Spring 2010 - Florida to the Bahamas

Editors Note:  We don't take many pictures when the days are deary and gray.

Sent 2/15/2010 From Daytona

We spent the best part of a week getting Antares ready to leave Green Cove Springs where we head north on the St Johns River back to ICW to go further south. We were delighted to have one reasonable day (weather wise) to get the jib back on. The local sail maker did a nice job of patching on the foot of the sail, and hopefully the sail will hold together until we get home. We did take the precaution of shipping our old jib to Holland Marine so we'd have a back up on board. Moral of the story, don't believe everything you hear about laminated cruising sails. Contrary to the hype, they don't last. Looks like we'll be writing this one off much sooner than expected. A rather expensive lesson to learn.

Leonard spent more than half a day reconnecting all the hoses we'd drained in December and fixing a leak because of a broken hose clamp. This entailed removing the alternator to get at the problem and while things were apart found some more questionable hose clamps that needed replacing. He also tackled the difficult task of replacing the impeller for the engine water intake. It is my opinion that any one who designs or places a water pump on a vessel should be required to make any routine maintenance before signing off on the design and placement. Things in tight quarters might be aranged a bit differently if this were the case.

For a bit of R&R we headed to the Black Creek Trail, a hiking/biking trail I'd seen as we'd driven down US17. We should have brought our bikes since it was a nicely paved trail, if not all that scenic as it ran parallel to 17. We took a short hike down to the creek and meandered back through the woods. Given some of the wallows we saw, we wondered if we might spot an alligator.

We drove to Verda Beach, an upscale development south of Jacksonville Beach. There was very limited public access to the beach, but we finally found a park that offered both parking and access. The beach looked like it had been augmented with dredge tailings as it was mostly crushed shells. Given the cool temperatures, we had the beach almost to ourselves. Most days had highs struggling to reach 50 and freeze warnings every night. Sure glad we bought the little electric heater - it's come in handy!

On Friday, the last day we had access to a car, it poured. We were on the rainy side of the cold front that dumped the second batch of snow all the way down to the Florida pan handle. It wasn't a nice gentle rain, and the road by the dock had enough dips and gullies to make 2" deep puddles over most of it. Foul weather boots were a necessity, not an option.

After running all our last minute errands, we drove the 1/4 mile to the captain's lounge to do the laundry before returning the car. Fortunately the rain stopped just as I finished folding the clothes, since the car was due back before the laundry was dry. On the walk back to the boat, Leonard suggested that maybe we'd be smart to sail to Ortega then since the wind had come up out of the west. Closer examination of the timing would have had us arrive after dark, not something we wanted to do. A wise choice, as the wind really piped up after sunset and the rains came back with a vengeance. It was nice to be sheltered by the bulkhead, tied up to the dock with the heater running
.

Leaving Green Cove Springs

We got a fairly early start on Saturday morning heading to the Ortega River Yacht Club Marina in Jacksonville . What looked like a dead into the wind beat became a nice sail, with the wind just enough off the bow so we didn't have to tack. It was like late fall sailing at home, foul weather bottoms, fleeces and jackets, woolen hats, and gloves required. Another boat was about a mile ahead of us with the crew nicely tucked into their isinglass enclosure. We sailed past them as they motored north, must be more difficult to sail with all the isinglass panels in place. There was a local race underway north of the I295 bridge, and we watched one of the boats broach in a stronger wind gust. Looked like they were having an exciting race.

We had a busy afternoon once we were tied up at the marina. We swapped books at the huge used book store, went to West Marine to pick up stuff, made one last Publix run, picked up goodies at Panaera Bakery, and picked up oil and antifreeze at Sadler Marine, conveniently located next door. Leonard was also able to discard our old outboard fuel at their hazardous dump site and picked up fresh fuel which hopefully will end the problems we had with the outboard on the trip south. We ended the day with a hike to Harpoon Louie's, a local pub we've frequented in the past.

In the morning we opted for an early start, hoping to have enough daylight to run outside to St Augustine, rather than do the ICW with opposing current and low tide, upping the chance of running aground. We lucked out on the bridges. There were no trains, so the RR bridge was up, and after a bit of hesitation, the Main Street lift bridge went up to 70' of clearance. The bridge tender apologized for the slow lift, explaining the cold was affecting some of the hydraulics.


