Tortuga Tour Day 8: Ft. Pierce

Today’s destination: Fort Pierce City Marina.  When you travel by car, 78 miles is about from Rock Hill to Columbia and 1 ½ hours of time at 65 to 70 mph.   When you go 78 miles along the waterway in a trawler at an average of 7 miles an hour, the time is a full day.  Besides the difference in time, there is so much more to see on the water when you move more slowly, and you are affected by tides, winds, water currents, narrow channels or wide rivers, how much vertical space there is under bridges, boat traffic.  The perspective is completely different from when you are driving in a boat.

This should really be titled Blessings Day Eight.  It was another gorgeous day.  We were up early and could see the full moon setting at the boat’s stern and the sun rising at the bow (the picture above is last night’s moon).  There is not much tide change in this part of Florida, so it was still shallow.  A part of the blessing mentioned above was I succeeded in getting us back on the ICW without hitting bottom.  I was also at the helm for slightly over an hour which gave the Captain time for a second cup of coffee.  The next few times I took the helm weren’t quite as smooth.  My captain is the most patient man with his Admiral.  A sense of direction is not one of my better qualities.  Every time except the last one, I seemed to find the shallow water very well.  I am learning but much patience is required!

Aside: 3:38pm and we just hit our first of many manatee slow zones.  They are the cows of the water in Florida, and they move very slowly, leaving them prone to being wounded by fast going boats.  If I manage to see one on this trip, I will take a picture.  We love them!  We saw a pair years ago in Titusville when Fred was washing the boat.  They came along side where the stream of warm water from the air conditioner was coming out.  One of the manatees was positioned so the stream was shooting into its mouth, probably massaging its gums.  The second one waited for a turn but never got it – first come, first serve!

Much of the waterway was even more scenic today than yesterday.  There were several wildlife preserves along our route, and the Indian River is quite wide in several places.  Again, there was a steady parade of boats heading North.  Many of them were sail boats with their sails unfurled.  They are elegant and graceful when they are sailing instead of motoring.  The pictures don’t give you that sense, but videos don’t copy to the journal.  You’ll have to imagine.

With some exceptions the traveling today was more relaxing for body and soul.

We are now in the marina.  We have had our ice cream and following showers, we will slumber soundly till morning’s light.

Captain’s Comments:

If this were the starship Enterprise, I could call this Captain’s Log.  The Enterprise captains always seemed to have time to write important stuff in their logs.  This, though, is Betty Lou, and the captain had to clean two days of salt off the outside of the ship while the admiral cleaned up inside after dinner.

Before dinner, after we arrived in the marina (and after tending to the all-important holding tank pump-out and then moving Betty Lou to her slip for the night) we took a short walk around the waterfront to see what had changed at the Fort Pierce City Marina since our last visit.  The new floating docks were full.  The old tiki hut bar and burger joint next to the marina that blew away in the last hurricane has been replaced by a two story, hurricane-wind reinforced restaurant.  We didn’t eat dinner there—the dock hands didn’t recommend it–but two take-out ice-cream cones were $13.00.  We’re still looking for the perfect spot to break our COVID habit of not eating in a restaurant.

The dock hands were the best part of our stop here, from my perspective.  Two knowledgeable, helpful, friendly men.  One had been working at the marina for 13 years.  Both African American.  Earlier in the afternoon, I had called the marina to confirm our arrival and check on the marina closing time.  The woman I spoke with said I could arrive any time prior to 4:00 AM, and that there would be “boys” available to check us in.  It was jarring at the time, and all the more so in hindsight as the men greeted us at the dock.

Due to some calculational inconsistencies, the Navigator/Captain failed to inform the Admiral (in advance) that today would be the longest day of the trip (so far).  She took it pretty well, all things considered.  Peace  fks