Vero Beach to Titusville

    We pulled out of Vero Beach at 7 am as the sky was just starting to light up with the morning sun. Since  NOAA weather was calling for a calm morning with winds increasing by mid day I wanted to get some distance in before anchoring in Titusville some 60 miles to the north. It was smooth cruising until around 11 am when the winds started and over the course of an hour built to 20 to 25 knots. Since we were in the ICW it was choppy with salt spray constantly being swept away by our windshield wipers, but the motion of the boat was comfortable (meaning not nauseating!)   Beth didn't like the the boat leaning to starboard but even with maximum trim, the winds kept us in what Beth calls "sail boat mode" Spencer didn't like it at all.  He started to shake when the first waves hit the windshield and kept it up so long that we finally gave him 1/4 of his travelling pill to sedate him and settle him down....He may not make it as a boat dog!

                                                               20 knot winds
                                                                               
                                                                               
     Doc's Holiday handled the waves well....except for when two sports cruisers snuck up on us and badly waked us.  If they had called to tell me they were passing I could have moved over, slowed down and crossed into their wake to minimize the roll, but they didn't.  No VHF call, No sound signals. No nothing.  I didn't see them until they were beside me.  Idiots! I was on automatic pilot and at any time the boat wanders somewhat from side to side.  They could have run right into me! The name on the back of one of them was "No Self Control"!  Right name!  I should have reported them but I was more anxious to get anchored out of the wind as soon as possible.

                                 Nasa Shuttle Launch Station, Cape Canaveral                                      

     Surprisingly we eased into 4 feet of water just north of the mooring field in Titusville and the anchor set on first try.  Whew!  Nice view of the land, somewhat protected from the north west wind which settled to 5 to 10 knots overnight and a great view of the dozen or so boats that were really sparsely separated in this large bay.

                                                                          

                                                         Titusville Anchorage                          


     The wind had loosened our bimini top so we folded it up and tide it down with a rope, knowing that if we move the boat to Daytona Beach the next day we would experience the same wind.  The boat is thick with salt from the spray so we may go only as far as New Smyrna Beach, get a slip so we can wash the salt off the boat and wait for the good weather predicted for tomorrow.

                                               Nice way to end an exhausting day.                                   
                 

Vero Beach

     Vero Beach has the nickname "Velcro Beach" because once cruisers get here they simply want to stay.  The town knows what cruisers want and cater to their needs.  The municipal marina is conveniently located and has free shuttle buses that can carry cruisers either to down town where there is a grocery store and West Marine or to the beach for a somewhat more touristy boutique shopping and dining experience.(but we did not see even one junky made in China beach trap!) 

                        Spencer had a watchful eye on the dolphins constantly swimming behind the
                        boat while at the marina.                                     

     We took advantage of the free shuttle and headed for the beach and breakfast at "The Lemon Tree", a well run restaurant with reasonably priced home cooked food.  It passed the Admiral's first test....there was a line up of people waiting 30 minutes to get a seat...therefore must be good food!...it was ...but...I'm getting older by the minute and time flies...seemed like a half day to me!  We walked the beach to the Farmer's Market which was filled with vendors selling fresh fruit, vegetables, honey and jams.  After sampling the orange juice we couldn't resist and bought two bags to take back to the boat.  If you haven't tasted fresh picked Valencia oranges...you should.  They are the juiciest sweetest oranges I have ever tasted.

                                                                Vero Beach

     Since it was only a little over a mile, we walked the back streets to the marina.  The foliage was unique.  Oddly bent old oak trees with their thick limbs covered in ferns giving them a "fuzzy" look, lined the streets.  It appeared to me that probably because of the thick humidity present during the summer (thank heaven not now!) that mold covered the branches and small ferns have taken growth in the mold.( Later found out these are known as Resurrection Ferns as they wilt during the dry season and resurrect when they get rain.)  This must have been what old Florida flora was like before development.

