Mar 8, 2026by: Curtis Hoff No Comments

TRAFFIC IN THE GALÁPAGOS, I – Janice Anne Wheeler, Sparring With Mother Nature

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Love & Peace…in the Galápagos I witnessed both. As promised, here’s a glimpse.

Photo credit, right, Lee-Ann Wheeler

If you’ve just joined our engaging little community, please read SPARS & SPARRING, my introductory piece.….it introduces my wonders and my wanders. ~J

TRAFFIC IN THE GALÁPAGOS, I

I always seek Mother Nature’s creatures and NEVER have I been so peacefully proximate.

Janice Anne Wheeler

Mar 8

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I captured this magic at Playa Punta Carola on Isla San Cristóbal; similar scenes played out everywhere, without fear or hesitation. No zoom required.

The wild animals I was raised amongst shied at my presence; white tailed deer, snowshoe rabbit, chickadee, assorted squirrels, raccoons, and avians were but a quick blur, providing glimpses of varied tails rather than the chance to observe, study or relate. My childhood home was in the woods on a dirt road and in decades of wandering the (very) lightly populated Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York I encountered only a single, rolly-polly, fast-moving black bear, barely recognizable in its race to safety; the birds we fed fled. The vast majority of that deciduous forest’s residents sank into the shadows with their natural camouflage, detected my presence long before I got there, and left me feeling like a solo traveler rather than an accepted participant in their environment. I carried only a camera, stepped what I thought was softly, and willed them to let me capture their character, to no avail; I disturbed the peace rather than brokered it.

The creatures of the Galápagos? They shied not at all.

Goldfinches procreate on the Malecón.

On the equatorial archipelago that Carlos Darwin (as he is known locally) made famous, sea lions are draped peacefully on every step, bench, dock and picnic table, calmly, awkwardly, moving toward their chosen spot until someone gives way. The only path to the lighthouse was blocked by snoozing pinnipeds. We climbed railings, rocks and ridges to maintain a respectful distance with the joy that is created by such a unique and calming presence as well as the paradox of it all.

It is as it should be, I think. Clearly, they were here first.

Los Lobos, the Sea Lions, were captivating; their calls echoed on the waterfront.

Tiny birds alight within easy reach, eyes clearly twinkling; ancient, ungainly tortoises utilize the narrow roads and long-imagined, prehistoric Marine Iguanas are everywhere, blending in perfectly with the lava rock where you were just about to step. On Tortuga Bay, Isla Santa Cruz, they were the beach traffic, dozens walked back and forth, forth and back, as we humans dodged, photographed and admired intricate, grasping claws, the erectness of their intimidating spines and the completeness of their patient silence.

Adaptable, indigenous Marine Iguanas were in the midst of nesting season, too.

I dusted tracks off the sarong laid down in a path that was not mine to block, and apologized profusely for overstepping my bounds. They were not bothered. I still was welcome, flitting along in the background of a National Park experiment that is brilliant in its simplicity and impressive in its success.

In that bay my skin wrinkled and whitened as I took in every detail of a 1.5 meter Pacific Green Sea Turtle grazing placidly in less than three feet of warm, hazy, outgoing tide. She turned her triangular tail, only to turn back, move closer, munch louder, not remotely disturbed by my hours of undying gratitude and gut-clenching fascination. Four others with similar girths and soulful presence that day had me in a haze of happiness. Young sharks darted by and assorted cleaner fish worked diligently on algaed, ancient shells and leathery skin; symbiosis beneath the surface.

One serious, informative young tour guide kept asking us in quick, strongly accented English, “Are you getting me here?” “Got you,” we told him, smiling, jealous that he lived in and taught about a world where everyone simply gets along. Red-throated lizards and even redder Sally Lightfoot Crabs pause rather than skitter; Blue-Footed Booby birds decorate the cliffs. Soaring Frigates constantly grace the sky, but you cannot keep looking up. You must look everywhere.

These timeless centurions were slaughtered for their meat to near extinction, including by Darwin’s expedition. A remarkable, if slow, comeback. 158 juveniles bred in captivity were released February 20th.

