U.S.

We’ve Landed In Lauderdale!

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We went out of the Lake Worth inlet early Saturday morning, for an eight hour run to Fort Lauderdale. Scott originally had us traveling farther off shore for the trip, but then changed his mind, thinking it would save a bit of time if we stayed closer to the coastline, and be more interesting (scenic). Giving us a chance to see big houses intermingled with high rises…

..next to an Airstream trailer with a family camping…

Traveling on the “outside” usually means an “easier” go of it, meaning no timing of bridges or other boat traffic to speak of. However, being a beautiful Saturday morning in South Florida, there were boats everywhere! Little boats, big boats,fast boats, faster boats! Directly in front of us, off to either side ahead of us and passing from behind on both sides of us (usually at pretty close proximity)! Only one or two made it uncomfortable for us, causing a decent lurch back and forth. Aside from that, it was just a lot to pay attention to, and we were back to constant small course adjustments.

At least half of these boats had a red and white dive flag flying, meaning that someone was in the water below. You are supposed to stay at least 100 yards away from them, which was difficult at times, because there were so many of them out there! We didn’t realize that there was a reef just off shore here, bringing many private and chartered divers.

We made our way south, past Boyton Beach, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Hillboro Beach, Pompano Beach and finally to Fort Lauderdale. As we came close to the inlet, traffic increased, with boats funneling in tighter, to get through the entrance. It was crazy! Boats of all sizes and speeds, all trying to be the first one through. We had one pass us very close and fast, just before the slow speed zone. I had to put my camera down and hold on. I’m glad we don’t have to use this route every time we use our boat! This photo does not do it justice!

Once through the inlet, we were again navigating a narrow channel full of boat traffic (private boats of all sizes, tour boats, and water taxis) while taking in the sights of big boats and houses on either side of us. The amount of big, big boats in this area is amazing. They are placed in crowded marina slips like puzzle pieces. Others are in front of huge private homes, on narrow canals. It was sensory overload.

We made our way to Las Olas Marina, where a very friendly deck hand helped us tie up in our slip. It was 93 degrees and humid when we arrived, so we were very glad to get plugged into shore power and get the air conditioning going!

Here are photos of our ocean trip to Fort Lauderdale, and the massive mega yachts here!

“Shells Sink, Dreams Float. Life’s Good On Our Boat!”

South Florida

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We continued south from Fort Pierce, and officially entered South Florida. Our plan was to do a short four hour day, and anchor in the Manatee Pocket. In 2009, Scott took a two month class, to certify for being a marine surveyor. They only teach the class in Port Salerno, Florida, so we cruised south in our previous boat and spent the time at a marina there, just off of the St. Lucie Inlet.

Port Salerno is ten minutes or so south of Stuart, Florida, and about 45 minutes north of West Palm Beach. The Manatee Pocket is lined with homes, marinas, bars and restaurants, and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. However, anchoring there wasn’t possible, due to the amount of derelict boats taking up all of the space. We need too much water depth to squeeze in close to shore, so we had to abandon ship, so to speak. We were so, so disappointed!

Plan B was to continue south, about 30 minutes or so, and anchor in Peck Lake. It’s a scenic, quiet anchorage. The only thing separating us from the ocean was a short spit of land. We had a 60 second dingy ride to shore, and then a two minute walk through a tree lined “tunnel,” and voila!…private beach!

We enjoyed a happy hour cocktail, and then made our way back to the boat for sunset.

Today was another short day, so we went back to the beach. Along the short walk, an armadillo was rooting around for food. I tried to wait for a head shot, but only got his back half.

We enjoyed some beach time and Scott even took a dip. His first warm water swim!

We continued south to Lake Worth. The scenery has gone from being somewhat boring, to us not being able to turn our heads fast enough, trying to see all of the ridiculously big houses!

And….big boats…private big boats!

