Boaters who are together 24/7 often develop their own language. Sometimes its clear and other times it’s not. “Mosquito on your tail.” “How big?” “Big enough to bite if its fast.” Pause. “Hang on. Ouch!” (Translation: fast little fishing skiff has just zoomed by and left us rocking in his wake.) “Could you change … Read more
When you go to a ball game, you can look at the scoreboard and see what’s been happening. When cruising, you should be able to do it too. So here’s an update. We’ve gone about 1200 miles, finished 25 per cent of the trip, fueled three times (you don’t want to know the cost), and … Read more
Certain rituals seem to be ageless. One is the gathering of women to beat dirty clothes against rocks, to share a little gossip, and to generally pass the time. This ritual continues for boaters…it’s called the marina laundry room. Every week Mark hauls a big bag of laundry to the marina washers while I tag … Read more
As most of you have figured out by now, this isn’t a travelogue. It’s a personal journey and will one day be a book called “Confessions of a White-Knuckle Cruising Spouse.” I thought of the title eight years ago while crossing St. Andrew Sound in a small craft advisory. The sound is shallow, way out … Read more
This is not about Ernest Hemingway, although he lived in Florida and would understand why this phrase applies to this post. We left Fort Myers and headed for the Okeechobee Waterway, a 135-mile trip across the center of Florida, using rivers, a lake, and canals. We made it through five locks and turned northward in … Read more