Jacksonvile in the early morning

It was cold! There was ice on the decks when we departed the marina, and frost on the dinghy which looked rather shrunken in the cold air. The icy decks made for careful maneuvering as we departed and took in the dock lines and fenders. At least the sun was out, and the air gradually warmed up enough to discard some of our layers. A last minute check of timing before we left the St.John's River had us arriving at Salt Run at St. Augustine in daylight, so we opted to make a short offshore hop. What wind there was, was from astern, and not enough to fill the jib. Later in the day it was forecast to come up out of the SW ahead of the next front line, and we hoped to beat the wind shift to the anchorage.

We had a couple of hours of nice sailing when an afternoon on shore breeze developed, and were safely anchored in Salt Run as the sun set. The anchorage was a bit tight as over the years St. Augustine has evicted live-a-boards from most of the other anchorages and they have congregated in Salt Run. The nice thing about the anchorage is the free dinghy dock, although it is a hike from town. The municipal marina charges $6/day to tie a dinghy to their dock with no long term price breaks.

President's Day dawned calm, clear and cold. With rain and fairly strong SW winds forecast, we chose to get underway early and head down the ICW, rather than spend the day at St. Augustine.  That plan was foiled by the Bridge of the Lions, since we couldn't make the 0730 opening, and the next one wouldn't be until 0830. We later learned it was the first day when only one side of the old bridge span would open due to repair work being done. It's been years now that the "temporary" bridge is still in place, just north of the old bridge, and it didn't look like the work would be finished any time soon. It was a bit like threading a needle, getting past the workers and the restricted opening.


Bridge of Lions and the temporary bridge

We had novel experience at the Knox bridge, a bit further south. The bridge tender was great at timing our arrival and having the bridge open, but as we made our final approach he informed us there was an automobile under water in the vacinity of marker "68" between the marker and the shore. No one had hit it yet, but the Coast Guard had a warning posted about it. We wondered how someone had managed that feat, most likely a teenager. We missed it.

We'd hoped to reach New Smyrna Beach, but the delay at the Bridge of the Lions and a couple of hours of opposing current had us arriving after dark, in spite of having had a current push for most of the day. Instead we stopped at Daytona for the night. This year we arrived after the Daytona 500 and before "Bike Week", so town was quiet. It would appear the economy has not been kind to the downtown area. There has never been much there, and this year a number of vacant store fronts suggested hard times. It was nice to get a bit of exercise even if there wasn't much to see.

We're hoping the weather will warm up as we head south, but the lows are still forecast to be around freezing until the weekend. It was nice to peel a layer off in the sun and slightly warmer temperatures during the day. But from the forecast, we'll remain multi-layered for a bit longer with the passage of another cold front during the night. Sure glad we packed warm clothes!


Sent 2/17/2010 From Vero Beach

Tuesday was another sunny, but chilly day on the water requiring multiple layers to be comfortable.  The brisk NW wind had a bite to it that the sun didn't cut, especially since we were going down wind and couldn't tuck in behind the dodger to get out of the wind.  We didn't even consider removing any layers, sometimes wishing we had more to put on.

As we approached the Ponce de Leon Inlet area we were glad to find some of the questionable depths encountered on past journeys had been recently dredged.  There was a huge spoil bank by the on the western bank looking like a guy's dream come true, lots of big dump trucks, bulldozers and other heavy equipment being used to spread what looked like top soil over the sand.  I assume it's so vegetation will take root sooner and hold the bank in place so they don't have to dredge it again soon.  We passed a barge filled with top soil in what used to be a tricky section, and were really glad for the recent dredging.  We have no complaints if this is stimulus money in action.  It's creating jobs and solving a safety issue by not forcing folks to go offshore, eliminating the need to do search and rescue operations.

We managed to use the jib to help move us along on the Mosquito River and were able to just sail once we reached the Indian River.  There are 2 restricted bridges that go to the Space Center and have strange restrictions.  We managed to get through the one at Titusville before the 1515 restriction began, but there was no way we could reach the Addison Point Bridge, south of Titusville in the 40 minutes we had before it closed from 1530 to 1700.  Of course the wind picked up, so we arrived earlier than we intended, but still too late to get through.  So we anchored for an hour and watched the space folks commute home.

