Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 24, 1991 TAG: 9102250392
SECTION: BOAT SHOW PAGE: 10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Go boating, of course.
The postman's holiday for Dick Arnold, owner of Smith Mountain Yacht Club, is an annual trip down the Intracoastal Waterway in Florida.
Well, most years, anyway.
This time Arnold and his wife, Gloria, had a 310 Sea Ray cruiser ready to run the waterway when a customer came by the dealership and bought the 31-foot craft.
"Who was I to say no?" Arnold laughed.
The Arnolds, who have lived at Smith Mountain since 1970, made their first coastal trip in 1974, and have been going most years since, boating anywhere between Jacksonville and Key West. Arnold traditionally displays the craft of his voyage in the Southwest Virginia Boat Show.
"I guess the nice thing about the trip, you can just sit back and do what you want to," he said. You can make your home anywhere you tie up, and that might be in the Venice-like atmosphere of Fort Lauderdale or in the wilds of the Keys.
The subtropical artery that is the waterway in Florida is a multifaceted thoroughfare, with Fort Lauderdale the hub of the activity, Arnold said.
On a typical trip, the Arnolds will put in at Merritt Island, near Cape Canaveral, and boat southward to Marathon, a distance of 299 miles. Then they make the return trip.
Most often they have gone in a 27-foot Sea Ray, big enough for live-on comfort yet not too ungainly to trailer from Smith Mountain to Florida in a two-day period.
Anything too big, even a 30-footer with a flying bridge, can cause slowdowns at draw bridges, Arnold said.
"I get under just about everything. Unless you can get under these bridges you might have to sit there for awhile."
Fort Lauderdale is the place to spend some time gawking at what is ballyhooed as the most impressive array of million-dollar pleasure craft this side of the Mediterranean, particularly in the winter when wealthy yachtsmen send their boats south to serve as bases for their personal retreats from the cold.
Some of the largest and most luxurious can be seen moored along the seawalls of Pier 66, a luxury marina with a $2-per-foot daily docking fee.
With time and experience, you learn to find bargains, said Arnold.
"You get just as good facilities at Bahia Mar [Marina] for maybe half the price," he said.
"It costs me roughly $30 a night to moor there. That includes electricity."
The Arnolds spend the night in their boat. "If you go to the hotel, you are looking at $150."
They eat breakfast on their boat, and lunch there about half the time, depending on their location.
"But we try to eat out every night, because Gloria is on vacation, too," said Arnold.
Fine dining is abundant, and at a variety of prices. The floor show often is provided by passengers debarking from shiny cruisers and sleek performance boats that are tied several abreast.
Arnold recalls once stopping at Pompano Beach late in the day and finding the public dock filled. The dock master, who recognized him from previous trips, guided him to a nearby private club.
"The place was super nice," said Arnold. "One night we decided to go into the dining room. You had to wear a coat and tie. You always carry one dress-up outfit so you can look halfway decent.
"There was a French maitre d' at the door. All the waiters were in tux. No prices on the menu. I said to Gloria, `A hundred and a half to get out of here.' "
The salad bar included shrimp, lobster, even caviar. Once seated, the Arnolds decided they might as well go ahead and live it up. They ordered prime rib.
"When the waiter brought us the bill it was $7.90," said Arnold. "I said, `Did you make a mistake?' "
Arnold was told the midweek prices they had enjoyed were next to nothing because the club mainly catered to its members on weekends only.
Finding docking space isn't as tough now as when the Arnolds first began their trips.
"Now there is an abundance of slips down there," said Arnold. "I don't know if they overbuilt or it is the economy, or what."
While navigating the Intracoastal Waterway is a good bit different from boating on Smith Mountain Lake, it is little more than a matter of reading charts and following channel markers, said Arnold.
"You have to follow the charts. Some places you have to run a period of time until you see the next marker. I have always kept in mind if you turn too far east or west you are going to contact something, because you are on the Intracoastal Waterway."
If you stray off the course, you can run aground, however, and that happened once when Arnold had a friend at the controls.
"I was down below reading the Sunday newspaper and all of a sudden it felt like we were going up into the air a little bit, then, BOOM!. We were on a mud bank. But not hard. We were able to get off by ourselves."
Once south of Key Biscayne, where the water is open and a compass reading takes on added importance, Arnold was stopped by a marine officer.
"Where are you going, Captain?" she asked.
Arnold told her what course he was running.
"If you keep on that heading, your are going to tear out your lower unit," she said.
"I got the course out of the waterway guide," he said.
"Yeah, but that is a misprint," she said.
The Arnolds usually travel on their own, although their sons, Lee and Richie, have gone along. So has George Welch, who operates Bay Roc Marina and Yacht Club on Smith Mountain.
Arnold recommends a craft of a minimum of 25 feet in length. He plans to have one on display in the boat show.
"A somewhat smaller craft can take it, but it will beat you to death," he said.
by CNB