Weekend Warriors on the ICW

We have been on this mooring ball at the Sunset Bay Marina for almost three months! That's so long we were beginning to wonder if we even knew how to anchor anymore, so we went out over the weekend with all the other Weekend Warriors. To do battle with, I don't know, something, whatever it is they do battle with. (We were to find out later exactly what that was.)

First we motored under the Roosevelt Bridge and the Federal Highway Bridge, down the St. Lucie River to the ICW and then south to Peck Lake.

 

The scenery reminds us a lot of our San Joaquin River Delta with its shallow depths, channel markers, and numerous small boats. And in true Delta/ICW fashion we ran aground the minute we turned off the channel.

 We don't have any Florida cruising guides so we just sort of make intelligent guesses on anchorages or ask other cruisers. I knew folks used Peck Lake to anchor, but I guess I didn't pay close enough attention to the approach. I know now to turn in SOUTH of the light, not North of it.

We felt it happening and the Captain backed off the soft mud easily. Then a kindly power boater showed us the deeper path into the anchorage and we anchored in 12' of water.

It seems the anchor at least remembers how to its job even if we don't.

We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon and a beautiful sunset, but right after that, things went South because the no-see-ums came out and proceeded to drive us insane.

Although we slathered ourselves with bug spray, we spent the night slapping and scratching and neither of us got a good night's rest. That's just part of cruising in Florida though, because the whole state is owned and managed by bugs. The humans merely pay rent with their blood.

We feel better after our little trip and got right back to work on our projects. We've been refinishing the floor pieces one at a time. They are solid teak with little maple strips between, and big teak cleats on the back. Everyone thinks their boat has a "teak and holly" sole, but it's actually maple.

Ours had gotten all scuffed up from two years of cruising and living aboard. This is a pretty painless way to refinish the floor, if you can only remember where today's hole is. If you forget though, it can be downright painful.