Enjoying the weather and the holidays

In 1999 we spent Christmas in Puerto Vallarta Mexico and I believe that was the first time I spent Christmas in a warm spot. All around were the signs of Christmas but the absence of cold seemed odd But, on the other hand it all felt very comfortable. The local residents of the tow were celebrating the Navidad as they always have with a procession and pinyatas(sp) and it was all very festive.

Last year we were in St Augustine where it was cool but not cold and the festive nature of the City made it easy to imagine Christmas was here. But this year in the Keys it is very warm and there are not many obvious holiday decorations here as in the other places where we spent the holidays. The warm is very nice. Sitting here in the cockpit with the side surround raised and a gentle breeze it is very comfortable. I know that in the Northeast it has also been unusually warm but that is a break from the record cold last year. I remember many warm Christmases although not as warm as this year.

After we got in to the Harbour Cay Club on Monday we began working on our long list of boat chores. Although, first day here we took the Lower Keys Shuttle into Key West to visit Linda's sister Ruth and friends who were on a cruise ship that was in Key West for the day.

A rainbow brightened the ride.

A KW bed and breakfast.

Ruth and friends.

Linda and I with Ruth and Jerry.

On Christmas Eve many of the folks here at the Club got together for a sort of pot luck with a very nice dinner prepared by some of the folks. The main courses were a cioppino along with a conch pasta. Other folks brought salads, desserts, appetizers and  each brought wine to share. What a very nice opportunity to meet and socialize with the other folks staying here.

Sitting around the table.

Christmas was one day we kicked back and relaxed. We had a late breakfast and then went off to the beach. Marathon's regular beach, Sombrero Beach, is small as Florida beaches go and doesn't get great surf but it is a very swimmable beach and always fun. So we biked over there for the afternoon and then came back and grilled some turkey and sweet potatoes for dinner.  We shared the Tiki Hut with another IP couple who are here and were also here last year and sat together until late in the evening enjoying the Christmas full moon.

From all the weather reports it has been unseasonably warm up north and it has been here as well. The weather systems and fronts have kept the wind out of the south and southeast so it has been breezy and warm here and very pleasant. The ocean temps are in the upper 70's so that is what the air temp has been most of the time. During the day the sun warms it up but nighttime temps are really pleasant. We had to use the A/C a few days and nights but for the past several it has been very comfortable.

The temp has been comfortable to get work done and doing things on the water. So hopefully this pleasant weather will continue into the new year. So while we are enjoying it, there is work being done and that will be discussed next.

Island Packets are built for this

We left Miami with an ominous forecast for the coming few days. Winds would be out of the NNE mostly over 25 kts and seas could be as high as 10 ft. giving us lots of material to digest. We studied online weather predictions and listened to the TV weather reports and decided we should proceed. So we left Crandon Park and anchored off the south of Key Biscayne by "No Name Harbor" which would be well protected from the forecasted winds.

A beautiful sunset before an ominous forecast.

When we got to our planned anchorage the winds were actually almost southerly which was the direction to which we were wide open. But winds through the early evening weren't supposed to be much and build once they turn more northerly. Our anchor set well and I swam down on it to check and it was dug in well. During the course of the evening the winds did clock around to the north and we had a very pleasant night at anchor. There were about 6 other boats anchored there outside no name and one of them also left in the morning that we know of.

Cape Florida lighthouse.

Our assessment of the forecast was that even though the winds would be strong they would mostly be behind us and we could sail using just the jib and go quite well. We also knew that the shallow water inside the reef would be far less than the sea state predicted so we believed we could have a pleasant trip. It could be tough for a few miles until we got inside the ocean reef that protects the Florida Keys.

There is a shelf that run from just south of Key Biscayne all the way along the Keys and out to the Dry Tortugas. Water depths are often less than 20' with occasional shallow reefs for the entire stretch of over 200 miles. Usually the chop inside the reef is less than a foot but on really rough days it might be 3'. So we knew that in spite of the dire forecasts we probably would be comfortable in our boat. After all, Island Packets are built for these types of conditions.

