Merry Christmas from the sunny shores of Fort Lauderdale

A friendly neighbour enjoys the sunshine

Bill tests the water at Key Biscayne

Merry Christmas to all - see you next year

It's Thursday 18 December and we are back at Las Olas Marina in Fort Lauderdale to have our non-freezing fridge fixed. (Ice for our G&Ts at last!) Hard to believe that this time next week it will be Christmas Day, and we shall be miles from here, in snowy Victoria, enjoying Christmas with Charlotte, Pierre, Lily and Isabelle. It will be Isabelle's first Christmas, and it's also the first time Lily has been old enough to enjoy all the snow they have been having! As Torontonians who are 'old hands' at snow, we shall have a thing or two to teach the little girls!
We sailed here up the coast from Miami on Tuesday. We had spent four nights at 'Dinner Key Marina' as the weather was a little gray and chilly - down to mid 50sF at night. We ate stone crabs once more with Sue and Jean at Monty's on Friday evening, and on Saturday we went out for a delicious Italian dinner with Brenda and Herb from 'Brenda Star'. I took the opportunity of a cloudy day to 'stay indoors' and write some Christmas cards. Just like a winter's day at home!
The weather improved on Sunday, so after stocking up on food from the 'Fresh Market' we went off to anchor just off the west side of Key Biscayne, where we had been before. We were fairly sheltered from the strong easterlies that blew the first night. We explored by dinghy this time, and discovered that we were just off the Key Biscayne Yacht Club. Unfortunately it was Monday, and the club was very quiet and the dining room and bar were closed. However, we did notice a large picture of the Queen prominently displayed, and figured that our Royal Canadian Yacht Club credentials might stand us in good stead for reciprocal privileges on our next visit.
On Tuesday we had to tear ourselves away from this lovely anchorage and sailed the 20 plus miles to Fort Lauderdale. We navigated out the Biscayne Bay 'cut' past the old lighthouse and jagged rocks at the southeastern tip of Key Biscayne. We set off at 8:30 a.m. and were at Las Olas by 5 p.m. Yesterday, while the fridge was being fixed, we took a bus to 'West Marine' once again...nd bought some more essentials for the boat. On the way back we hopped off at the 'Bahia Cabana' waterside bar at the Bahia Mar Marina for a late lunch. We'll be here at Las Olas for one more night, and will then go off to anchor at Lake Sylvia for Saturday and Sunday night. (From there we can dinghy to the 'Southport Raw Bar' once again!)
On Monday we'll make our way up the 'Intra-Coastal' to Fraser and Edi's lovely dock, where the boat will stay while we are in Victoria. We'll return on January 1st and make plans to meet Carole and Bob on 'Sea Change', and John and Eileen on 'Somewhere in Time' and plan our trip across the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas. We'll sign off for this year now, and wish you all a very merry Christmas, happy holidays, and a happy and healthy New Year. We'll be back on line in a couple of weeks.

Time to day 'goodbye' - leaving the Ocean Reef Club

Bill's BIrthday at the Ocean Reef Club

I am writing this sitting on a stone wall outside the Coconut Grove library. For some strange reason it is closed on Fridays! But I have a signal and a hard perch, so, although the sun makes it hard to see the screen, it's fine.
Well...the Ocean Reef Club really did us proud for Bill's birthday. It took us a about three hours to motor up from the Marina Del Mar where we'd had an early birthday breakfast dockside. We had to leave the dock by 7:45 a.m. as the entrance channel to Port Largo Canal is shallow within two hours of low tide. We just squeezed through. The wind en route to the Ocean Reef was, as usual, 'on the nose'! We docked next to one of only three sailboats in the whole marina area. We were the smallest. The sun shone from a cloudless sky, and it was beautifully warm. For the rest of the day we strolled beside the pools, bars and restaurants, occasionally stopping to graze on something succulent from the sea, or sip a restorative cocktail.
Later in the day we had a visit from the Ocean Reef Sales Manager who delivered a lovely gift basket of goodies! I happened to mention it was Bill's birthday, and our dinner at the Galley Restaurant that evening was graced with a celebratory dessert and complimentary bottle of wine. Though all of this came from the sales office, we were not given any type of sales pitch! Strange and wonderful! I think the message they wanted to get out was that they are open to non-members, as, in many of the information books on the area, the story is that they do not welcome 'transient' boaters. The economy sure can turn things around pretty quickly. And there were a lot of empty docks!
The next day we returned to Biscayne Bay through the shallows of Angelfish Creek - again we had to leave early to do it within 2 hours of so of low tide. We had a good, fast sail up through the bay with winds of 20+ knots, but no waves! A bit different from Lake Ontario! We anchored that night at 'No Name Harbour', just at the south tip of Key Biscayne. It was fairly busy with boats waiting for a 'weather window' for the Bahamas crossing. Unfortunately I think they will have to wait for quite a few days as we had a storny day yesterday, and the weather for the crossing will be rough for the next few days. We are back in Dinner Key Marina and Bill is taking this opportunity to get the engine serviced. Tonight we are looking forward to having dinner with Sue and Jean at Monty's on the water. Tomorrow we will probably move off to anchor. This is Southern Vectis signing off...more anon.

