ON THE ROAD OR ON THE WATER??

March 16-18, 2026

Starting out of ACY Yachts on the New River, we waved goodbye to Rafael, Mark, Ryan, Steve and Dillon on March 16 and started up the New River. It was fun to see the Sunset Bridge (which we had driven over numerous times to go to the beach) from the water. Contacting the bridge masters on channel 9 or 16 became almost second nature, though had a couple of hiccups with construction workers on the bridge delaying an opening. Overall the bridge masters are courteous and expedient. Our first marina, Seagate Yacht Club was right on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). We left putting out the fenders until we were right next to the marina and I had to use throttles to try and keep us positioned in the ICW with the current pushing me all over. Howie did a great job pulling up to the T-head and we had officially completed our first day on the water! Took a swim in the club pool and went to bed early.

Bridge heights range from 7-65 feet. Anything below 25 feet, we would request a bridge opening. We did have one bridge master that had a 23’ bridge height and when we requested an opening, he asked, “what is your air draft?” I said, “it is 22’.” He came back over the radio and said, “you have plenty of room, know your air draft, know the bridge height.” So, that was a lesson.

Bella in her “splat” position on the front cover of the boat. This is a favorite viewing spot. Alas, a lot of the toys are left to their own devices after she gets tired of hanging out.