Getting “Meander” ready for a trip on the St Johns River

Took a quick look at my last post and was surprised to see our last day on the water was  Memorial Day.

The weather is finally cooling down a bit at night…but afternoon rain showers or thunderstorms continue.

We can manage with the heat and humidity during the day…it is trying to sleep at night that becomes a problem on a small boat….without AC.

I am gathering up the canned goods, cooking utensils, bird food, dog food….getting the cats outdoor feeder filled and stowing away our clothes and bedding. The hurricane straps are on the bee hives…just incase the wind and weather gets nasty, or a raccoon or other large predator decides they want to get inside. I saw a Bobcat less than 1/4 mile down the road and a black bear was spotted a mile or so away last year.  Would love to have them all camped out in the back yard…as long as they leave the other critters alone. So much land is being cleared for housing projects ….the animals are running out of space to live in…..and I love my 4 legged neighbors.

I usually manage to forget something….but we won’t be out for more than a week ….and we’ve learned to “rough it”  when necessary.

Jim has her all pressure washed so she looks pretty spiffy….bimini is on….generator loaded….and motor has been started and checked out. We never wait till we launch to start it….we’ve seen many a boater’s day ruined when he gets the boat in the water and the engine wont run.

The blue cover over the front comes off. It is only for rain protection while sitting in the yard.

Did have to clean out the exhaust water port…forgot to put window screen in the hole and mud daubers built a nest. So many things to remember.

Weather permitting….we launch tomorrow….hope my next post is from the St Johns River, at anchor.

 

5.27.13 Memorial Day “Thanks to all who served so we could be free”.

Woke up to a pretty sunrise. Our last day on the water for awhile.

We decided to head to the jug handle by Blue Springs. It is a Manatee area and slow speed zone…good anchorage.

This gator cruised right past us. It spotted another gator and was swimming toward it. The other gator didn’t want any part of this one and quickly swam away.

A few minutes later this kayak fisherman went thru the same area.

We were going to the springs in the dingy following him. We met these folks and one of the kids asked if we’d seen any crocodiles. Told him we’d just seen 2 gators and a Manatee swirl. They make a big round flat swirl on the top of the water when they dive.

This is an Albin 28. It has 2 kayaks on top, one towed, 2 bicycles and at least 3 kids and 3 adults.

Plus this dingy…. We saw them later and I asked if they had trailered it down….the answer was “no”…they are doing the Great Loop. Started in Michigan….headed home now. They were spending the weekend with family. So I imagine it is just the 2 of them on it full time. Bikes..kayaks…dingy…everything you could ask for.

Blue Springs was busy…boats were circling waiting for a place to beach to go ashore.

There was a steady stream of boats both up and down the river. ….and lots of kayaks and canoes.

You can tell we’ve been anchored near the weeds a lot….see the dirty line across the front?

We watched the action for awhile then decided to make our way up to Butcher’s Bend at G109 . It’s only a few miles from where we leave the truck and trailer. We’ll be able to take our time with coffee in the morning and still get loaded and home before the hot part of the day.

This is the only gator we saw sunning. I only got one picture. A rental boat was coming up the river and I flagged them down and showed them where it was. Cameras came out from everywhere.

I had a tomato that was going bad and some extra lettuce and bird seed. We took it to the island for the roosters someone has left there. They still look in good shape. Just need some ladies.

On our way back to Meander we spotted this odd looking craft. Looks like two pontoons with a 25 hp motor….and places for 4 fishing poles..don’t know how you’d get to them though…

I missed most of the color of the sunset…but it was still pretty.

5.28.13

Frogs sang all night……as soon as they quit the birds started singing….time for coffee …screens down…bimini in it’s boot and all things stowed for travel.

We were loaded and home by 10:30 am. Still cool enough to get unloaded.

5.25.13

 

We haven't been up the Norris Dead River in several years. It leaves the St John’s River, takes a long winding path to Lake Woodruff. From there it goes past Tick Island ( where we were beached when a tornado came thru the Deland FL area and almost over our heads) the last time we were there. Larry and Diane had their Nimble Nomad “River Nomad” and we had our Adventure Craft “Lingerawhile”.

I guess I’d have to call this “Broken Dreams”.

I like this kind of travel….narrow waterways….and few boats.