We got a surprise as we approached the 65 foot clearance fixed bridge by the Canaveral Canal.  We were hailed on the VHF as we approached and informed the clearance was now 56'  due to work on the center span.  Lucky for us we only need 55', and although we held our breath, not even the antenna dinged as we went under.  We had checked several websites before we reached New Smyrna beach and saw nothing regarding this change.  We also had channel 16 on all day and heard no Coast Guard notices regarding it.  It could have been a very rude awakening, but we could have gone out the Canaveral Canal, an "A" class inlet and avoided the bridge.

Regarding global warming for those who question it.  On past trips the standard high rise 65' clearance on the bridges was correct with one or two exceptions that were duly noted in all the cruising guides.  That's not the case this year, especially in Florida, where many of the bridge marker boards show the clearance as 64'.  Perhaps the water is rising.

We planned on reaching Cocoa around sun down, but it was almost good dark before we had the anchor down, much too late to think about launching the dinghy to go ashore.  Cocoa is one of the more interesting places we've visited.  There is a huge old fashioned hardware store, a number of other shops and eateries, and a pleasant park along the waterfront with a free dinghy dock.

We plan to spend a couple of days at Vero Beach, our next stop.  The town doesn't allow anchoring (although I've read that many of the Florida  no anchoring statues have been struck down as illegal) the town does have a marina and a mooring ball field that is well protected and inexpensive.  Usually more than one boat shares the mooring and we have met some interesting folks tied up next to us over the years.  It's a popular stopping place. The town offers a free (donations welcome) bus that stops at the marina and goes to several of the big shopping areas and other points of interest, and makes reprovisioning easy.  Hopefully it will warm up enough and the wind calm down so we can take our bikes ashore for some rides.

As we headed toward Vero in the morning, we heard an announcement on channel 16 from the Coast Guard regarding the lowerclearance for the bridge by the Canaveral Canal.  It stated it will be until further notice, one of those ambiguous terms that could change some travel plans for those who usually use the ICW.  Leonard tried to contact a 47' boat heading north to warn him about the change, but wasn't able to raise him on the VHF.

We've been enjoying the wildlife along the way.  Lots of dolphins at inlets and in the Mosquito and Indian Rivers.  They are always a day brightener.  The bird watching has been good too, especially along the few patches of land that haven't been developed.  I was sorry to have missed the anchorage at New Smyrna Beach as the birds at dusk and dawn are phenomenal there, huge flocks of various species coming and going to roosting spots.


Gulls looking for food in our wake

We also enjoyed the antics of laughing gulls as they looked for food in the wake behind the boat.  We were surprised there weren't mid-air collisions as they jockeyed for the best position, flying in from either side of the boat.  Most of them look to be immature, without the black head, just a faint indication, like a smudge.  Weweren't able to spot what they were eating, but perhaps we stirred up schools of small fish that we couldn't see in the sun light.

We had a bit of excitement on the way to Vero.  When the wind picked up we shut the engine off and did the lazy man's sail, using just the jib since we were running almost downwind.  Our speed varied from just under 4 knots to pushing 8 and it was nice sailing.  One gust hit us with enough strength to cause us to broach.  Leonard thought the rudder came out of the water since he briefly lost control before the boat headed into the wind.  We heeled enough to bury the rail and pop the fiddle on the shelf in the back cabin out of the holding points and dump everything into the quarter berth.  Thankfully the lockers full of provisions didn't open and no one was hurt.  It's one thing to broach when sailing in open waters, another when you're in a narrow dredged channel with little maneuvering room.  The last thing we wanted to do was run aground - there were obvious sand banks and shoals outside of the channel.  Nothing like a little excitement to keep you on your toes.

Two sail boats had left Cocoa shortly before we did, and we could see them ahead of us all day.  As we approached a turn in the channel to go under a high rise bridge about 8 miles north of Vero we saw that one of them had made the fatal mistake of cutting a corner and had landed up on the east side of the channel, very hard aground. As Leonard had pointed out to me when he gave me the wheel, if I was going to run aground, do it on west edge of the channel so the wind could help push the boat off.  There was nothing we could do to help, the boat was at least 47' long and heavy, so we carefully motored past, having slurped up the jib in a lull before we got to this portion of the trip that had enough twists and turns to make it difficult to keep the sail under control and pulling.  We were almost to Vero when we heard him call for a tow on the VHF.


