Day 190: Friday, Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Port to Port: Belle Glade, Florida to Stuart, Florida

Underway: 12:00 pm    Motor Off: 2:00 pm     Miles Traveled: 7     Stayed At: Mooring Ball

First Things First: First time using a mooring ball; first time having an alligator swim leisurely by the front of the channel where were anchored.

Mile 15 to Mile 8: We were so comfortable in our little cove, we decided to stay another night. Why not – its free, quiet and completely protected. We needed ice, though, so we dinghied over to the state park to see if they had ice – no luck. And we met a not-so-nice park ranger – the first thing out of his mouth was not hi, how are you? He immediately told us Corp of Engineer rules allow only a one day stay in any given area. Our information said we could stay 2 days. But what business is it of this guy anyways?. Too much time on his hands, I guess. Maybe time for retirement.

So we decided to leave. Instead of spending money for ice and lunch and maybe gas in Belle Glade, we headed for Stuart less than a couple hours away. Except for gusty winds right on the nose, the voyage went smooth and we pulled up to the gas dock to get ice and arrange for a mooring ball. We headed back out and found our ball and slowly approached it when suddenly the motor died. We started drifting toward some other balls between a couple other boats (they are spaced very close together in this mooring field. The extra painter (bow line) for the dinghy somehow blew out of the boat and got sucked into the prop wrapping itself around tightly. We dropped the anchor but we were still drifting. Luckily, I was able to unwrap the line and restart the motor (one advantage of a small outboard). Our second try at the mooring ball went much smoother and we were soon securely tied off waiting for the wind to die down.

After resting a little, we packed up our dirty clothes and shower gear and dinghied through the choppy water to the dinghy dock. This is the first marina with key codes for everything – the laundry room, the restroom, the lounge and the dock gate. A few hours later, we were clean, our laundry was dry, we had a double batch of rice ready to go and we had a little local intelligence on good places to explore and eat in downtown Stuart. We met a couple from Fenelon Falls, Canada on the Trent Severn Canal System who spend the winter down here and they gave us a list of places worth checking out. We can’t wait.

The wind had died by the time we returned to the boat and Aurora was lying quiet at her mooring. As we made dinner, a beautiful sunset kept getting better and better until it finally set for good on another day on the Great Loop.