After a summer in New York I reunited with my boat in Sarasota, Florida where she had been watched over for the last five months by Mike, my HTML writer and fellow "O'dayer". Within a few days we were joined by another friend who came down to crew on the upcoming passage. His name is also Mike. While the three of us were working on the boat, Mike's neighbor, Mike, came over - four Mikes on a boat is too much.

It took three full weeks of relentless work to recommission the LTD. New lists were made before current ones were completed. To go there, click here.

Overdue, the LTD was carefully placed in the water. Nobody wanted to be the first person to scratch her new paint job. Four days later we took her out for a test sail in Sarasota Bay. It went well. We were ready.

Though an early start and favorable winds were on our side, it took all the light the day had to offer to make the fifty seven-mile leg through Boca Grande into Pine Island Sound. Mike was excited to be sailing. He zealously read the instruments out loud about every forty minutes, and I'm sure he wanted to climb the mast!

We made our way through the first two locks on the waterway without incident. I acquainted Mike with the boat and it's gadgets, while stopping frequently to take in the vistas. The next morning our view was gone. Anything that was left out overnight was soaking wet. Dense fog didn't loosen its grip until early afternoon. We used this down time to scratch things off of the ever-growing list, after pancakes.

At the end of day three we were drawn to land solely by a "Welcome" flag waving in front of a big sign that read; " Steak House Saloon". At fifty cents a foot we took the only available berth at Hendry Isle Marina. It was a charming basin in an RV Campground that furnished us with washing machines and full stomachs.

In the morning as the engine was warming up for departure, Mike went to gather the power cord. I heard a thud and popped my head up to see what had happened. I found Mike slumped over the cross beam that connects the docks. His chest rested on this balance beam sized timber as his head and arms draped over one side and his hips and legs dangled on the other. At first, I thought he was playing a joke, but a second later I realized he had fallen. He had the wind knocked out of him and had difficulty taking in air. In an injured voice, he was able to squeeze out one word; "Alligator!".

I proceeded to help him up on the boat where he regained his senses. He had a few scratches and was a little shaken up- but escaped serious damage to himself. Though Mike's tolerance for pain is exceptionally high, he'll probably not soon forget hanging over a beam of wood, hurt and face to face with an alligator!

Once we passed Morehaven Lock and the dismantling of a bascule bridge just before it, we were in Lake Okeechobee. Trees line the long, narrow channel that leads to the lake. On one side all the trees are dead and filled with large birds while the other side is lush with vegetation and no visible wildlife.

According to an attendant at Pahokee Marina, the Army Corps of Engineers used pesticides to kill a threatening bug and it was these pesticides that killed off the trees. (I can't validate that). The lake, however, was abused and robbed of all it's natural minerals by irrigation many years back. You can learn more about the efforts to replenish the lake's riches by typing; "Lake Okeechobee" in any of the Internet search engines.

As per the suggestion of one of our readers we took the rim route for scenic pleasure. What a treat! This place was a bird show. At times it seemed as if we were on a ride in a wild game park being led by a track under the water.

Small boats with sparkles in their paint jobs whizzed by us at great speeds. The only thing that was touching the water of these turbo fishing boats was the blade of their V6 engine. These boats were equipped to get you to your fishing spot fast. There were many of these small crafts in the area, so it wasn't a surprise that we did not look behind when we heard another racing engine approaching. These guys were going too fast and were too cold to manage to lift a hand in response to the mandatory "Boaters Wave". What was surprising is that the racing engine coming up quickly from behind belonged to a small plane. Another sailboat was off to my port side. The plane zipped by me less than twenty feet from my sail and no higher than five feet off the water- with wheels down, no less. We looked over to the other boat and recorded their amazement as well.

We went through five locks all together before I found myself in familiar territory. The ICW is littered with large houses dwarfed by their larger boats docked outside. One such residence wasn't close to finished but it already had a phat cigarette boat hoisted out in front of it.

All flying things aside we found the waterway to be well marked with good depth in the channel. The anchorages have been mostly calm with good holding ground. We found gas any time we needed it and the fixed bridges were accommodating to the 32 foot mast length of the LTD. The two swing bridges were operated outside, from the center of the bridge. The second one that we went though was actually cranked open manually. Thank you bridge tenders.

We are waiting in Lake Worth for a weather window to make our crossing. To compensate for the northerly waters of the Gulf Stream, we will slowly move southward to Fort Lauderdale positioning ourselves for the passage out to the Bahamas.

I just learned that Mike will not be able to make the voyage. Wish me luck.