We're Sailing!

Weather: Mostly sunny, some distant clouds; Temp range 73 – 77 degrees; side curtains off most of the day… we were sailing!

Comment: I awoke at 0615, ½ hour before the alarm was set to ring. Looking out the hatch, located just above my head, I noticed that the sky was overcast and looked ominous. The wind was only a whisper and all was quiet in our anchorage.

We anchored with a very short 3:1 scope as the anchorage was very crowded. This is the first time I have used such a short rode and even though the harbor is well protected from the 15+ easterly winds we experienced before hitting the sack, I was concerned about dragging. Thankfully, the wind subsided during the night.

At 0650, all crew turned out for breakfast. Following our repast of cereal and coffee, we raised the anchor and motored out of the harbor. While heading for Biscayne Bay, we passed two sailboats headed toward Hawk Channel. Each time we see Stiltsville, we scratch our heads wondering how anybody could have thought it a good idea to build a house (fishing shack) in the entrance to the ocean. Once in the bay, we removed the side curtains, raised the main, pulled out the jib, and we were off on a broad reach at a course of 192 magnetic.

At times our speed was in the 8 mph range and we averaged a sailing speed of 7.1 mph. The sky, ominous at 0615, had cleared and we sailed in bright sunshine with only a few clouds along the way. The water color is the magnificent turquoise that I remember from previous excursions on Biscayne Bay. We saw several dolphin as we sailed down bay. We were even able to sail through the narrow channels that connected several deeper bodies of water.

We finally lowered the sails as we approached the channel to Jewfish Creek Bridge. We motored through and anchored in Tarpon Basin, Key Largo.

It was a glorious day marked with great sailing. All told, we motored for less than two hours and sailed for about 6 and ½ hours. Ed did a great job on the helm. If he keeps it up, he may earn that promotion I mentioned a few days ago!

No Name

Weather: Partly cloudy; temperature range – low 70’s to low 80’s; E wind <10 knots, building to 12 to 15 in the afternoon.

Comment: Today’s journey saw us continue our travel through the “canyon.” We passed mansion after mansion and mega yacht after mega yacht. It’s had to imagine the kind of money people have around here. Some of the mansions were huge! It was particularly interesting to see a mansion with a mega yacht parked at its dock (not to mention a fishing boat and runabout).

After passing through the coastal towns south of Port Everglades, the ICW turns to the southwest where one can see Miami looming under the Haulover Inlet Bascule Bridge. It is a most impressive sight.

On this day, we passed by Miami and headed for Crandon Park for fuel. At 3.479 a gallon, it was easily the most costly fuel stop of the trip. Still, it didn’t compare to the 3.979/gallon that was posted on the pump in a marina just before Fort Lauderdale… the “Yachting Capital of the World.” Fuel prices apparently do not concern the owners of the Mega Yachts.

After fueling at Crandon Park, we headed to No Name Harbor where we spent the night. “No Name” is a popular jumping off point for boats headed for the Bahamas. We may be back!

The Goodyear Blimp!

Weather: Temp range was 68 to 79 degrees; early clouds gave way to mostly sunny skies by the afternoon; E around 10 knots

Comment: We raised the anchor, passed through the Parker Bridge and entered Lake Worth. Rather than the striking turquoise water of two years ago, the lake water was dark and murky. Quit a change from our last visit.

Swabbie Ed was at the helm for passage through the Lake Avenue Beach Boulevard Bascule Bridge. The bridge captain timed the bridge for our speed and Ed was able to pass through without powering down. Smooth!

Today saw the beginning of the 35 mile stretch of the “Canyon.” From here to Fort Lauderdale the waterway has concrete bulkheads on both sides. Wake from passing vessels bounces off the walls and slow moving traffic (us) rock and roll until the offending craft is well out of sight.

On the day, we passed through 17 bascule bridges. One particular boat that passed us displayed a female crew in a bikini. Contrast that with one “Sunshine" crew member who was dressed in a winter jacket!