Boat aground

We were assigned a mooring in the far north field at Vero, a long way from the dinghy dock.  We tied up with some nice folks from Virginia who spent the winter here at Vero.  They offered us the use if their dinghy and car if we needed anything.  Since we plan to be here for a few days, we wanted to get our dinghy launched.

What should have been a simple exercise we've done many times before, turned into an ongoing project.  Once we got the dingy launched and the motor on, Leonard found the hand pump to get fuel to the engine wasn't working.  Once that got fixed, it still wouldn't start, so off came the engine cover.  I was sent below for tools, a fresh spark plug and a clean glass jar (I'd shipped my empty jam jars home from Green Cove Springs).  Seems there was old, read bad, fuel in the carborator that needed to drained before the engine would run smoothly.   So, it was some time before we got a line on the mooring ball and could head for shore.  Now we really aren't going anywhere in the dinghy without taking the necessary tools and a piece of wire to clear the injector, especially not when we have to go farther than we'd want to paddle into the wind.

We're looking forward to a few sunny days of R&R before we continue on our way south.  Doesn't sound like it will get all that warm until later in the weekend.  It did feel nice to take off our long johns before we headed ashore.  If it does approach 70, it will be a real treat, especially since we're on a mooring (no electricity) and can't run the little electric heater.  Even the locals have commented on how cold this winter has been here.


Sent 2/20/2010 from Lake Worth Anchorage

Our few days at Vero got filled with multiple, somewhat unexpected chores.  For some time we'd noticed the pressure fresh water pump cycling when we weren't running water.  It wasn't often, but still one of those annoying things that needed to be checked out.  Leonard thought that perhaps something on the hot water tank hadn't gotten fastened as tight as it should have when we recommissioned the boat at Green Cove Springs.  At Vero we had the time to investigate.  What we found was a bit discouraging, after wiping up water under the tank, it reappeared.  Not a good sign.  The tank had sprung a slow leak and needed to be replaced.  The good news was we were in a nice protected anchorage with easy access to a West Marine store via the free bus service.

Unfortunately, accessing the water tank required everything in the cockpit locker to be removed.  It's rather like an attic or garage, filled with all the things we need - lines, boat brushes, spare paint, cleaners, life jackets, buckets, dinghy seat  - anything and everything we don't want to store in the cabin.  Replacing the tank also required moving the house bank of batteries to get down to the tank.  The tank is supposed to be located at the same level and as close to the engine as possible, so it was way down there.

After getting the measurements, we headed to town on the bus, hoping the West Marine would have an identical tank.  Unfortunately this store is one of the express stores which carry a minimum of things.  However, we were able to order what looked like the same tank, with delivery promised the next day.  Perfect.  That left the afternoon free for a bicycle ride.

After breakfast the next morning, Leonard emptied the locker again and began the task of removing the old tank.  Like everything on a boat, it means working in cramped quarters.  He had the tank just about out when the store called to say our part had been delivered.  The run to the store was going smoothly - we hoped to catch the return trip of the bus we'd taken in, but the 30 minutes I understood I had to get groceries was closer to 25.  I don't think guys understand the problem of shopping in a "new to you" store, and this was a brand new Fresh Market with really neat things.  As I reached the check out counter I found Leonard growling that we'd missed the bus.

Unfortunately they only run once an hour, and the next one, for whatever reason, was behind schedule, so we spent a lot more time standing around than anticipated. I wasn't sure there'd be enough time to go anywhere else, plus I already had a full back pack and a couple of bags, and Leonard had the huge box containing the water tank.

Finally back at the boat it looked like we were short some connecting pieces that Leonard thought would come with the tank.  He was able to remove them from the old tank, and with some work he managed to get the tank in place.  Naturally not all the mountings had the same holes as the old one, but it eventually fit.  It was after 1500 when the job was finished and everything was back where it belonged.  The best part of another day gone.  After disposing  the old tank we took a long walk through the park, over to the beach and back.

We decided to continue on our way south in the morning, doing a day run offshore between Ft.Pierce and Lake Worth.  We were underway about 0630 since it would be about 60 NM and we wanted to be anchored before sun down.  The early start also meant we'd avoid many of the weekend warriors that were sure to be out since the temperatures were forecast to almost reach 70.  We encountered a few fishermen on the ICW rushing to get out and saw a lot of them out on the Atlantic fishing.

