Vero
Beach to Marathon
Tuesday,
March 11, 2014. We
depart the mooring at Vero @ 8:15am clear, high clouds, 65 degrees, wind SW @
5-10. 2pm wind S 20, no clouds. 4:30pm
Indiantown Road bridge has an issue and cannot open. Finally opened at 5:30pm. 7pm tried to anchor at Lake Worth at
7pm. The anchor chain hung up on our
second anchor. The second anchor had
come loose and was not secured. Once the
anchor was secured, the primary chain cleared.
We are anchored next to Nite Cap II
(Ruth and Darrell Richards). We haven’t
seen them since we ran aground on Jekyll’s Jetty. They are now headed north as we continue
south. They have to be north of the 40th
parallel by June 1st.
Hopefully, we will see them again along the way.
26° 50.21’ N 080° 03.19’W
62SM, 49.6NM today. MM 1014. 8 bridges today.
Wednesday,
March 12, 2014. We
depart at 8am. Hazy sun wind SW 20+ and
the current is against us today. We say
farewell to Nite Cap. 12 bridges today
and we miss a lot of the scheduled openings.
We anchor in Lake Boca at 3:30pm.
Beautiful spot. Not a lot of
people during the week.
26° 20.50’ N
080° 04.21’ W. 34SM 27.2NM today.
MM 1048.
Thursday,
March 13, 2014. Anchor up at
9:20am to make the 9:40 opening at Camino Real Bridge. Sunny, 70 degrees, wind NW @ 15. Made it through 8 bridges today – all on
schedule following a catamaran and a commercial excursion boat (the bridges
open or hold openings for commercial vessels).
We also had a tug and tow following us part of the day. Short day and we arrive at Bahia Mar Marina
in Fort Lauderdale at 12:45pm. At first
they sent us down the wrong fairway and then we had to back out! Getting better at that, but this boat’s
strong suit is not going backwards. As
we tie up in our slip, it is sunny, 75 degrees, wind NE @ 15-20. It seems Florida is experiencing a lot of
wind this winter! Bahia Mar is an
expensive marina ($3/foot), but it right across from the beach and close to
restaurants and the airport. 17NM, 13.6SM today, MM1064.
26° 06.86’N 080° 06.38’W
Friday,
March 14, 2014. Very,
very winds today. Walked the beach, but
with the wind blown sand it is like being in a sand blaster. The kite surfers, however, think this is
great weather! Hazel and Rose come for a visit.
Hazel is Jeff and James’ godmother and we have known her since the
1984. Rose lives in Boca and Hazel lives
in Salem, MA, and has been staying with Rose during a liver transplant
process. We had lunch at The Quarterdeck
and then a walk along the beach.
Saturday,
March 15, 2014. We changed Jeff’s flight to tomorrow as his
dorm will be closed until then and he would have no where to sleep if he went
home today. I don’t know why I did not
know this when we made the plane reservations initially. In any event, it is good to have him with us
another day. We rent a car to take him
to the airport for him 8am flight tomorrow.
Today is a great beach day and we spend a few hours working on our
sunburn. Lots and lots of people. It is also St. Patty’s Day week-end and
spring break. We also gave the boat a
bath. Between the salt and the blown
sand, she really needed it. We went to
Cold Stone Creamery and had ice cream for dinner. Today is also my sister Liz’s birthday.
Sunday,
March 16, 2014. The wind this morning is howling again, this
time out of the SE. We are up early and
take Jeff to the airport. He made it
home safe. We miss him already. We
stopped at Publix on the way back to the boat and bought groceries. The beach is mobbed. Traffic is stopped in both directions. There is a bike race also. We walk over to The Oasis for lunch, then
walked along the beach. Every parking
space is full, even the private lots like the marina, with lines of cars
waiting to park.
We met the folks on the boat in
the next slip, Frank and Olga. They are
working on the teak in their power boat.
Olga is in her bikini sanding the swim platform. They are getting married on Friday, March
21. They come over for cocktails and
hors d’oeuvres. Lisa and Olga are
drinking Marguerite’s cocktail of coconut rum, pineapple juice and nutmeg. We
have dinner on board and early to bed.
Monday,
March 17, 2014. Today
is actually St. Patty’s Day, but it is Monday and the crowds are substantially
smaller than yesterday. We turn in the
rental car. We want to head to Miami,
but the wind is again howling, this time out of the South at 20-25. Thunderstorms are predicted. We hope to get out of here tomorrow. Next time in Fort Lauderdale, we will find a
less expensive place to stay. We walk
down the beach to Dos Caminos for dinner (OK Mexican food), then back to The
Oasis for dessert. It looks like it is
going to pour any second.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014. Lots of wind overnight – SW 20-25 – then lots of rain this morning. By noon, the front has passed, the winds have gone NW @ 15 and are dying off and it is clearing. We wait for the party fishing boat Flamingo behind us to leave at 1pm, then we are off the dock as soon as he does. This way we use his big slip behind us to turn into the fairway going forward. We make the 1:30 opening of the 17th Street bridge and head out to sea. We tirn south at 1:45pm, sails up, wind NW @ 10. By 2:20pm, the wind is slacking. At 4pm, we bring in the sails and start the engine as the wind has died completely. 5:30pm, we are at Government Cut in Miami. There are 4 dredges working different parts fo Fishermans’ Cut (the southern channel). One looks to be working on East Pass, which would be great, as then you would not have to go all the way into Miami to head south to Dinner Key (Coconut Grove). Hopefully, they will put up channel makers when they get it dredged. At 7pm, we pick up mooring 84 at Dinner Key.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014. Lots of wind overnight – SW 20-25 – then lots of rain this morning. By noon, the front has passed, the winds have gone NW @ 15 and are dying off and it is clearing. We wait for the party fishing boat Flamingo behind us to leave at 1pm, then we are off the dock as soon as he does. This way we use his big slip behind us to turn into the fairway going forward. We make the 1:30 opening of the 17th Street bridge and head out to sea. We tirn south at 1:45pm, sails up, wind NW @ 10. By 2:20pm, the wind is slacking. At 4pm, we bring in the sails and start the engine as the wind has died completely. 5:30pm, we are at Government Cut in Miami. There are 4 dredges working different parts fo Fishermans’ Cut (the southern channel). One looks to be working on East Pass, which would be great, as then you would not have to go all the way into Miami to head south to Dinner Key (Coconut Grove). Hopefully, they will put up channel makers when they get it dredged. At 7pm, we pick up mooring 84 at Dinner Key.
