We awoke to the chattering of the birds as they were leaving the islet in small groups -- pretty much the reverse of what we had watched the previous dusk.
.Our goal for today is Fort Pierce, our last stop before home. This would be a long day, 35 or so miles -- we would pass through Sebastian and Vero Beach along the way. There is one "on demand" bridge at Fort Pierce, our anchorage is just south of it. The sun was out, there was a nice SE breeze and the current would be mostly with us -- all in all a long, but relatively straightforward day.
We arrived at our anchorage in mid-afternoon -- there were a few other boats in it, including one that was a floating advertisement. We dropped our hook between the channel and some other boats, there was plenty of room for everyone -- life was good -- we went for a swim.
And that's when the trouble started ..... Sue and I were both in the water, which was a bright green and just wonderful, when the cruiser on the boat off our port stern, started yelling at us that we were "too close" to her boat. Apparently she was below when we anchored and now, having come on deck and seen where we were, decided that we were encroaching on her space.
Of course, I felt that there was ample room between her boat and mine -- if I hadn't, I wouldn't have dropped the hook there in the first place. I am pretty careful that way -- I tend to anchor as far away as I can from all obstacles, sometimes pulling up and dropping the anchor an extra time or two to get things "just right" -- this hadn't been one of those situations -- we both had plenty of swing room -- I am unsure what her problem is.
This woman stood on her deck watching us, and occasionally yelling, the whole time we were in the water, we took our showers and raised the dinghy (we had dragged it since Cocoa and now wanted it up for tomorrow) -- clearly she was having a problem with our proximity. When I finally was done with the swim, the shower and raising the dinghy, I tried to get her to use the radio to talk about it -- she just kept yelling and wouldn't get on the radio.
Eventually I concluded that there was not going to be any peace in the neighborhood unless I moved -- which is what I did -- perhaps another 2 boat lengths away. As we were moving the boat, another cruiser, from the boat off our starboard stern, dinghyed over -- yelling "Welcome to Fort Pierce ..... you didn't have to move ... there is plenty of room" -- he apparently either also had a run in with this woman or saw another run in -- I am not sure. In any case, we moved -- you meet all kinds.
We spent the rest of the day in peace, looking forward and excited about finally going home tomorrow.
One postscript -- I was on deck blogging after dusk when I heard fish jumping around the boat. I grabbed a light to investigate. Primarily off the rear quarter and stern, small fish j(perhaps 2-3 inches long) were jumping out of the water to escape bigger fish (say 18-24 inches) that were feeding on them from below. I could see the little guys quite clearly but only occasionally caught a glimpse of the larger fish. This lasted for about 15 minutes -- apparently a school of bait fish chose to hang out under My Weigh and the big guys heard the dinner bell -- fascinating to watch!
.Our goal for today is Fort Pierce, our last stop before home. This would be a long day, 35 or so miles -- we would pass through Sebastian and Vero Beach along the way. There is one "on demand" bridge at Fort Pierce, our anchorage is just south of it. The sun was out, there was a nice SE breeze and the current would be mostly with us -- all in all a long, but relatively straightforward day.
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| Arriving in St. Lucie county, which allows High Rises on the beach |
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| This odd looking building is part of Florida Atlantic university, right on the Intercoastal |
We arrived at our anchorage in mid-afternoon -- there were a few other boats in it, including one that was a floating advertisement. We dropped our hook between the channel and some other boats, there was plenty of room for everyone -- life was good -- we went for a swim.
 |
| The Fort Pierce Marina floating ad |
 |
| There was some current, but not too bad |
And that's when the trouble started ..... Sue and I were both in the water, which was a bright green and just wonderful, when the cruiser on the boat off our port stern, started yelling at us that we were "too close" to her boat. Apparently she was below when we anchored and now, having come on deck and seen where we were, decided that we were encroaching on her space.
Of course, I felt that there was ample room between her boat and mine -- if I hadn't, I wouldn't have dropped the hook there in the first place. I am pretty careful that way -- I tend to anchor as far away as I can from all obstacles, sometimes pulling up and dropping the anchor an extra time or two to get things "just right" -- this hadn't been one of those situations -- we both had plenty of swing room -- I am unsure what her problem is.
This woman stood on her deck watching us, and occasionally yelling, the whole time we were in the water, we took our showers and raised the dinghy (we had dragged it since Cocoa and now wanted it up for tomorrow) -- clearly she was having a problem with our proximity. When I finally was done with the swim, the shower and raising the dinghy, I tried to get her to use the radio to talk about it -- she just kept yelling and wouldn't get on the radio.
Eventually I concluded that there was not going to be any peace in the neighborhood unless I moved -- which is what I did -- perhaps another 2 boat lengths away. As we were moving the boat, another cruiser, from the boat off our starboard stern, dinghyed over -- yelling "Welcome to Fort Pierce ..... you didn't have to move ... there is plenty of room" -- he apparently either also had a run in with this woman or saw another run in -- I am not sure. In any case, we moved -- you meet all kinds.
We spent the rest of the day in peace, looking forward and excited about finally going home tomorrow.
One postscript -- I was on deck blogging after dusk when I heard fish jumping around the boat. I grabbed a light to investigate. Primarily off the rear quarter and stern, small fish j(perhaps 2-3 inches long) were jumping out of the water to escape bigger fish (say 18-24 inches) that were feeding on them from below. I could see the little guys quite clearly but only occasionally caught a glimpse of the larger fish. This lasted for about 15 minutes -- apparently a school of bait fish chose to hang out under My Weigh and the big guys heard the dinner bell -- fascinating to watch!
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