It was the first day that actually felt warm enough to start peeling the layers we've gotten accustomed to wearing.  The sun was mostly filtered through a thin layer of clouds and the winds were light from the NW. Once an on shore breeze filled in the the afternoon we ran out some sail, making for a pleasant day.  We had a delightful visit by a pod of dolphins who were interested in playing, unlike many we've seen but who've been too busy eating to ride our bow wave.

Leonard spent much of the day arranging to have a battery delivered to the marina in Ft.Lauderdale.  It's been interesting to get different prices of up up $200 quoted for the same battery from different suppliers.  One of our old house bank has reached the end of its time, and after having battery issues in the Bahamas before, we don't want a repeat performance.

After anchoring at Lake Worth for a night, we'll fight the bridges on the ICW and spend a day with
Dick and Barb Bruce, Vermont biking friends, before heading up the New River at Ft.Lauderdale to the Cooley's Landing Marina for a few days. Our new battery should arrive there on Wednesday, and hopefully the Chupacks, friends from Florida's west coast, will join us for a day or two.


Sent 2/27/2010  From Key Biscane

We had the anchor down by sunset.  A barge and some dredging equipment was anchored just west of the channel that we had to avoid.  We were not sure if the cable areas marked on the chart were still in use or not, as a fair number of boats were clearly anchored in the area.  We chose to stay clear, just in case.  Hooking a cable when hauling the anchor when we want to get underway in the morning isn't something we need to experience.

Sunday was the first decent day since Jan.2nd, and the locals were out in force.  Unfortunately we had to clear 9 bridges before we got to the Bruce's dock, almost all of them restricted, and not timed for sailboat speed.  Thankfully, mileage wise, it was a short day.  By noon the ICW was awash with locals out recreating.  There are no inlets for them to go into the Atlantic, and many of the bridges have a low enough clearance that the larger power boats need the bridges to open for them too, so their playground is the ICW.

They buzz up and down the channel at top speed which causes the wakes to reflect back and forth between the sea walls which are mostly concrete, about 300 feet apart, all the way to Miami.   It was like being in a washing machine.  This was why we try to avoid weekends!  We were happy to clear the last bridge and head for the Bruce's dock which is off the ICW.  We watched a good sized sport fisherman attempt to dock perpendicular to the ICW, between pilings.  With the wakes washing back and forth it was almost impossible.  We were really glad that the Bruce's dock was well off the main drag.


Wildlife on the Bruce's Dock

We spent 2 nights with Barb and Dick, during which a frontal system approached with some hefty south winds.  Our walk in the beach was cut short due to the sand blasting effect of the wind blown sand.  We hiked down to the Spanish River Park which was a fairly large piece of land between the ICW and the ocean.  There were 3 tunnels that went under A1A for beach access.  The beach was in the process of  being refurbished with freshly dredged sand from a pumping station just off shore.  We watched one large power yacht slowly head south into the head winds, occasionally burying the bow in a wave.  Not a day we'd choose to be offshore!  We enjoyed Barb's good food and the chance to catch up with the Bruces, friends from the Silver Spokes, Leonard's biking group at home.


New sand from the dredge offshore blowing in the wind


Spanish River Park Sign

We departed in a bit of a rush when Leonard realized his watch was a few minutes slow.  We planned on catching the 0930 opening at the Spanish River bridge, about 10 minutes away.  We made the opening with a minute or two to spare, and began running the gauntlet of restricted bridges between Boca Raton and Ft.Lauderdale.  Once again most of the bridges are timed for power boats, and so we sailed and slowly puttered our way south rather than burn a lot of fuel in hopes of possibly making the openings.   Manatee sightings helped to pass the time, along with looking at some of the opulent mansions along the waterfront.  The "in" feature seemed to be "water falls" the width of the property.   There were 9 bridges on the ICW, and an additional 3 on the New River.


