Quest for a new alternator- Part 1.
24 May 2022
• ICW
by Penni Singleton • Warm and Sunny
We woke up this morning uncertain of our plans. We knew that there were several auto part stores and a Home Depot nearby, but had decided we really needed a car rather than Uber. We suspected we may need to go to more than one auto part store, and we wanted to take the generator, still under guarantee, back to Home Depot. We had yet to research car rentals. We also knew that Scott and Mary were going to Stuart today and were mulling over whether to join them there. Meanwhile, we organized an Instacart shop, settled up with the marina for last night and took Timmy for a walk. We had just completed those tasks when Mary texted to say they were on there way to Stuart and were passing our marina. She told us that the marinas they had hoped to go to were full, so they had booked Sunset Bay Marina, five miles further. That put the journey at 7 hours for us. I like to get to the marinas before the close, often at 5, because I like to have help with the lines. Otherwise I have to leap onto an unknown dock - usually easy, sometimes not. ‘Let’s go’, I made the decision quickly, having quickly checked that auto part stores were close to the marina in Stuart. ‘But we will have to leave now’. John dutifully finished preparations, and we were off. Luck was on our side and the first bridge was scheduled to open 5 minutes after we got there. The tide was also helping us achieve a speed of 6 knots. If you get the first bridge at the right time, then the others usually slip into place. That was the case for all but one until we got to Stuart. I called Sunset Bay Marina on our way. They had space for us but warned us that the Bascule bridge just before the marina opened at 4, then 4:45, then 5:30. Not the usual half hour openings because of rush hour. Good needless that they were open until 6. I relaxed knowing our deadline had been extended and that we had a place at the marina. Passing this information on to Mary, we were even happier when she invited us to dinner on Salt Wife. Making great time up the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway- it’s been a while), enjoying the amazing homes, ospreys and one manatee), we were approaching Stuart at 3:00. ‘Oh’, I thought, ‘we are going to make the 4:00 opening’. The tide was not helping us, but we only had to go around a couple of bends. However, I had not accounted for the shallows that surrounded us. We slowed down to negotiate them, eying one boat aground. John took it steady, rightfully ignoring the 4:00 target. I held my breath, not wanting to wait an additional 45 minutes but at the same time knowing it would pass quickly. Seeing the bridge in the distance the tide picked up to give us 6 knots but it felt as though we were going agonizing slowly. We got to the bridge at 3:57. A lucky day from start to finish. The marina is super. We checked in (dog treat for Timmy, candy for Penni, bag for Solitude and big bill for John), had a coffee at the on-site coffee shop, and got ready for dinner on Salt Wife. We always have fun with Scott and Mary, and tonight we were treated to a dinner of tacos with Mahi-mahi (see yesterday’s picture)!
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