                                                                 Spanish Moss


                            
                                                             Resurrection Fern


     Spencer was not impressed with the nearby dog park.  It was open, clean with a large area to run but when I released his leash, he simply looked up at me as if to say....Oh! No!  If you think I am going to run with these big Doberman Pinchers you are nuts...Pick me back up!....What a weenie!!
     Cocktails and dinner were at the nearby Riverside Bar and Grill.  A spacious bar situated on the water with small boat dockage right in front.   The mussels in a  white wine sauce was followed by fresh almond crusted grouper with a mango sauce. Dinner was delicious.  Several cubra libras later and the in house Blues Band sounded better.  We met the guitar player who knew Johnny and Edgar Winter from playing in Austin, Texas years ago.  He informed us this was the only bar in Vero Beach that had live music. I informed him that he needed to turn the mike up for the singer! (Hmm cubra libras do make one feel bolder!)
      Later I met the bouncer.  Hee! Hee!  Now I know what y'all are thinking...Oh! No! Ralphie...what did you do now!  Well, not this time!  This time I was innocent.  He had my name, damn it and I wanted to meet him.  Well I should say he had my boat's name...Doc Holiday!  (I think I wanted it back!). A nice fellow who seemed quite capable of doing what he said he did....Cleaned up the brawling in this bar in 6 months time, a few years ago.  The bar caters not only to the well behaved boaters but later on in the evening (since all the boaters have retired early) caters to the younger college crowd who used to get a little out of hand. Not any more and of course since Doc cleaned it up the business has blossomed.

                                                   Which one is the real Doc's Holiday.

    The Admiral said it was time to go back to the boat since we were planning on leaving as soon as the next storm passed through tomorrow, so we said goodby to our new friends and retired to the boat.
    Given that the winds were still high we decided to stay in Vero Beach another day.  Off to the art museum to view a showing of "Hyper-realism art".  It was impressive.  At first I thought I was looking at photographs that were enhanced, since the colours were deeper and more vibrant than even the best photos I had ever seen but the detail was deeper than a photo.  No,the artists painted these from scratch, one taking over a year to produce a replica of the front hood, grill and fender of a sports car.  I would love to have any car that had the rich deep blue finish appearing in this painting on aluminum.  You could see the reflection on the fender of people standing and admiring the car. Another piece was a bronze sculpture of a thin ballerina which detailed even the slight wrinkles around her smile, and you could not tell it was bronze as it was painted in such fine detail.  Another sculpture of an elderly lady attracted Beth's attention. Holding her hand next to the statue, she said, "Look the veins and age spots on her hands look as real as my own hand!"  That's the Admiral not a trace of vanity in her whole body.
    When I walked Spencer in the dog park after the museum, I met Sue and her two boat dogs Jaimie and Speedy.  Since she was alone I invited her to join us later for a walk to nearby "Mulligans" beach bar.  As we enjoyed wine and of course cubra libras from Adirondack chairs on the beach, we learned that Sue was a recently retired paediatrician from Clearwater, Florida.  Only retired a few weeks she purchased a 32 foot  boat to do her dream of cruising the east coast of Florida down to the Keys. Seems a little lonely to do this solo (maybe what I unconsciously detected when I first talked with her) but she seemed content, although welcomed the opportunity to spend time sipping wine on the beach with something other than "dog talk". It was an enjoyable evening and nice to know that other physicians are able to give up there life long endeavour and commitment to enjoy their retirement. Only time will tell if I can do so.

