January 21, 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
Happy MLK, Jr. Day! It has been almost three weeks since we wrote last. We are into our second day of waiting out a very strong “wind event” so it is a good time to catch up. I don’t know anything about how the football playoffs or the political scenes are shaping up nor do I seem to care. I asked Barbie what the date was and she didn’t know. This is all good.
We left you in Ft. Pierce in our last message, expecting to get our mail the next day. Well …. that didn’t happen! We went ashore at the Ft. Pierce City Marina by dinghy. The dock staff there is so wonderful that we decided to return before heading south to get diesel fuel, gasoline, water and pump out our holding tank as we left Ft. Pierce there instead of at a very popular marina nearby (Brian, Chris, Skip, Mary, Ted and Judy know which one and more.)
We received a FedEx mailer at the marina but thought that we would need to get our general delivery mail at the post office about 20 blocks away. Then it began to rain. We had our ponchos and arrived at the post office looking like …… sailors. Postal workers seem to be very happy with their jobs and enjoy stretching out their visits with each customer for as long as they can. It is called personal attention and customer service. We waited in a short line for a long time. Our mail was not there. “General Delivery never comes to this post office it goes to a post office/mail center – about 10 miles away! Let me call over there for you.” The clerk gets put on hold and then waits some more while they search for a box of mail in general delivery. The line behind me is almost out the door. More time passes. Nothing found. We walked back to the marina in the rain and had a pretty nice lunch dockside. Upon returning to the boat, I checked our e-mail records to see when the package had been mailed and discovered that it had had plenty of time to get there, but that it was in brown envelopes not in a box. I called the post office and got their customer service department. The voice said that they do not check for general delivery mail on the phone and that I would need to appear in person with my picture ID. I explained that I didn’t look forward to a 20 mile round trip by bicycle for mail that wasn’t there. Mr. Voice was unsympathetic, but the good news was that, in spite of what our cruiser’s guide said, the mail center had “pick up only” hours from 9-12 on Saturday morning. At the crack of dawn, we loaded my bike into the dinghy and we went to the marina again. Barb went to Saturday’s farmer’s market along the waterfront while I peddled away on my quest. It started to rain about five blocks away. My poncho provided great coverage however, and while I may have looked pathetic, I was comfortable. I arrived at the mail center at 9am on the dot and was fourth in line at door number one inside the lobby. At 9:10, door number one still had not opened. Customer number two in line was a Hispanic man. A friend of his was waiting for him and from his gestures and glance I figured the guy in line was telling his waiting friend to ring the “timbre” near door number two. I suggested “si, el timbre, si.” Friend rang the bell and a clerk showed up at door number two saying the post office is closed and that they were there for pick up only. Everyone in line was for pick up only and of course the clerk took care of each of us one at a time instead of all six of us in one trip. While waiting at door number two, I spied two brown envelopes on a head high shelf and thought to myself that those might be mine. They were. No signature needed. I was on my way back to find Barbie. She had gotten some fresh produce at the farmer’s market and we shared our good news with each other. After lunch we decided to explore the ocean beach. We dinghyed to a boat-launching ramp and pulled the dinghy up on the sand to tie it to a tree. We walked along the beach all the way to the inlet and its park. As we were walking across the parking lot we heard, “Jupiter’s Smile. Jupiter’s Smile!” It was Hayden and Radeen Cochran of Island Spirit and their friends Craig and Debbie of Charmed, an Island Packet 440. They were touring by car from Vero Beach and had seen our boat anchored and then spotted us. We visited a short while and then we all squeezed into their car for a ride back to show them the dinghy landing location. What a difference a day makes - January 5, 2008 was a good one.
Sunday morning we brought Jupiter’s Smile to the dock for the promised “exchange of boatily fluids” and then we were south bound. We decided on the spur of the moment to turn left at MM 988 and visit Stuart about 9 miles up the St. Lucie River. We pulled into their mooring field and picked up one of the last two mooring balls. Before I had lowered our dinghy to go to the dock to pay, a boat approached and told us that this was their mooring and that we should call the dock on the radio. We called and they said that there was about a two-week waiting list for moorings, but the anchorage about a mile farther up the river was a good spot to stay. It was – we did. We dinghyed into the dock and toured the old downtown part of Stuart. There was a jazz concert going on at the waterfront and the shops were fun to visit. Once we got to Colorado St. we turned around and walked along the riverwalk back to the dinghy. One of the reasons that we had not called ahead to the dock was that we had been on the phone with Jim Royer who was about three hours away at the time driving with Tootie’s mother from Michigan to their houses in St. Lucy and we were excited to get to see Jim. Even though Jim was tired from the drive from outside Augusta that day, he agreed to meet us at the Pelican Café around six and we closed the place after sharing lots of stories about some of you and others. Had we called ahead to the Stuart docks we probably would not have visited and would not have seen Jim. January 6th was a good day too.