It took the both of us to handle the navigating, bridge schedules and the camera! We came into some rain, which was actually a welcome break from neck-craning and photo-taking.

Lake Worth is full of marine industry, as well as large private boats and homes. We were happy to find a place for the night, away from the sea of derelicts on the other end of the anchorage. Boating traffic here is a constant in and out, even after dark. Tomorrow am, we’ll go out of the inlet here, and travel eight or so hours off shore to Ft. Lauderdale….our last stop before the Bahamas!

Some photos of big houses and boats!

“Shells Sink, Dreams Float. Life’s Good On Our Boat!”

Closing In On South Florida

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Yesterday we continued through Central Florida, traveling nine hours to Melbourne. Our friend Matt Tove moved here a year ago, and we made plans to meet for dinner. We hadn’t seen him in five years, so stopping here was a definite!

This stretch of the Intracoastal is unexciting. Not much to look at, and a lot of simple but tedious navigating. We did have a few visitors travel with us for awhile though, breaking up the monotony.

We anchored for the night in a cove just off of the Intracoastal, where Matt, and his fiancee Julie live. Scott took the dingy to pick them up, and brought them to see the boat. After a complete tour, we all went back to shore, where they hosted us for dinner. We had a great meal, and spent time catching up until late in the evening. A big thanks to you both, for a wonderful time!

This morning, Scott took me on a dingy ride, to search for manatees. I believe that these animals are made up, so that slow speeds can be enforced along the southern waterways. In the five months that we spent going south in 2008-2009, I saw one manatee, next to a restaurant. I believe it was a robotic marketing scheme. Julie and Matt claimed that there were many, many manatees just up the river from their condominium, so Scott was determined to have me see them. We saw some swirls in the water, which is supposed to be their tail fin moving, but I saw nothing surface. I remain a non-believer.

After our search for mythical creatures, we traveled seven hours, and anchored just off of the Fort Pierce inlet. The water color changed to a pretty blue just as we crossed under the Fort Pierce bridge. Howard has decided that he now likes spending travel days in the guest stateroom

Tomorrow, we will officially enter South Florida! Here are a few photos from the last two days.

“Shells Sink, Dreams Float. Life’s Good On Our Boat!”

South To New Smyrna Beach

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We slipped our lines off of the mooring ball this am, and caught the 9:30 opening at the Bridge of Lions. The weather was beautiful for our trip south, with sun and clouds, and temperatures hovering right around 80.

We’re back in central Florida, which means more and more bridges. Most of the drawbridges have been replaced with higher ones that we can pass under with no trouble. However, we still need to have some of the ones that remain opened for us. Some open upon request (yay!), but others have timed openings (ever hour or half hour, etc.). With the tide and current constantly changing our speed, it becomes challenging to get to the bridge at just the right time (boo!). We spent a lot of time pushing our speed today, trying to make an opening. It was also a day where we had to pay a lot of attention to navigation, with channel markers having moved, and regular jogs right and left.

Howard was very out of sorts with today’s journey. He’d become really good with being underway, especially on the calmer waters of the Intracoastal, but today, he wasn’t feeling it. He also gets really fidgety and scared when we pass under a bridge, or when boat pass by us with any kind of speed, which happened regularly today. These things usually send him running for the shower in the master head.Try as I might to calm him and keep him with us in the pilot house, the shower is where he spent most of today..poor Howard.

After nine hours of navigating, we anchored for the night in New Smyrna Beach. We were treated to a double rainbow, and a view of the ocean surf!

Howard was happy to get some fresh air, and check out the surroundings

We’ve now traveled approximately 1,000 miles!

“Shells Sink, Dreams Float. Life’s Good On Our Boat!”

A Little About St. Augustine

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The City of St. Augustine is the nation’s oldest permanently occupied European settlement, founded by the Spanish in 1565.  It was founded forty-two years before the English colony at Jamestown, Virginia, and fifty-five years before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts. Throughout it’s history, the city has been under the governments of Spain, Britain and United States.

