Into the Canal

 Departed Whitehall at about a quarter after 7 AM. Johannah handled her first lock transit with aplomb. We made it from Lock 12 to just outside Lock 4. We got there right at 5 when they close for the day . The lock keeper said we could tie up for the night with no problems. We took a walk into Stillwater village, where we picked up an extremely important item that I had forgotten, mosquito repellent! Johannah is heating up a delicious looking dish of mushrooms and orzo that she had prepared the day before and has been awaiting us in the icebox. Yum!

50 years ago:

A Honda? Huh? My father had found a little portable generator made by a company he had never heard of, called Honda. His thinking was that I could use it to run a sander, a drill, and some other tools when shoreside power wasn't available. I was pretty much sick of sanding at that time, what with a fleet of 10 charter boats, and therefore not keen on another device that could get more work out of Charlie. But then I realized, the generator that was buried in a deck locker could run a battery charger. I dug it out and Fred was delighted when it fired up. I can't remember how long it took, but after a while, the Perkins fired up and order was restored. We didn't need to run it continuously since we still had wind, but we conserved the batteries and continued pumping by hand. A day or so later, we motored into the Ft. Pierce inlet and had the boat hauled out. The source of the leak was immediately evident. A plank end, far forward at the stem, was sprung, and allowing a good bit of water to enter. A couple of new fasteners and we were on our way. Back on the ocean and down to Ft. Lauderdale, where, very uncharacteristically, my frugal mother booked us a slip at the uber expensive Pier 66. My father must have experienced heart palpitations when he found out about that bill.

We secured a much more reasonable berth up the New River, and everyone headed home but me. I was to keep the boat maintained and looking great for a potential sale. I spent the winter doing that, and picked up a job washing dishes on a restaurant dining boat. And the schooner did sell, to an actual Greek shipowner. 

And so ended my first cruise south! Hope you enjoyed hearing about it!