February 28, 2013

Wednesday, 2/27/2013.  Today we  visited the Sea Turtle Hospital (where they rehabilitate injured and rescues sea turtles). It is quite an interesting place.  The turtles in will eat anything that resembles food, and wind up ingesting all kinds of material (mostly plastic), which can cause “turtle gas” that they cannot pass because of the plastic, which makes them buoyant, so they get hit by boats.  They also get infections, and other injuries, as well as tumors caused by insecticide (and other chemical) run-off.  The hospital treats all of these and then releases the turtles back into the wild.  Those that cannot be released are kept at the facility, or other aquarium facilities or zoos. 

 These folks do a great job and the facility is first rate.  If you are in the Marathon area, it is definitely worth the visit.  It is right on Route 1 almost across the street from West Marine. www.turtlehospital.org

 One picture shows a Loggerhead who had been hit by a boat.  Her shell has been repaired, and you can see the deep scars on her shell and head, as well as the metal straps used to put her shell back together.  Another picture shows a Loggerhead with a floatation belt to keep it level.  This one has a collapsed lung and can’t maintain a “even keel”,  Both of these animals are expected to recover and be released back into the sea. Another picture shows one of the staff cleaning the shell on a small Loggerhead.  Enjoy the pictures!  Click here to see all the latest pictures! http://imgur.com/a/S4tc1

 

Stay tuned for more!  We hope to head north toward Miami on Monday then over to the Abacos (Northern Bahamas).

February 26, 2013

We spend Sunday, 2/17, anchored at Rodriguez Key.  The wind is howling out of the north.  We are not getting much in the way of waves, but the wind is buffeting the boat. 

Monday, 2/18/2012, the wind has died down to 10-12 knots, now in the northeast.  We leave the anchorage at 7:30am, headed south to Marathon.  The wind dies off almost completely at noon and we are motor-sailing.  By about 2 pm, we are off Marathon, the wind goes into the east and build to 25 knots.  We finally manage to get all the canvas down and are in Marathon on a mooring by 3pm.  Today is President’s Day, so the Marina Office is closed, but we will check in tomorrow.

46.1 NM today.
Marathon (Boot Key Harbor) 24° 52.53’ North, 081° 05.20’ West Mile Marker 1195.

Lisa and Jeff have signed up at Tilden’s Dive Center to get their NAUI Certification.  They spent the next five days in class, pool and open water diving.  Exhausted at night.  They got to dive on Sombrero Reef, Ivory Wreck, Horseshoe reef and Barbers Point.  They had a great time and both got their certifications.

I spent a great deal of the time with George and Susan Barlow tracking down the details of our electrical system.  We have been experiencing some strange voltage output from our inverter.  We (I think) have figured out that it is dirty contacts (from lack of use).  As a side note, we now have a complete wiring diagram of our boat.  George had helped me do one of these for our last boat.

Thursday, I am doing laundry, and as I leave the laundry room to go to the Marina Office, I hear someone shouting my name.  It is Darrel and Ruth from Nite Cap! We have not seen them since before Charleston. 

We have had dinner at Hurricane’s (Taco night and two other times), Keys Fishery (sort of like Woodman’s in Essex, MA), Annies Steak and Lobster (very good, great desserts – try the carrot cake cheescake!).  We also ate at a very good Thai restaurant across from the marina.

Today is Tuesday and we are waiting on spare parts to arrive.  We have paid for another week here and will spend some time sight seeing and again provisioning for the Bahamas.  There is a bus to Key West, so we may do that for a day – we really like Key West.

This morning the pump out boat came by and as I was helping the pump out operator empty the rear holding tank, the hose cam loose and “stuff” went everywhere (including dousing me! Ukh!  Into the water to wash off and then a shower ashore after cleaning off the stern of our boat.  Holding tanks are great for the environment, but there has to be a better way to dispose of waste!

Wednesday, 2/27/13.  Lisa is now a qualified dumpster diver!  We rteceived replacement spare parts yesterday (remember all the water pump issues?).  We inadvertently threw out some of the parts with the packing, so Lisa dove into the dumpster to retrieve them!  It was the recycle dumpster, so it was ”clean”, but she showered afterward anyway.  Fun never ends!

Our plans as of now, are to leave here early next week and head back north to Rodriquez Key, Angel Fish Cut and then over to Bimini.  From there north to West End and the Abacos.

Stay Tuned!

We spent Wednesday at Miami Beach and then on Thursday 2/7/12 moved south to Crandon Park for Fuel and then on to No Name Harbor in Biscayne Channel to wait for the sun to peek out for the crossing to Bimini.  No sooner had we gotten the anchor down and turned on the generator (to charge the batteries, etc.) – the generator began to overheat.  We go the soundproof cover off the unit and found that the pulley on the raw water pump (the one that pumps sea water through the heat exchanger) had come apart! 

Crandon Park Marina 25° 43.40’ North, 080° 09.29’ West.

