We woke up this morning to very calm winds and got underway at 7:08 am. We saw a lot of birds including several groups of white pelicans sitting on the tidal flats. They are a very different looking pelican - all white with an orange beak and a black patch at their wing tips top and bottom. We had a very pleasant 65 mile trip up the ICW through a lot of undeveloped stretches after we passed by Cape Canaveral. Except for the southbound tug pushing a couple of barges that came around a blind corner just as we were passing under a bridge! I floored the throttle to get through the bridge and immediately turned off the channel to get out of his way. His barges filled the channel through the bridge almost side to side as he slid by and went on his way south. Right after that we arrived at a stretch of the ICW with several shallow spots, and wouldn’t you know that we got there at an unusually low tide. I routinely set depth alarms at 8’ and 6’ whenever we are moving. The 8’alarm is to get my attention so we don’t get into too shallow water and set off the 6’ alarm which is “hey do something quick” as we need at least 5’3” or we’d be aground. The 8’ alarm must have gone off a half dozen times in the half hour it took to travel that stretch. Each time I would pull the throttle back and swing Dreamboat side to side looking for the deepest water. Fortunately, we never got to any 6’ spots. The remainder of the trip was through more developed areas and had no more depth alarms, and we had a great dockhand to help us get safely in our slip for the night. The Captain
The picture we posted today is a harbinger of home. Two mallard ducks, drake and hen, heard our voices and paddled over to see if we would feed them. They are the first mallards we have seen on the entire trip – south or northbound. Kent Island, here we come! The Admiral