You have to watch for low overhangs, stumps in the water and depth. This heron kept flying off, landing and then flying off again as we caught up.

and sections that are weed choked.

We started seeing a lot of fishing boats when we got close to Lake Woodruff so decided to turn around and take the scenic tour back.

Once back to the St Johns, we crossed it …followed the jug handle around to the N entrance and anchored for the night. Sometimes you just get lucky…and we did. Jim was tying the dingy alongside so we could take a ride later and two Manatees came over ….this is the small one and believe me…it was big. Look at the prop scars on it’s head and back and the mother was marked as bad if not worse. It was great to see them but sure hated the thought of them being out in the river this weekend.

Their hide is kind of prickly. This one, I believe the Mother, kept coming up alongside like it wanted it’s back scratched.

They hung around ..rubbing against the dingy and the boat …for at least half an hour.

We couldn’t have asked for a better way to end the day. We took the dingy out for awhile but did not see them again.

At anchor and full of fuel. She sits a bit low in the water, but when you get the human “ballast” loaded in the front…it rides fairly level. That $35 bimini has sure come in handy.

Frogs same me to sleep…very loudly…don’t think Jim appreciates them as much as I do.

St Johns River, FL 5.24.13

We don’t normally head for the river on a big holiday weekend, but this is our last chance to spend time on the boat for awhile.

By the time we’d filled the fresh water tank and had everything aboard, the launch ramp was available.

Once the truck is parked and I’ve tied Meander alongside the dock we are ready to get the dingy inflated and the trolling motor mounted, the dog walked and the bird aboard…we are ready to head N.

Now this is a nice cruising houseboat. Seaworthy, low windage and lots of room, but most likely…..really big fuel tanks to fill. So guess we’ll be happy with our little Meander.

Our anchorage for the night is just past Blue Springs. We are at the mouth of the “jug handle” so we can get a good breeze and watch all the boats going by…this is a slow speed zone because of Manatees so we’ll have a nice peaceful night.

Sitting on the rear deck watching the moon come up….and Jim noticed this rocket trail. We don’t know what was being launched but it was interesting.

And then this little white wing like cloud appeared. It must have been high enough that the sun still lit it up, while the sunset colored the rocket tail.

Good day on the water….but then most of them are good.

Slow Motion is in her new home.

Some people sell a boat and then never think of it again….not us. We want to share the travels with the new owner…if he wants us to, and Joris was willing.

He left a marina on Merritt Island and traveled to Little Torch Key. Single Handed!!!!!

Jim and I really appreciate the work that goes into a trip like this…because we’ve done some traveling aboard Slow Motion…but we had each other to help. Help with dock lines leaving or docking for fuel…help with hauling up the anchor, (it can set very hard and a little nudge from the boat can help break it loose). Help with meals and getting ashore in the dingy to walk the dog. Help with studying the chart or the chart plotter and someone to take over the wheel when you start to get tired or need to go below. Help at night when the water is rough and someone needs to keep an anchor watch or at least check it. I’m only touching on a few of the things that need to be done when aboard a boat but it gives you an idea of where an extra set of hands can be of help.

Joris called whenever he could and gave me his location so I could follow along on a chart.

We did a trip around the tip of Florida in our MacGregor 26X sailboat several years ago. We cut thru Channel 5 at Long Key and then sailed up the east coast to Angel Fish Creek where we cut inside to Biscayne Bay. We didn’t get to see the inside passage from Biscayne Bay to Long Key…..Joris did and said it was beautiful.

If any of you Albin owners are considering making that trip, I am sure Joris would gladly tell you about his trip. Just send me an email and I will pass it along.

Slow Motion is now a “liveaboard” trawler. My dream!!! So glad someone like Joris is living it….cause he’s willing to share his experiences with us….good, bad and sometimes funny.

I took a few pictures of my “MapTech Chart Kit” “East Coast and The Florida Keys” to give you an idea of his passage.

The first two show the inside passage, W of the Keys. If you look close you can see the dotted lines of the channels and the route.

 

Once he got to Long Key…it was all outside…. then I guess you follow “Hawk Channel”, (below the key on chart) E of the Key

There are GPS waypoints to follow. That is what is in the square boxes with the line pointing to the line you follow.

There are a few pages missing…just wanted to give you an idea of the trip. He is anchored near Little Torch Key which is near Big Pine Key.