On Monday we raised anchor and traveled only about 15 miles to Peck Lake at MM 992 on the ICW. The NOAA chart we have does not show the detail about the depths and many who travel the ICW use the same charts and pass by. Tell no one – but it is a delightful spot. We were told about it in Vero Beach by one of the Christmas Picnickers. We anchored in plenty of water and dinghyed to the sandy shore of the ICW side of the beach. We walked across to the ocean and started to comb the beach. We more than doubled Barbie’s entire collection of sea beans, sea hamburgers and found her first sea purse and some sea pearls all with a few hours’ walk.
Tuesday found us in Lake Worth where we used the next day to provision fairly heavily at the nearby grocery store, purchase a few DVDs and get some cash for our journey.
Wednesday, we exited the Lake Worth inlet and sailed towards Ft. Lauderdale or Miami. Along the way Merry Madeline who wanted to know our plans hailed us on the VHF radio. We told them that we had no plans but would be “playing it by ear”- either Ft. Lauderdale or Miami tonight. We talked about the crossing to the Bahamas and the weather window that was opening on Friday and beyond. Sea Dancer joined in the discussion. We learned that these two boats were planning a dawn departure to cross the Gulf Stream from either Miami or Key Biscayne and then run the Bahamas Banks into the Northwest Passage at night to arrive in Nassau the next morning to clear customs and immigration. That is a plan.
We were sailing well and might have made Miami before dark (and it never gets dark in Miami!) but the safer move – and one called by Barbie (mom is saying, “yea Barbie”) was to stop at Fort Lauderdale, find Lake Sylvia and anchor there. The three boats entered Port Everglades and turned a couple of miles north to Lake Sylvia. We saw Sea Dancer’s crew leave and then Merry Madeline’s. We lowered our dinghy and tailed the last dinghy until they passed a bridge and we lost sight of them. As we approached a dock full of dinghies I saw the one from Sea Dancer and pulled in. I think we had found the Ft. Lauderdale City Marina. The dinghy dock is for those folks on their few mooring balls nearby, but it seems to be used by many others. After tying up, I helped another dinghy to land and steadied it as the occupants stepped onto the dock. I asked about what was to be seen and visited nearby and they told us. They also gave us the combination to the gate so that we could get back to our dinghy after our visit. Sailors share important information freely. We recognized George from Merry Madeline because of his dog, Max. We had met the dog in Vero Beach, but didn’t know his boat’s, George’s or Jan’s names at the time. Jan was with the crew of Sea Dancer when we caught up with them at a beachfront pub. Introductions were made and it turned out that Ron and Karen have been active organizers of cruisers’ events in Georgetown for years. After we had a beer and talked a while, Ron said that since new ownership had come in the prices had gone up too high at this pub so he steered us to dinner at the Quarterdeck. The company was so good that the price made no impression on me.
Next day we departed the Fort Lauderdale inlet and sailed to Government Cut and Miami. We trailed Sea Dancer and Merry Madeline because they are bigger and faster boats. We arrived at an anchorage behind Miami Beach about a half hour after they did, but Ron and Jan waited for us to load laundry and trash so that they could show us how to get up a canal to the grocery store and laundromat. We appreciate their help. So do others, as you will soon see. We decided that the weather window was good enough to cross on Friday, but that it might be even better on Saturday. Barbie shared the sailors’ superstition about leaving on a journey on a Friday, but we all agreed that our journey had really begun months earlier so the Friday superstition did not apply here. About half the many boats we had heard on the radio over the last few days seemed to be leaving on Friday, but we could use the day to do some last minute chores and get some rest before crossing the Gulf Stream. Among those leaving were Arnie and Bev on Scandia who left the anchorage soon after we arrived and planned to top off their fuel and water at a marina (Crandon’s) on Key Biscayne and then anchor in No Name Harbor for a Friday crossing. I radioed Scandia later that day to ask about the marina and Arnie said they were very nice, the marina was a little rustic and under some construction and that the price was more than a dollar cheaper per gallon than what we had priced in La De Dah Ft. Lauderdale. We would head there ourselves to top off.
On Friday, Barb and I put our SeaBreathe diving hookah together and I went under the boat to clean the hull so that we might keep up with the big boats a little better. It was not too bad considering that brother Tom and I did the same work over a month ago and then the 12 days the boat spent in the crud in the Vero Beach mooring field. Every filament of growth removed makes a difference in boat speed on a sailboat. Finishing that we ate lunch, raised anchor and headed for Key Biscayne and Crandon’s Marina. They were very nice and even took our trash. I had forgotten to offload the bag. After we left the dock I turned the boat around and the dockhand took it from Barbie as she stretched from the anchor platform. Service with a smile.