In the late 1880s, St. Augustine had its birth as a resort community with the arrival of Standard Oil co-founder Henry M. Flagler. He built two hotels and took over another to serve as the base of his Flagler System hotels. He also founded the Florida East Coast Railway as a means of transporting guests to and from the north to his hotels in St. Augustine, Palm Beach, and Miami.

The heart of the city is its downtown Plaza de la Consitucion, with most of the historic buildings located within a block or two of the Plaza, to the north and to the south. The streets are full of scenic buildings, with both Spanish and British influences.

The  Bridge of Lions spans the Intracoastal Waterway (Matanzas Bay) here.  The bridge is part of State Road A1A, and connects downtown St. Augustine to Anastasia Island.  A pair of marble lions guard the bridge, which was begun in 1925 and completed in 1927.  From its earliest days, it was hailed as “The Most Beautiful Bridge in Dixie,” and has long been a symbol of the nation’s oldest city. The lions were removed in February 2005 and returned in March 2011.

The Department of Transportation declared the bridge “structurally deficient and functionally obsolete” in 1999 (yikes!),  and after nearly 80 years of service, an official closing ceremony for the original Bridge of Lions was held in May of 2006 (the lions were removed in 2005). A temporary bridge was constructed, adjacent to the original bridge, and traffic was diverted to it while the original bridge was being rehabilitated and reconstructed. Renovations were completed in March  of  2010, and the bridge reopened for use; the lions were returned a year later. The temporary bridge was removed and used as part of an artificial reef just offshore.

Castillo de San Marco is one of the oldest standing structures in North America, and the nation’s oldest masonry fort. It took 25 years to build, making it a VERY costly project for time. The fort was initially built by the Spanish, to protect their empire in America. It has flown six different flags, survived hurricanes, bombardments and sieges.

The fort was built in a star shape, formed by diamond-shaped projections (“bastions”) at each corner. This design eliminates blind spots for guards, and increase the fort’s firepower by allowing multiple cannons to fire on the same target (a crossfire effect). The Castillo de San Marco was attack many times in it’s history, but was never taken in battle.

The city of St. Augustine offers many tours: general history tours, culinary tours, haunted tours, and all types of pub crawls. There are several museums and boat tours as well. St George Street is very popular with tourists and locals; a long stretch of a pedestrian only street, lined with endless shops and restaurants. This city is well worth a visit!

“Shells Sink, Dreams Float. Life’s Good On Our Boat!”

Our Week In St. Augustine

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We have spent the last week on a mooring ball in St. Augustine. When we passed through on our way south in 2008, we had a great time, and wanted to stay longer this time around.

We arrived on Monday afternoon, checked in with the dockmaster and relaxed for the evening. On Tuesday, we cleaned up the boat and prepared for a visit from our friends Larry and Lena. Scott found Larry two years ago, on an online trawler forum. He and his wife, Lena, have been living aboard and cruising on Hobo, another 42′ Krogen. They have a paravane system that Scott wanted for Sea Life, so he flew down to Jacksonville, Fl. and drew up plans to install our paravanes based on Larry and Lena’s. He hit it off with them, and has kept in touch over the last two years.

Scott met them onshore, and brought them to the boat by dingy. We spend several hours visiting, and exchanging boat information. We also picked their brains for cruising tips, as they have spent years circumnavigating the globe, visiting 46 countries! After our visit, Scott and I walked through town, and stopped for happy hour at the White Lion…1.25 draft beer!

On Wednesday we rented a car, and had another day of errands and store stops. While we had a car, Scott wanted to locate Sailors Exchange. A marine thrift store that he’d heard was in the area. We searched online, and came up with an address that led us to an industrial location, full of stuff piled everywhere

Scott poked around a bit, and then we found out that this was a warehouse for the actual store, which was just a few miles away….so off we went. The store was unbelievable. Before we even got inside. Scott spent time in the vast amount of stuff they had outside in the parking lot

We made our way inside, to sensory overload for any mariner or boater. Scott had a hard time taking it all in. We wandered through the place for quite awhile. I couldn’t believe all the things they had in there…even a reading room!

