M/V MAERIN

Our trip back across the Okeechobee was uneventful, however WINDY again. We met up with Carolyn Ann, a Great Harbor N37 in Sarasota. They were dockside, tending to an injury Joe received in an argument with the anchor winch. Joe lost. A crushed little finger, some broken skin and a substantial bruise to the ego! We reconnected en route to Moore Haven, and tied up at the River Side Marina there, enjoying some refreshment and stories. They’re loopers, and we enjoyed hearing of their experiences on the loop, as they enjoyed hearing about our run to the Bahamas last year.

After some deliberation about the wind, we decided to cross Lake Okeechobee with the forecast for diminishing winds. The crossing was not bad, some light chop with a lot of spray blowing nice, muddy water onto the boat. It looks pretty crummy! We traveled together to St. Lucie where we tied up at the park docks. Probably our most challenging location to date with respect to egress from the boat, especially for the dogs! The situation required a bow-in tie, and the finger pier only extended to about halfway along the portuguese bridge, the highest point on the boat. So a bit of gymnastics, and some gentle cajoling with Miss Molly especially, got all hands safely to and from shore! We toured Carolyn Ann, and were very impressed with the amount of space aboard. A wonderful coastal cruising boat for a couple. We parted ways at Vero; we took advantage of a shorter cruising day in order to catch up on engine maintenance prior to the push for the Chesapeake.

We’ll be in Cocoa by day’s end, and will be heading back north with only overnight stays planned, and probably a few overnight passages contingent upon weather, in order to cover some miles. We have decided to get north while the weather is still cool, so we can haul Maerin and take care of the bottom maintenance that’s due. We need to sand and paint the bottom, clean up and re-coat the running gear, and of course the ever-popular buffing & waxing, re-varnish the cap rails, and other maintenance items that are easier to tend to when we’re able to leave the boat for a week or more. We can put the boat into “maintenance mode”, so the need to put everything away and get it all back out is less pressing; we can finish for the day, and leave!

The objective is to be able to be back in the water and underway northward before the end of May. Our plan is to revisit the New York Canal system, and continue north to complete the Down East Loop, more on that later!