Along the way we learned from the radio chatter that there was only room for one or two more boats in No Name Harbor because many that had planned to leave that day had not. I do not need to nor enjoy crowding into a full anchorage. The wind was down and from a direction that made dropping a hook just outside Hurricane Harbor in Biscayne Bay a satisfactory Plan “B.” About an hour after we did that, Sea Dancer and Merry Madeline with six other boats filed into the same area and the airwaves were rich with talk about the crossing on Saturday.
Jan on Sea Dancer is a consummate organizer. She radioed that she would call for a check-in from the boats that were going to cross at the same time so that we could all be accounted for during the day(s) that followed. Before light a few boats left our location. We raised anchor at 0645 and by 0800 we were exiting the channel into the Atlantic. Soon after, the first roll call began. Twenty-one boats checked in. At the 1100 check in Jan called the roll and got twenty-one responses and another seven more. She said that this was for safety and not a closed club and that she knew there were more boats out there with crews that might be new or shy and they were welcome to respond as well and really should. She got a couple more. As the fleet spread out because of different speeds and destinations the subsequent roll calls and position reports still kept us all informed and safe. A boat or two headed for Gun Cay, two to South Bimini, Ripple Effect and we headed to North Bimini and the rest were rounding North Rock to go past Bimini for points beyond. At about 2PM, we reported our approach to North Bimini to the “Crossing Network” and Jan asked if we had the coordinates for the waypoint into the newly dredged channel. We had used the channel last year, but I took the coordinates anyway to be sure. She is so considerate. Then we tried to raise Richard and Pam on Tisha Baby. They had crossed the day before from one of the keys south of us and were waiting a day to see if we could connect. We did and it was so great to hear their voices. We said we’d call again when we cleared in. I hoisted the yellow quarantine flag as we neared the channel. We tied up at Weech’s Docks safely and I left the boat to check into the Bahamas.
That was January 12th and I must pause for the next installment. We have no Internet connection here anyway so I have no idea when I might be able to post and you might be able to view this message.
Until next time, be well.
Dear Family and Friends,
Happy MLK, Jr. Day! It has been almost three weeks since we wrote last. We are into our second day of waiting out a very strong “wind event” so it is a good time to catch up. I don’t know anything about how the football playoffs or the political scenes are shaping up nor do I seem to care. I asked Barbie what the date was and she didn’t know. This is all good.
We left you in Ft. Pierce in our last message, expecting to get our mail the next day. Well …. that didn’t happen! We went ashore at the Ft. Pierce City Marina by dinghy. The dock staff there is so wonderful that we decided to return before heading south to get diesel fuel, gasoline, water and pump out our holding tank as we left Ft. Pierce there instead of at a very popular marina nearby (Brian, Chris, Skip, Mary, Ted and Judy know which one and more.)
We received a FedEx mailer at the marina but thought that we would need to get our general delivery mail at the post office about 20 blocks away. Then it began to rain. We had our ponchos and arrived at the post office looking like …… sailors. Postal workers seem to be very happy with their jobs and enjoy stretching out their visits with each customer for as long as they can. It is called personal attention and customer service. We waited in a short line for a long time. Our mail was not there. “General Delivery never comes to this post office it goes to a post office/mail center – about 10 miles away! Let me call over there for you.” The clerk gets put on hold and then waits some more while they search for a box of mail in general delivery. The line behind me is almost out the door. More time passes. Nothing found. We walked back to the marina in the rain and had a pretty nice lunch dockside. Upon returning to the boat, I checked our e-mail records to see when the package had been mailed and discovered that it had had plenty of time to get there, but that it was in brown envelopes not in a box. I called the post office and got their customer service department. The voice said that they do not check for general delivery mail on the phone and that I would need to appear in person with my picture ID. I explained that I didn’t look forward to a 20 mile round trip by bicycle for mail that wasn’t there. Mr. Voice was unsympathetic, but the good news was that, in spite of what our cruiser’s guide said, the mail center had “pick up only” hours from 9-12 on Saturday morning. At the crack of dawn, we loaded my bike into the dinghy and we went to the marina again. Barb went to Saturday’s farmer’s market along the waterfront while I peddled away on my quest. It started to rain about five blocks away. My poncho provided great coverage however, and while I may have looked pathetic, I was comfortable. I arrived at the mail center at 9am on the dot and was fourth in line at door number one inside the lobby. At 9:10, door number one still had not opened. Customer number two in line was a Hispanic man. A friend of his was waiting for him and from his gestures and glance I figured the guy in line was telling his waiting friend to ring the “timbre” near door number two. I suggested “si, el timbre, si.” Friend rang the bell and a clerk showed up at door number two saying the post office is closed and that they were there for pick up only. Everyone in line was for pick up only and of course the clerk took care of each of us one at a time instead of all six of us in one trip. While waiting at door number two, I spied two brown envelopes on a head high shelf and thought to myself that those might be mine. They were. No signature needed. I was on my way back to find Barbie. She had gotten some fresh produce at the farmer’s market and we shared our good news with each other. After lunch we decided to explore the ocean beach. We dinghyed to a boat-launching ramp and pulled the dinghy up on the sand to tie it to a tree. We walked along the beach all the way to the inlet and its park. As we were walking across the parking lot we heard, “Jupiter’s Smile. Jupiter’s Smile!” It was Hayden and Radeen Cochran of Island Spirit and their friends Craig and Debbie of Charmed, an Island Packet 440. They were touring by car from Vero Beach and had seen our boat anchored and then spotted us. We visited a short while and then we all squeezed into their car for a ride back to show them the dinghy landing location. What a difference a day makes - January 5, 2008 was a good one.
