My son and I went out fishing all day a while ago and we ended up outrunning a rain storm. The day was mostly sunny with only spotty showers offshore, so we weren’t worried about getting wet. Our boat Hewes flats boat has no cover, but it was still hot enough that being wet wouldn’t be so bad.
As we traveled along the waterway, heading south from Edgewater, we looked for signs of hurricane Irma damage and we did see some. JB’s fish camp restaurant is open for business, but the docks were still being repaired (they have been fixed and are very nice).
Then we headed back north towards the Marina, and Outriggers Restaurant, and the Bouchelle Condos (buildings with orange roofs in the photo below). We rode around the little island (see the greenery on the right) to head back south to our boat ramp, but the clouds and rain were moving in fast. Showers can pop-up fast, and you never know where or when. Suddenly it seemed like rain was all around us.
As we came around the Island we passed the sunken sailboat which has been there a while, and saw rain in the distance. In Florida, it doesn’t necessarily mean you will get wet if you see this. I was not worried. There was no lightning, and we were headed south – away from it, or so we thought.
There were so many clouds around, I am not sure which rain cloud dumped it’s water on us, but I am guessing it was this one. (I apologize for the crooked photo, but I literally point and shoot blind with my iPhone. The sun is so bright, I can’t see what my photos look like.)
As we headed toward the South Causeway in New Smyrna Beach, I went to put my phone away in the zipper bag, and heard my son yell, “Hang on!” He sped up and just as we reached the bridge big raindrops began to fall. He said he turned and saw a wall of water gaining on us from behind!
Even though it was raining where we were, down south it looked pretty good. Way down the river, past these sailboats, is where our boat ramp was located.
Once the rain let up a little we took off for the boat ramp – and did get a bit wet – but left the majority of rain behind us, as you can see in the photo below – that’s the bridge we hid beneath! Glad we didn’t wait around, because it was really pouring down there.
We got the boat out of the water without any more rain affecting our outing. This time of year thunderstorms are rare, not like summer. But when it rains in Florida it really rains.
We had a great day out on the water. We caught some trout, mangrove snapper, and a mud fish, but nothing big enough to keep.
Every day on the water is a good one.
Pass it on
