Fort Pierce, Air boats, Aligators, Manatees, Racoons and Spacemen

27:27.017N 80:19.380W

12th April 2015

7656 Miles from Ramsgate by log.

            We wished Gemma and family goodbye this morning and now the boat seems very quiet without Lily running around. The bug from the UK finally gave me a break and jumped over to create havoc with Norma’s well being and so she was bed ridden for a couple of days which has been a real shame, but we did make the best of it. While I was still feeling sorry for myself we all jumped into the hire car and drove down to the Everglades to take a tour on an air boat. When I say we, I slept while Duncan drove the three hours each way. Everyone should own an air boat they are just great, it was an absolutely brilliant experience the boat itself was like a fun fair ride and the everglades are a real gem. We saw alligators and Terrapins on the trip while Lily very nearly lost her pack lunch to a very cheeky Racoon.

A party of genuine native Americans passing by

Lets go Air boating but the pilot looks a bit young!!

A Racoon with an eye on Lily’s crisp packet

A swimming bird drifts by

Personally I would rather swim with the sharks

On the way back to Spectra we stopped off at a local nature spot and found a river full of alligators so any thoughts of me going into the Florida waters are now officially cancelled. Right next to out mooring in Fort Pierce is a Manatee information centre which must attract the Manatees because on our return we found one lolloping about in the harbour (see pics). Lolloping about covers it really, they are a very strange beast, 1000 Lbs of blubber that hangs in the water moving in slow motion. I studied the one near the boat and even breathing seemed to be an effort, trust me those things have a face even a mother couldn’t love. Anyway from the Manatee centre useful Manatee factoid number one, their closest living relative is the cow, so there, now you know.

A Manatee in the harbour, that’s the back end I think.

A fisherman prepares his catch while the Pelicans look on

Norma was bed ridden for a couple of days and so we tucked her up with a good book and went to the Kennedy space centre loving family that we are. Now that is a great day out, I was like a big kid it was great. What more could a young lad like myself ask for, rockets, outer space and modern day heroes, I was in my element much to the amusement of Gemma and Duncan. They have lots of different displays and film centres covering the early days, Apollo, the space shuttle, Mars and things to come. Each and every one of them is really well presented and the time just flew, before we new it, it was seven O’clock and we had not nearly covered it all but we had to go and check on Norma so into the car it was. When we got back Norma was feeling well enough to worry and had been about to call the FBI, CIA, CHIPS and probably my Mother as we were well overdue.

Gemma and Lily give the moon rover a spin

The Apollo launch mission control. “give me a go no go”

The business end of a Saturn 5 Rocket

We did put a man on the moon and there he is

The space shuttle Atlantis, 33 missions completed now on permanent display

As I said at the beginning Gemma and Co are now flying back, which left Norma and myself to get Spectra back into sail boat mode again. After about an hour moping about feeling quite down in the dumps because basically we both wanted to be on the flight with them we gave ourselves a shake and got on with things. We plan to be back in time for the birth of young Martha in July and so it is full steam ahead. We spent the morning cleaning decks and then topped the tanks up for the expected long days of motoring ahead up the intra coastal, 100 US gallons for $326 which is pretty cheap. We pulled out of Fort pierce at 1600 that afternoon and travelled a grand total of 1 mile which included going under the 65ft bridge again, (like an elephant, I still won’t look up), before dropping anchor just south of the first  Bascule bridge going North. Tomorrow we head on up towards St Augustine where we have an appointment to meet up again with Right Turn on the 20^th and so the adventure goes on. But tonight it is sitting in the cockpit watching the lightening all around.