Ooops! Can't forget Mike's birthday and pictures from December in Marathon
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April 14, 2013
BACK ON THE WATER AGAIN!
When we returned from Indiana, the warm welcome we received from our friends at Cove Sound Marina made it easy to come back to the boat but hard to leave. We again provisioned the boat, did some boat chores and worked on closing Francie’s brother’s house. Our destination is Baltimore, Maryland. We discovered that our friends from Marathon, Matt and Karie, were now docked near us in Bradenton. It was enjoyable catching up on their lives since we saw them last in the Bahamas. Friendship and weather were going to be themes for the first part of our trip.
Watching the weather has once again become a habit. We had several plans for leaving involving every possible scenario, from stopping several places on the west coast of Florida to making a beeline for Marathon in an overnight sail. We decided on the beeline strategy and took advantage of another evening in Cortez to go hear a band that was playing not far from us. They are a Celtic band we had tried to see several times before, but it just never worked out. It was well worth the delay! The band comprised of a woman on keyboard and a guy on the fiddle. They were the best bar band we have seen in a long time. Francie recorded them playing Wipe Out which was originally recorded by The Surfaris, using the Irish drum and a fiddle.
BACK ON THE WATER AGAIN!
When we returned from Indiana, the warm welcome we received from our friends at Cove Sound Marina made it easy to come back to the boat but hard to leave. We again provisioned the boat, did some boat chores and worked on closing Francie’s brother’s house. Our destination is Baltimore, Maryland. We discovered that our friends from Marathon, Matt and Karie, were now docked near us in Bradenton. It was enjoyable catching up on their lives since we saw them last in the Bahamas. Friendship and weather were going to be themes for the first part of our trip.
Watching the weather has once again become a habit. We had several plans for leaving involving every possible scenario, from stopping several places on the west coast of Florida to making a beeline for Marathon in an overnight sail. We decided on the beeline strategy and took advantage of another evening in Cortez to go hear a band that was playing not far from us. They are a Celtic band we had tried to see several times before, but it just never worked out. It was well worth the delay! The band comprised of a woman on keyboard and a guy on the fiddle. They were the best bar band we have seen in a long time. Francie recorded them playing Wipe Out which was originally recorded by The Surfaris, using the Irish drum and a fiddle.
Back on the water
The following morning we left Cortez. At first it was good sailing. We were both amazed how clumsy we were. Talk about not having sea legs, we were stumbling into everything. We at least managed to get the sails up without a problem. Toward evening we could see storms on the radar and we reefed the main. The storms hit us late at night and lasted for a couple of hours. Our sailing instincts and sea legs came back rapidly. We arrived in the afternoon in Marathon and took a mooring ball in Boot Key Harbor. We were hoping to meet with Glenn and Kay from Cove Sound Moorings, but they were caught in a storm and had to divert to Key West. They arrived in Key West safely with a nonfunctioning engine and a torn sail.
April 20, 2013
Our friends from Banana Bay had all left which made us sad, but we were able to finally meet Terry and Suzanne, whom we had met in Muskegon, MI when we first departed on our journey south in 2010. We invited them on board and talked about our plans. They followed our travels in the journal. Two years later they sold their home and began the same journey on their own. It was such a pleasure to see them again. We also made contact with Bill whom we met in Solomons Island at the marina we stayed during August. Bill was kind enough to help us repair our little outboard for the dinghy. While we worked on the engine at the mooring field, we noticed two people in a dinghy circling the boat. Since Mike’s hands were full of parts and grease, Francie was called up top to hail the people. She was greeted by Richard and Susan who we met in Norfolk, VA almost a year and a half ago, while we waited for the bomb squad to retrieve a suspicious looking briefcase.
We moved to a dock the next day and the six of us had good eats, drinks and lots of laughs. Richard and Susan were preparing their boat so they could go home to Denver for the summer. We wished them the best and hope that our paths will cross again.
We had been watching the weather for several days. Watching the weather includes using 4 or 5 different sources. Several times a day, Francie downloads grib files. (They forecast the wind patterns for 4 days.) It is amazing how often the forecast changes in a day. We also look at NOAA weather and use their point forecast to check wind and wave height along the route we plan to travel. We check the radar and local predictions. Even with all this information, as you know judging weather is a crap shoot.
