Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Cleaned the Boat, Loaded Provisions, Rested

A long walk for Hoolie relief!
The boat had set idle for almost two months so a lot of cleaning and provisioning was needed. Cruising is not all fun, there's a lot of work involved too! Still, it's not too bad doing all that work in 80 degree weather! We had the A/C running again today but it cools off at night, down to 70 later on.

It seems there's always a battle between the forces that shoal the ICW and the Corps of Engineers that try to keep it free of shallows. One of the current battlegrounds is the entrance to St Lucie River, where our marina is located (Loggerhead Marina). There was a report of a boat with a 5ft draft hitting bottom at low tide in late December. So for us when we plan on moving on Friday, we'll go through the entrance at high tide but that only gives us another 1.2 ft! But since we only draw 4' 9", that should be enough. The shallow waters of the ICW always keeps you on your toes!

The roadway seems to "float" between these graceful pillars
I noticed that the prices for many items are lower here in Stuart than further north. For example, a pound of potato salad was $3.99 in Georgia at a Publix but the same 1 lb of potato salad was only $2.39 here - it had the identical packaging, also at a Pulbix, just less expensive. With the warmer weather and lower cost of living (no state income tax) I can see the attraction of Florida, but just not in the summer.

We'll do some more boat prep Thursday and finally head out on Friday morning to catch the high tide at the Crossroads (entrance to St Lucie) and drop anchor at Hobe Sound, a short day.

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