Jeannie & Jim aboard 'Estelle'

At Boca Chita Key

Good advice, good friends and good fun...Sailing away to Key Largo

I am writing this sitting at the dock at the Marina Del Mar in Key Largo. We arrived here yesterday and decided to stay two nights as the Marina has a lovely swimming pool, a water's edge bar called 'Coconuts', and includes a delicious breakfast buffet with the cost of the dock ($3.00 per foot!).
Since I last wrote we have met some wonderful people and have been given a great deal of good advice about sailing in the Bahamas, and also much needed technical advice about how to use our Single Sideband Radio to listen to the weather and some of the 'Cruisers' Nets'. The 'Nets' are to be found on certain frequencies at set times, and are usually hosted by a cruiser who passes information on about cruiser-related events, or acts as a contact point for cruisers checking in with their present position.
Before we set off from Dinner Key on Thursday (4 December) we had met the crew of 'Nauti Girl', a Beneteau 473 - Bob & Bonnie - and the crew of 'Brenda Star' a Caliber 47LRC - Brenda & Herb. They gave us a crash course on sailing through the Bahamas, and we were able to mark up our charts with the best routes, anchorages, beaches and, of course, restaurants. Thank you Bob, Bonnie, Brenda and Herb for sharing seven or so years of Bahamian sailing knowledge with us. We hope to meet up with you somewhere 'over there' in the New Year.
Later that day we sailed/motored to Boca Chita Key to spend the night. It's one of the barrier keys between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic. At one time it was the home of the rich and famous, but now it is a National Park area which provides alongside docking around an almost circular lagoon with a very narrow entrance and a picturesque old lighthouse. Our friends at Dinner Key had assured us we'd get in with our 5 foot draft, and, as we followed the narrow channel in, we were encouraged to see another large sailboat already at the dock. The boat was 'Estelle', a Bristol 41.1, and her owners, Jim and Jeannie, are from Charlottetown, P.E.I. Our conversation started with the state of Canadian politics and, after a few drinks, we discovered we had friends and acquaintences in common. The 'no-see-ums' sent us scurrying back to our boats that night, but we decided we would carry on south together to anchor off Pumpkin Key the next day, en route for Key Largo. Both the weather and the anchorage at Pumpkin were tranquil, and we had a lovely evening helping Jim celebrate his birthday on board 'Estelle'. As we could not carry on much further on the west side of the barrier islands because of shallow water, we needed to cross over to the Atlantic side. Pumpkin Key is very close to Angelfish Creek which is touted as a cross-over point but with one possible drawback - a shallow, rocky ledge of about 5 foot depth at the eastern end. We wanted to try it, but were also cautious. Luckily Jim and Jeannie had a wonderful device - a handheld depth sounder (a 'must-have' for the Christmas stocking')- so Bill and I took the dinghy through the creek checking depths. We thought we could just about do it....and we did, with a resounding sigh of relief as we slipped past the last channel marker into the Atlantic waters. From there we had hoped to anchor at Rodriguez Island, but the weather seemed a bit unsettled, so we made it through the narrow and shallow 'Port Largo Lagoon', assisted by explicit instructions from Carli, dockmaster at the Marina Del Mar. And here we stay. Unfortunately 'Estelle' has travelled back towards Miami because of Christmas plans, but we hope to keep in touch and meet up again one of these days.
Tomorrow will be a BIG DAY. It is Bill's 'special' birthday...meaning he will now start getting pay-back from the Canadian Government! We have booked 'Southern Vectis' in to the 'Ocean Reef Club', just a little way north of here. It is a very special place from all we hear...so we hope it will be suitable for a very special celebration. We'll let you know!