The excursion boat "Jungle Queen" on the New River

We had reserved 3 nights at Cooley's Landing in Ft. Lauderdale.  It is one of 3 city owned marinas and conveniently located within walking distance of a big Publix grocery and Las Olas, the main shopping area.  It took a bit of work to get the dock master to respond to calls on the VHF or the cell phone (the Olympics were on the portable TV in the office).  Eventually we got directions to our slip and a hand in docking.  As we made our first pass by the slip, a group of manatees swam past.  It was the largest group we'd seen, unfortunately many of them had prop scars from close encounters with the many boats that are on the river.

It was disappointing to find the River Walk, a delightful board walk along the New River with a shopping complex, almost completely empty.  All that remained of the once vibrant area were a couple of places to eat, the rest of the shops and restaurants were empty.  The dock master said reservations were way down this year compared to recent years.  There were only 6 transient boats, and a handful of live a boards on the docks.  We'd been concerned about getting a slip, having had problems in the past..  He also said the unemployment rate is 20% in the area.  The city had a crew of workers repairing the boat launch ramps at the facility, perhaps stimulus money.

With another cold front forecast to bring rain on Wednesday, we decided to take a walk while we had nice weather and headed to Las Olas to see if that area had fared better in the recession.  We were glad to see that most places were still in business, and especially glad to find the Italian bakery still operating and open, despite the late hour.  We found a new "treat", fruit focacias, wonderful fruit tarts baked on a bread crust, a combination of sweet and slightly salty.  Their product was so good that we made the trip every day even though it was a mile hike each way.  The big condo project that had been slated to be built last time we were here remains a vacant lot.  We had toured the model condos which were being built to order.  These type of  places were being snapped up and flipped before the crunch hit.


  One of the houses along the New River

Jeanette and Steve Chupack, friends from Vermont who've moved to Florida, joined us on Wednesday after driving over from Cape Coral.  Since it hadn't started raining, we decided to check out the art galleries on Las Olas before running  errands.  Luckily we got there before the rain, and were able to duck into galleries or walk under awnings once the it began.  And it did rain hard.  During a break in the rain we headed back to the boat before the next batch arrived.  We had a good time catching up with them, and appreciated the ride to Costco for more provisions.  They've come to stay with us every time we've stopped in Ft. Lauderdale.

After they headed home Thursday morning, we began to work on the rest of our "to do" list.  We headed over to the Publix for provisions, walked back to the bakery, stopped at an ATM, tried unsuccessfully to find another spare alternator belt, picked up an oil filter, went exploring on our bikes, did laundry, removed some worn chain on the anchor rode, defrosted the freezer and then made one last trip to Publix for meat.  Even though Leonard's little TV got good reception at the dock, I couldn't stay awake until 2300 to watch the figure skating finals.  Seems they like to save the best for last.

It would appear that despite a brief break in the cold, we weren't through with frosty weather.  Frost warnings continued to be posted daily.  The weather has also taken a toll on wildlife.  Sea turtle rescues have  exceeded past year's totals.  They suffer from hypothermia and will die, if not resuscitated in warm water before returning them to the ocean.  The locals we've talked to all say this winter has been the worst in memory.  They are accustomed to cold snaps, but not weeks of freezing temperatures that are occurring this winter.  There are a lot of brown palm  and banana trees, and the sea grapes look worse for wear.

Although non native species,  iguanas, and the pythons that have escaped captivity and begun reproducing in the Everglades, are also dying from the cold temperatures.  Steve's comment was the iguanas fall like rain from the trees after the really cold nights.  The pythons are another story, as hunting licenses are granted to help eradicate them to protect native species.

We departed Cooley's landing on Friday morning soon after the 0900 bridge restrictions were lifted for the 3 bridges on the  New River.  We headed offshore to Miami and down to Key Biscayne to No Name Harbor to wait for a weather window to head over to the Bahamas. What was surprising about the trip south was the lack of wildlife on the ocean.  Usually that close to shore (about 3 miles) we see a number of birds.  The only thing in the sky were 5 sign carrying aircraft advertising rum, insurance or the possibility of having your ad aloft.  There were some large tents on the beach, but not many people.  Leonard wondered when (or if) spring breakers would arrive.  Being a weekday, the boat traffic at Government Cut was minimal, so our trip past Miami was uneventful.