After our field trip to Sailors Exchange, we pulled up to a load/unload spot in front of the marina, loaded all of our stuff into a dock cart, wheeled the dock cart to our dingy and loaded it in, took the dock cart back, took things to the boat and unloaded, put groceries away, dingyed back to the dock and car, and returned rental car…..whew! We shared a grouper dinner and drinks at OC Whites, right near the marina, and then headed back to the boat for the evening.

Thursday was boat day. We stayed onboard and worked on various jobs and projects. On Friday we stayed onboard again, due to a strong cold front that passed through, bringing steady 25 knots through the mooring field all day. The howling of the wind, and the constant chop of the water became really unnerving, but we reminded ourselves that this front was keeping Joaquin at bay. We’d rather be tolerate this, than dealing with 130 mph winds; we watched a six hour miniseries.

On Saturday, we met my friend, Kevin, for lunch. He’d met us in Fernandina Beach, and had time to drive down from Jacksonville again, which was great! We had lunch, drinks and fun conversation, and then he headed back north, to retrieve his dogs from day care, before they were locked in for the night. Thanks so much for taking time to meet us twice, Kev!

Scott and I continued to wander around St. George Street, and ended the day with pizza from Pizza Time. If you are in a 50 mile drive of this place….GO! The pizza is amazing! They make their own sauce, and are very generous with the fresh toppings. Along with a slice of white and a slice of margarita, we also tried eggplant and lasagna!

Yesterday we met Larry and Lena again, for lunch in town. We shared burgers and a few hours of conversation, before they headed home. Thanks to them as well, for  making the drive to visit us!

We went back to the boat, so I could do a load of laundry and hang it out to dry. Then we headed of for a walk across the Bridge of Lions, and to the Conch House. We’d seen an ad for it in one of the local magazines, and it looked interesting to us. After leaving the boat, and getting to shore, we realized we’d left our phones onboard, with the directions on how to get there. So, we went back to the 1980’s, and just figured it out as we went!

The Conch House has great atmosphere, their website doesn’t do it justice. They have a restaurant, dock bar, hotel and marina. A lot of attention to detail was put into it, and the place has a great feel.

It was Reggae Sunday, which is what drew us there. They had good drink specials, and the beer was cold (for those of you who know me, that’s a big deal)! We spent a few hours listening to the music, watching the crowd and wandering around admiring the details.

Before it got dark, we walked back to town and went back to Pizza Time for more pizza! We had a few slices for dinner, followed by some gelato, and then ordered a whole pizza to take back to the boat with us. It’ll make for yummy lunches, while we make our way farther south this week! The thing weighed a ton. It was too big to fit in the box, so some of the crust was folded over! We walked it back to the marina, took our dingy back to the boat, and prepared to head south in the morning.

Here are the photos of our week in St. Augustine. Boaters will enjoy the additional pictures of Sailors Exchange.

“Shells Sink, Dreams Float. Life’s Good On Our Boat!”

Hurricane Joaquin

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We’ve had several friends contact us, worried about us being affected by Hurricane Joaquin. Not to worry! We are fine, and out of harm’s way.

This time of year, hurricanes tend to swing north, and eventually east, versus going west, like they tend to do in July. As those of you who live in the mid atlantic know, the area is more likely to be in the path of something tropical in September and October.

Here is the current predicted path of Hurricane Joaquin:

Image result for predicted path of hurricane joaquin 2015

 

We have enjoyed great weather here in St. Augustine, aside from some heat and humidity. Things cool down this weekend, thanks to a front that is also keeping Joaquin out to sea, and away from us.

We have our eye on the storm, and are keeping our fingers crossed that our friends and family in the Baltimore area dodge a bullet!

