And we are off

We got underway this morning at 6:55am, it was a beautiful morning and we pulled away without any problems. The diver came late yesterday afternoon and worked on the running gear (props, shafts and other metal parts) for about 2.5 hrs. He reported that we had a lot of marine growth called sugar coral. He went on to tell us in this particular area there is an acceleration of growth twice a year in the Spring and Fall, sometimes requiring cleaning every 2 wks., yawsa! That is a lot and certainly more than we are used to. Fortunately  it was a very simple and inexpensive fix and we were able to take off.

We went inside the GICW until Venice Fla., where we turned and went out into the Gulf Of Mexico. You can see our track for the next few days at: http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0YbgAe68AMPZoLxpBHQYaVI86IlerZvb3 A very uneventful trip. We thought we might have had a problem with the  impeller on the hydraulic water pump because the water flow meter was not moving. Once in and docked at Cabbage Key I checked and all was well. It took a tap on the water wheel with the back of a screwdriver and, voila, it started moving...

Tomorrow we are off to the Lake Okeechobee Waterway and will pass Ft. Meyers FL on our way east.