Today was one of those days that truly embodied the spirit of cruising—not just about the miles traveled, but the sheer adventure and the lessons learned packed into every moment. We only covered around 20 nautical miles, but what an educational and productive day it turned out to be!
It started bright and early with a mission—find a nut and washer, preferably stainless steel, to fix the anchor bow roller after realizing last evening that one of the big nuts had gone missing. Since none of the local marinas or stores could help out, we called an Uber for getting around. First stop, West Marine. No luck there. But, just like sailors finding treasures in unexpected corners of the world, a small local hardware store turned out to be a gold mine, providing everything we needed. Mission accomplished! While we were underway, we walked 20 minutes to pick up some fresh bread and produce. And with a quick Lyft ride back to the marina, we got straight to work, mounting the new nut and washer. All systems go!
Filling up the water tanks and prepping the boat, we thought we were ready to set off—but Koko decided to keep us on our toes. As she refused to back out of the slip, we first thought we were aground. But nope! Rookie mistake—we had forgotten to untie one of the bow lines. After a moment of mild panic and swift action, disaster was averted, and we were on our way… well, mostly.
Next stop was the fuel station around the corner. After filling our tank, I ran back to retrieve the dock line we had left behind. Why run? We only had a few minutes remaining to cast off to catch the upcoming bridge opening. Finally, we were ready for our 20 nautical miles adventure. By this point, it was already noon—but just in time for the scheduled opening of the first bridge. This marked the start of our bridge marathon, timing 10 openings perfectly, thanks to our trusty Aqua Map app and improving navigation skills.
Navigating this stretch of the ICW was a whirlwind—crazy Florida boat traffic and all. But what I found most stressful was finding a suitable anchorage. Options are slim along this stretch, and you never know what surprises await at the end of the day. Would the anchorage be full? Or worse, unsuitable altogether? Exposed to the wind and/or current? Luckily, fortune favored us today as we found a secluded little cove tucked within a residential area, just off the ICW. No other boats in sight. The anchor held on the first try (fingers crossed for a solid night, despite gusts up to 19 knots).