Posted by “Irlboater” on Yahoo Groups WCTSS used by permission

Launched my SeaPearl on the Upper St Johns River at Camp Holly on US 192 west of Melbourne FL on Monday(9/28) . Had to lower the mast to get under 192 bridge then motored north which is down river. Soon I reached Lake Washington and unfurled the sails and killed the engine. Four or five tacks later I was at the other end where I encountered my first obstacle. Lake Washington is used by City of Melbourne as a drinking water supply and they have put a weir across the St Johns as it exits the Lake. Luckily the water was higher than normal. There is a ramp used by airboaters to bypass the weir that had two inches of water flowing over it. I lifted leeboards and rudder, got out and pushed it through to the other side. Three miles later I hit another obstacle. Water hyacinths were blocking the river. I nudged onto it to come up with a plan to pass through. There was a big dead headless alligater floating upside down in this jam that smelled horrible. Again, I lifted the leeboards and rudder, fired up my Honda two horse and made a running attack at full throttle. I made it in about 40 feet with 60 feet to go. Luckily I was now slightly upwind of the gator. Now I had to retrieve my oars from under the floorboards and tried to row my way through the jam. I was able to just barely make headway by rowing but was tiring and it was difficult to get a bite down into the weeds with the oars. Spiders were climbing on board and I would stop to kill them then use my cute little sweeper and dustpan to sweep them up and put them overboard.(the last morning I shook out a spider before putting on my shorts)

A couple of airboats showed up and asked if I needed help. I asked them to hang around while I pushed my way through. That's when I found that using the oar to push off from the bottom ten feet down was most productive. We ended up knowing each other indirectly as they are local business owners. They got a kick out of my boat and of my planned journey down the river.

Sailed again once I made Lake Winder. Motor sailed through to Lake Poinsett and anchored in the middle of the lake anticipating mosquitos in the evening. They came out just as the sun set for a few hours then again just before sunrise. I hung the sun shower on the mizzen mast to clean up for bed. I'm not feeling brave enough to go swimming alone here although I've seen very few gators.

The next day I stopped on an island to explore then on to Lone Cabbage Fish Camp off hwy 520. My cell phone needed charging and the bartender was kind enough to allow me to charge it. I took a walk to check out the ramps on the either side the road. Lone Cabbage was setting up to sponsor a tour group from a cruise ship from Port Canaveral and had a display of Florida animals like alligator, alligator snapping turtle, skunk and snakes. I stayed to watch the presentation and to watch them climb aboard four different airboats and speed away. I thanked everyone and made my way down river again. The river from here branches off and comes back together acting like four or five smaller rivers interconnecting. I had a basic idea which way I wanted to go by studying maps and Google Earth before I left. I'd choose a path based on its width and flow. I backtracked once but most likely could have made it had I just kept going.

I took the masts down for busy hwy 528 and they stayed down since the wind switched and seemed to blowing right at me around every bend but before that it was fun sailing down river. Sometimes I'd start the motor when I had to but was happier to sail without it. Just before dark I found my way to Cone Lake. Not much of a lake compared to the others but welcomed for a little fetch to keep away the bugs.

On the morning of the third day there were a hundred dead mosquitos laying in the heavy dew just outside the cabin tent. Ate lunch while stopped at a shelter to see if approaching thunderstorms would catch me. Just a little rain. A while later they were chasing me again, this time with lightning. Threw out anchor and let a thunder shower pass while reading.

While researching this trip I was wondering how I would navigate through Puzzle Lake but with the water as high as it was it was easy. It looked more like a shallow lake with weeds than the formidable maze that Puzzle Lake appears to be at normal water levels.

The bridge at hwy 46 has 23 feet of clearance so I didn't have to remove the masts. Stopped at Jolly Gator Fish Camp to ice down the cooler then made my way to Lake Harney. The wind died and made the lake look like a mirror so I motored across where I saw the first distinct shoreline since setting off. Into Lake Monroe I unfurled sails for a close reach along the shoreline of the town of Sanford which begins the dredged channel 150 miles to the Atlantic Ocean near Jacksonville.

I had the idea of spending the night in the spring run of the Wekiva river anchored in crystal clear water among the cypress trees. Once I found the Wekiva River it was not clear like I expected. I motored up a ways still not finding clear water I decided to turn back and sleep in the oxbow of the main river.

Determined to try to find the clear spring water I set off the next morning back up the Wekiva River. It branches about a mile in and I pick a branch and fight through hyacinth jams before giving up and turning back. I finally found the right branch of the river and worked my way the seventeen miles upstream. I would say most of the traffic on the Wekiva is non motorized because there are a lot of tree snags and can become narrow and shallow. Stopped and checked out the ramp at Wekiva Island just downriver from the headspring of Wekiwa. Walked around the spring then back to Wekiva Island to call home to pick me up with the trailer

Jonathan.