Well..., you know the rest. So, we are on our way to Boy Scout Island to join ECSA for a weekend cruise. Feeling pretty smug because it is just a quick 2 hour sail from our marina, we slept in on Saturday and lounged around for a bit. Park had her friend Corina join us. With kids aboard we had all sorts of "fun" things tied to the boat to amuse the kids. On the foredeck was the inflatable kayak, the inflatable dingy was on that davits and the sailing dingy was in tow from the stern. We looked like a flee market special.
We headed out around 10:00 am. Winds were a bit brisk and from the north. We made it to State Road 3 draw bridge in good time for a 10:30 opening. After passing through the bridge, things deteriorated rapidly. Outside of the protection of the barge canal the winds picked up to over 25 knots. The Indian River / ICW was confused and choppy. No big deal - LaLeLu didn't even flinch. We headed for the 528 causeway via the main channel. Getting closer we noticed that there was work being done on the causeway, and there were barges and tugs blocking the main channel. We hailed the tug and asked for instructions on getting through. He replied that we should go under the next span West of the main channel. We asked for the bridge height and the reply was somewhere around 55'. We needed 56+ feet. After much consternation and bitching, we decided that we liked our mast well enough that we did not feel the need to risk it. In defeat we headed back to State Road 3 draw bridge. On the way through, there were three other ECSA boats headed to the 528 causeway. We hailed them and explained the situation. Two of the boats had masts that would allow them to get through. The other boat had a 57' mast and retreated along with us, in defeat. All was not lost - we headed to an island North of the Banana River power lines and hung out with the folks from other tall-masted boat. They had ten people on their boat so it was a ready made party. We spent the day on the beach chatting with them as the kids hung out on the island, played in the sand, and floated on various acutraments. Our new friends pitched a tent for half of their gang, lit a big bon fire and shot off firecrackers. We had a great time after all, despite being trapped in the land of the tall masts.