We delayed our departure because of predicted thunderstorms over Miami and Fort Lauderdale for two days. Finally we saw what might be a good weather window although it was going to be narrow. There were isolated storms but no large fronts.
Monday morning at sun up Terry blew his bugle as we departed Marathon. It was a beautiful morning as we slowly maneuvered out of Sisters Creek. It is very shallow, and several times we were holding our breath. Our plan was to sail up Hawk Channel and turn into Biscayne Bay near Miami. It was going to be a long day but doable. Late in the afternoon the Coast Guard began issuing severe weather warnings. The nearest inlet into Biscayne Bay was 10 miles behind us. We began to make plans for the storm. We came up with a half dozen scenarios as we continued on our course. We could see thick clouds to our west, but Miami looked clear. Shortly after the sun set, we decided the best plan was to continue traveling north and give up on getting into Biscayne bay. We could see the lights from Miami one moment, and then as if by magic, the city disappeared. Moments later we were surrounded by clouds. The radar showed storm cells all around us. The wind grew, but the waves remained somewhat small. Now we had no choice but to ride it out. After about 40 minutes, Miami and the coastline appeared as suddenly as it had vanished. It was not a horrible experience, but we were glad to see clear skies.
Our best course of action was to continue to Fort Lauderdale. We had come into the port in the dark before and had little trouble finding our favorite anchorage. We settled in for the night at 2 AM Wednesday, April 23.
The next day we visited Sandy and Stu whom we know from Chicago. They completed their circumnavigation last year. Unexpectedly they had called the day before informing us that they were in Fort Lauderdale. We also were able to visit our friends Ken, Steve and Kathy who live in Fort Lauderdale and had a short but delightful visit.
Before the sun was up, we had our anchor pulled and were headed north. As always we spent the last several days monitoring the wind speed and direction plus wave height. It turned out to be a great sailing day. We cruised quickly up to Lake Worth. After a quiet evening anchoring, we were up before dawn and sailing up to Fort Pierce.
The weekend was spent visiting Patt, Mike’s sister and her husband Mike. Food, family, and fun were the activities for the weekend. Sunday morning, we found water in the engine bulge. After further investigation we found that the vented loop for the raw water exhaust was not venting air but sea water. Parts of the engine were covered in salt. The morning was spent cleaning and finding a new vented loop since the old one couldn’t be repaired. Our stay just became two days longer.
Early morning found us leaving Fort Pierce and traveling on the ICW. We were prevented from sailing in the Atlantic because more storms and big winds were predicted for the next few days. Our experience in the past has been storms and rain pass quickly and the rest of the day is clear. Not this trip! It rained most of the day. We dropped the anchor in the pouring rain.
The next morning we left in the rain and it rained the entire day. Francie had read about a free dock in New Symrna, one of our favorite stops. The highlight of the day was going to Malony’s Oyster Bar for good food and music. We were not disappointed; Harry O’Donoghue enchanted us with whimsical stories, a variety of folk ballads and humorous antidotes. To make the evening truly glorious, it didn’t rain the way to and from the bar.
April 20, 2013
Our friends from Banana Bay had all left which made us sad, but we were able to finally meet Terry and Suzanne, whom we had met in Muskegon, MI when we first departed on our journey south in 2010. We invited them on board and talked about our plans. They followed our travels in the journal. Two years later they sold their home and began the same journey on their own. It was such a pleasure to see them again. We also made contact with Bill whom we met in Solomons Island at the marina we stayed during August. Bill was kind enough to help us repair our little outboard for the dinghy. While we worked on the engine at the mooring field, we noticed two people in a dinghy circling the boat. Since Mike’s hands were full of parts and grease, Francie was called up top to hail the people. She was greeted by Richard and Susan who we met in Norfolk, VA almost a year and a half ago, while we waited for the bomb squad to retrieve a suspicious looking briefcase.
We moved to a dock the next day and the six of us had good eats, drinks and lots of laughs. Richard and Susan were preparing their boat so they could go home to Denver for the summer. We wished them the best and hope that our paths will cross again.