Procreating tortoises perform a time-tested, two-hour ritual.

I’ve explored only a small percentage of our amazing, complex world, but I’ve made concerted effort to see a considerable measure of the coveted creatures thus far identified above the surface of the sea and below it. Never have I been so peacefully proximate. I know this awe will be with me forever.

I was entranced by the reality of such fabled, varied life, all of it strolling, flying or swimming remarkably close to humans from all corners of the globe with remarkable, benign, curious acceptance. I’ve often commented on animals knowing, instinctively, who is a threat and who is not. Is that fact? I do not know. It is simply my observations, far and wide, which back up the theory, time and time again. ~J
*** This one piece isn’t enough to show you what I experienced—-not even close! There will be more images & impressions in Part II —-Encounters beneath the surface—-next week. Hope you’re loving it!

You guessed it, more procreation is in the works….

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Mar 7, 2026by: Curtis Hoff No Comments 26.7608,-80.04649999
Palm Beach May Appoint Special Magistrate in Marine Violation Cases – Palm Beach Post

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The Palm Beach Post

Palm Beach may appoint special magistrate in marine violation cases
Diego Diaz Lasa, Palm Beach Daily News
Thu, March 5, 2026 at 10:20 AM AST
Palm Beach may soon see a new addition to its code-enforcement process — a magistrate judge with a focus on coastal and maritime law.
Fueled by the town’s recent efforts to manage the Lake Worth Lagoon, the Palm Beach Town Council on March 3 gave its initial approval to an ordinance that would create a new special magistrate position to oversee violations of the town’s laws regulating its beaches and waterways, as well as boating and other aquatic activities.
It’s an ordinance that may be codified by the month’s end, as Palm Beach Police Department Chief Nicholas Caristo requested the Town Council to hold a special meeting later this month.

Town of Palm Beach fleet manager Todd MacLauchlin loads a buoy onto the Palm Beach Police marine unit while Palm Beach Police Officer Quinn Mosko, facing, and other divers remove illegal moorings and bottom gear north of the Flagler Bridge in the Intracoastal Waterway on Aug. 26.
Council members agreed to meet at 9:30 a.m. on March 30 for a second reading of the ordinance, which could result in it becoming law.

Caristo’s request came as the Palm Beach Police Department has towed over a dozen boats from the Lake Worth Lagoon — a part of the Intracoastal Waterway — as part of the town’s effort to manage the body of water.
That enforcement effort also has included enforcing a recently passed anchoring rule that prevents boaters from anchoring overnight for more than 30 days within a consecutive six-month period in waters where Palm Beach has jurisdiction. Officers have also issued citations for illegal mooring, lack of anchor lights or expired or nonexistent registration.
Under the potential new law, the Town Council would be able to appoint a special magistrate that would review those infractions and others that fall under chapter 74 of Palm Beach’s Code of Ordinances, titled “Parks and Recreation.”
The special magistrate would have the same quasi-judicial powers as the Code Enforcement Board, including the ability to subpoena alleged violators, take testimony under oath and issue fines as well as lawful orders to bring violators into compliance.

The appointee would be required to be an attorney licensed in Florida who has experience with coastal or maritime law.
The ordinance does not limit the number of special magistrates the town can appoint, nor does it place a term limit on those appointed to the position. However, it does note a special magistrate can be removed via a Town Council vote.

Town Attorney Joanne O’Connor said the ordinance shouldn’t face legal pushback, as Florida law allows municipalities to have both a code enforcement board and a magistrate judge with different purviews.
For example, Lighthouse Point in Broward County has a code enforcement board for violations related to residential buildings and a special magistrate for violations related to commercial buildings, O’Connor told the council.
Town Hall Staff recommend the special magistrate specifically for that section of the code, because the Code Enforcement Board may lack the familiarity with complex sphere of coastal and marine law, according to a memo attached to the ordinance.
Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dlasa@pbdailynews.com.
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Mar 7, 2026by: Curtis Hoff No Comments 36.7221,-76.21019999
LNM: AICW MM 13.9 Albemarle & Chesapeake RR Bridge Damaged Fendering System