Eating stone crabs at Monty's

Miami - the morning after the storm

Stormy Miami

Since I last wrote we've been getting to know Biscayne Bay and testing our anchor once again during a couple of days of fierce storms! Luckily it held this time! We'd spent two perfect days just sailing around the bay and enjoying different anchoring spots. We knew storms were on the way, but decided to anchor the night before they were due in a sheltered inlet to the west of Virginia Key - just beside the Miami Stadium and the 'Rusty Pelican' restaurant. From there we were confident we could easily make it the few miles back under Rickenbacker Causeway bridge to our pre-booked dock at lovely Dinner Key Marina. Well, this is what happened. Firstly, don't believe the marine guide books which tell you that a short dinghy ride will take you to the wonderful 'Rusty Pelican' restaurant - or the other restaurant - 'Joe's Tiki Bar' - nearby. You can dinghy around for ever but there is nowhere to tie up - all possible spots have large signs threatening fines of from $40 -$60 dollars for 'unauthorized' docking! So I cooked a non-gourmet dinner, and we admired a view of the city which reminded us of Toronto's skyline as seen from the north docks.
Next morning we awoke to raging winds with gusts of 30+ knots, and wild seas. Making the decision to stay put and ride it out was an easy one, as taking our boat anywhere near the shore, let alone a busy dock area, would have been disastrous! We noted that everyone else in the anchorage felt the same! So we spent that day and the following night watching the anchor and cosily reading our books. Bill cooked a gourmet meal of delicious tinned chili and rice. We were relieved that we had moved from our previous exposed anchoring spot. Though dark clouds still hung over the city the next morning we took advantage of a short weather window to scuttle back across the bay to our dock. We celebrated at Monty's restaurant that evening, choosing from the delights offered at the raw bar - stone crab legs, oysters, and shrimps, washed down with a variety of 'Happy Hour' fruit juices lightly touched with rum! Now we have decided to stay in this lovely place until Thursday morning as we are having some electrical work done on the boat. (A new inverter - the piece of equipment that allows us to use the microwave and make toast at anchor!! Bill says it is essential!) The shops are lovely, there is an excellent 'Pusateri' -style grocery store a short walk away, and a Starbucks up the road. The weather is perking up. What more could we want?

Thanksgiving Day the American Way

Thursday 27 November was American Thanksgiving Day. A perfect day in all respects. A brilliant sun rose out of glassy Biscayne Bay and painted the high rises first orange, then rosy pink. Sunrise here is so spectacular we don't want to miss it - particularly on Thanksgiving Day. We'd spent two nights at anchor - the second without any apparent dragging - and had spent some time at Monty's restaurant and waterside bar the previous night! Today we had nothing to do except get ourselves to my schoolfriend, Sue's house for Turkey dinner by 4 p.m. To celebrate in true Canadian/British style I cooked bacon and eggs and, dare I admit it.....fried bread (delicious,decadent and artery clogging) for breakfast, and we drank a toast -in strong black coffee - to American/Canadian/British fellowship everywhere. We had decided that we'd better move 'Southern Vectis' into a dock at Dinner Key Marina as the dinghy ride back in the dark, after a Margarita or three, had proved daunting after our Monty's session. So we prized ourselves away from our tranquil anchorage and joined the parties ashore early in the afternoon. Everyone at the dock was very friendly and helpful. We had a wonderful time at Sue and Jean's Thanksgiving party. Catering for a group of about 18 family and friends is not easy - but both the company and the food were perfect. We loved the garden and pool area, though Sue said it was too cold to swim although the air temperature was over 80F! It was also great to meet up with another Isle of Wight schoolfriend, Jeannette. We had last seen each other in 1995 at a significant birthday event! Such a lot of catching up to do!
Friday 28 November
We left the Marina and spent a day sailing in Biscayne Bay. We wanted to get to know the waters and get a better feel for how the boat handles. Again, it was a perfect, blue, breezy day. We had hoped to spend the night anchored in 'No Name Bay', which is at the south end of Key Biscayne, but is was chock-a-block with boats all seemingly still celebrating Thanksgiving! So we move to a peaceful anchorage just around the corner on the west side of Key Biscayne. Today we'll probably sail to another anchorage and may move back to the Marina for Sunday and Monday night as strong winds and the possibility of thunder storms are called for. More anon.