Just past the Hillsborough Inlet, we were intercepted by the Goodyear Blimp. It was flying over us for about ten minutes. Me thinks the blimp crew was filming "Texans Trying to Steer A Straight Course" for a PBS special on brain function. To this day, there is no documentable evidence that it is possible. Is the ability to steer in a straight line a function of the left brain, right brain, no brain or geography? Researchers remain undecided!

Underway!

Weather: Showers, cloudy, some sun in the afternoon, but the day finished cloudy. Temp range = 59 – 82 degrees; NE winds less than 10 knots

Comment: We had four manatee sightings today, all of which were scattered throughout the day. All sightings were quick. Although full bodies were observed, once each animal filled its lungs with air, it disappeared below the surface and was not seen again. Crew who missed the sightings didn’t get a second chance.

Ed did a god job at the helm. So good, that the Captain is thinking about promoting him from swab to second class mate. Marje slept a lot! I’m not sure she wanted to be awake while Ed was steering.

We called seven bridge captains for openings. The first was the Hobe Sound Bascule Bridge. We will open a total 37 by the time pass through Miami. We didn’t have any problem at the Indiantown Bridge but we believe the tender is the same surly individual we dealt with on our Catboat Adventure.

We had anchor down at 1450 and immediately opened the Tiki Bar!

Final Day at Nettles

Weather: It warmed up a bit today (low 60’s). Wind was out of the northeast at 20 to 25 knots. The day started with a brief period of sun but clouded over quickly. By the afternoon, we saw glimpses of the sun but it was mostly cloudy even had some showers.

Comment: Provisioning is the order of the day. That’s OK because it wasn’t a particularly good traveling day. After attending to some boat chores (we installed the solar lights) we were off to the Super Wall-Mart. Sadly, one can buy beer and wine, but no scotch! Ed was despondent!

We bought lots of stuff, helped the local economy and headed back to the boat. Once back at Nettles Island, we stowed the supplies, walked the docks, stowed Marje and Ed’s gear, inflated the dinghy and got ready for our departure, planned for tomorrow at 0800.

Before dinner, Ken Emens, a friend of Bill D’Autrechy, stopped by to talk about catamarans. We were actually going to look him up, but didn’t have an address. The funny thing is we were just getting ready to see if we could find Ken’s parents when he arrived. We had their address but not his. Ken is interested in purchasing a Gemini catamaran so we talked about PDQ’s and Gemini’s and gave Ken a tour of “Sunshine.” After goodbyes, Ed took the steaks to the marina gas barbeque grill located by the Tiki Hut. For dinner, we enjoyed shrimp cocktail, a salad, steaks and asparagus. Ed cooked the steaks to perfection.

After dinner, we settled in to work on our computers. There are four onboard. I think we have more computing power than NASA! You might think that four computers on a small boat is overkill. I did, but then I thought, the more time Ed spends on the computer, the less time he'll have to break something on the boat!

We’ll have to secure the dinghy to the davits tomorrow. We ran out of daylight.

Scotch, Scotch Everwhere, But Not A Drop to Share

Weather: Overcast and C O L D!!!!! Wake up temp is 34 degrees (same temp as when we left NJ yesterday)! Wind is still NW @ 20 – 25 knots with higher gusts. Prediction is for a high of 60 degrees and showers.

Comment: 34 degrees; 34 degrees; Thirty-four degrees yes, its thirty-four degrees here Florida. Brrrrr……

We used the rental car to drive to Mulligan’s for the $1.99 breakfast special. After breakfast, we dropped in on Scott at A-1 canvas to pick up clips that go with our new enclosure. While installing the enclosure, he broke part of the track and doesn’t have a replacement part. He promised to take care of it when we pass by on our way north.

Even though its thirty-four degrees outside, it’s sixty-five degrees in the enclosure. Our cockpit is much more functional, comfortable, looks great and the workmanship is first rate. After a quick stop at the local Publix, we gassed up the car and returned it just by 1000 hours.

