Life's Little Speed Bumps

It was a sleepless night in St. Pete Beach; bad waves, wind & current...Chip had one eye open all night and stayed on the couch, checking the lines throughout the night...I didn't drift off till after 3 am when the wind finally settled down. We headed out before the sun came up, with the magnificent Skyway Bridge in the distance. We knew it was low tide; but all the charts, electronics, visual aides and local knowledge could not have foreseen the events of the day as they were about to enfold. As we approached Tampa Bay, right in the middle of the channel our depth gauge went from 5' below the keel to NO READING. Luckily Chip was at idle speed, slowly maneuvering through the skinny water with sandbars along side us all the way. I could have reached out to touch some of the shore birds wading in the mud. The bow bumped first which popped the stern up slightly or else the damage would have probably been much worse...After a call to our mechanic in Naples, we made the decision to get to the closest marina to have Ithaka checked. We crept across Tampa Bay at 3 knots because of the vibration above 1000 rpms...think unbalanced washing machine on the spin cycle times a thousand. Throughout the 3 1/2 hour bay crossing we listened over the radio to several other boaters in distress who had gone aground during this unusually low tide.

The folks at Bradenton Beach marina couldn't have been nicer. Chip had a spare prop on board. He always says he has a spare for everything except his first mate! Had he not been prepared we might have been spending a few days on Anna Maria Island--which, by the way, turned out to be a good stop in spite of the reason that got us there. While the mechanics worked on the prop, I spotted a steeple off in the distance so I went for a walk. A sweet little clapboard sided church was unlocked...I went inside to say a prayer to find a dozen or so church ladies taking down their Christmas decorations, playing music and enjoying fellowship. They were all so happy to have a visitor! They told me all about the history of the church and the story behind all the beautiful stained glass windows. I sat in awe of the holy spirit, that feeling you get when you cannot put something into words. Just think of something that brings you so much joy you cry. That is how I felt. I knew at that moment that everything is always in perfect order and God knew we needed one more gentle reminder, a "speed bump" so to speak. I heard Him whisper, "Slow down, enjoy the journey."

Once we got the Ithaka back in the water we determined we would not be getting to Englewood before dark, so we called a marina in Venice and set out to enjoy the rest of the cold but clear afternoon. We counted our blessings and reminisced about all the adventures, both planned and unexpected, that we've experienced along this journey. Once docked at The Crow's Nest Marina, we called our dear friends Ed and Marcia who live nearby. They came down and picked us up and brought us back to their loving, warm, wonderful home for a delicious dinner which included a champagne toast in celebration of our nearly completed loop and their 15 year anniversary!

Last night we slept like babies as Ithaka gently rocked us---and it was the first time in many days that we did not set the alarm. We are now 100 miles from home so we will stop tonight somewhere between Captiva and Sanibel...Probably our last night on Ithaka on The Great Circle Loop. We expect to be crossing our wake tomorrow afternoon at Gordon Pass at high tide...

"Bizarre travel plans are dancing lessons from God." ~ Kurt Vonnegut