No Name Harbor with Key Biscane in the background

We have enjoyed No Name Harbor and Bill Baggs Park when we've gone to the Keys.  There were a number of boats already at anchor, but we found a likely spot, and after a number of attempts (the holding isn't great and the spacing was a bit tight) we finally got the anchor down. We launched the dinghy to pay the $20/night fee (up from $15 5 years ago) for the privilege of anchoring at the park which does offer free pump outs, garbage collection and use of all park facilities. We walked over to the Atlantic beach and back along a nature trail.  We saw 2 raccoons, but nothing else.  It was past sundown by the time we got back to the boat.

If we'd managed to complete all the necessary chores that have to be done before we go, we could have crossed over to Bimini on Friday.  The conditions were better than usual, fairly light winds, building from the south ahead of the next frontal system.  But we still needed to finish our taxes and take care of other financial chores while we were within cell range and USPS service.  Internet coverage can be spotty in the Bahamas, and while there may be the occasional problem with the postal service here, there is no comparison to service from there!  Usually on the morning VHF nets you hear people offering to carry mail back to the states for posting.  It really is like the slow boat to China, especially at the smaller, family islands.

Saturday morning we paddled our bikes ashore and after touring the park, rode into Key Biscayne to mail letters and pick up items that hadn't made it onto the last shopping list.  The park has a great bike path and bike lanes along the road to town.  It was fun to explore another part of town - it's about 2 miles from the anchorage, which precludes further exploring on foot, especially with a back pack full of stuff..  Leonard was hoping to get a look at Hurricane Harbor, just north of the state park, but not much was visible beyond the houses.  It would be another place to wait, but with no shore access.

Monday looked liked it might be possible for crossing.  We would need to shift further north and take on fuel before departing.  We wanted check and recheck the weather conditions before departing as well, as weather forecasts would be more sketchy once we left.

 
Sent 3/1/2010 from Bimini

We enjoyed our stay at Bill Baggs State Park.  A frontal system came through Saturday evening with most of the storms passing just to our north.  We were pleased to see that we didn't need to reanchor after the wind shift.  We even got a lovely rainbow.


A double rainbow

Sunday we debated taking our bikes ashore again.  We'd stowed them below before the storm, so it would have been a chore to dig them out again, and we planned on departing in the afternoon to take on fuel and reposition to an anchorage closer to Miami for departure.  Instead we took a hike.  We thought about visiting the light house, but took a nature trail off to the north first.  That trail had another branching off for foot traffic only, so we took that, thinking it would be a loop.  It wasn't, and we ended up almost half way to town after we snuck out a private drive.  At that point we decided to walk into town.

By the time we got back to the boat, it was lunchtime and we thought it might be smart to depart earlier since it was a Sunday and we'd be dealing with weekend warriors on the water.  After carefully looking at the charts, Leonard decided he didn't want to go to the Crandon State Marina for fuel since the depths were a bit iffy.

Our next option, by the Rickenbacker Bridge didn't respond to the VHF, but we saw the fuel dock and headed in along with several power boats.  It was tight quarters with wind and current making things interesting.  We were almost to the dock when the dock guy yelled they didn't have diesel.  Thanks to Leonard's driving, we extricated ourselves, having left one power boater a bit startled when we deftly maneuvered past him.

By then we were glad we had some time to spare, and we headed to Miami, about 1 1/2 miles further North, and one of the few marinas that carry fuel.  We were relieved to read that the Venetian bascule bridge only had weekday restrictions, and it promptly opened for us.  It was a bit disconcerting when the dock master informed us the minimum amount for payment with credit cards was $100.  Fortunately our Boat US membership not only waived the restriction but even gave us a 3% discount.

With a full tank of fuel, we anchored behind Fischer's Island, a short distance from the main entrance channel.  Just after we got settled another boat at anchor called us on the radio to ask if we'd been off shore.  Turned out it was a Catalina 38, a sister ship to the "Mighty Quinn" on which we were crew the last 2 summers on the Great Lakes.  He said he'd seen the Mighty Quinn - he left Lake Huron 18 months ago and had completed a circuit of the Caribbean and was headed north.  He and another boat anchored nearby planned on departing at midnight, heading to Lake Worth before the next cold front, due Tuesday, arrived.  We told him not to hurry north - it was cold up there.


Miami in the sunset

Leonard decided our departure time would be 0400, at slack water, just before a flood current in Miami and give plenty of time to reach Bimini in the day light.  We hoped the strong NW winds would diminish overnight as forecast, allowing us to scoot across the Gulf Stream ahead of the next cold front.  Otherwise it would be the weekend before things would settle down enough to cross.