“Shells Sink, Dreams Float. Life’s Good On Our Boat!”

Fernandina Beach

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The town of Fernandina Beach is located on the west side of Amelia Island. It is known as the “Isle of 8 Flags”, having flown the following nations’ flags over it since 1562: France, Spain, Great Britain, Spain (again), the Patriots of Amelia Island, the Green Cross of Florida, Mexico, the Confederate States of America, and the United States. It is the only town in the United States that has flown eight different national flags.

Pirates have been drawn here for centuries. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the destination was a safe harbor for pirates. The port is among the deepest on the southeast coast of the United States. This allowed pirate ships to enter the port easily, even at low tide. Since 1973, the Fernandina Pirates Club has been active in the community, and are also hosting their first annual Fernandina Pirate Festival this October (we’ll miss it by two weeks…bummer). The group also offers “pirates for hire,” that will come to your event..or even kidnap someone for the day!

Fernandina’s main street is lined with all kinds of great shops and restaurants, with additional offerings branching off on either side of it. After getting Franken-motor up and running, we came to shore, checked in with the marina, grabbed pizza for dinner and stopped into the Palace Saloon for a Pirate’s Punch. Opened in 1903, the Palace Saloon is the oldest bar in Florida, and a staple in Fernandina Beach. At that time, there were twenty bars in the harbor area. The Palace was the only one that was known as the “ship captain’s bar.”

Palace Saloon - Fernandina Beach, FL, United States. The Palace Saloon entrance

Palace Saloon - Fernandina Beach, FL, United States. Inside the Palace Saloon

After food and drink, we made our way back out into the mooring field, where the wind and current were kicking up so much, it looked like our boat was underway, and moving away from us. We also spent the night listening to that stupid mooring ball bang against our hull!

Yesterday, we met my friend, Kevin, for brunch in town. We went to high school together, and hadn’t seen each other in nineteen years! Wow, that makes you feel old! We had brunch at Leddy’s Porch, located in the Florida House Inn. The food was terrific, and it was so great to catch up with Kevin! We hope to meet him again, while we’re in St. Augustine.

This morning, we happily untied from the mooring ball from hell, and made our way south to St. Augustine. The Super Moon has the tides unusually high, and we were grateful for that, as we maneuvered down the shallow ICW.

By mid afternoon, we arrived at St. Augustine Municipal Marina, where we tied onto a much friendlier, plastic-hooked mooring ball! We also left the crazy current behind, in Fernandina. Our hull is happy. We’ll stay here for the next week, visiting with friends, and enjoying this awesome town!

Here are photos of our quick stay in Fernandina Beach, and our trip to St. Augustine.

“Shells Sink, Dreams Float. Life’s Good On Our Boat!”

Franken-motor

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Our “eventful” day continued when we prepared to go to shore. The fuel valve on our dingy motor has given us problems relentlessly since we bought it eight years ago. Yesterday, it was leaking fuel all over the place. Now at wit’s end with the motor, Scott began hauling out a myriad of tools, clamps and hoses. The valve he had onboard that would work was too large, so to make it fit he also replaced the fuel line.

The whole process took about 90 minutes, and then we were on our way to shore. Scott’s homemade, temporary fix worked like a charm.

“Shells Sink, Dreams Float. Life’s Good On Our Boat!”

Our Ocean Leg From Beaufort, SC to Fernandina Beach…FLORIDA!!

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As of this morning, we are officially in Florida!! With the journey being approximately 18 hours, we chose to leave Beaufort, SC at 4pm. That would prevent us from coming through the St. Mary’s inlet near Fernandina Beach in the dark, something Scott feels is the smart thing to do.

Our trip went off without a hitch. We had glassy water coming out of the Port Royal Sound inlet, south of Beaufort. The swells were still calming down from the previous day’s big winds and rain, but they gave us no trouble. Scott took us out of the inlet, and up until 7pm, when I took over until midnight.