We had been watching the weather for several days. Watching the weather includes using 4 or 5 different sources. Several times a day, Francie downloads grib files. (They forecast the wind patterns for 4 days.) It is amazing how often the forecast changes in a day. We also look at NOAA weather and use their point forecast to check wind and wave height along the route we plan to travel. We check the radar and local predictions. Even with all this information, as you know judging weather is a crap shoot.
We delayed our departure because of predicted thunderstorms over Miami and Fort Lauderdale for two days. Finally we saw what might be a good weather window although it was going to be narrow. There were isolated storms but no large fronts.
Monday morning at sun up Terry blew his bugle as we departed Marathon. It was a beautiful morning as we slowly maneuvered out of Sisters Creek. It is very shallow, and several times we were holding our breath. Our plan was to sail up Hawk Channel and turn into Biscayne Bay near Miami. It was going to be a long day but doable. Late in the afternoon the Coast Guard began issuing severe weather warnings. The nearest inlet into Biscayne Bay was 10 miles behind us. We began to make plans for the storm. We came up with a half dozen scenarios as we continued on our course. We could see thick clouds to our west, but Miami looked clear. Shortly after the sun set, we decided the best plan was to continue traveling north and give up on getting into Biscayne bay. We could see the lights from Miami one moment, and then as if by magic, the city disappeared. Moments later we were surrounded by clouds. The radar showed storm cells all around us. The wind grew, but the waves remained somewhat small. Now we had no choice but to ride it out. After about 40 minutes, Miami and the coastline appeared as suddenly as it had vanished. It was not a horrible experience, but we were glad to see clear skies.
Our best course of action was to continue to Fort Lauderdale. We had come into the port in the dark before and had little trouble finding our favorite anchorage. We settled in for the night at 2 AM Wednesday, April 23.
The next day we visited Sandy and Stu whom we know from Chicago. They completed their circumnavigation last year. Unexpectedly they had called the day before informing us that they were in Fort Lauderdale. We also were able to visit our friends Ken, Steve and Kathy who live in Fort Lauderdale and had a short but delightful visit.
Before the sun was up, we had our anchor pulled and were headed north. As always we spent the last several days monitoring the wind speed and direction plus wave height. It turned out to be a great sailing day. We cruised quickly up to Lake Worth. After a quiet evening anchoring, we were up before dawn and sailing up to Fort Pierce.
The weekend was spent visiting Patt, Mike’s sister and her husband Mike. Food, family, and fun were the activities for the weekend. Sunday morning, we found water in the engine bulge. After further investigation we found that the vented loop for the raw water exhaust was not venting air but sea water. Parts of the engine were covered in salt. The morning was spent cleaning and finding a new vented loop since the old one couldn’t be repaired. Our stay just became two days longer.
Early morning found us leaving Fort Pierce and traveling on the ICW. We were prevented from sailing in the Atlantic because more storms and big winds were predicted for the next few days. Our experience in the past has been storms and rain pass quickly and the rest of the day is clear. Not this trip! It rained most of the day. We dropped the anchor in the pouring rain.
The next morning we left in the rain and it rained the entire day. Francie had read about a free dock in New Symrna, one of our favorite stops. The highlight of the day was going to Malony’s Oyster Bar for good food and music. We were not disappointed; Harry O’Donoghue enchanted us with whimsical stories, a variety of folk ballads and humorous antidotes. To make the evening truly glorious, it didn’t rain the way to and from the bar.
View from the bridge!
Miami
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Ocean at Marineland
Haulover Canal Bridge
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This weather is for the birds!
Rendezvous in the head!
It is May 3rd and once again we shoved off at first light destined for St. Augustine’s mooring field. And of course it was raining. We looked at the weather predictions for St. Augustine. They were predicting strong winds with gale force gusts. It was no time to be on a mooring ball. The wind was light when we began our trip, but storms cells began to gather after several hours. When we arrived at the Marineland Marina outside St. Augustine, the winds were gusting up to the mid 30’s and sustained winds in the mid 20’s. It sure makes it fun to dock a boat with those winds and pouring rain. There was an entire crew of people waiting for us because they had moved several boats to make room for us at the end of the dock. Once the boat was secure, Mike finally exhaled and smiled.
We are now pinned against the dock, with 30 to 40 mile per hour winds. Between rain storms we walked across the street to see the Atlantic. It is one angry looking body of water. We are relieved to be sitting safely on this side of the water.
