May 2006
We have begun our journey north now, starting with a coastal hop to avoid too many lifting bridges. From Fort Pierce we then used the Intra Coastal Waterway (ICW), known by some as ‘The Ditch’. We are a bit worried about depth in some places since no money has been allocated for dredging since the adventuring in the Middle East started.
It was a bit reminiscent of The Netherlands but all on a far larger scale. By the time we reach the Chesapeake Bay in June we will have covered over 1,000 miles of ICW! Most of the bridges have about 20 metres clearance but some have to be opened on request or by a timetable. The width of the stretches of water can be several miles but usually there is only a narrow channel that is deep enough to use. It is said of Mosquito Lagoon that if you lay face down in the water at the highest spring tide you might drown!

Pusher tugs are the norm here and the barges can contain some odd things...
Porpoises have been ective everywhere we have been. Unlike in the ocean they rarely take any interest in boats.
A bald eagle's nest on a navigation marker - a very common sight (or site)
A property on the ICW
And another one...
Angie shortening th red ensign to account for 11 months wear and tear

In Florida the banks were lined with expensive properties wherever possible and much new swamp is being drained for this purpose. Unfortunately each new development impedes water flow through the marshes towards the Everglades and also takes water from the water table with the same effect. Nitrates running off from farmland are also causing algal pollution in the previously crystal clear spring waters in central Florida such as ‘Silver Springs’. We remember that from visiting in the 1970s and it is sad to hear what has happened.

The ICW uses a variety of natural waterways for its channel. It takes advantage of the natural coastal barrier islands, river estuaries and the use of canals or dredging. The Florida estuaries tend to be sandy and there are palm trees everywhere. Even well inland the porpoises swim in groups and
the babies swim alongside their mothers.
Unlike much of the US coastal Florida has an active railway. The ICW rail bridges are automatic and only close when a train is coming. They use automatic vessel detection systems and alarms for safety. Much better than waiting as in Holland, although the waterways are much less busy here except at weekends.

The rail bridge in usual open state, only closing for a train
This is how you combine a landing stage and barbecue deck at the bottom of your ICW garden
A spoil island covered in pelicans, egrets and cormorants - spoil islands are created by dredging
A typical rural view of the Florida ICW

The bird life is amazing. Everywhere you look there are active birds and we know that the variety will just get better and better further north. Flocks of pelicans share roosts with flocks of snow white egrets and they bicker constantly over the space. Cormorants are along the edges of these roosts and a bit more reserved or tolerant.
We have seen huge blue herons and small blue herons but the white ones are commonest. The rarest are tiny green herons which would hunt from our mooring lines while we were in the marina in Lake Worth.
In the late evening a strange tapping noise echoes round the boat, a bit like a pebble bouncing on a drum. There are other rhythmic tapping and banging noises and you start worrying about loose halyards and the like. The actual cause is Drum fish resonating their swim bladders to attract suitable mates for themselves!

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