Surprisingly, I actually enjoy the night watches. In the dark, I can’t see what’s causing the boat to roll, making it less stressful. I just keep an eye on the radar, and the gauges, and keep the music going! With an almost full moon, it was very bright out there, when I did need to see boat traffic (which was good, considering we crossed two shipping channels in the dark).

Howard did amazingly well on this trip. I chose not to try and medicate him, and got much better results. He’s getting used to the louder sound of wave noise, versus the more quite waters of the Intracoastal. The rolling motion of the boat is becoming more tolerable for him too, although we do try to put pillow and/or blanket “bumpers” around him.

We’d put the paravanes out just before the 6am shift change, as the winds picked up a bit. As we came close to our turn for the St. Mary’s inlet, we met a  wicked current coming at us. It knocked our speed down from 7 knots to just over 4…sigh. Once we were around the corner from Fernandina Harbor Marina, Scott slowed the motor to an idle, so he could bring in the paravanes. Luckily, the opposing wind and current kept us somewhat in place, while he got them in and secured.

So now it gets interesting….We called for a mooring ball assignment in Fernandina Harbor. (For those of  you who don’t know, a mooring ball floats on the waterline, with a line that is secured to the ground below, and another line that extends from the ball with a loop on the end of it. You bring your boat up to the ball, snag the loop, tie to it, and you’re done) They told us to choose any one that we wanted, which we did.

However…this is where the “without a hitch” part ends. Once you tie to a mooring ball, it settles in off of the bow of your boat, to one side or the other. Because our boat catches more wind at anchor than a sailboat, the opposing wind and current caused the mooring ball to go one one side of the boat, and the loop (which was metal) to go on the other. Now we had the ball beating against one side of our hull, scratching the paint, and the metal loop (did I say it was metal?) beating against the other side of our hull, taking the paint off!

Scott proceeds to tie as many random things off of our stern, to create drag. In other words, he wanted enough drag for the current to grab it and pull the boat back, causing the ball to completely go to one side.

In addition to the round fender, Howard’s emergency life line, a wooden step stool and a bundle of blue towels, there is an empty gallon jug, and a orbital sander case, and anything else that was not bolted down, under the waterline.The reason that the blue towels and sander case were used, is because Scott discovered that a tupperware bin in our lazarette had filled with water, so they were water-logged.  This was caused by a clogged hatch drain and an ajar lid, go figure.

The glob of stuff helped for the moment, as the ball and it’s line went off of our starboard side. In addition, Scott duct-taped a towel around the metal loop, to stop it from taking more paint off of the hull.

So now that the mooring ball and loop are behaving, Scott gets our inflatable dingy out, so we can go to shore (our aluminum dingy on steroids is not quite ready for prime time). He finds that his waterproof, meaning submersible bag with dingy attachments (lights, lifejackets, etc.) is also full of water! Really?!!? Waterproof?? Submersible??

After he gets all of that out to dry, and hopefully still work, he attaches the dingy motor, that has had issues since we bought it. He, of course, has to spend time working on that, so that we have a prayer of starting it.  This is the motor that goes on my dingy.  Scott wanted to replace it with an electric outboard, but funds ran out.

In the meantime, the current and wind are now going in the same direction for the next six hours, so Scott’s glob of “drag” is now alongside the boat, instead of behind it. We have to untangle it from the dingy, and haul it back into the cockpit. Oh, and along the way Scott slammed his finger in a hatch.

So our timing for ocean travel was terrific, but timing for a mooring ball was terrible! I suggested that we just relax and stay onboard for the rest of the day, and venture into town tomorrow. Ha! Scott is determined to go to shore, after the circus of events. Cross your fingers folks! While you do that, here are some photos of our ocean journey from Beaufort to Fernandina Beach.

“Shells Sink, Dreams Float. Life’s Good On Our Boat!”