Many boats carry their beam far to the back. IP's have a very narrow transom. While not as comfortable in a rough seaway as a double-ender, IP's achieve a compromise of living space to comfort with minimal sacrifice. Riding in a following sea would be extremely violent in a wide ended boat like many "modern-design" boats with wide sterns.

IP's also with a full keel and heavy displacement ride smoothly and comfortably through heavy wind and chop.

So knowing this we set out in conditions that would cause many to stay tied up to a dock. As we passed the Cape of Florida on Key Biscayne we pulled out the jib and began sailing. At first the winds were only in the low teens but it didn't take long until they were in the 20's and above. Fortunately while the winds were down we were outside the reef and as they picked up we soon got inside the reef so the seas were never very uncomfortable.

We sailed along on our jib only at speeds between 7-9 kts. Seas were less than 4' and the ride was very comfortable as we passed the northern Keys very quickly. But the discussion soon turned to were do we go to anchor for the night. Our original intention was to anchor near Rodriguez Key just off Key Largo but we would be there very early. Looking at options there weren't many places to go that we could reach comfortably before dark that appeared to afford better protection.

As a result we decided to go behind Rodriguez Key where we anchored fairly early. The winds were howling but the sea was very comfortable. I swam out and checked the anchor and we were dug in well so we should have no worries holding for the night. We had a nice dinner with a bottle of wine and enjoyed the evening.

The next morning we headed on down the Hawk Channel inside the reef with conditions very much like the day before but instead of using our jib we sailed on just our mainsail. I thought given the conditions it would be easiest to manage. With in-mast furling it's much less fight to bring in when the time comes.

About mid-morning we were forced to make a decision about going into our marina. My original plan was to cross over into the Bay through the Channel 5 bridge and go to the marina and if the conditions would not allow us into the marina we would go on to an anchorage south of Boot Key until it was safe. But doing that would have added several hours of sailing time, put us at risk of 2 bridges with a low probability of actually getting into the slip. So I called folks at the marina to inquire about conditions when we needed to decide if we would turn through the Channel 5 bridge. After discussions about the conditions it seemed unlikely that we could get in the slip so we continued down on the outside of the Keys to anchor for the night off Boot Key awaiting better conditions.

We anchored and with the shelter of the land there wasn't much breeze and no chop at all providing us a comfortable anchorage and a very nice evening. I swam on the anchor and since I couldn't find it assumed it was well invested.

Our anchorage by the 7 mile bridge.

The next morning came a text that conditions were clear to come to the marina. Overnight the wind had calmed a bit but shifted more to the south so at least the waters were flat and the wind diminished by the interference of the land. I replied that I wanted to wait for low tide to go through the bridge and get to the marina near slack tide or at least a minimal outgoing current. It has been reported that the depth sign boards on the bridge are not accurate so I wanted to go through at low tide given the 1-2' chop. The other concern was the current in the slip. I wanted to be going in with minimal current but hopefully something pushing me into the dock rather than away from it.

So we hauled anchor and made it through the bridge just about low tide. Fortunately, there was a boat going the other way who came through just ahead of us whose mast was not much less than ours and we spoke to them and they assured us we would have no problem. So we crossed through the bridge and motored up the channel to our slip and was still seeing winds up to and over 30 kts. Hopefully in closer they would be more subdued.

The low tide did give us pause because the approach to the marina has a MLW reading of 5' which is a couple inches less than we would like but we had plenty of water. By the marina the wind was subdued and there was no chop. I pulled around and put the bow into the wind and began my backing into the slip using the wind and current to push us right into the slip. We were able to parallel park our 48' boat (including dinghy) in a 56' slip between 2 other boats the first try with winds blowing around 20 kts. Everyone on the dock expressed surprise at how easily we got in the slip to which I replied that sometimes we just get lucky. Even a blind squirrel gets an acorn now and then.

So we are here for 2 months to enjoy winter in the Keys. Now the work starts.

Miami a port with a cause

After our great sail from Ft Lauderdale and anchoring out for the night on Monday December 14 we found a suitable slip available at Crandon Park Marina on Key Biscayne. We really didn't plan to go into a slip on Monday but the slip was available on a first-come first-served basis so if we didn't take it we could lose it. The cost of the slip was half what it would have been on the other side of the Bay so we took it.