Back on the boat, we accomplished a few chores. One of which was cleaning up a mess from a coconut like fruit that somehow landed on the boat and broke open, spilling a pinkish fluid all over. We can’t imagine how it happened to land on our boat. I installed a pair of cockpit speakers so we can enjoy Sirius radio in the cabin or in the cockpit. I also prepped for the installation of solar lights that will be mounted on the fore and aft stanchions.

Larry and Fran (remember “Kallista”?) are docked at Harbourtowne Marina in Fort Pierce for the rest of the winter. They’ll be living on the boat, exploring FT. Pierce and environs while making frequent visits to their son’s house in Tampa. They drove down to our marina ad we joined them for a delicious lunch at “Conchy Joe’s.” It was great exchanging holiday celebration stories and discussing the comings and goings of the rest of the “Flock.” As you might imagine, it was great to see them again. Meeting people, traveling the waterway and making friendships is one of the joys of this cruising life. We hear that at least one “Flock” couple is contemplating selling the house to become full time cruisers. We can attest to the fact that it is a great life and wish them well.

After an extended lunch, we bid Larry and Fran goodbye. We may see them in the spring as we head north. We might even see them sooner. They might be able to drive down to Marathon for a reunion of the “Flock.” Pat and Ray (“Reflection”) are on the west coast (of Florida) and will be making way to Marathon. We expect to be in Marathon by next weekend. We are hoping to meet Vanessa and Andrew (“Tally Ho”) before they leave Marathon. If the stars align, we may have a reunion of the “Flock” at the Overseas Bar and Grill in downtown Marathon.

Marje and Ed should arrive from Texas within the hour. Hold on to your hats, we’re expecting daily cocktail hours with them. Ed has discovered single malt scotch, always has a full glass (sometimes two when he forgets where he put the first one) and promised to bring a case!

ED NOTE: Marje and Ed arrived at 2130 hours. As predicted, Ed promptly opened the bottle of scotch and enjoyed three tumblers. Rather than participating in a Mexican Train game, he hit the sack. One gets really tired after driving 1100 miles in 27 hours or was it the three tum... NEVER MIND!

Happy New Year

Weather: C O L D! Blustery NW 20-25 gusts to 27 knots; bright sunshine

Comment: Happy New Year!

We’re back aboard “SUNSHINE,” still berthed at Nettles Island Marina in Jensen Beach, Florida. We arrived at about 1400 hours after a 2:50 plane ride to Ft. Lauderdale and a 2 hour drive to Nettles Island. The pilot said the flight was bumpy, but we’ve experienced much worse.

It was 34 degrees when we left New Jersey and, as I write this at 2130 hours, it is a chilly and blustery (20-25 knots NW) 42 degrees. Imagine, 800 miles south of NJ and only 8 degrees warmer. We better head further south… SOON!

We arrived to find the canvas maker completing the installation of our “summer cabin” (aka the "bubble") cockpit enclosure. It looks great and should help make use of the cockpit more enjoyable while at anchor (we’ll post pictures tomorrow) as well as when underway.

Our visit home was wonderful. The grandchildren slept over for two weeks. We had a lot of fun. It was sad to bid Sandi, Matt, Josh and Rose goodbye when they departed for Myrtle Beach. We were most happy that they were able to visit for a week and a half. We really appreciate that Matt burns a fair amount of his vacation time so our families can be together to celebrate the holidays.

We have three final details to work out before we can commit to sailing to the Exumas. We have our passports (they arrived eight days after we sent in the application), copies on important personal papers, the appropriate charts and guides, a quarantine flag and a Bahamian courtesy flag.

We still need to get information on health issues and insurance and we’re waiting to receive official ship’s documentation from the USCG. We also need to get a short wave radio receiver. We need it to receive the up-to-date weather information when we arrive in the Bahamas.

If we are able to go, we will tentatively begin to look for a weather window on or about February 1. Of course, we’ll keep you posted as we get closer to making the final plans for our first Gulf Stream crossing.

In the meantime, we’re heading for the Keys. Marje and Ed (twin sister and brother-in-law) will arrive on Friday and will spend the better part of the month cruising with us. We are looking forward to their visit. We expect it will be great fun!