Buggy ICW

Friday April 10, 2015
ICW Georgia Mile 615
Just north of St Catherine's Sound

We started the day with what has become a habit.  Running aground before we can get out of the anchorage.  We got unstuck quickly and went on.  It hit at 4'8" again.  We need to adjust the depth gauge.  We had cloudy overcast skies most of the morning and partly cloudy in the afternoon. We made a little more than 60 miles.

The bugs, every kind, were out in force today. Gnats, flies, bees, no seeums, things that looked like a cross between a bee and a fly. They drove us nuts. We killed them till there was a pile in the cockpit floor of dead bodies. Lee got the bright idea I should put up some fly paper.  Don't know where it came from but there was some on the boat.  If you are my age or older you probably remember an older relative using it when you were a kid. If you are younger then me you probably have no idea what that is.  It is a long piece of paper wrapped in a circular pattern something like the stripes on candy canes.  You hang the paper in a door way or on the ceiling and it is very sticky.  Hopefully the flies will lite on it and get stuck.  I have never used it so was not even sure how to open it.  I finally got it open but not before tearing off the top which had a little ribbon and thumb tack to mount it with.  I got the sticky stuff all over me and could not get loose from the paper to do anything with it.  When I finally got it stuck to something I had all my fingers sticking to each other.  It must have looked like a Laural and Hardy comedy but Lee never said a word while all this was going on. Good move, he valued his life. I tried rubbing alcohol, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, soap, laundry soap, nothing would take it off.  I couldn't touch anything or I would get it on that stuff too.  I finally put salt on my hands and rubbed and rubbed more salt more rubbing. After all that only one fly lit on the paper.

We are taking turns at the helm in 60 to 90 min. shifts so Lee's back will be happy.  He is mostly ok now but not doing anything to aggravate it. We are in our second week on the ICW and getting tired and trying to put in 10 hour days on the water. Looks like starting to night we have several days of rain storms. Cross your fingers we do not get hit with lightning.  We have had stuff damaged twice already from lightning. Rain or shine I intend to keep moving unless it is impossible to do so.