Log on the  house boat Wood Stork  4/24 & 4/25/00

Left Flamingo Marina at the very tip of Everglades Nat’l Park around 1:45 after a 30 minute training on the operations of the motor, diesel generator and safety devices.

Headed up a canal and went under bridge making to Coot Lake and then on to Tarpon Creek. I started to drive,  Maureen steered a little  and Melissa drove on Coot Lake through windy Tarpon Creek.  If you are not used to driving this boat it is a little difficult to steer straight.  Maureen and Melissa made what we called spaghetti if you looked at our wake.  Melissa got it straight partly out of Coot Lake.

Daniel steered left 270 degrees after Coot Lake to find our way to “Joe’s” River.  Leaving Coot Lake we left our last channel marker and had to do line of sight navigating paying attention to the many islands and small channels.  I found the trick was to keep my thumb on the chart at spot where I thought we were.  I took over the wheel when Joe’s River narrowed.  We stayed about 1 ½ hours on Joe’s River where we spotted  4 dolphins in 3 spots swimming near us.   We were all on the top bridge when I spotted a dolphin about 200 feet away so I sent Daniel below to the bow to bang his hand and feet on the deck to see if the dolphin would get attracted to the noise. (a trick I learned in Jamaica)  I also left the engines running as they were there when we entered this part of the channel.

Within  a two minutes one dolphin showed his dorsal fin and blew his air out of his blow hole so close to the boat Daniel almost got wet.  It was 2 feet off the port bow next to Daniel.  I think I got a picture of it.

Melissa and Daniel made a delicious lunch down below of matzah and peanut butter for me and matzah and cream cheese for Maureen.  The children wanted to fish and get to Ponce de Leon Bay already so we altered course once we got the end of Joe’s River. We made a right at Shark Island instead of a left and traveled up the channel about 10 minutes making a left off of Shark River and towards Ponce de Leon Bay.  Ponce de Leon Bay is a shallow bay that is open to the gulf of Mexico.  The houseboat management said it would be OK to throw an anchor anywhere in the bay but not wanting to take a chance on the  weather I opted us to anchor off a 3 or 4 acre island on the north side of the Shark Island to give us partial protection from the bay incase the winds got strong.  We were able to have some protection on two sides and if the weather got really bad I could get closer to Shark Island if needed.

We anchored just south of this little island about 50 feet from it and across a 150 foot channel from Shark Island.  Here we broke out the fishing stuff and frozen shrimp bait and started to fish while Maureen read her book above and watched.  We caught a few flat yellow jacketfish and catfish.  Daniel got a fish on my fishing rod.  Maureen also had one on my line while holding the rod.  She then prepared a chicken dish that we baked on the grill with broccoli, hash browns and salad.

Desert was Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream.  (We had a great full size fridge and freezer on board). When the mosquitoes came out we headed in and kept the AC on for most of the night.

We got up the second day at 8:15.     The kids insisted on sharing the lower cabin as it was like a little enclosed club house.  I slept in the back where the kitchen table converted into an oversized single bed.  Maureen decided to take the couch that converted into a hard  single.  We woke up to a clear morning and made passover  pancakes but had to improvise ice cream instead for milk as we forgot to get a quart. The pancakes came out OK for Passover type and it was better because we did remember to get the real maple syrup and not the imitation stuff.  After putting the bedding away we went down a small channel and made a left trying to find little Shark River.  We did OK except I lost my place while watching a coast guard boat and a marine patrol boat. I  forgot which island of three to go around to find the “river”.  

Anyway, I got the wrong channel and we noticed the bottom start to come up at the same time we eased to a stop.  We were stuck in some mud.  I raised the prop and figured out we were stuck. (duh).  I put the props half way in the water, turned hard to starboard (right)  and started the motor to hear it the overheat warning.  After giving some gas we were still stuck.    This time I put the engine  in reverse with the warning on and tried to backed us off the mud. This worked.   The kids were very concerned about the warning sound on the cockpit dash as the man at the beginning said to  turn off the  motor when we hear this.  I told Melissa and Maureen it was more important to get unstuck and the engine should cool soon.  I also sent them to the  back to confirm that there was now water coming out of the engine meaning it was cooling.  When they said yes, I said there was probably a little mud in the intake and it was clear now.  Two minutes underway in good water and the sound went away.  At the end of this small channel between  several  islands ranging from 5 acres to ¼ mile I spotted 2 fisherman on a small boat who told me “that marker 64 was about ½ mile back.”   This made life a little easier so we went back to the marker and changed course.  This time we followed the markers around various islands and channels to another location out a different channel.  (so much for our only crises at sea!)