Onward to Miami

We have been out of internet reception for a couple of days even though we thought we has every angle covered with our '5 Mile WIFI connector'! Oh, well, just a minor gremlin to sort out this time..we hope. Anyway, here I am in the Coconut Grove library which is just a short walk from our anchorage at Dinner Key in Biscayne Bay, Miami. Since I last wrote we left our comfortable dock at Las Olas Marina and travelled a whole mile south on the ICW to an anchorage at 'Lake Sylvia'. This is a favourite staging point for boats waiting for a 'weather window' before crossing the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas. Tuesday was to be the day for some, like our new friends, Sue and Paul on 'Independence', to make the crossing. We hope they made it safely. Lake Sylvia is also a short dinghy ride and walk away from a whole lot of useful shops, such as 'Blue Water Books' (THE best store for boating books and charts), 'Boaters World', Winn Dixie and Publix supermarkets, and also a great restaurant called the 'Southport Raw Bar', which offers 'happy hour' beers for $1.75 and a dozen delicious oysters for $6.95.
Tuesday was the day for us to make a break from the beaches and bars of Lauderdale to more beaches and bars in Miami. It was a calm, blue day, so calm in fact that we were able to practice pulling our self-furling main out and in a few times to check it out. Last time we had done this was in May in a 30 knot wind and it wasn't easy!
It took us 6 hours to run down the Atlantic coast past forests of high-rises, only to arrive in Miami..high-rise capital of the world! We sailed into Government Cut past cruise and container ships, slipped under Rickenbacker Causeway bridge and anchored, we thought successfully, at the Dinner Key Anchorage at Coconut Grove! However, when we awoke this morning, we weren't in the same place as last night!! Luckily there hadn't been much wind and we had missed all the other boats. So we have re-anchored, with some difficulty, as the bottom here is very muddy and weedy. We needed to use our 'Bruce' anchor instead of a 'Fortress' this time...for those into the technical aspects of all this! It's 'Thanksgiving Day' tomorrow, and we have been invited to dinner at my English schoolfriend, Sue's house. Must go now, as the air-conditioning is freezing in here, it's a bright clear 80F outside....and the shops and restaurants of 'The Grove' are beckoning. Hope we can find our boat when we get back!

A day out in Fort Lauderdale

Yesterday we became tourists for the day and took a water-taxi tour of Fort Lauderdale - 'The Venice of North America'. For $10 each (seniors' rate!) we could get on and off at any of 11 stops in and around the town. The boat captain also gave us all a running commentary on the mansions and mega-yachts that line the many beautiful canals. He stressed that he wasn't supposed to be a tour boat, but if requested, he could give out information about some of the sights en route. The request from our boat load of tourists was unanimous! We saw the mansions of the rich and famous - the owners of such mega businesses as Avis, and Wendy's Hamburgers hunker down here when the weather gets too cold in the commercial capitals of the north. We saw Tim Horton's ex-owner, Ron Joyce's mega yacht. We reflected that, up until a few years ago when he sold out to Wendy's, each time we bought a Tim Horton's coffee we were financing a drop of diesel fuel for Mr. Joyce's pleasure! Still, we reckoned this was one piece of expenditure that was worth it! The City has spent a lot on upgrading itself, and has built a lovely 'River Walk' which winds along the 'New River' from the 'Old Town', (at water-taxi stop #11) to the upmarket shops of Las Olas. I did some shopping! (Only for something really essential of course - a swim suit...plus a few other accessories.) Today we are cleaning the boat and getting it together for our hoped-for trip around to Miami tomorrow. Weather is warm and windy. After all this hard work, we'll take a walk on the beach this afternoon, and maybe treat ourselves to a beverage or two at a beach bar. More anon.
P.S. Forgot to mention that some of the bridges along the river are 'sponsored' - guess what colour the 'Mary Kay' bridge was......................pink, of course!

