We cleared the pilings (thankfully with help from dock hands) and were very proud of ourselves that we did not leave any paint behind. As we motored our way up the Indian River on the ICW we were feeling great that we were on our way thinking “we can do this!”
Two very long full days later we pulled into Stuart Yachts looking like something that got dragged behind the boat the whole way. It took a few days to recover and begin to find the laughs that were there in the whole craziness of our undertaking. In hindsight, maybe taking on a trip of this length and time (on our first time out) that involved the following wasn’t one of our best ideas. We encountered multiple channels and sometimes no channels, a barge canal, a “lock”, open ocean, night voyage, coming into an unknown harbor after dark, tying up for the first time (in the dark), channels that no longer exist, outdated GPS charts, bridges that you have to wait to open to pass through, sand bars and what we called the Amazon River that was not much wider than the boat with even more sandbars and switch backs. Thankfully, we had help getting the boat into the spot at the yard and getting tied up. (It’s those damn pilings again)
We learned a lot of lessons and hopefully both of us realized that we have lots to learn. I can’t say enough praise and thanks to all the people along the way that helped guide us through the rough spots. Live and learn is my new motto. Maybe sometime over drinks we will loosen up with the details of our grand adventure!
