Day on the Water

 

US-1 Bridge Construction
Jupiter, FL
July 26, 2023

It was Wednesday and that meant it was our boating day aboard our trusty boat, Sea Bean. Sea Bean is a dual console 2023 Cobia 220 with a single 200 hp Yamaha outboard and electronic throttle. Sea Bean is not mine actually, but is my favorite boat to reserve from the club in which I am a member.

Yesterday was a day Chris and I decided to sojourn down to Jupiter, which is close to where we live. Even though I am newly authorized to head out into the wild Atlantic, the ocean seemed a bit rough when I was checking the weather. We decided we wanted to enjoy the ride to Jupiter and to see, from the water, the US-1 bridge construction. The bridge and roadway are gone and we are having to detour when driving around the area. The view from the water is impressive. The area looks like a crane convention. We counted 7 cranes, I don't think we could get them all in the picture. But we motored right through the middle of the construction. The smell of fresh concrete was strong.

Alternate A1A Bridge and Railroad Drawbridge
Jupiter, FL
July 26, 2023

Another goal for the day was to motor under the Alternate A1A bridge and adjacent railroad drawbridge into the Loxahatchee.

Chris and I successfully navigated the bridges and started up the Loxahatchee, but we became a bit concerned about the dark clouds forming over the ocean and decided to begin the hour-and-a-half journey back to the marina which is in Port Salerno. 

I forgot to mention, we enjoyed lunch on the Intracoastal Waterway anchored to a sandbar near Tequesta. We see boats anchored at the sandbar at low tide and we wanted to check out the sandbar for ourselves. It was a much needed stop along the way and out trusty boat has two anchors which allowed it to be secured so it would not drift onto the sandbar. 

The trip back to the marina was uneventful, but enjoyable. Along the way, during the day, we spied a green turtle and a few dolphins along with a multitude of pelicans and ospreys. 

It was our longest outing since becoming "boat" people and by taking up most of the day, we were provided with a necessary diversion from the stuff with which we have been dealing.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Advanced Boating

Green Turtle in the Ocean
Off St Lucie Inlet, FL
July 25, 2023

 I completed my off-shore boating certification yesterday and am officially dangerous!

I am certified to take a small boat out into the mighty Atlantic Ocean. The club that I am in limits me to no further than 10 miles offshore, but considering at 10 miles land is mostly out of sight, except for tall buildings, and the water may be over 1000 feet deep, I'm not sure why I would be out quite that far anyway. 

It was a short, but fun day on the ocean learning what I needed to get certified. 

Atlantic Ocean from Jupiter Island Beach
Jupiter Island, FL
July 25, 2023

I also had fun watching dolphins and one green turtle that actually swam around the boat twice while we were at idle working through our man overboard procedures and covering some radio call situations.

After I piloted the boat back into the marina, we finished the paperwork and I was certified. 

But, that was not the end of my day on and in the ocean. Chris and I headed out to the beach after the heat of the day passed. The ocean was nearly flat as sunset was preparing to occur. The breeze off the water seemed cool, yet the temperature was still in the upper 80s. 

It was our first evening beach walk in quite a while. Finnegan tagged along, but was not as excited about walking the beach as either Chris or I.

Maybe the oppressive heat is beginning to dissipate. I can only hope.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Return to the Chesapeake

Most of the Family
Chesapeake Bay, MD
July 20. 2023

(Image from Popcorn 3, by Patrick)

 Returning to the Chesapeake yesterday in a boat, we enjoyed a family outing. We began the journey at a marina on the South River and motored down the river and into the Chesapeake. Our trusty Sea Ray boat handled the load with ease. It was rated for 12 people or 3300 pounds. We had 7 people aboard and we no where near the maximum load. 

Part of the load included Popcorn 3, Patrick's small drone. We had decided that if the weather was cooperative and the spirit moved us, we would try to fly the drone form the boat. It was risky, because the boat was drifting in the current and had there been a problem, the drone would have landed at the spot from which it went airborne and of course due to the drift the boat would no longer have been at that location. We decided on a spot along the Northside of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge out of the shipping channel, which was fairly busy with barge traffic. 

We had toured Annapolis before heading north to the Bay Bridge. The day was warm and overcast, but the bay was relatively calm with a light chop that became more noticeable north of the bridge. We had music to enjoy over the drone of the engine. 

It was a great afternoon and great fun. After boating we retired to Lures, a local restaurant, for Happy hour and dinner. 

I enjoyed being out on the water in the Chesapeake and on the South River again.

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD

Beating the Heat

Bridge Road Drawbridge
Hobe Sound, FL
July 5, 2023

 Chris and I have discovered one almost sure-fire way to beat the oppressive heat which has been holding South Florida hostage for the past few weeks: boating!

The stress index has been running 105-112 degrees for the past few days. 

Yesterday, Finnegan has a grooming appointment and Chris and I decided that since we were going to be in the area anyway that we would check out a boat and spend time on the water. The day was perfect for boating with just a light breeze and nearly glassy smooth water. We enjoyed the intracoastal waterway (ICW) and stopped by our favorite beach for a few minutes. I noted that boating on weekdays is much preferable to weekends given that very often we are the only boat on the ICW. 

