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Subject: [worldcruising] trip report 3
From: thatboatguy (thatboatguy@XXX.XXX)
Date: Fri Aug 16 2002 - 00:20:08 EDT
At Anchor, Cayo Costa
29 April 2002
Hi Everybody,
We just had another brochure experience day sailing out in the Gulf
of Mexico. Picture perfect weather with a breeze blowin out of the
southwest and turning west as central Florida heated up. The weather
guessers were at least right about that one…. central Florida sucks
when it gets hot! We are headed there tomorrow anyway as we cut the
state in half on the Okeechobee Waterway.
The first time I made this trip was in an ultra stink-pot, a Sea Ray
express bridge 440 that I was delivering to Stuart from Panama City.
This type of boat can be fun when someone else is buying the fuel and
paying you $210 a day and expenses to counteract the bad karma. With
35 knots available you can make it across the state in one day, I
know, I did it. This time it will be more like three days. For one
thing, Tom Colvin, who designed John's boat, has invited us to stop
by for coffee as we come by Alva. How cool is that? Also we did not
make Fort Myers today and it makes better sense to break it up three
ways from here.
The sailing was just more of the same perfect conditions so I won't
torture you with details. We tucked into Venice to pick up fuel and
I broke my rule by filling all but one jerry jug. Why? I don't know
but I just had a feeling, "felt a disturbance in the force", had a
hunch, whatever, I just left one empty. I am usually not very good
at dock approaches; I just don't do it that often. As it turns out
today I was rigged wrong way and there was a knot of current behind
me coming in. Also the sun was in my eyes and the ball took a bad
bounce… So I did a 180 and pulled up pretty as you please, got lines
on and jumped down like the barefoot buccaneer who owned the place
and it was just business as usual. If they only knew. One side
benefit was that the dock master and I could poke fun at the
powerboats trying to come in and dock. John is trying to educate me
on boat handling; some of it may sink in.
Cayo Costa is a very cool island on the south side of Boka Grande.
It may be a big mouth but it has some skinny water on the north side
of the entrance. A shoal runs way out into the gulf to the north of
the channel. I was able to sneak in over the shoal on a technicality
as it was near high tide and the westerly was, I hoped, pushing even
more water up in there. Sure enough, I saved about 7 knots by not
having to go out to the sea buoy and that gave me some time for beach
combing. I thought about pelican harbor but it was already packed,
and with the weather we have been having, (high pressure parked over
us for another week), I'm happier out here to the north where I'll
have a little breeze and some swinging room, and the sound of the
crickets on Cayo Costa instead of some bums generator. I pulled in
and dropped the hook in about 10 feet. This is a very pretty place.
Palms and sea oats along the gulf side and mangroves along the water
on this side, there are jungle sounds coming from the interior
including green parrots. I saw a big raccoon moving along the sandy
spots among the mango roots, scritch scratching here and there for
whatever yum-yums they eat. I saw a sea turtle in the shallows.
There is a nest of Osprey in a dead tree just to the north, with at
least one young one in the nest. I dropped the hot rod dink out of
the davits to go stretch my legs a bit. I also wanted to keep an eye
out for John coming in. I noticed a slight smell of gasoline when I
got in the dink but that's not unusual since it's a gas motor - eh? -
and there was an island to explore so I didn't investigate. New
rule: When you smell gasoline… investigate.
I got air a couple of times jumping from white cap to white cap and
straightened some of the curls out my hair on the way to the beach,
he haw! For the third time on this trip, I found myself alone on
postcard quality landscape. There were not even footprints this time
unless you count raccoon, crab, and several sizes of bird feet. I
walked a couple hundred yards just soaking it in and picking up a few
shells when I came upon a raged old wooden bench. It was situated in
such a way as to give maximum view of the sunset. Although sunset
was hours away, I sat for a while with my right arm out over the
bench wishing that I had already found the girl I'm looking for so
there would be a soft neck pushing back into my shoulder and a soft
touch on my leg. She will show up, as all my powerful visions come
about; when the time is truly right.
I saw Prudence out by the sea buoy and recognized her by the square
shape of her main sail although still miles out. And so, I walked
back to the dink to return to the Lucky Dolphin and galley duty. On
the way back, one of the adult Osprey pinioned and dove into the
water not three feet from shore and about 25 feet in front of me! It
came up with a fish about ten inches in length and took off gaining
only 10 of 15 feet of altitude before going through that shaking out
of the feathers to dry off a bit, and then up and away towards the
nest, taking advantage of the lift where the wind was blowing against
a sand bank. All efficiency, they always turn the fish head first to
reduce drag in flight. I always thought that this was a small
consolation to the fish also, who gets a good view for it's first
flight. A little further I saw a big stingray right next to shore.
It was as big as a manhole cover, with eyes the size of half
dollars. I stood looking at it for some time before it fluttered off
into deeper water. I only found two pieces of trash to take back to
the dink on the entire beach I walked.
Back at the dink I had a strong smell of gasoline and investigated.
The fuel tank had a pinhole leak in the bottom of it. I sure was
glad I had that empty jug to transfer gas to back at the dolphin. I
blazed a trail back to the mother ship, sometimes making contact with
the water.
That's the end of this shitty day in paradise.
Love
George
P.S. In a previous rambling I was struggling with recording the
experience of going into the wilderness and did my best to convey the
idea without, I think, much success. In the book I'm reading I came
upon the perfect prose that conveys the feeling I would have put
forth, had I the eloquence. See if you can guess who wrote it. No
fair asking Mom.
"Walk with a softened heart into the wilderness; it is delightful as
the spring and melancholy as the autumn; wander at random; leave
behind you the ruined abbey; loose yourself amidst the sweet peace of
those ravines, amidst the song of birds and the rustle of leaves;
drink from the hollow of your hand, the water of the springs; walk,
meditate, forget."
This post is my property.... you don't steal my work... I don't pee
in your dock box.
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