Skip to main content

We met Wally

We missed a few days of blogging due to connectivity issues in the GA swamp. We've got them worked out now and have a few updates to post, most of which I'll do in the next few days.


While we were anchored in Wally's Leg, we had a nice nature encounter with Wally himself. Wally the 6 foot gator. Wally swam up to Felix and started eyeballing the Chief, who was only concerned about what Star was cooking him for dinner, and oblivious to the possibility that something was looking at him as dinner! Wally stroked over to within 15 feet of the side of our boat, floating lazily on the surface and watching his potential meal strut back and forth along the cabin top.


After about 10 minutes, the hungry gator slowly drifted back in the current until he held himself about 30-50 feet behind the boat, gently swishing his tail back and forth to hold in position for the next half hour. Lucky for the Chief there were no missed steps or slipped footing, and eventually Wally swam away.
We have lots more to write, but we'll save it for tomorrow when we're better rested. All in all, we've come to appreciate the Georgia swamps a little more. The place is teaming with life. We saw a marsh flat overrun with wild hog, at least 30 on a couple acre flat, I saw a fish jump that had to be 40#, the gators, birds, just so much out there. If you can see past the hordes of horse flies and no-see-ums there's such an incredible diverse sort of life out there that it's definitely worth it, maybe once every 14 years:)
More to follow in the next few days....

Comments

  1. Don't forget that gator tastes good too!!So Wally better be on his toes,if I was on the boat, 15 feet away would have been close enough to qualify him for dinner!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Hope you enjoy the blog, please feel free to leave comments!

Popular posts from this blog

The Adventure always continues...

This is the Blog of the Sailing Vessel Felix. Felix has been sold, so I probably won't update the blog much more, just leave it here for posterity and start another one. This blog was primarily the record of our trip from North Lake Worth, Florida up to the Chesapeake Bay and our summer there before moving back to Florida. Because Blogger won't let me rearrange the posts into chronological order, it has to be this 'latest post first' format, here is the link to the beginning of the journey . You'll just have to select the posts by month and read in reverse order. I hope you enjoy, and I'll post up the new blog here whenever and wherever it begins. Thanks

Chief of the Boat

"Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in." Mark Twain We long for an affection altogether ignorant of our faults. Heaven has accorded this to us in the uncritical canine attachment. ~George Eliot Dogs' lives are too short. Their only fault, really. ~Agnes Sligh Turnbull I talk to him when I'm lonesome like; and I'm sure he understands. When he looks at me so attentively, and gently licks my hands; then he rubs his nose on my tailored clothes, but I never say naught thereat. For the good Lord knows I can buy more clothes, but never a friend like that. ~W. Dayton Wedgefarth Chief 12/12/95 - 5/8/2010 Rest in peace, little buddy

Working in the field

The anchorage, although we stopped here for all the wrong reasons, has turned out to be a really nice one. Of course with 5-10 knot winds you can anchor almost anywhere and be comfortable, but fate has decided to float us here where there's not another boat in site except for those travelling down the ICW . As usual, the only waves are coming from the big powerboats. Star made a great Cornish Game Hen dinner last night and we tried to take our minds off of our engine issues, saving them until this morning. Up with the sun bright and early I started work on the coolant leak, working here in field conditions with Star yelling down to me whenever a big wake is approaching. The fitting is on the exhaust manifold after the waterpump , and the only way to remove and work on it is to loosen the alternator, remove the alternator/water pump belt, unbolt the water pump and starter, and pull the pump out. I did this, and found that the little rubber bushing had folded back. I set it straight...