Mer Sea

We have finally reached a point where we’re beginning to feel some equilibrium, which is to say that we are no longer overwhelmed by all there is to do and by all we don’t know! We now approach each day calmly, without that panicky feeling that we simply MUST get this and that done and learned today OR ELSE…This is a wonderful place to be in our journey, and we are now able to enjoy each day and decide what we want to do today without feeling the weight of all the MUSTS. Sure, there’s a still ton to do and learn, but we also have a lot under our belts, so to speak.

 

There’s a portion of the Intracoastal Waterway that runs right by this marina, and we decided to spend a day on it, just to see what it’s like, since the majority of our first big trip in the spring will be on the Intracoastal. We set out on a lovely, sunny Sunday at about 8 AM, and planned to run for 4 hours, then to anchor somewhere for lunch, and to run back.

 

WOW!! We learned a lot! The Intracoastal (ICW) is used not only by people making a long trip from here to there, but also by people like us, just out for a day’s boating. It offers a safe (navigable depths), marked channel, and in these parts there’s lots of shallow water, so when you’re inland (with some land between you and the Gulf) it is very convenient to use the ICW. There are also lots of places to go directly off of the ICW, so people use it if they want to go to one of those places. Are you getting the image of a big, major highway that EVERYONE uses to go just about anywhere? Atlanta traffic can’t hold a candle to the ICW on a Sunday afternoon!!

 

Boats of every size, description, and speed were using the ICW this particular Sunday afternoon, and at times it felt like being on 400 in Atlanta, but with far fewer limiting conventions for traffic. For example, no painted lanes, no speed limits (except where there were – more about that later…), vehicles coming from any and every possible direction to join your “road”, and let’s throw in a few stopped boats who anchored just (barely and sometimes not quite) outside the “lane” to fish!! Oh, and then their fishing lines must be taken into account as well – don’t want to wrap one of those around the propeller!!!!

 

We also went through several areas that were “no wake zones” which means that you must slow down to the point where your boat doesn’t create, well, waves, actually. The manatee is a protected species that is a large marine mammal, very slow moving, and hangs out in these shallower waters, They are extremely susceptible to injury from boat propellers because of their inability to move quickly, so there are many “manatee” areas throughout these waters that are “no wake” zones and where everyone slows down to a crawl. I’m certainly all in favor of protecting the manatee, but it does slow down the process of getting from one place to another, and the boats tend to clump in these areas, creating considerable congestion. Well, it just gives you an opportunity to get a good look at a lot of other boats!!

 

So we discovered some of the challenges of the ICW. They added some excitement to a lazy Sunday afternoon jaunt. But the real excitement for me came with the sighting of many, many dolphins!! I don’t know if it is the time of year or what, but there are many, many dolphins throughout these waters!! We hardly ever go out now without seeing several, often at once, frolicking near our path. I couldn’t say that they’ve been playing around our boat, rather that we’ve chosen a path right through where they’re playing. However it works, we’ve really enjoyed seeing them!

 

We reached a point in our travels that was 4 hours out, and started looking for an anchorage. We chose an area, (which turned out to not be a really great area – not enough protection from other boats’ wakes) and dropped our anchor. For those of you who may be picturing this differently, here’s what happens when we “drop the anchor”. First, we pick a spot, then I go out on the bow while Cap’n Roy turns Mer Sea into the wind, then he signals (probably shouts) to me to begin lowering the anchor. I flip the cover with my toe and step on the button that works the windlass which is the motor that actually lowers the anchor. No actual labor involved. The hard part is that I must keep my eye on the chain as it pays out, and if Mer Sea is moving significantly due to current or wind, I must signal to the Captain which way he has to go to correct it. I use arm signals to do this. We want to keep the anchor just in front of us. I’m also watching for the markings we’ve made on the chain to tell us how much chain we’ve let out. When I think the anchor is on the bottom, I stop letting out chain and signal (shout) to the Captain to “back down” on it, at which time he slowly and gently backs up to “set” the anchor. When I am satisfied that the anchor is “set” (staying put with very gentle backing pressure from Roy), I signal (shout) for him to stop, and I let out the rest of the chain. Then there’s this thing called a “bridle” that I’m supposed to attach to the chain and a couple of cleats on the bow to take the stress off the windlass, but I haven’t yet been able to actually do that myself. I obviously need more practice…

 

Well, we did all that, and then had a lovely lunch on the upper deck, although the water was a bit rough from other boats’ wakes. Not really bad, just not really calm, either. But lunch was nice all the same, and it was relaxing to just sit and enjoy the day for a few minutes. And to watch the other boats without worrying about running into any of them or running aground!

 

Retrieving the anchor is pretty much the reverse of letting it out, with lots of arm signals to keep Mer Sea in the right position relative to the anchor and chain. We haven’t yet had any trouble “breaking it loose” or getting it off the bottom. Guess we’re saving that for sometime when it really matters! I’m just grateful every time I see that baby popping up out of the water and locking into place on our bow!

 

We turned Mer Sea around and headed back for Burnt Store Marina on the ICW. Four hours later, we made it home. It was a long and educational day. Lots of fun and still lots to learn. We have a better idea of what to expect on the ICW in April, anyway, and we’re looking forward to the trip!! We’re working on our proposed itinerary now, and will post it on the Float Plan page when we have it done. Stay tuned! Also, check out our new photos: today’s trip, and FINALLY getting Mer Sea’s lettering applied.