Our goals for being in port were provisioning with our familiar stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's; visiting friends and family; and picking up our life raft that was being serviced. As a side benefit we would have the opportunity to get some exercise on shore.

Crandon Park is part of the Miami-Dade marina and park system so although it was very nice it lacked some facilities and easy access to support. Pretty much everything we needed was on the other shore so we needed a rental car but we did find some a few interesting restaurants to explore.

When we arrived at the slip there was nobody to help us with our lines and the wind was blowing in the mid-teens across the slip. After scoping out the slip and developing a strategy we were able to get into the slip but at one point the wind pinned us against a piling and as I worked to get off it I went forward instead of back and caught the solar panel array and broke 2 of the panels.  So now when we get to Marathon I have a new project to take the array apart and rebuild it with new panels. It won't take long but I will need to take the the 2 main support tubes to a metal fabricator to get straightened.

The highlights of the week were visiting with Linda's cousin Randy Selesnick and her husband Harlan. We mt with them at the Greenstreet Cafe in Coconut Grove.

The next night we met Michelle Niemeyer who is a sailor and the daughter of one of my college acquaintances at the Bombay Darbar also in Coconut Grove. We always enjoy getting together with family and friends and meeting new friends.

As time seems to do, the week slipped by quickly and it was time to go. The weather forecast for the days we planned to travel was not good. Winds from the NNE between 25-30 kts with seas anywhere above 6 ft. While this was not bad for sailing we would have to anchor one night and then try to get in our slip in Marathon so we pondered our options and decided that going on south was the best choice so we left our slip Friday and began our odyssey to Marathon.

Getting close to winter

Our adventure in Fort Lauderdale was lots of fun. As in most of our stops we met old friends and made new ones.

We spent a fun day with our friends Tom and Sue Jones who were photographed while taking pictures of us. We enjoyed the happy hour menu at the 401 Grille in Ft Lauderdale but then went to one of the Jones' favorite restaurants Thai Spice for dinner and my Thai hot meal was excellent. Saturday came and we met up with an old friend and a former in-law of Linda's, Denise Bednarek. We did lunch at the Casablanca in FLL and then went back to the boat to enjoy the afternoon and catch-up. Meeting with and sharing time with old friends as been a great pleasure of this trip. Once we leave the US and go to other islands and countries we won't have that opportunity.

Downtown Fort Lauderdale at night.

We had been forewarned that Saturday night was the Lighted Boat Parade in FLL but we have seen other boat parades so what Well, this was the boat parade champion and we had ringside seats to it.

The parade reached our location by the Las Olas Bridge after 1900. We soon learned that there were over 100 boats in the parade and not just boats. The parade was led by a Coast Guard Buoy Tender that was covered in lights and then several large excursion boats covered in lights supported by large commercial sponsors. Many of the boats had sound systems playing contemporary or Christmas music to the throngs of people lining the canals and bridges.

The FLL rivers and bridges were lined with people. I'm sure there were hundreds of thousands if not a million people watching this parade. The ICW was closed from 1830-1900 and the bridges were all opened so getting on or off the island during the parade was difficult. We not only got to see the parade, but after it was over many of the boats had to come back past us and of course they were still lit up and playing music. Our parade went almost all day and night. I can imagine what a fun time the participants had with this as it had to be one of their greatest and most fun things to do for the year.

We may ever see it again but it's always great to see people having fun.

After the parade kept us up most of the night we rose early to head to Miami. Because there is a bridge in Miami that is 55' we had to go outside at Port Everglades inlet and back in at Miami Government Cut. We wanted to leave early because of a forecast for storms later in the day.

As we left our mooring another boat close to us asked if we were going south and we said yes. He asked if we were going inside or outside and we said outside. He was quite surprised to hear. The forecast was for 20-25 kts of wind out of the east with seas 6-9 ft which sounded like a perfect sailing day for us. With the winds and swells out of the east it would be close to or on our beam for most of the trip which is the best wind angle.

I knew that the hard part would be the mile or so getting out of the channel until we turned south and could use our sails. As it turned out we fought wind and current going out the channel but it lasted less than an hour before we could go to sail and sail we did. With the wind and seas we flew the staysail and a partially reefed main.

