As we completed bringing the boat from Stuart FL to Norfolk we anticipated a one-day run from Norfolk to Annapolis. The weather needs to be reasonably benign to make that happen and two prior days my schedule would allow it were no-go outcomes with winds out of the north and not insignificant waves to go with.
Finally, May 1 looked fairly smooth. We arrived at the boat the evening of April 30 and got a 6:30am start north. By 1:00 we were in the slip in Annapolis. What a great run!
drive the car home from Florida. Stopped in Norfolk where the boat sits awaiting a good transit day on the bay. With 2'+ waves at three seconds and 15 - 20 knot winds out of the NE, Friday was another no-go day. Try again on Wednesday.
from our winter marina in Stuart Florida to mile 0 in Norfolk is 996 statue miles of ICW travel. It is another 140 to get from Norfolk to Annapolis. Our trip home this time was weather delayed in Stuart (spring storms and tornadoes in northern Florida and Georgia) and ended early in Norfolk as the Bay was not ripe for a smooth single day passage.
Beyond the weather, the trip was a fund one, as per usual, with the college roommate/fraternity brothers as crew.
The winter in Florida has been good, but short. The weather was cooler than normal but not as cold as back on the Bay.
We headed back to Annapolis in late March. We are on Grandbaby watch with #3 due in early April. Before we left we enjoyed out final time this winter in Florida and worked to get the boat ready for the 1140 statue mile trip home.
Before leaving there were things to do. The transmission oil was due for a change. The impeller needed changing as well. They there was gear to lead from the dock box and gear to stow. The car needs to be loaded for the eventual trip north. The bike and the Scooter needed to be stored locally.
The "boys" and I will fly down on April 8th and start north on the 9th. Assuming good weather, Winsome Winn will be home in her slip on April 17th.
Back from our 12 day cruise across the Okeechobee to the gulf coast. For all the fresh water and rain crossing the Lake on the way back I was surprised at how dirty the boat was, especially a kind of "film" on the hull. The locks have lines that hang in the water so I expect the cockpit and deck to be dirty passing through six locks. The hull film was new.
Anyway it is all clean and we enjoyed a week plus back in Stuart before going back to Annapolis for a week of meetings etc.
Florida has NOT lived up to its reputation this winter. El Nino has brought us a colder and wetter winter in South Florida this year. And so it was that we started and ended a 12 day cruise across the state and up the GIWW to Sarasota with rain and wind on the front and back end.
The Okeechobee Waterway includes seven locks and covers 149 miles from the AIWW to the GIWW. The transit is roughly from the east coast town of Stuart to the west coast town of Ft Meyers. The rough half way point on the Okeechobee is the town of Clewiston.
We stopped in Clewiston both ways. It is a slice of America. The main industry is the US Sugar operations around the town and the main entertainment is bass fishing on the Lake.
The weather was kinder to us while on the GIWW. We made stops in Ft Meyers, Venice, Sarasota and Punta Gorda in fairly nice and mostly sunny weather.
The boat and crew made it to Florida last November. While the boat stayed and enjoyed the warm air and waters of south Florida the crew went home for the holidays.
Plans to be back on the boat before the new year's celebration were dashed when the kids needed help moving. And so we did the good parent/grandparent thing and delayed our transit from cold to warm and helped out.
It was January 6th before we got out of Annapolis (just ahead of a significant cold front) and reunited with the boat in Stuart Florida. Since then Annapolis has had two measurable snow storms, a storm surge event and plenty of ice on the back creeks.
Good call I would say!
Thanksgiving is always the final warning that winter is upon us. It always seems to sneak up on me. Those warmer early November afternoons always lull me into thinking the fall may continue. Then, slam! The string of late November near freezing mornings remind me I will be cold getting the fleet and house ready for winter.
And so it was in the days after Thanksgiving. Post turkey, I completed winterization on the Key West and covered her for the winter. I covered the row boat and tied down the kayaks with ratchet straps. The SUPs went to the screened porch as did the deck and dock furniture. The dock water was shut off and drained.
Tomorrow, maybe holiday lights for the little sailboat?
Yesterday was a day of rain (technically it lasted about 20 hours). Towards the end the winds picked up to well over 30 knots. The midnight high tide was eight inches over my dock and flooded downtown Annapolis.
This morning I went for a short boat ride to check on friends' docks. I then began the sad task of winterizing and covering our fleet for the winter to come.
Sue and I made it to Stuart Florida yesterday. Sun set Bay Marina in Stuart is our winter home. It was eleven days, 1200 miles, 69 engine hours, 900 gallons of diesel and ten marina nights. The schedule, the weather, the crew and the boat all cooperated to make it go just as scheduled.