Sunday morning we brought Jupiter’s Smile to the dock for the promised “exchange of boatily fluids” and then we were south bound. We decided on the spur of the moment to turn left at MM 988 and visit Stuart about 9 miles up the St. Lucie River. We pulled into their mooring field and picked up one of the last two mooring balls. Before I had lowered our dinghy to go to the dock to pay, a boat approached and told us that this was their mooring and that we should call the dock on the radio. We called and they said that there was about a two-week waiting list for moorings, but the anchorage about a mile farther up the river was a good spot to stay. It was – we did. We dinghyed into the dock and toured the old downtown part of Stuart. There was a jazz concert going on at the waterfront and the shops were fun to visit. Once we got to Colorado St. we turned around and walked along the riverwalk back to the dinghy. One of the reasons that we had not called ahead to the dock was that we had been on the phone with Jim Royer who was about three hours away at the time driving with Tootie’s mother from Michigan to their houses in St. Lucy and we were excited to get to see Jim. Even though Jim was tired from the drive from outside Augusta that day, he agreed to meet us at the Pelican Café around six and we closed the place after sharing lots of stories about some of you and others. Had we called ahead to the Stuart docks we probably would not have visited and would not have seen Jim. January 6th was a good day too.
On Monday we raised anchor and traveled only about 15 miles to Peck Lake at MM 992 on the ICW. The NOAA chart we have does not show the detail about the depths and many who travel the ICW use the same charts and pass by. Tell no one – but it is a delightful spot. We were told about it in Vero Beach by one of the Christmas Picnickers. We anchored in plenty of water and dinghyed to the sandy shore of the ICW side of the beach. We walked across to the ocean and started to comb the beach. We more than doubled Barbie’s entire collection of sea beans, sea hamburgers and found her first sea purse and some sea pearls all with a few hours’ walk.
Tuesday found us in Lake Worth where we used the next day to provision fairly heavily at the nearby grocery store, purchase a few DVDs and get some cash for our journey.
Wednesday, we exited the Lake Worth inlet and sailed towards Ft. Lauderdale or Miami. Along the way Merry Madeline who wanted to know our plans hailed us on the VHF radio. We told them that we had no plans but would be “playing it by ear”- either Ft. Lauderdale or Miami tonight. We talked about the crossing to the Bahamas and the weather window that was opening on Friday and beyond. Sea Dancer joined in the discussion. We learned that these two boats were planning a dawn departure to cross the Gulf Stream from either Miami or Key Biscayne and then run the Bahamas Banks into the Northwest Passage at night to arrive in Nassau the next morning to clear customs and immigration. That is a plan.
