Beez Neez now Chy Whella - To Manatee Pocket

To Manatee Pocket

Beez Neez now Chy Whella

Big Bear and Pepe Millard

Mon 18 Apr 2011 22:14

Our First Trip on the ICW to Manatee Pocket

We were very excited to switch on Beez Neez engine at ten forty five, move off her slip at the Riviera Municipal Marina, West Palm Beach, Florida at eleven, to begin our first trip on the Intracoastal Waterway. Holding our breath under the first bridge, passing our first tower block, first manatee sign and out into the great expanse of the waterway. We had pictured a Norfolk Broads in some places, the River Thames a bit wider in others, but this was in the main three miles wide. For the next few months we will be protected from the sea, act like a powerboat and go all the way up to New York, wow.

The landscape was vast. The waterway has many 'side roads' to marinas and some of the houses along the way - exquisite

Then it was our first opening bridge. On the waterway there are fixed, opening and on demand bridges. This was an opening bridge which has set times of half hour and hour. All information, mile by mile, is available in many ICW textbooks and a trusty photocopied journal at the princely sum of $15 in Skipper Bob - biblical for the ICW.

You have to let opening and on demand know you are approaching and when you have cleared through. We called on channel 9, the lady told us "bridge open in five minutes". After our safe exit, I just had to tell her it was our very first bridge. "Well welcome, y'all have a wonnerful stay in Merica and have a good day folks". Then it was full steam to get to number two opening at eleven forty five called Parker. Number three at midday called Pea and on to number four.

Then through the Donald Ross Bridge

Then a LIGHTHOUSE, didn't expect one of those, the bridge measure complete with manatee warning and passing under our first power cables

Then on into narrow, shallow bits. Captain chuffed, me concentrating and what the ICW looks like on the GPS

Not a mile went passed without seeing an Osprey nest. Then we met our first Boat US chap

We left the channel on the right, turned left and left again toward Manatee Pocket

We left the main ICW and keeping between the red and green markers, promptly went aground. Everyone had told us "it's not if you go aground, it's when you go aground". We later found out that the bottom here is eighteen inches of fine silt that the forward facing sonar cannot see through. We had been advised to join Boat US, a towing service. We had met them at the Annapolis boat show and rang them as soon as we got to West End, Bahamas. With boat show reductions the cost was $136 for the year. This means any time we get stuck fast; a nice young man with large outboard engines comes and drags us back into the main channel, this is the AA or RAC of the waterway. They help if you run out of fuel, get lost etc...... I really did not want to call Boat US on our very first trip, Bear rammed us into reverse, we slipped back into very slightly deeper water. I hailed a local who came over and told us the markers were in the wrong place and "to favour the green side". We were to lurch to a standstill eight more times, each time we thankfully got free. We anchored in zero water below us. Dirty Al and the boys were waiting patiently in the Pirates Cove Marina bar to welcome us. We had to wait an hour to get a few inches below us to make sure the girl was safe and off we went in Baby Beez. Twenty six miles of all kinds of new experiences. Time for the best mudslide on the planet in the company of the friends we met snorkeling off Buck Island, St Croix.