Even though we had reduced sail we were humming along between 7-9 kts and riding over the swells like a carousel pony. Our friend back in the mooring field probably knew his boat would not handle the seas like ours. Many boats on the market today with broad sterns, small keels and wide beams would be really uncomfortable in a seaway like we had. On the other hand, boats like ours designed for those conditions handle well and are fairly comfortable.  Considering that we had about a third of our sail area up and were doing the speed we were is a feat. Many modern design boats with 2 big sails will find it difficult to handle their boats in heavy conditions because of the difficulty in managing reefed sails.

As we turned toward the channel a building squall came over us. Most of the winds durin our passage were 20-30 kts but the squall pushed them up to 40 kts. So we turned out toward sea to ride out the squall. There was a freighter heading in the channel who turned out as well until the squall passed and then we followed him in through the cut.



We motored through the narrow channel past the shipping docks and then under the Rickenbacker Causeway to Biscayne Bay where we anchored next to our old friend Dave Sikes and Second Wind. We had Dave over for dinner and a couple bottles of wine. Dave was staging for his morning departure for Nassau. After a dinner of grilled bison burgers, asparagus and wine we settled down for our week in Miami. At the end of the week we would be heading to Marathon to celebrate the shortest day and the beginning of winter. So here we are back in the warm weather getting ready to ride out the coldest part of the year. I hope I can swim every day.

Hopefully winter will be this good

We left Palm Beach as expected yesterday 10 December and motored down the ICW to Fort Lauderdale. The trip of about 40 miles went better than expected with no rain during the sojourn and lots of wonderful scenery. Now we are hanging on a mooring in downtown FLL enjoying what we hope the next few months will be.

We hauled our anchor about 0645 on Thursday morning with some fog hanging in the air but headed for the Royal Palm Bridge to make it's 0700 opening. We did and continued to make the bridges on schedule moving through light fog that finally burned off in mid-morning. The bridge schedule along the ICW is timed perfectly if you can maintain a speed of about 7.5-8 kts as we did. A few times when we hit current we were slowed down as in the case of the Commercial Blvd bridge. We cleared the bridge before it but were running against current so we thought we could not make the 5 miles in 30 mins to make the bridge so we just slowed down and cruised making lunch on the way. As it turned out we would have made the bridge because the current abated shortly after the bridge so we lost a half hour waiting for a later opening.

In spite of our delay we made it to the FLL Las Olas Mooring field by 1400 and secured an open mooring for the few nights we plan to stay. We made the 42 mile trip through 19 bridges in 7 hours. We have 1 more to go to make the Port Everglades channel where we have to go outside to Miami because one of the fixed bridges is too low.

Today, Friday, we spent with friends Tom and Sue Jones going to the beach, happy hour and dinner. We always enjoy spending days with our friends playing with what's available.

Tonight I'm sitting here in the cockpit enjoying the warm breezes. For many of our journeys over the past few weeks we have had the enclosures rolled up and the past few nights we have had ports and hatches open to enjoy the fresh air. I really enjoy sitting here at night watching the white puffy clouds in the dark blue sky. The clouds reflecting the lights from the south Florida metropolis.

Tomorrow visiting with some more friends and then prepping for our travel down to Miami on Sunday. Winds look good, seas will be high but it will be nice to finally be back in Miami. Our last stop before the Keys.

Hard to believe it is now the middle of December but right now it is wonderful and hopefully the rest of the winter will b this good.

A great night out at anchor

This morning, Monday, we left Vero Beach or more affectionately known as Velcro Beach because people find it hard to break away from it. We spent 5 nights there riding out some heavy weather  but used the time profitably but can't believe where it all went. As we motored down the river it was hard to believe the time had gone by so quickly.

Yesterday we visited the Vero Beach Art Museum and saw some very nice exhibits. One of the neat things they had was an exhibit of Lego art by Nathan Sawaya which was quite extensive and very well done.

Visiting the Riverside Cafe for desert waiting for Sunday night football.