We have our favorite boat now, Sea Bean, which is a Cobia 220 dual console. Sea Bean is new. It only had 15 hours on the engine when we departed the Marina yesterday and we put about 3 of those hours on it last week. 

When the groomer called that Finnegan was complete, we were about an hour away from the marina. They agreed to kennel Finn for a couple hours and we were able to spend some time on a northern Jupiter Island Atlantic Ocean beach which is part of the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Preserve. 

I was a bit sad when we arrived back at the marina earlier than planned, but we had an enjoyable 3 hours escaping the heat of the day while enjoying the water.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Beating the Heat on the Water

Trusty Boat Sea Bean
Jupiter Island, FL
June 28, 2023

 Chris and I have discovered a sure-fire way to beat the oppressive heat: boating!

And we are not the only South Floridians with that idea! Yesterday was a great boating day. We explored parts of the Saint Lucie River as far north as Stuart. After the exploration we headed south to the narrowest part of Jupiter Island along the shores of Peck Lake and enjoyed some of the afternoon both in the ocean and along the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW).

Boys Beating the Heat
Peck Lake, FL
June 28, 2023

We reserved a Cobia 220 dual console boat named Sea Bean for our excursion yesterday. Sea Bean is a great boat and I have already made additional reservations to motor in it again. The boat is one of the nicest handling boats that I have enjoyed since joining the boat club.  

While we were lounging along the shores of Peck Lake, a large group of boys arrived in a boat and on jet skis. They were most interested in jumping into the water from the tower that is just a few yards offshore. They were fun to watch. We remarked, how lucky these boys were to live in Florida and have access to a boat and know where to go to have fun.

The skies were mostly clear and the day was just that much more enjoyable being on the water with a constant breeze. 

And that is how to beat the unrelenting heat!

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Sizzling

 When is hot too hot?

Chris and I discovered too hot yesterday during our shortened 13 mile ride. We started out planning for a 17 mile ride, but as the heat grew more oppressive we shortened it to 13 miles by cutting out a portion of our route. It is not just the thermometer temperature, but the stress index as well that affected us.

We both survived, but decided that we need to begin our rides earlier, like in the 7 AM hour rather than at about 9:40 AM.

Today, we are planning to be smarter. We are headed out onto the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) boating again. Being on the water with a breeze should make the day less oppressive. I still require four boating trips before I can apply to take the open ocean safety course and be allowed out on the Mighty Atlantic. Then I will be truly dangerous.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

On the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW)

On the ICW
Jupiter Island, FL
June c22, 2023

 Yesterday was a boating day. 

The thunderstorms held off long enough for Chris and I and two friends to get in a great boating day on the ICW. We actually enjoyed hot sun while sitting on an ocean beach accessible only by boat from the ICW. We motored past some the high end homes on Jupiter Island and we enjoyed looking longingly at the private gold course situated along the ICW upon which we will never swing a club. 

It is fun looking at how the uber-rich live. Some of them have very big boats! Wait, they are so big they might be ships.

It was a great day and it felt good to be back on the water. There are many more places that we are planning to explore including the St Lucie River and the ICW towards Ft Pearce. After four more trips, I can apply for training to allow me to go out on the open Atlantic Ocean! I am looking forward to doing that. 

There is just something great about being out on the water in a boat. We had a 21 foot Hurricane yesterday. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Motoring on the Chesapeake

Thomas Point Shoal Light
Chesapeake Bay
June 1, 2023

 It was an absolutely beautiful day for boating the Chesapeake. Chris and I procured a boat for the afternoon intending to share the experience with the family, but as life happened when the time came it was Chris, me, and Finnegan who got to enjoy an almost perfect boating day. 

The bay was almost flat and we were able to motor down the South River, from Liberty Marina, into the Bay and enjoyed a nice ride to Annapolis and then onward to the Bay Bridge. We motored up the river to the downtown Annapolis area, but decided not to tie up and walk the city. We saw the sights and maybe next time we will tie up at Pusser's for a meal. 

Chesapeake Bay Bridge
Chesapeake Bay
June 1, 2023

We discovered a couple of things on our trip. First, it is really hard to take pictures from a moving boat. Even when I cut the engine to idle, the undulating motion of the Bay really makes taking images tough. We also noted that I need to take an extra battery or a cable for my iPhone to support my navigation app.

One thing that we discovered yesterday was that the haze from the Canadian fires raging in Nova Scotia made it difficult to identify landmarks on the shoreline. It also made the multitude of freighters and tankers riding at anchor in the bay seem like a ghost fleet as they appeared out of the haze once we transitioned form South River into the Bay. 

Finn on the Bow in His Lifejacket
Chesapeake Bay
June 1, 2023

But as can be seen, aside from the haze, it was a nearly perfect boating day. I was able to use my nautical chart app on my iPhone to navigate to the places we wanted to visit. Even the bay bridge was invisible when we first motored into the bay, only later appearing out of the haze. It is so large that it seemed close when we first sighted it, yet still took a long time to actually pass under the spans.

Finnegan at times seemed to enjoy the trip, but he definitely did not like motoring through the wakes of other vessels. I admit, I sometimes didn't slow enough to minimize the crashing of the boat as we crossed the wakes because they did not seem as large as they actually were.

All-in-all, we had a great afternoon and successfully returned the boat to the marina without a scratch!

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD