Barefoot Landing Marina – What you don’t want to meet in the Rock Pile

This is only the front of the barge coming out of the "rock pile"

Ahead of us is a stretch of the ICW that’s been dug out of a very rocky section. The going was so rough that they only cleared just enough width for two boats to barely pass each other and no room at all if a barge is coming down this stretch. The rocks excavated for the canal are piled up along the sides (hence the name, "rock pile"). If you wander off the center line of the canal, you run a very real risk of hitting a partially submerged rock, which has happened to many boats. Before entering the rock pile section, you call ahead on VHF channel 16 and ask if there’s any barges or large boats coming down in the opposite direction. If there are, you wait, otherwise you go ahead.

Here's a photo of the entire barge!!

Well this morning as we were having our breakfast, we saw the longest barge I’ve ever seen pass by! It was easily over ¼ of a mile long, maybe longer. There was a tug pulling in front and a second tug about ¾ of the way back to help the back part around turns. I can’t imagine meeting this tow in the rock pile! When we start out on Wednesday morning, we’ll certainly call ahead on channel 16 to see if anything is coming. For more information on the "rock pile" section, see the link. Look about 1/2 down the page for the information.

They liked the sun

We wandered around the shops again today and found and excellent Izod outlet. The prices were the best I’ve seen and the merchandise was first quality, no seconds. I got three pairs of Izod Bermuda shorts and three Izod golf knit shirts for a total of $60. The rest of the shops were very trendy but interesting to browse through. The stores are around a large pond with turtles and other wildlife. There are supposed to be alligators in the pond too but we’ve haven’t seen any yet.

Off through the rock pile tomorrow!