus LS450.....

with an empty back seat. 

Seems our 'overnite luggage' took up slightly more space than anticipated. 

(Peter and all his toiletries!)

We are resting comfortably in a king sized bed at a lovely hotel in

South Carolina.....sipping RUM of course. 

Had to go thru duty free at 1am!

'HOMEWARD' BOUND TO PELICAN ROSE

October 25th.....the time has come once again. 
We are heading south to Indiantown tonite and have a Pelican Rose launch date of October 30th. 
Plans this year are quite a bit different and we are looking forward to doing some exploring on the Gulf Coast and south to the Dry Tortugas, finishing our trip by crossing over to the Bahamas.
December we head across Lake Okeechobee then north to Punta Gorda - returning to the original home of the original owners, Julie and Roland. 
We are housesitting for them Jan/Feb. and we plan to do day and overnite trips around and about the area until they return home. 
Fair Winds and Trawlerable Seas Mates!