We were sailing well and might have made Miami before dark (and it never gets dark in Miami!) but the safer move – and one called by Barbie (mom is saying, “yea Barbie”) was to stop at Fort Lauderdale, find Lake Sylvia and anchor there. The three boats entered Port Everglades and turned a couple of miles north to Lake Sylvia. We saw Sea Dancer’s crew leave and then Merry Madeline’s. We lowered our dinghy and tailed the last dinghy until they passed a bridge and we lost sight of them. As we approached a dock full of dinghies I saw the one from Sea Dancer and pulled in. I think we had found the Ft. Lauderdale City Marina. The dinghy dock is for those folks on their few mooring balls nearby, but it seems to be used by many others. After tying up, I helped another dinghy to land and steadied it as the occupants stepped onto the dock. I asked about what was to be seen and visited nearby and they told us. They also gave us the combination to the gate so that we could get back to our dinghy after our visit. Sailors share important information freely. We recognized George from Merry Madeline because of his dog, Max. We had met the dog in Vero Beach, but didn’t know his boat’s, George’s or Jan’s names at the time. Jan was with the crew of Sea Dancer when we caught up with them at a beachfront pub. Introductions were made and it turned out that Ron and Karen have been active organizers of cruisers’ events in Georgetown for years. After we had a beer and talked a while, Ron said that since new ownership had come in the prices had gone up too high at this pub so he steered us to dinner at the Quarterdeck. The company was so good that the price made no impression on me.
Next day we departed the Fort Lauderdale inlet and sailed to Government Cut and Miami. We trailed Sea Dancer and Merry Madeline because they are bigger and faster boats. We arrived at an anchorage behind Miami Beach about a half hour after they did, but Ron and Jan waited for us to load laundry and trash so that they could show us how to get up a canal to the grocery store and laundromat. We appreciate their help. So do others, as you will soon see. We decided that the weather window was good enough to cross on Friday, but that it might be even better on Saturday. Barbie shared the sailors’ superstition about leaving on a journey on a Friday, but we all agreed that our journey had really begun months earlier so the Friday superstition did not apply here. About half the many boats we had heard on the radio over the last few days seemed to be leaving on Friday, but we could use the day to do some last minute chores and get some rest before crossing the Gulf Stream. Among those leaving were Arnie and Bev on Scandia who left the anchorage soon after we arrived and planned to top off their fuel and water at a marina (Crandon’s) on Key Biscayne and then anchor in No Name Harbor for a Friday crossing. I radioed Scandia later that day to ask about the marina and Arnie said they were very nice, the marina was a little rustic and under some construction and that the price was more than a dollar cheaper per gallon than what we had priced in La De Dah Ft. Lauderdale. We would head there ourselves to top off.
On Friday, Barb and I put our SeaBreathe diving hookah together and I went under the boat to clean the hull so that we might keep up with the big boats a little better. It was not too bad considering that brother Tom and I did the same work over a month ago and then the 12 days the boat spent in the crud in the Vero Beach mooring field. Every filament of growth removed makes a difference in boat speed on a sailboat. Finishing that we ate lunch, raised anchor and headed for Key Biscayne and Crandon’s Marina. They were very nice and even took our trash. I had forgotten to offload the bag. After we left the dock I turned the boat around and the dockhand took it from Barbie as she stretched from the anchor platform. Service with a smile.
Along the way we learned from the radio chatter that there was only room for one or two more boats in No Name Harbor because many that had planned to leave that day had not. I do not need to nor enjoy crowding into a full anchorage. The wind was down and from a direction that made dropping a hook just outside Hurricane Harbor in Biscayne Bay a satisfactory Plan “B.” About an hour after we did that, Sea Dancer and Merry Madeline with six other boats filed into the same area and the airwaves were rich with talk about the crossing on Saturday.
Jan on Sea Dancer is a consummate organizer. She radioed that she would call for a check-in from the boats that were going to cross at the same time so that we could all be accounted for during the day(s) that followed. Before light a few boats left our location. We raised anchor at 0645 and by 0800 we were exiting the channel into the Atlantic. Soon after, the first roll call began. Twenty-one boats checked in. At the 1100 check in Jan called the roll and got twenty-one responses and another seven more. She said that this was for safety and not a closed club and that she knew there were more boats out there with crews that might be new or shy and they were welcome to respond as well and really should. She got a couple more. As the fleet spread out because of different speeds and destinations the subsequent roll calls and position reports still kept us all informed and safe. A boat or two headed for Gun Cay, two to South Bimini, Ripple Effect and we headed to North Bimini and the rest were rounding North Rock to go past Bimini for points beyond. At about 2PM, we reported our approach to North Bimini to the “Crossing Network” and Jan asked if we had the coordinates for the waypoint into the newly dredged channel. We had used the channel last year, but I took the coordinates anyway to be sure. She is so considerate. Then we tried to raise Richard and Pam on Tisha Baby. They had crossed the day before from one of the keys south of us and were waiting a day to see if we could connect. We did and it was so great to hear their voices. We said we’d call again when we cleared in. I hoisted the yellow quarantine flag as we neared the channel. We tied up at Weech’s Docks safely and I left the boat to check into the Bahamas.
That was January 12th and I must pause for the next installment. We have no Internet connection here anyway so I have no idea when I might be able to post and you might be able to view this message.
Until next time, be well.