No Name Harbor 25° 40.60’ North, 080° 09.75’ West

Dinner Key Mooring 25° 43.26’ North, 080° 43.26’ West

 Benny made Chicken Lillian (see recipe) for dinner with Dean and Sue and a nice evening was had by all.  However, instead of heading to the Bahamas the next morning, we got on the phone to find a part in Miami and we headed to Dinner Key (Coconut Grove) to pick up a mooring.  It is boat show week end and there are no slips available anywhere!  The folks at Astral International ordered a new pump for us, which will be here on Monday.  Kohler no longer makes that pump pulley, they have upgraded the unit with a new pump and pulley which is not supposed to come apart. 

 Dean and Susan (Autumn Borne) were leaving with us, but decided to stay also.  Nice to have the support!  We all had dinner at Scotty’s, but the wind whistling through the tent was a little chilly.

 We spent the week-end enjoying Coconut Grove.  Late on Monday (2/11), the pump was delivered to the marina.   Lisa made chicken alfredo for dinner and Dean and Susan came over.

The pump got installed on Tuesday (2/12).  It looks like the next weather window to go across to the Bahamas will be Wednesday.  The new pump also has a new mounting bracket, so the installation took longer than expected (doesn’t everything on a boat?). We had lunch at Johnny Rocket’s and went to Yogurtini (a yogurt bar in Coconut Walk).  Great selection of frozen yogurt!

Wednesday afternoon (2/13), we are ready to leave to head for No Name Harbor again.  When we start the main diesel, there is no water coming out of the exhaust.  After checking the sea strainer to make sure it wasn’t clogged with sea grass, we find that the engine water pump is not pumping water!  Dean and Susan have already left and we are stuck here!  After finally getting the main engine water pump apart, we find that the impeller (looks like a rubber paddlewheel) in the pump is completely destroyed!  Luckily, we have another in our spares kit, but by the time we get it changed, it is late. 

Dean and Susan come back to the mooring field the next morning and we spent the day doing Valentines Day (2/14/12) stuff on land.  We have missed another weather window, so our plans get modified.  We will head south to Marathon, where Jeff and Lisa will work on the dive certification, and then we will see what happens.  We will either head across to the Bahamas or continue south to Key West.  We have a late lunch at Scotty’s and again prepare to depart.

Friday (2/15/12), we depart Dinner Key at 9:30am and head back across Biscayne Bay to Crandon Park for fuel and water.  We had a pump out at Dinner Key, so we should be all set to head south.  We depart Crandon Park and 11am and catch up with Autumn Borne as they head south down Biscayne Bay. As if we have not had enough issues, when we start to unfurl the main, it jams inside the mast.  Won't come out, won't go in.  Then as we get ready to set the anchor at Pumpkin Key, the thing decides to unfurl itself!  We had to drop the sail on the deck to get the anchor down. We spend the night anchored at Pumpkin Key (Key Largo).  Susan made spaghetti for dinner and brought it over to our boat. Dean came over early and he and Jeff and I managed to get the main sail back onto the furling in the mast and correctly set all the furling lines.  Then we discover the generator is no longer pumping water!  I spend the evening taking the pump apart and replacing the impeller.  That’s three water pump fixes in three days! 

It rained a lot over night and is still cloudy as we depart for Angel Fish Creek to go out of Biscayne Bay into the Atlantic and into what is known as Hawk Channel, which runs between the land (the Keys) and the reefs.  Pumpkin Key 25° 19.41’ North, 080° 17.75’ West.  21.7 NM today.

We arrive at Rodriguez key as the wind starts to build behind the front that brought all the rain.  Overnight, the wind hits 35 knots and it is bouncy in the anchorage.  Our anchor holds, but Dean’s gives up at dawn and he has to move in closer to shore and reset.  We will sit out the high winds here today and depart tomorrow morning for Marathon. Rodriguez Key 25°03.92’ North, 080° 27.06’ West.  24.3NM today

Link to recent pictures http://imgur.com/a/NVyKD

Chicken Lillian

2 medium onions

3 ribs of celery
2 bell peppers
2 cloves fresh garlic ½ lb fresh mushrooms (optional)
olive oil
1 stick butter
6-8 pieces of chicken (6-8 thighs or drum sticks or 4 breasts halved)
1 ½ cups sauterne wine (or a nice chardonnay)
chicken stock
rice

 

I use an 8 quart pot.

 Finely chop onions, celery (including tops), peppers, garlic and mushrooms.

 Melt one stick of butter (and add at bit of olive oil).  Salt and pepper chicken pieces (usually leaving the skin on).  When the butter is melted brown the chicken until crusty (usually 2-3 pieces at a time). Remove chicken and place on paper towels.

 Pit all the veggies in a pot and sauté for saute’ for 7-8 minutes. Add wine.  When it comes to a boil, reduce heat to simmer.  Put in chicken.  Cook over low heat 45 to 60 minutes.  If more liquid is needed during cooking, add chicken stock to cover.

 Serve over rice.  Steamed broccoli or fresh green beans make a great side dish.

 

Chicken Lillian is named after Lillian Handley, one of our favorite people and Janet Handley’s mom.  Janet gave me the recipe years ago and we have prepared it many times - and we have had this dish prepared by Lillian and Janet as well.   Enjoy!

