11/10/15
We left St. Augustine after a nice week there. Jake and Kimi were as ready to travel as they ever are. Kimi gets so anxious due to the unpredictable motion of the boat that we have to medicate her to keep her from driving Sharon crazy on each trip. Usually, she will relax then and keep a sharp lookout for dolphins and dogs on other boats.
We were in the southbound sailboat brigade most of the day, and when we weren't going slow for sailboats we were going slow in manatee zones. You know you're in manatee country when you have to go slow and they paint the bridge pilings with pictures of manatees.
We finally arrived at the free New Smyrna Beach Courtesy dock where there were two boats already docked, and two more joined us later. The docks were a little tricky to tie to since they were built in a curve. It took some creative fender and line work to get us tied alongside in a way that the boat was secure and protected and at the same time we could get on and off. As soon as we docked someone walking in the park there told us he had been watching a manatee and pointed out where. We walked there and sure enough, there was the first manatee either of us had seen in the wild! Several times that evening one or two would surface near our boat, but before I could get the camera out to take a picture they would be gone, not to resurface anytime soon.
Temperatures had somewhat moderated today so the stay without shore power and air conditioning was not too terrible, but it was still very muggy. We're starting to rethink this free dock idea.
Now I know most people think it may not be a far trip to drive me crazy, but Kimi without an anti-anxiety med pants for the entire trip, and spends the entire time jumping off of my lap and back onto it, non stop! 4 or 5 hours of being scratched by a dogs nails, being drooled on, and having her throw her weight onto my lap is unacceptable. If I try to move, she tangles herself under my feet. An accident just waiting to happen.
ReplyDeleteThe picture of John on the flybridge with Kimi shows how windy it was that morning. Kimi's ears are sailing with the wind, I was just waiting for her to fly off of the flybridge. I had not decided if I would rescue her, as this was the day that we did not medicate and she was schizoid!
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