Lake Peck to Vero Beach,Fl

     Tom warned me. I forgot! The dingy motor wouldn't start. The dog Spencer glared up at me and I knew what was going on in his tiny head by the look in his eye. Come on Daddy I want to go to the beach....I have to Peee! The Admiral glared up at me and I knew what was going on in her (I won't say tiny) head by the look in her eyes.  Come on, I want to see the sunrise and get some exercise on the beach, but I forgot what Tom had warned me about and it should be a warning to any of you reading this blog that have outboards, 4 wheelers, motorcycles, lawn mowers or anything that runs on the bullshit crap they are claiming is saving us money. I am talking about the ethanol they are putting in gas!   Tom worked on the dingy motor before we left Texas to clean out the carburetor, filter and fuel lines and told me to make sure before I shut the motor off to disconnect the fuel line and let the motor run dry of  what I am now terming "FRAP" (fuel crap!).  In anywhere from 20 days to 6 weeks this frap will separate the fuel into water and a congealed substance and will actually varnish the inside of the carburetor, jets, fuel pump and can cause the gaskets and the fuel line itself to disintegrate! This will immediately lead to your family and pets getting "that glare" in their eye! You shouldn't even leave this frap in your car or big boat for more than a month.  I suggest if you don't want water in your fuel that you only put as much frap in your tank as you can use up in a month....or better yet fill up with fuel that has NO ETHANOL...you can find it at some marinas and yes they charge more for it!  Just think the idiots running the EPA have just ok'd going to 15% ethanol.... I call it the.Mechanic's security program!!
     We pulled and washed down the anchor and chain and idled out of Peck Lake.  As we turned our nose north we couldn't help but admire the beauty of the area.  Lush green mangroves were sharply contrasted by the light sand beach and the Caribbean blue water of the Atlantic now lighting up with the rising sun.  Forcing myself to concentrate on the markers I increased the motors to our cruising speed of 1200 rpms and with the incoming tide we cruised at 10 knots.  No automatic pilot today.  There were strong currents conspiring to push Doc's Holiday out of the channel on to the notorious shifting shoals of the St. Lucie inlet and I was determined not to do any more damage to the props.
     It was a good day to navigate from the fly bridge.  We could see many boats anchored out fishing in the side channels with some nestled in behind the many small islands just off the ICW.  It would have been a nice day to go slow but I had checked the XM weather and NOAA and knew there was a chance that thunderstorms might hit in the afternoon. 
     The sky darkened. The sun began to fade as it was shrouded by the angry looking grey- black clouds that approached from the north.

                                                                               

      We quickly went to the fly bridge, folded up and tied down the bimini top, closed all the windows, secured all the doors and held Spencer.  With the first low rumble of thunder he began to shake slightly.  The wind picked up and quickly reached 60 miles per hour as the rain started.  At first it was just a sprinkle but quickly became a deluge so hard that we couldn't see the other boats around us.

                                                                                
       Fingers of lightning cracked through the sky lighting up the entire inside of the boat and Spencers slight shaking jumped to the level of vibration!  The boat rocked and rolled and the rain struck harder and noisier as it had turned to marble size hail.  We laughed.  We weren't scared!  Why? .... We had made it to the Vero Beach marina and were securely tied up in a slip.  Maybe we were learning, but most likely we have been gaining enough experience to realize that we are better to secure the boat and crew if there is a hint of unsettled weather. 
     We easily rode out the storm at the marina but as it was calling for high winds we elected to stay at the marina for a couple of days and explore Vero Beach.  
  

Lake O to Peck Lake

     Crossing Lake O with its shallow waters was stressful, but not as stressful as our escapade in the last lock we had to traverse to enter the Lucie Canal.  Sanctuary entered first and deftly tied to the starboard side....no problem.  Doc's Holiday gently eased in behind them and just as Beth was tying to the cleat the wind came up and began to push the stern of the boat away from the wall and toward the other wall. Thankfully there were no other boats in the lock at the time.  No matter how I tried I could not get the stern to pull in....the wind had me.   With the line attached to the bow instead of the mid cleat (at the insistance of the lock master!) there was no way I could walk the boat side ways...finally a short tempered Lock Master ordered us to the downwind side of the lock.....YIPES! All the bumpers were quickly transferred to the port side of the boat and we gently drifted on to the cement wall.  To make things worse there was a Manatee caught in the lock with us!  Fortunately, the boat, the crew and the manatee survived without a scratch!.........Except Beth's Sunglasses!

                              Minus my lost "PRESCRIPTION Sunglasses in the lock.    

     The rest of the trip was uneventful but stressful, with continuous depth readings in the 3 to 4 foot range do to the choppy water and the low tide.  We stayed right behind Sanctuary who kindly lead us into Peck Lake near the Lucie inlet on the Atlantic side, and showed us exactly where to anchor.  It took 3 tries at setting the anchor but we set firmly and remained that way for two days. 
     This anchorage is one of the most popular for boats trekking north for the summer.  The barrier island is a turtle sanctuary, so no pets allowed on the Atlantic side of the island but a sandy beach with an easy place to land the dingy was available on the ICW side of the island.

