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| This was not the last of the "mangrove tunnels" that we were to come upon. These tunnels do set a height limit on water craft at about four feet above the water. If your boat is higher you'll want to avoid the tunnels and keep to the wider waters. A pity. The canoeist, of cause, will take these tunnels with ease. We watched for, but did not encounter, any nasties, such as venomous snakes coiled on the overhanging branches or Florida panthers perched on fallen mangrove. This experience did discourage us from going up the "Nightmare" which is a cut between Broad Creek and the more northerly Broad River. The warning, "passable only during high tide" kept us away. |
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After about an hour of mangrove tunnel we got out into the sunshine again. We needed to do a little housecleaning! |
| Here we are getting into
the sunshine. We finally came to anchor at the mouth of Broad Creek.
Had made 16 n mi the second day.
The Broad Creek anchorage was about the half-way mark, so we were roughly 40 miles away from civilization and we felt it. We listened to my marine radio, a Christmas present from my wife, and heard the Coast Guard answer a mayday concerning a missing diver located somewhere in the Florida Keys. We then tried to reach a marine operator. No luck. Finally, I tried Channel 28 and the Homestead operator came right back. I was thrilled, as this was my first use of the radio. I was able to talk to my wife in Gaithersburg, Maryland. She came over loud and clear. Homestead is forty miles away from the mouth of Broad Creek. My antenna is on top of the mast about 22' above the water. But still I was impressed, or rather perplexed as to how far a 25 watt signal could reach. It made me realize what a poor grasp of physics I have, and that I was quite satisfied with the explanation that a small miracle involving radio waves had just occurred. When turning in that night I heard a noise that sounded like the snapping of a small fire, after looking and smelling all around I came to the conclusion that the sound was coming from the outside of the boat. Later, a more experienced boater in Everglades City told me it was the sound of shellfish on the bottom. The clear transmission of the clicking sounds from the bottom, through the water and into the cabin of the boat is just another bit of physics, another small miracle to this boater. |