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Sector Virginia
Marine Safety Information Bulletin
VirginiaWaterways@uscg.mil
MSIB 032-26
March 7, 2026
ALBEMARLE & CHESAPEAKE RAILROAD BRIDGE –
Update to Damage of Fendering System
The Captain of the Port, Sector Virginia, advises all mariners to exercise extreme caution when approaching the Albemarle & Chesapeake Railroad Bridge at Mile Marker 13.9 on the Albemarle & Chesapeake Canal.
On March 6, 2026, the bridge and fendering system sustained significant damage. Due to this damage, fendering system and any expected lighting should be considered unreliable. Update: Local Marine Fire Department assessment reports that while no observed hazards were detected below the water line, most if not all lighting on the bridge structure is missing or in need of repair. Mariners are urged to use extreme caution and transit the area at the slowest safe speed to ensure a safe passage.
Coordinates for chart updates: N 36° 43′ 19.98″ / W 076° 12′ 37.02″
Mariners are reminded to operate their vessels in a safe and prudent manner at all times.
Should you have any questions or concerns regarding this matter, please contact the United States Coast Guard Sector Virginia Waterways Management Division via email at VirginiaWaterways@uscg.mil.
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Mar 7, 2026by: Curtis Hoff No Comments

Pssst…What If Sailboaters Decided To Take Over a Small Town? – Loose Cannon

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Pssst…What If Sailboaters Decided To Take Over a Small Town?

‘Coup d’ Cove’ Theoretically Possible Due to a Quirk in Florida Voting

Peter Swanson

Mar 4

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And the next thing you know, they had made it into a movie featuring the three newest members of the City Council.

If Florida novelist Carl Hiassen got high and wrote sci-fi, maybe he’d come up with a plot that reads like this:

Thanks to an accident of commerce, combined with a quirk in Florida voting laws, a block of 2,842 people executes a slow-moving coup to achieve control of a small town on the St. Johns River. They are mostly cruising boaters but also RVers, traveling nurses, expatriates abroad, etc.

Their first order of business is to shake up the police department, issuing new uniforms. Gone are the blue and the battle-rattle. Welcome to Officer Friendly: Hawaiian shirt, ballcap, cargo shorts and flip-flops. Officers drive tie-dyed-motif squad cars.

Theoretically Possible

First, let’s consider a simple statistic: Green Cove Springs, Florida, has more registered voters than people living here who are over 18 years old. (When I say “here,” I mean this story is being written on a boat in Green Cove, where the author has resided since 2002.)

Though technically a city, Green Cove has a population more representative of small-town America, only about 10,000 people. It has a park, a pool, a pier and one major intersection. Applying a demographic rule-of-thumb indicates that the number of people over 18 here is somewhere between 7,800 and 8,100. Yet, according to the Clay County Supervisor of Elections, it has 8,611 registered voters.

Election fraud? Nope. Not here, not now, not ever, says Elections Supervisor Chris Chambless.

The truth is that 2,842 of the city’s voters don’t really live here, and that’s legally okay. Some have only been here long enough in person to get a picture taken for their Florida driver’s license. They are mostly travelers living on sailboats and trawlers and RV “land yachts.”

They/We (yes, the author too) all share the same address: 1063 Bulkhead Road, Green Cove Springs. That’s the address for Reynolds Park Yacht Center, which has a 75-slip marina and small lot for RVs.

Forwarding Service

Some readers may already have guessed where this is going, because you are customers of St. Brendan’s Isle mail forwarding service (as is the author, since 2002). Many, if not most of it’s roughly 10,000 clients are living aboard boats. The others include various categories of traveler—a lot of RV people.

For those not familiar with St. Brendan’s, not only does their friendly staff forward mail to wherever in the world you happen to be, but they also have a neat trick to spare you that expense. Every piece of mail gets scanned so you can look at the envelope online the same day. Check a box and they will scan the contents and post them to your account as a PDF the next day—something the Postal Service should have thought of—all at a reasonable price.

So many cruisers’ boat cards display the same 411 Walnut Street address.

