On to Peck Lake

Start: 10:10am under sunny skies. Temp: 38 degrees Winds NW 7-10
End: 3:55pm sunny skies Peck Lake anchorage 27 06.881 x 80 08.555 Depth: 9.8 ft

Today started off with a bang. I got up at 6:30am and went online to see how much money was in our account because we need $300 to check into the Bahamas. I saw a negative balance!!! How can that be? So the morning didn’t start out well at all. After coffee and talking to the bank I’d discovered that transferring money from my account to our account, caused a bit of a problem. After figuring out WHAT the problem it was time to move on…

We settled our account with the marina and did all the last minute preparations. Tried to tighten the radio hookup in the cockpit (that didn’t work) then tried to start the engine before we severed our electrical connection and lines to shore. The engine took a few promptings before starting but finally started at 1000 rpms. Time to release the lines from shore and cast off. I called the marina for a radio check but never got a response. Oh ohh… I looked around for the alligator I'd named Elvis but didn’t see him anywhere - so said a silent goodbye to him wherever he is. He sure is a big gator & I’d have liked to have had a last look at him.
The rest of the day was better than the start of it. While the temperatures were brisk, the sun was out. We started out with sub-freezing temps and it probably didn’t get up to 60 degrees today, so the sun was a welcome touch of warmth in the cockpit. When we approached the lock and it opened for us, a father and son watched us from the gated area.  It reminded Wayne of the kids on the Erie Canal that were so excited to be able to tour our boat. Wayne was wishing that he could have let the youngster experience the lock with us, but there was no way we could have let him from his positon behind the fencing.  This is all like starting over again – have to remember that locks listen to channel 13 and the bridges listen to channel 9 in Florida. Once back on the ICW, red to the right and green buoys to the left. How quickly we can put things out of our mind when we don't live them every day.

We’d cast off at 10:10am and reached Peck Lake to dropped the hook at 3:55pm in 9.8 ft of water in front of the danger sign. It was interesting to see how our speed slowed up as we approached the St Lucie Inlet. You could tell the tide was coming in as the boat slowed from 6 knots to 5.1 knots while we were at our cruising speed of 2500rpms. Once past the inlet we sped back up to 6.8 knots. I’m going to have to learn to monitor tides again and adjust to a slower traveling pace. We traveled 29.11 miles in about 6 hours. Opened one lock and one bridge. Tomorrow we have to transit 6 bridges (if we go tomorrow). My battery’s running low so it's time to put the computer away.
Dinner tonight: mashed potatoes with beef/mushroom/onions in gravy. The temperatures are still dropping but it’s quite still out at the moment. I can hear the waves from the Atlantic crashing onto shore on the other side of Hobie Sound.