25°43.22’N
080°13.75’W 36SM, 30NM today MM 1094.
Wednesday,
March 19, 2014. Bumpy in the mooring area, as it often is,
with the wind out of the east. Today, we
walked Coconut Grove, had lunch at a Gelato stand, shopped for clothes for Lisa
and had dinner at Scotty’s on the waterfront. A beautiful day in Miami, but
really warm when you got away from the water.
Thursday,
March 20, 2014.
Beautiful, calm morning. Lisa goes
kayaking and I work on the blog. In the
afternoon, we go to the Fresh Market for groceries, and then walk into Coconut
Grove for dinner at Georges in the Grove.
We stopped by a Gelato store, and then walked back to the dingy
dock. We get everything stowed and are
ready to cast off the mooring tomorrow.
Friday,
March 21, 2014. Off the mooring at 7:45am. Sunny, some fog,
75 degrees, no wind. We head south down
Biscayne Bay to Angel Fish Creek, where we cross into the Hawk Channel (ocean)
at high tide. The water here can get
very thin, so high tide is good. We pass
several Canadian boats headed north. At
noon, we are through Angel Fish Creek, the weather is near perfect, 80 degrees,
wind S @ 5.
We talked to Richard Mansfield on
Gari. They are in Islamorada. We may stop and see he and George
tomorrow. Richard will check with some
locals about coming in from the Hawk Channel.
I also call TowBoatUS and they say there should be plenty of water for
us at high tide (the tides are only about a foot here). They also say to stay to the center of the
channel and to line up on the first channel markers about 1000 yards out, as
the water gets very shallow on either side.
4:20pm anchor down at Rodriquez
Key. No wind and the ocean is like a
pond. The water is crystal clear and you
can easily see the bottom. Still 80
degrees. Lisa and I go swimming. Lisa snorkels to the bottom several
places. We open a bottle of champagne to
celebrate Frank and Olga’s wedding and Lisa feels obligated to finish it. Dinner
on board and early to bed.
25° 03.49’N 080° 27.10’W
46SM, 37NM today. MM1140. No
bridges today.
Saturday,
March 22, 2014. 2am, wind comes
up out of the SE at 15-20. Now this is
more consistent with the Rodriquez Key I am familiar with! Still windy and cloudy at 8am. The sun is out at 10am and we pull the anchor
and head down to Islamorada, only about 15 miles. Lisa is a bit shaky, still working off the
effects of the champagne. Olga and Frank
sent us a lovely picture from the wedding.
We find the entrance to Snake Creek Channel at 12:45pm and make the
scheduled opening at the Snake Creek Bridge at 1:pm. At 1:30pm, we tie up at Smugglers Cove
Marina, bow in. There are no finger
piers, so you have to climb over the bow to get on and off the boat (ala
Elizabeth City, NC). There is a new bath
house under construction, but not yet complete, but there is water, electric
and pump out and it is $25 a night. George
(from Gari) helps us tie up and Richard and his daughter, Abigail, arrive shortly
after.
We dingy over to dinner at Island
Grill with Richard, George and Abigail.
Seated outdoors, lovely evening, great food and company. Back at the boat at 8pm and to bed shortly
after.
24° 57.29’ N 080° 35.01’ W. 15SM, 12NM today. MM 1152.
Sunday,
March 23, 2014. Richard’s daughter, Abigail, leaves at 3:30am
to catch a plane out of Ft. Lauderdale.
A friend of Richard’s drove all the way down here, picked up Abigail and
then delivered her to the airport, 7 hours of driving in the middle of the
night!
At 8am, it is sunny, 70 degrees,
wind SW @ 7. We give the boat a bath,
fill the water tanks and manatees arrive – 8 of them! They love the fresh water from the hose and
congregate at the dock. They will let
you pet them and seem to enjoy the interaction!
Take a look at some of the pictures!
Fantastic experience!
We say farewell to Richard and
George at 11:45 and head to the Snake Creek Bridge for the 12 noon
opening. Perfect day! No problems getting out to the Hawk Channel
from Islamorada. The wind SW@10 is on
our nose all the way to Marathon. We now
are now longer headed south, but west along the keys. It seems you are still going south, but once
you leave Rodriquez Key, it is west to Key West.
We arrive in Marathon Harbor to
find Dean and Sue Perry (on Autumn Borne) in the dingy and waiting to help us
tie up to mooring D11. They then tell us
to change, there is a group of folks going to dinner at the Keys Fishery. Welcome to the cruisers’ life in Marathon! So, literally 15 minutes later, we are on our
way to dinner with what turns out to be 15 people! Many are heading north tomorrow morning (and
are Canadian), so this is the “last night dinner” for them. Lisa had the famous
lobster Reuben and I had fried shrimp.
The restaurant is jammed!
24° 42.51’N 081° 05.21’W
45SM, 38NM today. MM1195. One scheduled bridge.
Click here for pictures of Ft. Lauderdale to Marathon
Click here for pictures of Ft. Lauderdale to Marathon
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