After about an hour we anchored for lunch and an hour of fishing.  We caught mostly channel catfish and a jack or two.  We pulled up the anchor and continued through some channels that was marked. We spotted one house boat ducked between two islands and then made a left turn at the end of the last marker to follow an unmarked channels skirting the northern part of Whitewater Bay.  In circling around the right we avoided some open water and went looking for a primitive campsite built on a platform 18” above the water.  We went NE and SE and found it but quickly left as the primitive campground was really bad.  It is 15 feet of platform with  a smelling porta-potty on the end of it.  Between the mosquitoes and the smell you would have to be crazy to camp there.

After leaving the site we had to cross into a 15 mile an hour wind clear across the bay.  Waves were a mild chop and the wind slowed us down.  It was all hands on the top deck to scan the horizon for any channel markers while I set a course of 210 SW which would take us eventually to the middle of the bay while  keeping ¼ mile  size island near the middle of the bay to our port side. (port is left. It is easy to remember if you think that left has for letters and so does port).   Melissa with the binoculars spotted one red marker and then Daniel spotted another one more south that was barely visible.  We aimed for the southern most marker while the kids picked up the marine chart and plotted out the next series of numbers.  Once we got to the marker the rest was easy.  Basically we were connecting the dots.  We cruised through Whitewater bay slipping between clusters of small islands and making our way back to Tarpon Creek out of the large bay.  Tarpon Creek is a curvy narrow channel.  These are the types of places we liked to go through because all you see is bushes and mangrove trees. You also have a good chance of spotting  wild life.  After going through Tarpon Creek we pulled off to the right in Coot Lake to anchor for the night and fish a little.  We picked this spot as it was out of the wind and it was on a smaller body of water so we would be in calmer water at night than we would have been on Whitewater Bay.  We  stayed the last night here as it was about an hour from the marina.

After setting anchor we took out the fishing tackle  and the frozen  shrimp.  As we were doing this Daniel spotted what he thought was a manatee just off the boat. Maureen saw it next.  After looking around we spotted calm round circles on the surface about 25 feet off the boat in various places. It surfaced very briefly a few times around the boat.  One time it surfaced and we believe we spotted a radio transmitter on it.  When the pictures get back we will see them better as they bobbed their heads quickly out of the water. We thought we saw a mother and baby but are not sure.  It is easy to see how these big and we were told dumb creatures get killed by propellers from boats.  Nature was not kind to Manatees like it was to dolphins. Dolphins are not only fast but also have the dorsal fin so you can see them. 

In our quiet anchorage we caught a few channel catfish and Daniel got a small jack that got hooked in his gill plates.  Being that the fish was near dead I got the hook out and hooked him in the back because Daniel wanted to use it as bait.  The Jack was about 6 or 7 inches across.  I told him to hold on tight if a fish hits it.  After throwing the Jack out near the boat and sitting down with instructions no matter what do not let go of the rod.  All of a sudden the rod  pulled down hard and pulled out line..  I told him to give the rod a pull to hook it.  Once he pulled it the line when limp so he reeled it in.  I looked at the hook and realized that it impeded itself in the bait fish so it would not have been possible to hook a bigger fish.  Melissa noticed teeth marks across the side of the fish.  This made Daniel very excited so I got a large treble hook and made a second hook from the mouth and cast out.  After 15 minutes he got another even larger pull but the line was near the engine or a metal bracket by the gas grill and ripped in a few seconds losing everything the fish    Later we were told it could have been a small shark.  As the sun was coming down the deer flies were coming out and starting to bite.  We turned on the A/C,  got everything inside and made sloppy joes on matzah with broccoli and salad.  We then did a little poker playing and went to bed at about  10.