Pertinent to this story, St. Brendan’s also provides an address from which to vote for folks who don’t own or rent a home in the U.S. (It’s address at 411 Walnut Street, Green Cove Springs, also used to be on our drivers license, too. Now, licenses for St. Brendan’s cruising customers have their vessel documentation number instead.)

St. Brendan’s used to be in Green Cove’s cute little downtown, but the space became too small to accomodate the growing number of client mailboxes, so the company moved to a nearby commercial park outside the city, while convincing the local post office to keep the same Walnut Street address, thus sparing thousands of people from having to tell all their correspondents and subscription providers to send stuff to a new place.

Then, in 2018, the hammer came down. Chambless at the elections office launched an investigation into the 411 Walnut Street voter rolls, citing a June 2018 ruling by the state Division of Elections:

Customers of a private mail forwarding service who attempt to establish legal residency in a county by filing a Declaration of Domicile that fails to list a residential address or that lists a nonresidential address at which they do not reside and who have no other meaningful contact with the county other than using the services of this enterprise in the county to receive mail, secure a Florida driver license or Florida identification card, and obtain a license plate, or hull number for a boat, without having a past or present physical presence and intent to establish permanent residency in the county is not sufficient to establish residency for voter registration purposes and are most likely not legal residents of the county.

The Deal

St. Brendan’s managing owner Scott Loehr saw this as an existential threat to his business. He hired lawyer-lobbyist Rob Bradley, reputedly the most politically powerful individual here in Clay County. St. Brendan’s came within an inch of filing a lawsuit before a settlement was reached, and it involved Reynolds Park Yacht Center.

Chambless picks up the story:

St. Brendan’s Isle secured legal representation and subsequently expanded their services to include “Club Isle at Reynolds Park Yacht and RV Center (Club Isle)” giving Club Isle members unlimited use of the Reynolds facilities, where members will reside in their RV or vessel while conducting their business affairs and living in Clay County. As such, this establishment of physical address gives the individuals access to all elections within their assigned precinct.

So, now there are 2,842 people residing at 1063 Bulkhead Road, a roadway without a single home on it.

So, you may be starting to see how these folks—35 percent of the electorate—could organize and easily tilt elections. But it’s even worse (or better, depending on your viewpoint), as you will learn reading below.

Coup d’ Cove

Back in 2018, while covering the issue for PassageMaker magazine, Loose Cannon was told that part of the deal restricted Bulkhead Road people to only voting in state and national contests; they could not cast ballots in local elections. Loehr at St. Brendan’s and Ted McGowan, director at Reynolds Yacht Center, believed the same thing until we spoke this week.

All three of us had been wrong.

So, for the past eight years, even the participants hadn’t realized the true significance of the agreement that had been reached. Calling it an “unintended consequence,” Chambless says a “shadow group” of travelers had been empowered to dominate Green Cove elections, at least theoretically.

“What was alarming to me was, here Green Cove Springs just got a host of voters out of the blue,” he says.

The reality came to light because one of this year’s candidades for City Council, Tom Centracchio, had noticed that dozens of 1063 Bulkhead Road voters had cast mail-in ballots in the 2025 city election. A little more than 500 people had voted in that contest. A previous city election had seen about 900 cast ballots.

These small totals reveal just how susceptible Green Cove would be to a “foreign” takeover. The city is run by a five-person city council, so it might take two or three election cycles, but once the “Shadow Group” held three of five seats, they would effectively hold the keys to the castle.

As of now, according to Chambless, 448 voters have signed up for mail-in ballots for the April 14 city election. This number is probably enough to decide the outcome.

However, many of these folks may not have been thinking about this local election specifically. It’s likely that many of them had signed up for ballots in the 2024 presidential election and checked an option that covered a period through to the 2026 mid-terms, Chambless says.

There are only two items on the April 14 ballot. One is the race in which Centracchio is challenging incumbent Ed Gaw for his council seat. Ironically, the other is to decide whether the city manager will be required to reside within city limits.

LOOSE CANNON covers hard news, technical issues and nautical history. Every so often he tries to be funny. Subscribe for free to support the work. If you’ve been reading for a while—and you like it—consider upgrading to paid.

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