No, Starshine is not sick. In fact she has operated flawlessly on this trip (knock wood). But I did need to meet with the Boat Heeler, Billy Owens. I got the contact info on the Heeler in Indiantown. The problem was that there is a 49 foot bridge just before Lake Okeechobee and I have a 52 foot mast. Well, Billy and his pal, met me at the bridge and proceeded to load 7 barrels onto the port side deck. These were plastic 55-gallon drums which he then proceeded to pump full of water. By the time he was done, Starshine was heeled over about 15 to 20 degrees and ready for the bridge. I powered under slowly but didn't even touch the VHF antenna. After the bridge, the Heeler emptied all the barrels, loaded them back on his runabout and we parted ways.
After passing through the Port Mayaca lock (it was such a small change in water level they just opened both lock doors and we went straight through) we headed out onto Lake Okeechobee. We were able to sail a little bit before the wind died and then motored into Moore Haven (after one more "down" lock). Today we continued through two more locks to get back to sea level and I am now tied up at Jack's Marina, about 10 miles before Ft. Myers. Tomorrow it's on into Ft. Myers to get a slip for the week, see my dad for xmas and do some boat work before heading on to the Keys and the Bahamas.
3 comments:
OK - once again I stand corrected. The proper spelling is "heel" not "heal". It means to tip the boat to one side, normally due to the wind in the sails. Oh well, you get the picture.
Amazing! That's the funniest thing but so very practical! Have a great Christmas.
Robert & Trish
And they say size dosn't matter. Glad you are stopping to see your dad. Lorraine and I wish you a very Merry Xmas and Happy New Year. Charlie says hello. He is working on his water training to join you in Bahamas.
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