We flew back from a wonderful Christmas holiday in Fort Thomas/Cincinnati to Fort Myers where our boat was waiting for us. Good to be home. On December 31st we departed Fort Myers Yacht Basin City Marina and went only about a mile into the Caloosahatchee River and anchored near the Edison Bridge. This is our first anchorage. Thomas Edison and Henry Ford summered here in Fort Myers The Caloosahatchee river goes from Lake Okeechobee to the gulf and is 67 miles long. Spent a delightful day among other anchored boats. I made a big dent in reading Joni Fisher’s second book, North of the Killing Hand. A thriller. I have a special place in my heart for this author, since I’ve known her all my life! Fort Myers celebrates the New Year in style with fireworks and a ball drop. We had a perfect and private view from the water. Try as we might, we could not stay awake past 9:45 pm. The commotion woke us at midnight as the fireworks blasted away and all the boats in all the marinas honked their horns. We watched it all from the bow of SEEKER in our pajamas and then went back to bed. Happy New Year to all, wishing you peace and j0y and a little thrill of your own!
As it happens, during the time that Emily was with us aboard SEEKER, she turned 21 years old. She successfully navigated with us the past 4 days from the east coast of central Florida to the gulf coast of Florida via St Lucie Canal to Lake Okeechobee and the Caloosahatchee River (134 miles). The night before her birthday, I decorated the galley just as I would have if we were at home. Traditions.
We cruised from our slip at Fort Myers Yacht Basin to Sanibel Island and stopped at the marina there for fuel and lunch at Grandma Dot’s. We wanted to practice anchoring and explore the beaches by dinghy but it was already almost 3pm. As it was, we arrived back our slip after dark. A feat of navigation, believe me! Secretly, I think Paul enjoyed the night piloting immensely. If we had it to do over again, we would have stayed that night at anchor on Sanibel giving us a full day on the island without needing to back track. Lesson learned. We all cleaned up and took Emily out for dinner.
Not to deprive Emily of her beach day, we returned to Sanibel-Captiva by rental car and had a wonderful day at the beach. We were playing with little clams and watching them dig furiously back into the sand. Quite a crowd of little kids joined us for the adventure. As Emily says, usually her birthday involves skiing, ice skating, winter wonderland and peppermint cakes, so this was a welcome change.
After we left the beach, we went on a tram tour with a naturalist at JN “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge. We went at low tide and were treated to viewing cormorants, egrets, crabs, osprey, roseate spoonbills, white and brown pelicans, oysters, king conch, jumping mullet fish,and an alligator. We finished it off by checking out the lighthouse.
DAY ONE: It’s all been training, practice and preparation until today. On December 15th, we began our first real cruise. Emily and Grant joined us. We departed Lake Park Harbor Marina about 10:30am. We meant to leave earlier, but what can I say, it takes longer when you’re newbies. We headed north to Stuart at 8 knots. About 24 miles later we were docking at Loggerhead Marina at the foot of The Roosevelt Bridge. A successful first day; very grateful. I piloted the boat for the first time; it was a little nerve-wracking and I zigzagged a lot. It really is about the journey and the views along the way.
Jupiter Lighthouse
Approaching Indiantown Bridge in Jupiter
Approaching the Indiantown Bridge in Jupiter and passing Jupiter Lighthouse.
Jim, dockmaster
Seeker’s 1st new slip
With Jim, the dockmaster, our first docking at a different marina!
Loggerhead Marina in Stuart was wonderful. The docks were clean and safe and the internet was speedy and the bathrooms deluxe. We enjoyed a pool with hot-tub and then had a crock-pot dinner of ham, green beans and potatoes. What a great day.
