Jan 10:

The day looked like a bad one when we awoke. There was a light mist blowing in the air and winds were probably 15 to 20 mph from the Northeast. After catching up with paperwork in the hotel room we started out to take a look at conditions on the water. We had landed in Port St. Lucie as the winds were increasing but they were not anywhere near as strong as this. We stopped at West Marine to get a floatable case for the Garmin GPS and also got some letters to stick on the boat. We have decided to put "Rowing for Habitat" on the bow on both sides. While we were checking out we told the man who helped us what we were doing and he urged us not to try to row through what they call the Crossroads in the Port St. Lucy harbor. The Crossroads is at the intersection of the ICW and the Okeechobee Canal and the inlet from the Atlantic Ocean. We were told that the wakes of boats coming from all directions and the strong tidal currents in this area made it extremely dangerous for any small boats to try to go through and the winds would make it worse. So we decided to put in on the other side of it at a park next to the beginning of the narrower waterway. This turned out to be a very wise decision and we certainly thank the man at West Marine for the advice.

Cove road led to a dead end and a small park with a sandy beach facing the ICW. The Northeast wind blew right down the route we were headed. Once we were all set we pushed off and immediately blew into the channel and started south. Mileage flew by as we averaged 5 mph for a while. With a late start we had no hope of another 20 mile day.

It did not seem long before we entered Hobe Sound. The wind swept the length of the sound so as we neared the end waves had built to a height that barely stayed below our gunwales. Passing further down the channel it seemed the waves just got bigger and bigger. We tried to use the shelter of the shore as much as possible but it provided little.

I think we set a speed record for the trip at 7mph on a few occasions. Watching the land speed indicator on the Garmin GPS was greatly rewarding because I could see the immediate effect of each pull on the oars. But Heather told me not to get out of breath. I snuck a few power tens in without her noticing and saw the indicator go up to 7.1.

After rowing two hours I had covered 9 miles. We stopped and had a nice lunch of Wheat Thins and cheese, apple slices and a piece of marzipan washed down with a bottle of Gatorade. I backed the boat into a small opening in the Mangroves and Heather tied the stern line to one of the Mangrove routes. It occurred to me that the distance rowed was greater than two successive Yale/Harvard races! Crews at these races generally row at 32-36 strokes per minute and cover the four-mile course in about 20 minutes. So at a leisurely 17 spm I had covered that distance with a much slower boat, a passenger and at least 50 pounds of gear. I was quite satisfied!

We continued toward Jupiter and the wind grew stronger. The last two miles we were on the verge of swamping several times and Heather had to pump the water we took in over the gunwales from time to time. On one stroke, as we were lunging through the waves, a large fish jumped completely out of the water and nearly landed right in the boat. It was a very exciting ride! Just before the bridge in Jupiter we spied a beach in a park next to the shore and I decided to pull out there so as not to have to deal with the currents at the Jupiter inlet on the outgoing tide.

We had pulled the boat half way up on the beach and were unloading our gear when Heather yelled as she saw the boat get picked up by a gust of wind and blown back into the water. We jumped and caught it just in time to stop it from completing our journey without us.

With all the gear out and boat up on the level by the road, I started to look for a ride. After asking a boy in a pick up truck if he new the name of a taxi and then calling the name he gave me and finding that it was not a taxi, I noticed a Martin County Sheriff pull into a little beach access road across the highway. I went over and asked him for advice on how to get a taxi. He made a few calls on his radio and said he would drive me back to the car. So I got in the back of the cruiser like an arrestee and deputy Jeff Smith drove away. Heather later said she wished she had taken a picture. So I owe the Martin County Sheriff’s Dept. and Deputy Smith a great deal of thanks for their assistance.

We had a very exciting adventure and logged another 14.25 miles.