                                                               Sunset Pecks Lake                         

                                                               Sunrise Pecks Lake
        
      Mike and Valli picked us up in their dingy for a brisk walk along the Atlantic beach the next morning.  Flat calm water, 80 degree temperature, numerous shells in soft sand and half buried Man o Wars jelly fish....What's not to like!  Surprisingly we spotted a tall pole topped by a remote tv camera that turned to watch the beach for,I suggested with a laugh turtle egg snatchers, but most likely  illegals trying to make it to the USA. It also turned to watch the anchorage.  Sure glad we spotted that before we tried skinny dipping!  After a brisk walk we returned to the boat to watch the afternoon adventures in the lagoon.

                                                          Man O War Jelly Fish                       

     It made me feel somewhat better to watch others ground out and get stuck in the shallow water. Not that I wished ill on anybody.  I was just relieved to know that not only can it happen to non professional cruisers...it can happen to experienced tug boat captains.  We watched as a tug boat came in to remove a barge next to a dredge. (They are dredging the St. Lucie inlet.)  The tug boat bottomed out and and was firmly stuck in the mud, eventually freeing  himself from the sandbar the captain hooked on to the barge and got the tug and the barge stuck in the exact same spot!  Hours later with the help of a second tug boat they all got out.
 

    

Finally Released

Grounded again!

Help arrives.

     Tomorrow we begin our trek north.  Bad weather is predicted for the weekend so we will plan on staying at a marina in Vero Beach.  Sadly we said good-bye to Sanctuary, wished them well and truly hope we meet up with them in the future.

Naples to Lake Okeechobee

    
     Getting out of work at 9:30 on a Friday night was a relief.  I knew the potential for trauma cases to start pouring in could start anytime. My colleague Dr. Ponnuru, was more than capable of handling the volume and I smiled when he released me to go home.  A few more items to pack in my one carry on bag, a quick snack, a half of a sleeping pill (even though exhausted from working since 7 am, I knew I was too excited to sleep) and off to bed.
     My eyes snapped open as the morning sun glared in through the bedroom window.  Damn it!   I paid an extra $150 to fly out of Port Arthur Airport since it was free parking for  the month but if I didn't get a move on  I would miss the plane altogether and it would cost me more to try and drive to Houston to catch the connector to Fort Myers.  To anyone standing on the street the Volvo was just a blur that blew past.  I made it on time.
     Beth had been working on the boat for two weeks.  She cleaned inside and out, washed and ironed all the drapes, washed all the bedding and tried to hang screen doors. On top of that, she started provisioning the boat with food and drink.  She was busy every day for two weeks, tired and not done...it took another two full days before we felt we were ready for this part of the adventure. Fortunately Jennifer brought Cameron over and he was immediately appointed "Swabby", given a mop and pointed towards the upper deck.   Even though he moaned a little about his arm being tired from swabbing the upper helm and deck, he did a good job.  However, he declined when the boat next to us offered to let him do their boat as well!

                                                                 Jennifer and Cameron           
 
     We finished fueling up the boat at 3:30 on Monday and although the winds were reported to be  15 to 20 knots, we decided to stick our nose out into the Gulf and take a look.  If it was too rough we would turn around and anchor in a cove just inside Gordon's Pass. If within  our tolerance we would go to Fort Myers.

                                                               Leaving

                                         Our last Gulf sunset on DocsHoliday until the fall.                                       


      A warm south breeze pushed us over rolling waves and Caribbean blue water all the way to the Caloosahatchee river and by dusk we were anchored in a scenic well protected cove and cracking open a frosty cold ale. Not a bad start to this portion of the adventure.
       As I was plotting the course at 6:30 the next morning I heard engines fire up and watched as the motor yacht "Sanctuary"  pulled slowly by.  Remembering that this boat was anchored behind us at Cayo Costa Park and seeing a Canadian Flag on the stern, I jumped up and hailed them on the VHF. Yes, they were from Toronto, had been cruising for 25 years and would be happy to let us tail along behind them through the locks and across Lake Okeechobee.  "GET UP BETH!" I yelled down to the aft stateroom. "WE'RE LEAVING!" 
     It was a beautiful spring morning with temps in the 80's, no humidity during the day,and temps in the 60's at night...meaning no air conditioning and a Happy Admiral! As we followed Sanctuary several other motor yachts pulled out from different marinas along the river and fell into line behind us.  Apparently we wouldn't be the only ones trying to cross the lake, but of the 5 that entered the first lock with us, only two would cross the lake..Doc's Holiday and Sanctuary. Two pulled off at marinas and the 3rd , a couple from Minnesota doing the loop, we're heard calling on the VHF for Sea Tow...we heard them say they "blew a motor!" I hope it wasn't because they were trying to keep up with us as we were pushing to get to the lake before dark.