With the engine ticking over by 0400, we were pleased to have the anchor come up easily.  Last time we did this, something was snagged on the anchor and it took almost 40 minutes to get it up.  We eased out into the shipping channel, just in time to see a city of lights approaching from the sea.  It was a bit disconcerting to find a big cruise ship taking up most of the channel, but we slipped past without incident.  Would truly be bad form to be run down by a cruise ship in port!  We counted at least 5 more waiting their turn to dock.

The wind was a still bit strong from the NW, so we played it safe and reefed the main.  It was great sailing, although the 3 - 5 foot seas in the Gulf Stream (with some bigger ones tossed in for good measure) set us rocking and rolling.  True to forecast, the winds went lighter, and then vacillated between N and E.  Rather than slant the sails, we fired up the engine and motor sailed, making decent time.  The chart plotter showed exactly what we were doing - crabbing our way east, being shoved north with up to 3.5 knots of  Gulf Stream current for longer than we expected.  There was still more than a knot of current as we approached Bimini, not what we'd expected.


Sunrise after leaving Miami

It had been a beautiful morning.  I got to watch the sun rise and the full moon sink over Miami.  We didn't see much traffic once we were away from Miami, just another sail boat headed the same direction.  There wasn't a lot of sea life either, but the seas were covered with Portuguese Man of War moving with their bubble like sails.  It would have been enough to keep me out of the water had it been warmer!  I got stung with something last trip, and would prefer not to repeat the experience.


Jelly fish in the Gulf Stream

That beautiful full moon had another unintended experience in store for us.  Leonard mentioned as we approached the Bahamas, we'd be arriving at Bimini at just about low tide, and it would be a -.7 one due to the full moon.  Having been into the Bimini Sands Marina in the past, we didn't think we'd have a problem- they advertise 8 ft depths so we should have had 2 ft to spare.  We got all the way to the entrance and saw a shoal from either side extending into the channel.  Leonard centered us and headed in, only to bounce to a stop.  He tried backing and when that didn't give the desired results, he tried forward.  That didn't work either.  We were bouncing on the waves, being turned sideways to the channel by the wind and tide.  Not a pretty sight.  Just past the sandy shoals were rocks.  We guesstimate the channel was 50' wide.  That doesn't leave much room at either end of our 36'.

We contacted the marina while we considered our options, all the while getting more sideways, and slipping into the entrance.  We know about island time, and that's what we got.  A guy eventually walked out to see what our problem was.  They didn't have a boat in the harbor to help us.  I untied the dinghy and we flipped it over the side.  No time for our normal launching procedure.  Leonard literally hopped in, grabbed the anchor and started to paddle like mad for deeper water to plant the plow with me paying out rode as fast as I could.  The plow drug when I tried to winch it in.

Along about then, one of the marina runabouts approached from the sea with divers on board.  They helped take the danforth anchor out, a then helped pull us off.  They asked if we planned on anchoring at the entrance.  No, we just needed to wait for the tide to rise.  The dock master told us a big 110'power  boat had just left (we knew, he'd almost run us down on his way west) and hadn't had a problem.  He swore the shoals hadn't been there last week.

Eventually we got the plow anchor line unwrapped from the keel and retrieved the danforth and got it stowed.  Things on deck had been a mess with lines everywhere.  Once we were squared away, Leonard decided to put the motor on the dinghy (there hadn't been time before) and go clear customs while I sat aboard, rocking and rolling in the seas.  Hopefully by 1700 there would be enough water in the channel and Leonard would have returned so we could finally get into the marina.  With the cold front approaching, we thought we'd rather be on a dock in a very sheltered marina, rather than hanging out in a fairly unprotected harbor.  We just didn't know how "sheltered" the entrance was.  Other than losing some of our new bottom paint and having provided entertainment for the locals, we're no worse for ware and have another high seas tale to tell.  Hopefully we won't repeat it!

As you can probably tell, we made it to the Bahamas!  And Leonard  returned from Customs, with no new adventures to share.  I told him he really knows how to show  a girl a good time.  We made it into the dock with feet to spare.  Somethings are worth waiting for.  You can count on us not leaving at low water!