Daily Archives: 1 6 March 15

Doing the Port Mayaca “Limbo”

Posted on 1 6 March 15 by Bill
"Heeling. Nothing more than heeling..."

“Heeling. Nothing more than heeling…” or so the song goes.

Friday, 6 March

There is no tidal swing this far up the St. Lucie River. There should be plenty of water to keep Sirena on her lines. There’s no evidence of panic aboard so it’s assumed everything is alright. But it’s clear she has begun to list heavily to port. And, as it turns out, she heels by design.

Ahead lies the Port Mayaca Railroad Bridge. A lift-type bridge, vertical clearance 49’. At least, that’s what the chart says. It sure doesn’t look like that when Steadfast–mast height 38 plus anchor light and antenna–motors through. There should be at least nine feet of clearance above her masthead. Must be, but from the deck, it sure doesn’t look like it.

The view to the lift from Steadfast's deck.

The view to the lift from Steadfast’s deck.

Sirena’s mast height above water—including anchor light and antenna—is closer to 50’. Her crew now attempts, in effect, to make her shorter. Sirena’s skipper, Dale, has calculated that if they can induce her to heel about ten-degrees, Sirena, a Pearson 34, should slide right through with no problem.

At least, that’s the thought.

The "bucket brigade" leaves Sirena with the look of a fire boat.

The “bucket brigade” leaves Sirena with the look of a fire boat.

So Sirena’s port rail is lined with a dozen (as in 12) five-gallon buckets, dipped in the St. Lucie River and filled to the brim. Those are joined by three yellow five-gallon cans of diesel fuel, a couple of blue cans of drinking water plus fenders, Debbie and—suspended from the boom, swung out over the side—the heavy wood pram that is her tender.

Yep, she’s definitely heeled to port, at which point Dale pushes the throttle slowly forward and Sirena motors slowly toward The Bridge. Yard by yard, foot by foot, inching ever so slowly ahead.  This is scary, my friend.  You know what a new spar costs?  Scary.

Sirena approaches.

Sirena approaches.

From downstream, there seems to be no clearance at all, as in close! But waddya know, there’s no buckling of the spar, no crunch of the masthead or anchor light. Sirena slips right through.

Sirena passes under the lift, barely.

Sirena passes under the lift, barely.

She's through!

She’s through!

No crunch.  No clank.  There is, however, a nearly audible sigh of relief, no doubt, on deck of Sirena.

So…that’s how it’s done.  Easy, huh?  There’s a video version of this process for viewing on You Tube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTh7yLcNaQs Different boat, of course, but just as much fun to see. Interesting stuff.

And remember, sometimes it’s okay to be tipsy!

Steadfast out.

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Back to the “Crossroads”

Posted on 1 6 March 15 by Bill

Friday, 6 March

The excitement’s over. That’s it for this day, watching Sirena squeeze under the lift bridge. Once she’s through, it’s all down hill from there, just motoring up the final few miles of the St. Lucie Canal to Stuart.

A passing sailboat arouses little interest among the herd.

A passing sailboat arouses little interest among the herd.

Not that this is a complaint, mind you.  As noted previously, on a small boat, boring is good.  And the waterway past Port Mayaca qualifies as “boring” in anybody’s book, just a long man-made ditch. Banks are eight, ten, 15-feet high on either side, depending. A ‘gator—first of the entire trip—lurks at the surface, sunning itself in the shallows to port. In a field off the starboard bow, a half-dozen horses graze, tails chasing churlish flies while colts cavort nearby. And, as usual, the mangroves fill with ibis in the morning.

There’s a bit of a tail wind along with a favorable current albeit slight, the result of seasonal efforts to drain Lake “O.” But that’s another story altogether, one of big money, big politics, big pollution, big controversy (see http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol6/iss2/art17/main.html ).

And...a hundred-thirty-five miles to Fort Myers.

And…a hundred-thirty-five miles to Fort Myers.

That story may be the most interesting part of this stretch of the St. Lucie Canal as the waterway now is known. Go ahead. Look for a landmark. The chart shows “Swamp” on one side, “Ditch” on the other. Wait, there’s a “Spoilbank.” But then the entire canal is lined by swamp, ditch or spoilbank. Using just the chart, it’s hard to tell where you are.

A big power cat leads the way out the St. Lucie lock.

A big power cat leads the way out the St. Lucie lock.

Then again, you can’t go too far wrong. Just keep it, well, between the ditches. There’s a two-mile stretch to the first turn to port. Then it’s a straight shot to a half turn to starboard, then…well, you get the idea. There’s one straightaway that runs—I am not making this up—uninterrupted for eight (8) miles.

The big excitement comes with the approach to the St. Lucie Lock. Will Steadfast get there in time for the next lock through? A call ahead on the VHF elicits the hoped for response.

“I see ya, cap’n,” says the lockmaster. “Keep ‘er comin’.”

A local resident poses atop a piling at the pier.

A local resident poses atop a piling at the pier.

And she does, indeed, keep goin’ and nestles up to the east side of the lock. Tied off there, gates gradually open and she rises 14’ to the level of the St. Lucie River. Once through the gates, Steadfast slides into the river proper, which narrows and twists and passes under a series of bridges—each 55’ tall at the center—before curving east round downtown Stuart.

The river runs on from here eastward another few miles to the ocean, St. Lucie Inlet. That’s where its waters mix with those of the ICW, the “Crossroads,” as they say.

Lovely town.  Friendly folk.

A good spot to sit for awhile.

Steadfast out.

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