Getting out of our slip was a challenge since the fairway was only about as wide as our boat is long and boats on the other dock were sticking out. To make it more difficult there were 15-20 kt winds blowing from dead behind which served to push us across the fairway and keep the bow from coming around. To assist we used an old trick that we often used on our old boat. We used our spinnaker sheet to tie a line to a piling on the T dock and as we went out the slip I was able to maneuver the boat out and around with power and the bow thruster but was able to overcome the wind effect with the line. We got out quickly without hitting anything to the amazement of the many folks watching. It's always great to learn new skills in overcoming challenges.

A view of the marina mooring field.

The actual trip was fairly uneventful with little traffic. I think most people are sitting out the weather or where they are going for the holidays. We are now just a few hours out of Palm Beach, FL with 2 weeks to go the remaining 250 miles to Marathon for our winter layover.

We continue to see lots of dolphins all along our route which is fun and encouraging. They have always been considered signs of good luck.

Because of the weather we continue to see high water along the way and bridges are less than there stated level of 65' of clearance. Fortunately because of our weight we can fit under them without issue.

Tonight we are anchored just off the ICW (pix above) in a place called the Conch Bar. There are numerous very nice homes along the shore and US Route 1 runs just in front of them. The wind has been consistently between 15-20 kts but the shoal upwind has kept the chop to a minimum and it is very comfortable. We had a brief shower but looking forward to brighter skies tomorrow or our stroll through Palm Beach. But tonight is very pleasant in all respects and we are enjoying the peace and quiet and the music of the wind. The gnetle rolling wil rock us to sleep and make this a great night at anchor.  

A wet trip down the Indian River

We left St Augustine a week ago today (I know I haven't been blogging as often as I should) and it has rained some part of every day since we left and actually for at least a week before we left. Forecast is for the same for about the next week as well. This is normally the dry season here but it looks like this year will be a repeat of last year and so far that has been the case. e have seen front after front come through and with it days of easterly or northeasterly winds bringing in moisture. Humidity has been at or near 100% most of the time. The good news is that makes the air feel warmer than it is but the bad news is we have to run the air conditioning most of the time to dry out the cabin so things aren't so damp.

We've come about 170 miles since St Augustine. We stopped for 2 nights in Daytona Beach, 2 nights in Cocoa Village and now we are staying 5 nights in a slip at Vero Beach while the latest front passes. Traveling with the conditions as they are is not a problem but most of the anchorages are very exposed and dinghying in the rain and blowing spray isn't fun. We've heard for years about how much fun Vero Beach is so we wanted to stay here and visit. Last night was the lighted boat parade in the wind and rain and tonight is the Christmas parade.

View from our slip In Daytona.

View of the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse just south of Daytona Beach.

One of the 5 Veteran's Memorials in Florida located by the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse.

One really exciting aspect of this entire trip since we left Cherry Point, NC has been the abundance of dolphins, We've seen them with regularity offshore and in the ICW in large numbers during the day and night. They often swim with us playing in the bow wave

In Daytona Beach we visited some of the places we really liked when we were stuck there a year ago. It also gave me another chance to see my daughter and kids before heading further south.

View of the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse from the ICW.

Dolphins swimming with us.

At Cocoa we made 2 stops. One in the very north of the town to visit with our friend Dave Sikes and 2 of his friends who live there and then the next night we anchored off Cocoa Village. That was the day it rained least in the past few weeks so we were able to get about and enjoy the pretty town in the heart of Florida's Space Coast.There was a missile launch scheduled for Thursday night that got postponed to Friday and then to Saturday. Not sure if it went or when it is going because o the weather.

Views along the ICW.

Scenes from Cocoa.

Tonight is our fourth night here in the slip and the wind is howling as squall after squall blows through with heavy rain. We did manage to get out today to tend some errands and walk along the beach side briefly. Yesterday, Friday, we rented a car and met George and Nancy Nippell whom we've known for years. George and I worked together and were office mates several years ago. Thursday we delivered our life raft to a contractor for certification as is required every 3 years.

Our friends George and Nancy.

The beach at Vero Beach with the raging surf from the days of 20 kt northeast winds.

Stopping at a slip allows us the chance to refresh provisions, water and ensure the batteries are kept fully charged since the solar has been limited due to the weather and season and wind has not been consistent enough.

From here we plan to work our way through South Florida and spend several nights in Miami again before heading down to Marathon for 2 months where we plan to work off lots of deferred maintenance.