                                             Sanctuary in the WP Franklin Lock.                                 

      We were much more comfortable doing the locks since we met the challenge of the locks in New Orleans but the the second lock we went through was difficult..  As the doors opened to raise us 13 feet, we held the lines tight. The boat on the wall across from us however, had difficulty.  The girl holding the stern line couldn't overpower the surge of water coming in through the lock doors and the back of the boat began to flounder and swing wide. It was eventually controlled with help from other crew. Whew! We breathed a sigh of relief when we finally exited the lock. I guess the old adage is true "try as you may...shit happens!"
     The last lock pushed us out into a canal beside the lake where we anchored for the night.  Later Mike and Valli Scheuring owned by the trawler "Sanctuary" dingied over to join us in a bottle of wine and meet the "newbie cruisers" who had been tailing them across the river.

                                               Sunrise at Moore Haven Canal  Anchorage
           
     What a delightful and interesting couple.  Mike who bears an uncanny resemblance to my brother in law Danny Kennedy thrilled us with interesting places we should visit, such as Eleuthra in the Bahamas and Cumberland Island in Georgia. His wife Valli agreed that the thing they like to do best was anchor out, hike the island trails, and enjoy the solitude of the natural surroundings. This they have been doing full time for over 10 years.  Mike was once head of the Marketing Board in Toronto, Ontario working 18 hours a day until he eventually had a heart attack. Deciding enough is enough, now he and Valli are completely enjoying taking their boat up and down the east coast and to the Caribbean.  They are a wealth of information not only about touring but about boating and safety in general.  They certainly helped us with getting to the east coast of Florida.  Thank you Mike and Valli and may you both have many more years of doing what you love most....cruising in Sanctuary.

                                         Mike and Valli on Sanctuary                                                                           

     The Okeechobee Waterway is rich in wildlife. My good friends Chuck and Kelsey Mason, avid fishermen would be ecstatic to see the number of fish rolling and jumping along the waterway. In several areas the water was "boiling" with fish.  They were even trapped in the locks but I didn't have enough time to get a line wet and try and snag one.  Numerous birds including owls, hawks and vultures sat in the trees shrouded by the morning mist, watching Doc's Holiday glide by.  Eeerie! and gave me a strange sense of foreboding.  Maybe it was a forewarning for what was about to happen.
     We entered the lake at an idle.  It was well advertise that this area of the lake was shallow.  Almost immediately we came across a 35 foot boat hard aground with two locals waiting for someone to come help them get floated.  I swear I stayed directly behind Sanctuary...but they didn't hit bottom....and we did!  ..and in the channel!  I see a reworking of our props in our future.