Is that a “dream” trip or what!!!!  So now we have a friend in the Keys…..and an invite to go spend a week…

Joris was going to send me a photo of Slow Motion at anchor in the beautiful Florida Keys…but his computer got hit by a squall and is down for the count. If he’s able to get some sent…I’ll do another post.

Swinging on the hook in the Keys…what more could you ask for!!!

4.28.13

 

Our view from the forward door.

We are spending the afternoon and night at Butcher’s Bend, marker G109. It is a loop around an island. I think the reason there are so many “jug handles” on this part of the river is they straightened out a lot of the sharp  bends for barges coming to Sanford. So glad they did. Great anchorages and most are Manatee Zones….idle or slow speed.

The is a view  of the island  from our boat.

The last time we anchored here, Jim heard Roosters crowing….well…they are on the island.

We saw 3. One black and 2 white. No hens, but they could have been setting some where. If not….then someone needs to bring a few girls in for the boys. It’s a good sized island.

I spotted this Heron on our dingy ride around the island. Hiding in plain sight.

“Cruiser” made sure no one snuck up on us from the water.

We were going to spend the night and pull out Monday morning….checked the 5 day forecast and 50% chance of rain tomorrow, so we’ll pull out this afternoon. Our front door does not have a good seal and driving in pouring rain will just soak the floor. Don’t need any more mess or stuff to work on.

We are getting the loading of Meander down fairly well. No problems. Got home OK…no rain.

Jim has a few projects he wants to work on for the next trip out.

So far our routine is….run the generator to make coffee and put a quick charge in the batteries.( They are usually low after running the fridge all night).Shut it down, sit on the rear deck and enjoy the morning. Once under way…we start the generator and hook to shore power. That way there is no drain on the batteries and they charge much quicker……and you hardly hear it over the Honda 50 hp. We run the ice maker for ice water and put some in the freezer for our evening red wine on the rear deck. Once the ice is done we can turn on the  water heater so I’ll have hot water for dishes. We make sure the fridge is not running and unplug it for the 10-15 minutes it takes. The generator isn’t big enough to run both at the same time.

It isn’t as simple as on Slow Motion…she had a 100 amp alternator for charging underway and a water heater that heated from the engine. You always had hot water if the engine was running or had been run. It was also 110, but I don’t think we ever stayed tied to a dock long enough to need it.

Slow Motion now has a new “liveaboard” owner and is heading for the Keys. When we talked to him last night he was anchored near Dragon Point, just N of SM 915. They got held up for a couple days waiting for parts for the “buddy” boat traveling with him. I’ll check with him and if he doesn’t mind….I’ll post his progress.  I am thrilled every time he calls…..he’s doing what I have wanted to do for several years……live aboard……and travel. It’s just not practical for us….leave anything sitting in FL for any length of time and it rusts or rots. Plus, I haven’t figured out how to take the Honey Bees, or Jim’s ‘28 Buick, not to mention the cats we feed.

I’ve also come to realize that Jim is a worker….he can sit around and read just so much, casting a line doesn’t take much energy,  then he wants a project, and there are plenty at home. He’s out there working on one now.

4.27.13

 

Sunrise over the wetlands.

just around the bend…..

Look at the talons on this Osprey.

This little channel isn’t much wider than our dingy, but is at least 5’ deep. It widens out when you get back in there a little ways. This will be our next anchorage. I think we can turn the houseboat around if the wide spot with the dingy.

We saw several Bald Eagles.

same bird…different angle.

so beautiful I couldn’t pass up any of these pictures. South of Lake Monroe seems to be a preferred area for them.

A handsome black bull….cows are not an unusual sight along this part of the river. When we came thru yesterday we spotted a herd of several hundred along the river. There were a couple of cowboys with their pickups and sunshades set up.  Today when we came thru the same area we didn’t see any. They may have moved them to new pasture.

Palm trees being up rooted when the water was higher. There is a 25 mph speed on this part of the river and the wakes really erode the shoreline.

There is a car show in Sanford at the riverwalk…just behind the marina on Lake Monroe. Jim was going to go but the water was too rough for the dingy ride in. It is amazing….there is a lot of seawall along the riverwalk and not one ladder to get out of the lake. I guess no one has ever fallen in.

We are anchored for the night at Butcher’s Bend at G 109.