Dec 2 Wed 4
Another crappy day
but ...we are off the dock! We finally
left at 5 pm when we got all the stuff finished and the car parked and the damned
rain stopped for a few minutes!!! We managed to get out with some help from one
of the dock hands who pushed us part the big boats sticking out in the channel.
I was starting to get her turned as some jerk in a fishing boat came boat came
barreling in and cut me off. Everyone on the docks yelled at him but he ignored
them and almost backed into me. If I hadn't backed up he would have hit us. He
could see me trying to e t out,. Anyway,
after that I couldn't get her turned in the swirls he set up with the current so
Rick tried. Sam cam over with their "crash boat" and pushed us around
to set us up in the channel.
We got out without
any problems [in that we didn't hit anyone else] and made it under the bridge
to the Harbourtown Marina where we filled our diesel and water jugs. We managed to get under the second bridge and
we are anchored about 5 miles [as the pelican flies] from our take off point.
It only took 2 hours!
Doesn't matter ...
we are off the dock and heading down to No-Name Harbour to await a good weather
window. We hope to make West Palm tomorrow and further if possible. He weather
here is awful right now and we are hoping that by the weekend we can get at
least 12 calm hours to cross over. Travelling in rain is not a problem... it's
the thunderstorms, waterspouts and high seas that concern me!!!
Best part...the
trains are far enough away that I won't hear them coming through the boat at
night. Between the train and the rain I was awake at 4 this morning and ready
to go for my shower by 5:30. It was very busy at that time of the morning! I
won't miss the washrooms!
Homeland Security
was an interesting experience. Yesterday when we tried to get our exit permit,
they told us to come back when we were ready to leave the dock. IN the next breath they gave Beguiler [Rob
and Brenda ] a "Certificate to Proceed" to get to Miami. They have a decal on their boat that they
bought on line so they could get out more easily.
Today when we went
to get our "Exit permit" we asked if we could go to Miami and cross
there...what did we have to do to get that permission. Two officers stood there arguing about the
process and whether we should be charged $39.00 to get the certificate here and
then pay another $15.00 for the exit permit in Miami; or should we pay for the
decal, oh, but you need to apply online for it. And they are having a big
meeting in a couple of weeks at head office about cancelling the decals so it
wouldn't be a good idea to sell us one now anyway. SO we should get the 48 hour
departure exit permit and, well, there's a bit of leeway there fior weather and
stuff so you could probably get to Miami and cross there. So finish filling out
the papers and we'll see. SO we did, and
a third officer came back to take the information and talk about it and then
the first officer came back and sort of offhandedly hinted a bit that it wasn't
really any big deal... they are aware of weather issues so just go and see what
happens. And when you come back in the spring, just call and let us know you
are here and...
So we will go to
No-Name Harbour and mingle with all the other Canadian ducks and see what
happens. As soon as we get a good weather crossing we are outta here!
Our internet right
now consists of using up 2gb of data or being 5 miles offshore whichever comes first.
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