DAY TWO: Much better and getting up and departing at 8:05am in an efficient manner and it was a good thing, too, because we had a long day ahead of us. An exciting start as we had to go under the new Roosevelt Bridge, through a narrow railroad bridge and radio a cranky operator of the old Roosevelt Bridge for an opening, all within about 1/4 mile. Whew! We deviated out of the channel after that and didn’t even know it until a fishing boat alerted us with frantic waving and hand signals. Crisis averted. Our next challenge of the day was negotiating our first lock at St Lucie. It went well and we were thankful for the extra hands of Emily and Grant.
We followed the Okeechobee Waterway, a leisurely and meandering trip and all of us took turns piloting. The Mayaca Lock was open to Lake Okeechobee, we set our heading on autopilot and it took us hours to cross this 25 mile lake….
We docked at Roland Martin Marina in Clewiston at 4:15pm. The dockmaster, Captain Sam, was a character from Paducah, KY, so he and Grant had an animated talk about that. We dined that night at the Tiki Restaurant which was 20 feet from the boat. Saw lots on iguanas. Asleep by 9pm.
DAY THREE: Paul moved fuel from the starboard to port tank (another first) and we departed at 8am heading northwest to Moore Haven Lock and onto the Caloosahatchee Canal. We should have locked on the starboard side as the wind was pushing us that way. We should have approached a little slower. Because of our inexperience, we locked on the port side and fought the wind. Our bow was pushed into the side of the lock and we had some rubrail “rash” and scraped the side of our anchor but not the pulpit. OUCH. Not a sound I ever want to hear again. Could have been much worse. Luckily no damage. After exiting the lock, I was so unnerved, I failed to properly secure a fender and it went overboard. Paul pulled the boat around and Emily lassoed that fender with a slip knot and hauled it aboard like she had roped calves all her life!
Caryn at the stern, Moore Haven Lock.
We continued on our way, no problem with Ortona Lock or the Denaud Swing Bridge. We saw turtles, pelicans, egrets and an American Bald eagle. We came upon the Franklin Lock just in time before it closed for the day. It was getting late in the afternoon and we wanted to make it to Fort Myers. As we were getting close, we were racing sunset and saw dolphins playing in our wake. It was after six as we docked and we had a lot of help with the lines from other boaters, whether we wanted it or not! We dined in historic downtown Fort Myers at Ford’s. Ten hours on the water today. We’re going to leave the boat here and travel home for Christmas.
Grant negotiates through the Denaud Swing bridge.
Finding tonight’s slip with phone, charts, guidebooks, i-pad and all. Hard job.
Franklin Lock. Sometimes livin’ the dream is hard work!
Chasing sunset and dolphins chasing us as we approach Fort Myers.
Around October 2014, Paul and I began to assess our options for what’s next in life. Our three kids are all grown and launched and we were rambling around by ourselves in a five-bedroom, three-story home. Slowly, the idea of living aboard a boat was building. Paul told me about “America’s Great Loop” and provided me with a book about it. We attended a Looper Rendezvous (like a convention) and met folks who had completed the loop, were in the process of cruising or were planning, like us. We learned a lot and got hooked. Our friends and family couldn’t quite believe it until we sold our house and most everything in it and set out to find the right boat.
Our new home is a 37 foot Nordic Tug, SEEKER, and we are currently underway! We moved aboard late October 2016 and will officially start the loop as 2016 turns into 2017.
In The Beginning….. Before The Loop:
On July 3, 2016, Paul and I decide it’s time! Unexpectedly, our house sold the first day on the market and we had a lot of work to do! Somehow we had to empty our home into a 10 x 20 storage space. Belongings started flying out of the house as they were sold or given away.
Then came the goodbyes. Thank you one and all for the incredible celebration of my last day at work. Nine years at the spine surgery center, exponential growth, wonderful coworkers. I’ll miss these people!
And then….
Our beloved neighbors, family and friends had a surprise going-away party for us. They all wore white and had a table decorating contest. It was impossible to pick a winner. It was a great party that ended in fireworks. It is so hard to say goodbye. Bittersweet.
