01/25/2025 ICW Day 25 : Hide and Sea

by Brian · Published January 25, 2025 · Updated February 3, 2025

The vestiges of the week-long storm were still with us in the morning, but we were optimistic that things would improve. The skies were finally clear, meaning that even if the air was not warm, the sun ought to help.

Being wet in 49F air isn’t comfortable, but as the day went on, we eventually took off our multiple layers of clothing. I even doffed my wetsuit mid day.

Eager for nautical miles, we decided to pass up the legal campsite we came to at noon. We knew the next legal spot was too far away to reach by evening, so we decided to chance it and use satellite to find places we might be able to hide for the night.

I don’t really enjoy doing that. On a bicycle, we are almost always successful in finding a little hide-a-way - even in fairly urban areas. But trying to find a hiding spot from the water? Nearly impossible with our limited range. We decided to just chance it in a city park. There are people here, but you know how it is when you see homeless people, right? You just walk to the other side of the street or try not to make eye contact, right?

Photos:

Lots of water over the bow. Janet was cold and shivering so we stopped and I tried to think of ways to warm her up.

Lots of pelicans on some of these islands.

In desperation, we pulled into a city park. They have bathrooms, so we are hoping that if we get caught, they will let us stay the night. We did consider sleeping on the boat, but Janet seemed cold and I noticed there was going to be a 3 foot tidal fluctuation tonight. At least we landed on the high tide (much easier than landing on the low)

We tried to hide the tent in a corner of the park. The park closes at 9 pm. 🤞

Hey, at least it is beautiful. In this photo, there are 3 or 4 boats rafted together. It looks like they live here or have been living here for a while. I did consider asking them if we could add one more boat to their raft. The winds are calm tonight finally… but we are hoping for more privacy on land than we would get on the water.

Strava Comments:

Janet W.

Cheers to you Brian Lucido for pedaling all day, not just to stay warm, but to make speedier progress into the wind all day. Thanks for smiling to help me forget about being cold and wet. Happy to be warm in our comfy tent now at the park!

Mark G.

Park looks like a great choice. Again...that drone shot is super cool.

Stan H.

I’ll be interested to see your route for the next couple days. Will you go through Haulover Canal? There’s a manatee viewing platform there. I hope you see some!