Cayo Costa and Naples

      Even though we were exhausted from the long day getting to Punta Gorda and the thrilling day watching the air show, all I wanted to do was get the boat out of Laishley Marina.  No, there was no problem with the other slip dwellers. The marina staff were very friendly and helpful.  The restaurant was within a stone's throw of Doc's Holiday and there was even an ice cream store handy.   Why then was I so anxious to get going? Sea sickness!  This was the most rocky-rolly of any anchorage or marina we had yet encountered. It was constant rolling from the swells and waves from the north wind blowing directly in from the bridge.  Even Jennifer said she felt like she was still rocking when she was on land a day later!  I wasn't physically sick but mild dizziness was starting and it was either get going or spend the day sitting in the park or on the dock watching the boats heave and roll (which also makes me queasy!) or find a quiet  anchorage, and I knew there was one close by.  Cayo Costa state park was just 20 miles away.
     Surprising to Beth, but not to me, Charlotte Harbour was smooth.
 "How could it be this smooth out here and so rough at the marina?" she asked.
 As I so slightly puffed out my chest and pulled my shoulders back, I replied, "Must be the good skills I'm developing predicting the wind and waves!" I exclaimed. (Thinking in the back of my mind, "!@#$%[ rhymes with mole], this statement is going to come back and bite you on the ass!).
      In truth, with the WX radio weather system linked into my Nobeltec navigation system, computer access to NOAA (our national weather prediction source---finally government money spent that really helps people!), and four times daily broadcasts from NOAA updating the local weather, it is possible to maximize the probability of going cruising in good weather.
    Sunny blue sky, fresh humidity free breeze, cool blue smooth water, made for an easy ride all the way to the entrance of Cayo Costa state park.  The entry was somewhat difficult..  Narrow and shallow, stay within 50 feet of the shore read the review on the Active Captain web site....and they meant it! Now, you have to understand that after dinging the props several times and how stressful it is to take a large boat next to the shore if one is not landing, my reluctance to get close to the shore.  As I began to stir up mud with the depth finder reading 2.9 feet, a small boat captain who was leaving the anchorage waved me in closer to the shoreline, where we found the deeper channel. Whew! Stirring up sea grass is a big NO! NO! (read - penalty of a fine) and the possibility of dinging a prop was behind us, so we drifted past the Park Ranger's dock and set anchor in 7 feet of water.

                                                        
                                                A frightening 50 feet offshore                       

     I immediately launched the dingy and even though it was only 11:30 reasoned "it must be 5 o'clock somewhere and I'm on vacation!" poured a healthy gin and tonic, sank in to the forward sun pads (usually referred to by me as the "thong check station") and basked in the warm sunshine. 
     Beth was anxious to see the park and the beach on the gulf side since her best friend, Diane and husband Larry, had relayed to her a description of a  tranquil island with a beautiful soft white sand beach.  Catching the tram (a truck pulling a wagon with bench seats), we were transported the mile across the island to the gulf side beach.  We laid out the beach towels and quickly fell asleep soothed by the rhythmic washing of the waves against the shore. It was pleasant and I thought, "Is this what its all about? Is this the relaxation and solitude I have been searching for?  Not quite. Pleasant enough, but too many boats in the anchorage (we counted 26 and lots of room for more!), too many campers, and even though sparsely placed because of the length of the beach, too many people.  As we walked the mile back to the dingy dock we talked about the difficulties and stress involved with cruising, and our lives.  We have some issues to address which call in to question our ability to get Doc's Holiday to Maine .

                                                                        
                                                             Cayo Costa Beach  

     The wind shifted at midnight. I jumped out of bed to check the anchor. Everything had changed. All the boats were shifted to the new increased wind direction  and it looked like maybe we had dragged anchor.  The anchor alarm sounded.  Was it just that we had swung wider or were we indeed likely to drift into another boat?  The boat beside us was now on the opposite side and we appeared to be about the same distance away.  The boats behind us appeared closer.  Was it that my chain was further stretched out because of the wind pressure or were we sliding toward the other boats??  On and on I questioned, repeatedly checking the anchor alarm and our position to all the other boats as the wind increased to 15 to 20 mph.
       At dawn a bleary eyed Beth rose up the spiral staircase from the aft stateroom with an angry tone questioning,"What are you banging around about? You've kept me awake all night!" She took one look around in the daylight and said, "The boat hasn't moved, I'm going back to bed."
 "It didn't look that way in the dark, " I pleaded.
     As soon as I saw other boats starting to leave, I yelled for Beth to get up. We were hauling anchor and getting out of here.  With a good weather prediction for the gulf, I was anxious to get Doc's Holiday secured in a slip at our condo in Naples.  The wind had subsided a little as we followed the other boats out through the narrow passage. We turned into the ICW heading toward Fort Myers and the open gulf.  Apprehensive about the gulf passage, I was relieved to see calm turquoise water as we exited the Fort Myers causeway bridge into the Gulf of Mexico. Travelling just 3 miles offshore we could see the the high rise buildings on shore and the parasailers floating hundreds of feet in the sky.