May 4, 2013
Good morning. We are still pinned against the dock with gale force winds that are predicted to slowly settle down as the day progresses. We used to think of Florida as the sunshine state. We are spending the day with Brenda and John from Bradenton (near Sarasota) and were introduced to John’s sister Norma and her husband Mike. They live in St. Augustine. Since they used to drive tourist trolleys, we were given a professional tour of the city. We had a wonderful time and hope to meet again the next time we are in town.
One more storm, this time a tornado warning. Radar showed the severe line of storms headed directly for Marineland Marina. In some ways it was rather comical. All the boaters (and friends) phones start beeping audio alerts for a severe weather warning, and to take cover immediately. Immediately is interpreted to mean “gather your ipad and a glass of wine” and shortly thereafter 5 or 6 couples are headed for the only brick structure open, which is the bathroom!
On Sunday, after chores (cleaning up water that had leaked into an open lazarette!) and again consulting the weather, our friend Bill and Cheryl arrived bringing the sunshine with them. We met them on the Erie Canal a little over 2 years ago. They settled in Jacksonville and we have managed to remain in contact. We spent the afternoon catching up from the last time we saw them in November. In the late afternoon, Miss Alice docked right behind us. We met them last year in the Bahamas. Yes, it is a small world.
We are now pinned against the dock, with 30 to 40 mile per hour winds. Between rain storms we walked across the street to see the Atlantic. It is one angry looking body of water. We are relieved to be sitting safely on this side of the water.
May 4, 2013
Good morning. We are still pinned against the dock with gale force winds that are predicted to slowly settle down as the day progresses. We used to think of Florida as the sunshine state. We are spending the day with Brenda and John from Bradenton (near Sarasota) and were introduced to John’s sister Norma and her husband Mike. They live in St. Augustine. Since they used to drive tourist trolleys, we were given a professional tour of the city. We had a wonderful time and hope to meet again the next time we are in town.
One more storm, this time a tornado warning. Radar showed the severe line of storms headed directly for Marineland Marina. In some ways it was rather comical. All the boaters (and friends) phones start beeping audio alerts for a severe weather warning, and to take cover immediately. Immediately is interpreted to mean “gather your ipad and a glass of wine” and shortly thereafter 5 or 6 couples are headed for the only brick structure open, which is the bathroom!
On Sunday, after chores (cleaning up water that had leaked into an open lazarette!) and again consulting the weather, our friend Bill and Cheryl arrived bringing the sunshine with them. We met them on the Erie Canal a little over 2 years ago. They settled in Jacksonville and we have managed to remain in contact. We spent the afternoon catching up from the last time we saw them in November. In the late afternoon, Miss Alice docked right behind us. We met them last year in the Bahamas. Yes, it is a small world.
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St. Augustine
May 6, 2013
We motored north from Marineland Marina and secured a mooring ball in St. Augustine for the night. After strolling around for the afternoon we returned to the boat to plan our offshore transit north. We were watching the weather to see if we could make a three day passage offshore.
The winds were predicted to be from the south and southwest for several days, we decided to push ourselves and aim for Beaufort, North Carolina a 400 nautical mile trip (460 statute miles) from St. Augustine. We left Tuesday morning at sun-up and arrived in Beaufort on Thursday evening at 6PM. The weather was as predicted and we had an uneventful trip (read: no storms!) north. We celebrated our first 2 night offshore run with a bottle of champagne once we anchored just inside the channel. Thursday we head to Oriental, NC and before you know it we will be in the Chesapeake Bay!
We motored north from Marineland Marina and secured a mooring ball in St. Augustine for the night. After strolling around for the afternoon we returned to the boat to plan our offshore transit north. We were watching the weather to see if we could make a three day passage offshore.
The winds were predicted to be from the south and southwest for several days, we decided to push ourselves and aim for Beaufort, North Carolina a 400 nautical mile trip (460 statute miles) from St. Augustine. We left Tuesday morning at sun-up and arrived in Beaufort on Thursday evening at 6PM. The weather was as predicted and we had an uneventful trip (read: no storms!) north. We celebrated our first 2 night offshore run with a bottle of champagne once we anchored just inside the channel. Thursday we head to Oriental, NC and before you know it we will be in the Chesapeake Bay!