April 23, 2024: On to Lincoln Creek Anchorage

0639: One lonely little cloud. Outside temp 54 degrees, Water 73 degrees, Humidity 98%, Dew point 53 degrees, Cloud cover 4%, Wind NE @ 7 mph, Power 62% (It was 98% at bedtime), WOBSSRs done, Thru hull open.

0700: Engine started. Lee needed to work with the anchor until 0710 as the chain did not want to grab in the gypsy. He finally pulled the anchor up manually and went out later to investigate. It appeared the manual mechanism had loosened causing the chain to slip along the grip. He tightened the screw and will see if this takes care of the problem.

This has become a familiar and comfortable route for us, having traveled it several times now. At MM 655 we came across “thin water” at slack tide by Wolf Island, and watched the depth gauge closely as we passed through. Shoaling is always an issue on the Little Mud River at low tide, but today we timed our passage perfectly with 11+ feet under Jack Robert’s keel. The water was calm, the sun warm and the engine ran beautifully.

We have a lot of noise in our lives these days. I recently read and article in which the author (whose name currently escapes me) recommended going for “awe walks” to help calm our minds. These walks should involve no ear buds, bikes, visits with friends or other extraneous activity. Instead, the author suggested a solo walk with stops along the way to enjoy the “awe” of it.

I went on a few of these walks at the marina and discovered how relaxing it was to listen to the dogs as they joyfully played in the dog park, to watch the birds dive for fish or hop along the dock, see the sun and clouds reflected on the water and to hear boaters wish one another a “Good morning”.

Today I did “boat awe”. As we traveled along on the water I took time to watch the dolphins slide in and out on the water with grace and ease while birds dove carelessly into the water hoping for breakfast. The sun reflected on the water and a bald eagle watched us carefully as we drove by his mile marker. When the noise starts to overwhelm you I would urge you to “awe” walk or boat. It truly does calm your day.

1455: We dropped anchor at Lincoln’s Creek (MM 615.9) in 10.3 feet of water and laid out 100 feet of rode and chain. A group of dolphins stopped by to greet us.

It was a long but, fortunately, uneventful journey. We used 14.5 gallons of fuel and occasionally received a push behind us from the tides to increase our speed above our normal 7.5 mph and a push against our bow bringing our speed closer to 5 mph.

We ate the last of the pork tenderloin and sauerkraut with corn for dinner and Lee hooked up the generator to bring our power up from 60% to 100%. Our plans to sit outside and enjoy the evening were spoiled by the gnats, so we watched a little telly, planned tomorrow’s route and went to bed. Tomorrow will be another long day.

An awesome moon as seen through the window.