Beginning the Loop

Hi All...Ben here on the water,
We've been on the move up the ICW and stopped in to see my old "friend" Ralph again at Kay and Harold's house in Satellite Beach. On our way up the canal toward his house, we passed a whole bunch of kayakers getting their exercise trying to maneuver around the boats and wakes. They looked like they were having fun.

Here's Ralph again protecting his house. I'll bet he gets lots of treats, cause he does a good job. He liked Jeff and Izzy just fine and let them come in. They made friends with him right away. But I think he's still mad at me for that mess I left in his yard last visit.He's still a little leary of me, so I kept my distance and tried not to look longingly at his yard, or at Kay or Harold. We stayed rafted up to their boat in front of their house for a few days and had a good time with them and their crazy friends.

Kay took Jeff and Izzy to the Kennedy Space Center the first day. They came home with stories of big rockets and men on the moon. They even bought some astronaut food to try- dehydrated ice cream - just doesn't do it for me. I prefer the Earth version.Harold has a real pretty little fast wooden boat that he keeps for special occasions. Here's a picture of Harold and his woody! He took Jeff and Izzy out for a ride and went so fast that their hair stood on end like mine does when I stick my head out the car window.We got to meet some of Kay and Harold's fun friends. I was even invited to come along to dinner one night to Alan and Jan's house play with their dog, Spike. He's a real nice guy who played with me in his yard. I think he likes me. Everyone talked about boats while Spike and I got to know each other. Here's a picture of us having fun at Spike's house with Kay & Harold, and Jan & Alan. Spike and I are under the table searching for leftovers.

The next day we untied our lines from Kay and Harold's boat and started to go further north to meet up with Aaron and Matt. Harold knew that we would have a difficult time finding our way in the shallow water of the Banana River, so he was real nice and came with us for the first part of the trip. We were glad to have him show us the way with the tricky markers and lots of crab pots floating around. At one point Jeff felt something strange in the steering - kind of a vibration, so we slowed down and checked around the boat but didn't see anything, and everything was working alright. A few miles ahead we dropped Harold off at a marina where one of his friends was going to pick him up and take him back home. So long Harold ...Thanks for all the help and hospitality in Satellite Beach. We had fun with you and your nice friends!

Upon our arrival in Titusville we were greeted by two huge manatees floating under our dock. As we hooked up our hose and washed off the boat, they came over to drink the fresh water drippings. Jeff put the hose overboard and they came up and drank from it...quite a show! Those open holes are the nostrils opening briefly for a breath...eyes are further back. You remember that funny boat vibration I told you about when we were coming over the Banana river with Harold? Well, Jeff got the idea that he should get in the water and check out the prop and see what might be causing the trouble. Guess he got tired of paying the man in the funny rubber suit to look under there. The nice lady at the office had told him that not only were there manatees in the water around the boat (they're gentle and won't hurt you), but there was also a 6 foot alligator spotted in the harbor earlier that day(they're not so nice and they do bite!). That didn't bother Jeff...he jumped in and found a bunch of wire, that used to be a crab pot, wrapped real tightly around the prop. He cut it off with some clippers and about 25 breaths. Here's a picture of Jeff and his treasure. He's such a hero! Izzy calls him "Jacques Cousteau", whoever that is. On our way up the Intracoastal Waterway, we were again followed by those playful dolphin that like to swim right beside our boat and spin and look at us as they ride our waves.

Tying up on the free curved city dock in New Smyrna Beach, FL was a little tricky, but we got some help from an old commercial sailor who was hanging around in the park watching boats. He took our lines and flipped them over the pilings in a couple of seconds... Jeff and Izzy are still trying to master that smooth technique. Something about having two left hands?

About a mile up the waterfront we found a lunch spot with fresh fish and a bait shop to set our crab trap out for its first catch. Here's a picture of Jeff during the rigors of crab trapping.

Note the line hanging into the water off the swim step. He had to sit and wait with a beer for about 10 minutes before lifting the trap to the surface to check for crabs. On his first try he managed to catch an unknown bottom fish that got its mouth stuck on the bait. It must be a quite intense and demanding sport, because I noticed it made him very tired, and he actually dozed off for a while...poor guy.

That night we walked over to the fishing piers under the bridge and watched the real fishermen catching shrimp with what looked like oversized butterfly nets. There were bright green lights hanging just under the surface of the water to attract the shrimp to the surface, and as the current carried the shrimp past the bridge the fishermen would scoop them up in their nets. Looked pretty simple. Maybe Jeff should try that instead.

Matt and Aaron are meeting us in Daytona Beach for Spring Break.
I can hardly wait. Some more guys to play with ... and they give me their pizza crust sometimes!

I think I'll study up on the crabbing techniques. I think I could do as well as Jeff. He's had no luck so far. Jeff caught us salad!

Till next time ...

Love,

Ben