                                                             Sanibel Island Resort                                   

                                                             Fort Myers Beach                       

                                                                        Turquoise                                                                                                                                                                         


     We passed the occasional sailboat but mainly concerned ourselves with dodging lines of crab traps and discussing the travails of cruising. This was the perfect weather for cruising. Not too hot or humid. Clear sky and calm water with just enough swell to let one know you are on a boat but not enough to disturb ones equilibrium. Maybe it was because I was up all night or because of our strained relationship or maybe it was the joy of finally getting Doc's Holiday to our home in Naples, but I felt a tenseness in the pit of my stomach and a tear welled up in my eyes as we entered Gordon's Pass into Naples bay and turned into the entrance to Southpointe Marina at Windstar.
      My friend Cliff, the dock master at Southpointe greeted us with a big warm smile as he helped us with the dock lines and said , " You've been talking about getting this boat here for 10 years., welcome home."
 

                                                              Gordons Pass                 
  

                                                Entrance to Southpointe Marina                                         
    

                                 
                                          Docs Holiday at Southpointe in Windstar
                                                                                           

                                                                             

                         Oh...remember those crab pots on our night crossing at Anclote Key
                                          

Blue Angels Air Show

     Boy, was it worth it!
     Jennifer, Beth and I got moving early to go see the largest air show in southwest Florida, held at the Punta Gorda Airport.  This is an annual show (32nd) and the monies from this show are entirely used to support local charities including the "Make a wish Foundation." which helps kids with cancer and other serious illnesses (including my grandson, Blake).

                                           " Make a Wish" Formation.                                                                        
                                                                             

     This was not just an air show for flying enthusiasts, it was family entertainment, a forum for civilian and military flight demonstrations and a friendly environment for military recruiting. There were inflatable slides, rock climbing walls, zip lines and trampolines for the kids, automotive displays, helicopter rides, boxing robots and airplane displays for the adults, and a front and center beer tent for us!

                                                                            

                                                                                  

     The show was spectacular! Everything from world war two fighter planes to F18 jets whizzing silently by, followed 30 seconds later by their screaming turbo jet sound.  The U.S. special operations command parachute team opened the event by dropping from 12,500 feet at a speed of 120 miles an hour, opening their chutes and turning on their smoke canister at 4,000 feet to land in precisely designated spots on the tarmac in front of us.  One jumper carried the Canadian flag and landed while all stood as a soloist sang "Oh, Canada."  The next carried the American flag and landed as everyone stood for the American National Anthem...very touching. 

                                                                                

     As the fighter pilots strafed the infield there were fiery explosions and sonic booms, but one of the most dramatic demonstrations was an F4U Corsair fighter (think war time carrier based fighter) racing Jerry McCart's jet powered car, "Wicked Willy" This car is powered by a 12,000 hp GE turbo jet engine that is more commonly used in F-5 fighter jets.  As the car pulled ahead of the plane at around 300 miles per hour the entire infield exploded with flames 20 feet high, the car winning the race!  We could feel the heat on our faces!

                                                                             

                                                                                

                                                                                       

     Gary Ward, stunt pilot, thrilled us with flipping his MX2 carbon fibre aerobatics plane foreword and backward and even making it go sideways almost at a standstill! I was nauseated just watching him. He is obviously in great physical condition to be able to withstand the G-forces inherent in doing this kind of performance.

                                                                                    

                                                                              
                                                                            
                                                                        
     The finale, was of course the precision flying of the U. S. Navy's Blue Angels.  Everyone was on their feet in anticipation even as the pilots were getting strapped into the cockpit.  And what a show it was! They screamed past the field in multiple formations, sometimes two planes so close together that you didn't realize it until their jet streams separated, sometimes one upside down on the bottom with one right side up precisely above it, and always as if they were locked together with a tether at 18 inches apart.....doing 300 miles per hour!  No question, these boys are at the top of their game. They are a credit to not only American skill and technology but an example to all of mankind of what hard work, persistence, education, practice and technology can accomplish.

                                                                            

                                                                                

                                                                                  

                                                                            

                                                                                     
     If you have never seen an airshow do yourself a favour, put it on your bucket list and go see one. You will be thrilled.