So we woke up and didn’t have a plan for today. We had our breakfast and coffee, then I took Frank in the dinghy to shore. As I approached the dock we had used yesterday, I noticed a security guard walking away from another dinghy then turn toward me. He approached a said “the dock is closed.” I asked why and where else could I go? “I don’t live around here- I’m not sure where you can go- but this dock is closed.” Ok-I turned the boat around and met with the others that had also just been kicked off= “Where to now?” we both were asking each other. They said “We read there is a place on the other side of the bridge” gesturing toward the south. “I see some boats over there- on this side- I’m going to check that out” I replied. I saw there were indeed some small dinghies and as I got closer they looked to be washed up and abandoned, but there was a kayak there and one dinghy that looked liked it floated and it was pulled high up on the sand at the base of the bridge, under a tree. I landed the dinghy and scoped it out. It looked like Frank and I could hop the small brick wall and get to the sidewalk. I returned to the dinghy to pull it up higher on the sand and secure it to the tree. As I was doing this the other couple in their dinghy must have seen me land and decided they would come here too. They pulled up and I told them it looked good enough. I was just going to walk the dog, and they wanted to go explore the city a bit. I wasn’t sure it would be good for leaving the dinghy for an extended period of time… Frank got his walk in and we headed back to the boat. I explained to Lauren the situation with the dock, and after discussing it we decided to move closer to Peanut Island- which is only four miles away- where we knew we could land a dinghy. We pulled anchor and headed toward the island. As we got closer we saw there were a ton of boats around it. This was a Sunday afternoon, so it was expected to be busy. We have heard a lot of people on the loop and online say they prefer not to travel on the weekends due to the amount of traffic- it doesn’t bother us.
Let me tell you a bit about Peanut Island: “Peanut Island is a 79-acre island at the mouth of the Lake Worth Inlet in Palm Beach County, Florida. The island was created by dredging-related projects in 1918 which also created the inlet and the Port of Palm Beach. Originally named Inlet Island, the island was renamed Peanut Island for a planned peanut oil-shipping operation which failed in 1946. A $13 million renovation on the island in 2005 resulted in Peanut Island Park including camp sites, a pier, and a man-made reef. It has well maintained paths that encircle the island, along with lovely gardens and picnic sites. The island also was the location of a blast shelter built in secret for President John F. Kennedy shortly after his 1960 election. Kennedy often spent winters in nearby Palm Beach, Florida.” per Wikipedia… This Island is a very popular spot to be with your boat- it is only accessible by boat- and has lots of sand bars and very shallow areas around it. As we approached we saw a bunch of boats anchored on the south side of the island, across the inlet. We pulled in and tried to find a spot among the other boats. We eventually dropped anchor and I went about having my anchor beer while making sure we were not moving. Our friend Evelyn had called and Lauren was chatting with her, hearing the news that all of Ohio restaurants and bars will be closing inside seating as of tonight. During their conversation I was watching and had a feeling/saw we were moving. Not fast, but still we were moving farther from the boat to our right and closer to the one on our left. Hmmm…I continued to watch and finally decided it was time to do something. I told Lauren we had to move, and she ended her call with Evelyn. I started the engine and we went about pulling up the anchor. Once the anchor was retrieved we debated about whether to just try to re-set it, or move somewhere else. We decided we would try the other side of the island. OMG. Once we got around to the north side of the island, there were hundreds of boats anchored about- the island shore was packed with boats pulled up to the sandy beach and boats everywhere anchored, with people standing in waist deep water, drinking, partying and having a good ol’ time. We had just heard about Ohio shutting down, but the people here were not concerned. I cannot even explain the scene good enough I’m sure- the amount of boats and people partying on and around this island was amazing. We found a spot to anchor less than a quarter mile away, off to the side, and not in the fray of the partiers. Eventually we felt secure in our new anchorage and took Frank to the island for a walk. We pulled the dinghy up on the beach between some boats and walked around the island, marveling at the scene and thinking about how this is against everything that is going on in Ohio. I chatted with a few people and Lauren kept her distance from others as best she could while we walked. We eventually went back to the boat after finding out we could no longer tour the bomb bunker as it was closed for renovations. Dinner was made and we watched the island clear out by the time it got dark.
Day 2: The island was an easy place to take Frank for his walks. Today the island was pretty much deserted, as it was a Monday and everyone was back at work. We walked around and hung out on the beach for awhile. We basically had a lazy afternoon. We did want to re-stock some supplies however before we left, so I went on a scouting mission to see if I could get to shore somewhere as there is a Publix close to where we anchored. I could not find anywhere with shore access, except for a small marina around the corner. I pulled up and asked if we could go to the store and the attendant said no, BUT he told me they leave at 5pm, and if we came after that,.. I read between the lines and thanked him. Back to the boat to hang out until later. I was sitting on the back deck, whe I looked up and saw a large fishing boat pass by very close to us. “Not a good spot to be in” someone- the Captain?- yelled. I was surprised to see them sneak up and so close! I didn’t have a response so I just watched them pass by and dock at a private marina close by. We had spent yesterday and last night in this spot and I didn’t see anyone pass us . There were a few other boats anchored around us too, so it looked okay to anchor here. I went in to tell Lauren about them and she had seen them pass by so close too! “That Captain is an idiot to put his passengers in jeopardy like that!” she said to me. It was true the boat had about a dozen people on board returning from a fishing expedition, and there was no need to come that close to us! We continued about our day, waiting for evening so we could ‘sneak’ to shore. Around 6pm we decided it was time- we dinghied over to the marina and tied off. We brought our cart with us so we could transport out goods back to the marina. We have a folding/collapsible cart which has been the super useful. We got it as a gift and have had so many compliment and comments about it! We walked to the store and used our own cart instead of a grocery cart. At this point they were ‘sanitizing’ each cart but we had our own! We filled our cart and made it back to the boat and unloaded. We discussed tomorrows destination and it was decided to anchor out again- where exactly is up in the air but we have a few options…