The next day we got up at and started early with showers and omelets,  lifted the anchor and made our way 10 minutes through the markers to the channel that connects Coot Lake with the marina.  On route we remembered to lower the antennae and foldable top that covered the top bridge as we have to go under a low bridge.  We decided to stay and steer from the top bridge as it was nice to be outside and we felt we had better visibility. ( we do not understand why the man at the marina said it was better to use the controls inside when in the channel).   The channel to the marina is very narrow.  In some places it would be 2 ½ boats wide.  This was fine as long as I had the boat in a straight path or anticipated the turns.  In a 37 foot boat you have to start to correct the steering as soon as you make the turn.  This would be sort of like taking a car out of a spin in snow where you want to turn into the spin and then turn back  so you do not over correct and spin the other way. It is not a that big of deal to do once you get the hang of it. If you do not do this then you are driving like you are spagetti ziging right and then over correcting by zagging left.  This is fine in a large channel with no one around, but not good in one that is very narrow and has the occasional canoe in the way. 

We were making our way slowly through the channel passing a few canoes when we got to the low bridge. This was not going to be a problem except at this part the channel was very narrow and a canoe with 2 adults and 2 children could not make up there mind which side to be on just on the other side of the bridge.

37 foott houseboats even at a few miles an hour do not stop like cars and usually give a polite bump into docks and things that cause no damage.  (In fact the marina dock is nick named the crash dock because many of the people renting it do just that.)  The problem is you can not give a polite bump to a canoe.  This would over turn the canoe and basically make people very wet!  As we were approaching the bridge I hit our very loud horn.  This made them go more to the middle of the channel.  I waved to them to go to once side while going to neutral.  This would have worked but they went to the side we were on.  I shifted a few degrees to the left and they decided to do the same.  They got the hint went I laid on the horn and stayed on the right center.  I was just starting to back the boat in reverse as we had about 75 feet when they got with the plan.   We decided  that it would be more fun to duck for cover as we went under the bridge than go to the lower bridge.  As we got to the bridge at 3 or 4 miles an hour we told to kids to duck and stay down until I gave the all clear sign.  It was fun when went under the bridge as we only had about 12 - 18 inches of clearance which was just enough to steer on my knees and keep half a head up.  Fortunately the bridge was only 30 feet wide so we passed quickly.  The kids liked the idea of ducking.  We continued about 1/3 of mile and reached the marina crash dock but decided we were not going to give the usually hard bump and eased the throttle in reverse and forward until we gave the most polite bump we could do.  Here Maureen, Melissa and Daniel got out and aired out the car and getting the A/C going in it while the marina people hopped on board with me  to the gas and diesel pumps to refuel.  We took about 14 gallons of diesel for the generator and 51 gallons of gas which was not included in the rental price.

After loading up and going to park gift shop we headed north on the Everglades Road to the Anhinga Trail and boardwalk.  This is the best stop of the 5 Everglade stops and mini trails you can do on the way to Flamingo.  The path is an easy ½ mile that goes on a gravel road along side a narrow water way for ½ the trail.  It then turns into a board walk and makes a circle.  We saw several alligators, some nesting birds,  an annahinga bird swimming underwater as well as several other birds and fishes both local and from South America.  It seems people with fish tanks and South American fishes dumped them in the Everglade ponds.  You can see many of them from the surface.  We spent about 40 minutes on this loop and made our way out the park to a fruit and shake store called “Robert is Here”.  After a banana shake for Daniel and a mango shake for Melissa as well as some key lime pie (minus the crust as it was till Passover) we made our way to Hollywood for dinner and a stroll for adults while the Kids rented  banana bikes for an hour.  We then headed back to the condo.  They were having pasta withdrawals and rebelled on any place that did not have pasta.  We went to Martha’s with a table on the intercoastal water for the 4 course early bird special and had a nice dinner.

All in all it was a very good trip and interesting to see the saltwater section of the Everglades from the boat and the fresh water area from the land.  The kids liked the trip.  They were a little bored towards the end of our first day but were fine once we anchored.  They spent time on little projects, reading and Melissa used her new Swiss Army knife to carve a sling shot she is making.  I do not think we will go back to this place as 2 nights is all you need here unless you are into serious fishing.  I would consider a future boat trip for us where we can get off and visit islands and towns along the way.  They liked to try to steer and had serious fun at reading the nautical charts.  It was also good to be in one place together without the distractions of other people, work, house projects, etc.