Oct 2 - North Causeway Marine

Getting squared away at NCW didn't quite consume the day but was certainly my focus. I was up early, doing my usual stuff at the computer.

Once it was light went outside and did some raking ... yes, me raking. The yard is full of sticks etc. that have fallen from the live oak and palm trees that dominate our yard. I now have three little piles on the yard to deal with that will make their way out of the yard at some point.

On a biking note -- I've been monitoring the progress on the Endless Mountains 1240k brevet watching some of my friends / acquaintances / fellow riders progress. Glen Steen had to withdraw -- "fatigue" shown on the spreadsheet as the cause -- unfortunate for him, that's the fourth 1200 in a row that he's DNF'd. I see Henk riding -- didn't think that he was planning on this one -- but he's not in the forefront this time. Judith is riding -- I'm a little worried about her because she got into the 2nd overnight control at 7:10 a.m. then left about an hour later. Perhaps she stopped earlier somewhere, one can only hope. It's been a cold -- low 40's -- and wet brevet. I hate that weather so perhaps it's just as well that I didn't do this one. A little later this morning I'll probably see the overnight posting for the third night.

Around 9am I got organized to leave, packing the usual boat bags & Abby into the car. We (Abby and I) stopped at Wal-Mart along the way to pickup another anchor. The vinyl covered ones were not working at all and I really need two anchors to moor at the sand bar. The #10 slip-ring anchor that I bought worked well later in the day even without the chain, which I also purchased.

Onward to Bluewater Boats I picked up the boat and headed back, stopping at my usual gas station on US 1 close to us to fill up the tank. I might as well get some cheaper gas into the boat when I can. I then stopped at NCW to complete the paperwork, was going to write a check but Tara decided that since the boat hadn't been "officially" measured yet that she would email a bill to me. We then proceeded to the North Causeway east launch, got the boat into the water, parked the car and trailer and Abby and I walked back to the boat and set out.

I figured that I might as well get all the paperwork over at once so I went directly to NCW so that they could measure the boat. Docked, I went in to see Tara who apologized and said that no, they needed to get the boat out of the water to measure it. So ... we headed out again, this time for the Inlet. I timed the trip from NCW to the Inlet -- 25 minutes at putt-putt speed, averaging 9 mph. The tide was running with me. On the way back our speed was 4.5-5.0 mph, taking twice as long. The GPS, of course, will give the absolute land speed while the boat's speedometer will give the water speed and is not all that accurate.

As usual, I decided that I would head out of the inlet into the ocean. Well, that was interesting. It wasn't very rough well out in the ocean but the tide was running out a full speed, creating huge -- the biggest that I've ever seen from a boat -- waves. They towered over me but we didn't take on any water. Careful driving was essential, adjusting speed accordingly. With this boat I'm not worried about taking on water since it simply flows out the back ... well, I say that, but if we had a couple of feet of water hit us it wouldn't be fun ! Not only that, but since I had not anticipated this the camera bag etc. were not in the head compartment and would have gotten wet. I couldn't let go of the wheel though, nor could I turn around until clear of the big waves. I remember thinking that the trip back through would certainly be easier !

Clear of the waves -- and watching some other boats gingerly making their way back, we cruised a little at idle speed. I saw a whole pod of dolphins side-by-side, something that you don't see in the ICW. These would be open water dolphins, not like their cousins that have adapted to life in the ICW. There were a couple of shrimp boats out, but not as many as on prior days.

We turned around to make our way in and I then found out that with waves big enough it isn't easy going either way. Traveling with the waves the bow of the boat was pointed at the sky as I climbed a wave. I had to increase the throttle to climb the wave -- like climbing a hill -- and then down the back side I had to ease off so that we didn't go down too fast. It was fascinating. The boat is designed for this, however, I was happy that I only had a hundred yards of these kind of seas to deal with.

We stopped at the island; Abby raced around chasing minnows; we headed back to NCM. Jason, I think that's his name, lowered the forklift into the water and then backed the boat onto the lift. He has a wired remote control that he uses to lift the forks to water level to steady the boat and then gets onto the forklift and raises the boat out of the water. He then puts it on supports on the concrete where I can flush the engine, hose down the boat, remove the plug and drop the bimini. I didn't stick around to see which spot in the racks was going to be mine, rather Abby and I went inside and then headed back to the car. I had helped Jason do the "official" measuring, coming in at 21 feet. The length is used to calculate the monthly rental of the slip, which of course includes all this in and out service etc.

Abby and I walked back to the car, about 1/3 mile away, and then home. I parked the trailer in the side yard by the clothesline and had lunch -- belatedly at 3pm. After I had a shower, Sandy and I went over to the Wine Warehouse and up to the former owners' new shop at Dunlawton and I95. I picked up a few bottles of red; Sandy got a bottle of white and some olive oil.

Dinner -- tuna -- was excellent as usual. Sandy left at 8:30 to pickup Sheryl and Jimmy whose flight was about 1 hour late. They were home around 10:30. I was still up, having had a snooze in the meantime, and we all got to bed a little before midnight.

Today ... don't know. We'll probably go for a boat ride although our schedule has yet to be discussed.

Onward.