“Dinner In Frink”, hosted by CJ & Chris Lecky and Pam & NealBarry and his soon-to-be fiance, VickiSweet Jamie and her soon-to-be husband, Jake. Syd was there, too.Table by Lori Owen and Janice EthertonBrian and Vicki Williams with Ellie NieseArrrg…… nephews Simon and ClayDiana Maines and Patti HudepohlCaps from Diana and MikeSterling and Jackson
This photo was taken the day we left Fort Thomas on our search for a boat. The U-haul was loaded with family furniture to take to Ben in Winston-Salem, NC, our first stop. The trusty Pilot was filled with everything we thought we needed aboard a boat. Exciting and terrifying.
The boat search begins…..
After extensive research on the “perfect boat for looping”, we wanted a single diesel engine with bow thrusters, a flybridge and two cabins. For three weeks we drove and searched. We started in NC where we saw Ben and one boat. Drove to Annapolis, saw 3 boats. Drove to MA, saw a boat, made an offer but could not come to an agreement. Drove to NH, saw a boat. Drove back to MD, saw 3 boats. Drove to VA, saw 3 boats. Drove to Knoxville, saw a boat. We were burning up Marriott points on lodging. Paul continued to work 24 hours per week, so that was going on as well.
Whew! We had seen everything on our list and were very discouraged because we liked a boat we could not afford, and we were thinking about settling for a boat we did not really like. So, we found a hotel in Gatlinburg, after seeing a boat in Knoxville. Paul was working while we waited out what to do. Our broker called about a new listing. We liked it so much, we made an offer without seeing it!
She’s the one. A 2005 Nordic Tug. We viewed her for the first time on 9-28-16 in Palm Beach, FL. Now the surveys and inspections are to be arranged. So confusing and stressful. Thanks to Joni and Maury Fisher in Aburndale, FL for hosting us in their lovely home with all its comforts for a long weekend before the surveys. On Tuesday, October 5th, we had the engine and hull inspection, including taking the boat out of water and then the sea trial.
We returned to Sebring and weathered the hurricane and the pending election news coverage. Paul and I spent a long weekend in Tampa with Pat and Alison Allman. Always good to see old friends and take our mind off the negotiations for a spell. We spent almost three weeks at Marriott-Sebring, FL while closing on our boat. During that time I took a United States Power Squadron Course on boating and navigation. We made several trips to Palm Beach and spent one full day with the sellers aboard the boat, learning about its systems.
So big things seem to happen for us on October 14th. In 2015, our only grandaughter was born and in 2016, we closed on our boat. Joy all around. Our first night aboard was a week later on October 21, 2016. We decided on a name, Seeker, as in one that seeks the truth, a quest, hopeful, petitioner. Paul and I debated for months about the boat name and we had hundreds of ideas. In the end, we each wrote down five names. Seeker and Holly were the ones we both picked….. and that’s how we came up with the name. Something easy to spell and that you would want to use over the radio when calling bridges, locks and marinas.
On November 3rd, I was one happy woman, with my polarized sunglasses and wearing my headset so I could talk to Paul. We were out in the ICW for the first time with our Captain-trainer for a few hours. Practiced docking and maneuvering in tight spaces. We set and retreived the anchor. Felt awesome and terrifying. Some confidence gained. Best day on the boat so far. Learned SO MUCH. We’re exhausted. Had a visit from Pat Allman, he was our first guest aboard. Out to dinner after that. Best burger we ever split.
Before I started this blog, I posted about our adventure on Facebook. Here are some of my favorites…….
And then Paul went to Johannesburg for nine days and Pam came to visit…..
We went snorkeling on Peanut Island, Pam’s first time; she loved it. We explored JFK’s underground bunker and saw the island cats, Johnnie, Jackie and Marilyn. Pam loved sitting on the bow of the boat. We explored Jupiter Lighthouse and saw the Holiday Boat Parade from Waterway Cafe. We wined and dined and visited beaches. It was glorious. Goodbye tears were shed.
In The Loop 