February 2nd blog

A link to the photos for this weekWe finally depart Vero Beach (Loggerhead Marina) on Friday, 2/1/12, after spending several days provisioning and getting the boat ready to go to the Bahamas. We really had not planned on the Bahamas, but changed our plans as we learned more from other cruising folk who are on their way. Not that much of this trip from Penetanguishene has been “planned”. We knew we wanted to cruise certain areas (e.g. Georgian Bay, the Erie Canal) and we knew we had to traverse certain routes (e.g. outside around New Jersey), and we knew we were headed south, so once we arrived “south”, the question then became “what next?”. We were seriously considering cruising the Florida Keys, and we still would like to do that – maybe next winter.

We left our slip at Loggerhead at 8AM, and stopped at the fuel dock to top everything off and pumped out holding tanks. It is sunny, but the wind is blowing 10-15 out of the north (a tail wind for us today). The trip south from here on the ICW has lots of bridges that need to open. They are “timed” so that you (theoretically) can make it from one to the other, but many times that theory does not work. Many of the bascule bridges (the ones that tilt up when open) have been replaced along the ICW with spans that are 65 feet high, which allows most sailboats (including us) to pass under. Not so in south Florida. We negotiate one bridge at Fort Pierce and then 7 more when we reach North Palm Beach. The last bridge today has a shoal right in the middle of the channel in front of the opening, so you have to hug the shoreline, then move over at the bridge to the center to clear the bridge. Fun! We arrive at Lake Worth at 5:45PM and get the anchor down at 6PM. After dinner, while watching a movie, we hear a “hum” that comes and goes about every 5 seconds. It is pretty regular, and we all spent quite a while trying to figure out is something on our boat was amiss. Never did figure it out, but by 11PM, it stopped. There was a large motor yacht (100+ feet) in the anchorage, with a lot of people on board, music, etc., so maybe it was a harmonic from there. The lower in the boat and the more forward in the boat you were, the more you could hear it. A mystery. Lake Worth, North Palm Beach, 26°50.18’ North, 080°03.33’ West. 66 Statute Miles, 54 Nautical Miles.

Saturday, 2/2/12. The days dawns clear and bright and the wind has died down to a whisper. We have a bit of trouble getting the anchor up because the wind overnight has pushed us against it pretty hard and the anchor is buried deep. After a couple of tries, it is up and we once again head south. We want to get to Boca Raton today and meet up with Hazel Trembley, who is there tending her sister. Her sister is pretty ill and waiting on a liver transplant. Hazel is James’ and Jeff’s godmother and resides in Salem, MA, when not in Florida.

The weather is very nice and today is spent negotiating bridges. As we said previously, they are timed so that when you make an opening at one, you should be able to make it to the next one when it opens. The opening schedules are usually on the hour and half-hour, or on the quarter hour and the 3/4 hour. One of them is every 20 minutes. We are luck on some and not on others. We cover 38 SM (32 NM) today – and 14 bridges! We stop at Lighthouse Marina for fuel and then backtrack 2 miles to Lighthouse Point Yacht Club, where we are tied up at 5:00PM. Hazel came by for dinner and we had great Italian at Amatos in Pompano Beach. Late to bed. Tomorrow they are moving Hazel’s sister to Miami in preparation for a transplant. Yeah! Lighthouse Point YC, Pompano Beach, 26°17.08’ North, 080°04.98’West. 38 SM, 31.7 NM today.

Sunday, 2/3/12, Super Bowl Sunday. No Patriots in the game today. We depart Lighthouse Point at 9:30AM. Sunny, 65, wind NW @ 10. We make our way down to Fort Lauderdale. 7 bridges today, and then outside at Fort Lauderdale to Miami. We have to go outside because there is one bridge on the ICW between Fort Lauderdale and Miami that does not open and is only has 56 feet of clearance (we need at least 60). Once outside, we hoist sails and the wind dies off, so we try to motor sail. Soon there is no wind at all, so we motor the 20 miles down the beach to Miami (Government Cut Inlet). As we turn into the channel, we have to dodge a couple of giant cruise ships heading out to sea. Inside the harbor proper, the buoy system changes and there are lots of them. We manage to touch bottom in one shallow spot, but make it through the Venetian Causway Bridge and then back to the west to the Sunset Islands and anchor at 6PM. Autumn Borne is here. We hope to make the crossing to the Bahamas with them later in the week when the weather and wind is correct (fair weather, wind 

south, SW or W). Sunset Island Anchorage, Miami Beach, 25°48.46’ North, 080°08.51’ West. 45.5 SM, 38.7 NM today.

Monday, 2/4/12. Spent most of the day walking around Lincoln Mall and South Beach. Lunch at Finnegans’ Way on the beach. We were with Dean and Susan and also took in a movie “Quartet”. If you have not seen it, it is very good. Back at the boat around 7PM.

Tuesday, 2/5/12. It looks like we might have a good weather window on Friday. Jeff went into town with dean and Susna to do a bit of grocery shopping. We plan to head to the Bahamas Friday.

Sincerely,  

Benny, Jeff, and Lisa