Some oddities of this trip:
The gulf stream seemed to be within a 1/2 mile of shore going from West Palm Beach to Miami. Thermal imaging confirmed it, although NOAA had it out 11 miles. The water temps were in the ,mid 80's, so that is another indicator. Marathon locals said the stream is moving slower than usual and spreading out this year.
We are just 3 hours shy of the our winter season engine hours. With the ocean rolling everyday, we motored most of the way. Since we got the last end mooring ball, in our favorite spot, it was worth getting here early. We are just too picky!
Found a stowaway yesterday. He dropped down when I opened the rear lazarette and immediately went into this defensive position. It kept lunging at me like a rattlesnake. From what I could find out, it is a grey rat snake. They have the same defensive characteristics as a rattle snake. Either way, it was only about 20" long and swam away. Not sure if it is from around here. It may have been aboard since the flood in Myrtle beach.
From our anchorage in Cocoa Beach.
A terrible skipper was going back and forth through the anchorage, searching for a place to drop the hook before dark. Looking up to heaven he said, "Lord take pity on me. If you find me a good spot, I will donate to charity, give up the demon rum, treat women with respect, pay my taxes, and never again give my crew all of the blame and none of the glory."
ReplyDeleteMiraculously, the boat with the best spot in the bay began pulling up anchor to leave.
The skipper looked up again and said, "Never mind, I found one myself." Norbert