Southern Vectis at Las Olas Marina

Gremlins on board

Today is the day we are/were to sail to Miami. Unfortunately the gremlins we have had on our boat are still at work! This is their story!!!
We decided to stay two nights on the mooring at Las Olas so that we could assess things that needed to be done on the boat before we sailed around to Miami. Fort Lauderdale is THE sailing capital of Florida and everything a boater could need is right here. Well....these are the things that we have needed...so far!
The Chart Plotter has seized up and has been sent back to the manufacturer; the radio and CD player did not work so we have bought a new one and Bill has installed it; the 'Xantrex' power inverter (which will allow us to have toast and use the microwave while at anchor!) is not working (An electrician came on board but it cannot be fixed); the cell phone message system was not working - this was sorted out with a call to Telus; the dinghy, which travelled down with us from Canada, sprung a water leak and was sent to the menders. So we moved in to a dock at Las Olas Marina for two nights. This morning the dinghy came back and we were ready to set off on a perfect day for sailing to Miami when we realized that the fridge was not working! Now that has been fixed, and it's almost 12 noon, and too late to get round to Miami before dark.
But finding the gremlins, and sorting them out, is what this 'shake-down' cruise is all about, we tell ourselves! Better to repair it here than in the Bahamas......Boat repair is definitely one of those things that isn't "better in the Bahamas".
Apart from the gremlins we have had a very good time at this marina. The skies have been cloudless, and we have walked the white sand beaches. We have had a fishy dinner
(as in freshly caught) at 'Coconuts Restaurant' on the waterway. Last night we had drinks with a nice couple, Sue and Paul, from Long Island. They have been bringing their trawler, Independence', down the ICW and going over to the Bahamas for many years and had lots of good advice, plus a unique screw-driver which Bill was anxious to get his hands on!
So, we will probably move off soon to find an anchorage for the weekend. Weather is forecast to be sunny and warmer. (The Floridians are still shivering!) More anon unless the gremlins get us.

Bill in Margueritaville

Arrival in Margueritaville

Southern Vectis has set off on her epic voyage. Yesterday she backed away from her summer home in beautiful Lighthouse Point, and motored gently south down the ICW for destinations unknown.
Three hours later, after negotiating the opening of five road bridges, we picked up a mooring buoy at Las Olas Marina. After taking the dinghy into the marina to check in, we strolled to the beach just two minutes away. The beach strip here reminds us of Wasaga Beach on a busy day, except that here every beach bar offers 2 for 1 giant margueritas. (Note: As the cost of one giant marguerita appears to be $13-95, this is not as great a bargain as it appears!) We plan to stay here for two nights so that we can get to grips with some of the technological equipment on the boat, such as the Chart Plotter, Satellite radio, wi-fi antenna and even a CD player which doesn't want to work. We are able to pick up and use someone's unsecured wi-fi signal here on the boat, and actually send e-mails through our new 'bortnet' wi-fi connection. Such a luxury not to have to carry the computer to shore! We are heading for Miami, and will sail the 20+ miles around 'the outside'to get there, as there is one fixed bridge on the ICW route that is only 56 ft high and our mast is 59 ft!

'To boldly go where no one has relaxed before'

It's now Sunday afternoon, and we've been in living in Paradise for three days now. However, paradise can be a busy place when you have to re-commission a boat for a five month trip! Thanks to our lovely support crew, Fraser and Edi,who lent us their hurricane-free dock for the summer, all has gone very smoothly and we've had lots of fun wining and dining in between shopping and shopping and shopping! (Only for boating equipment, I promise!)Captain Bill is just inflating the dinghy now. We bought the Toronto one down with us on 'Jet Blue' and have sent the Florida one back to Toronto by UPS. Strange, you may think! Well, yes, but the Florida one had a slow puncture which we could never find, and we felt it would be safer to slowly sink into the hypothermic waters of Lake Ontario than to do so in the shark infested waters of south Florida and the Bahamas!
When we arrived on Thursday morning after a 3 a.m.start from Niagara-on-the-Lake via Buffalo to Fort Lauderdale, we found our boat had been cleaned and was looking really ship-shape. Since we've been here we've had the air-conditioning mended (Temperatures in high 80s F) and had a diver clean the bottom and put on a new 'Zinc'! (Some of you may know what this means. If not, don't worry.)
Tomorrow is the big day when we take off to 'go boldly where no one has relaxed before'. This is slight exagerration, as the whole of this area of Florida is filled with people and boats doing nothing but relaxing - whether it be at 50+mph or 5 knots under sail.
Tonight we have invited Fraser and Edi onboard for dinner. We plan to test out our new BBQ and eat up some of the vast quantity of food we bought yesterday at 'Publix' supermarket. Bill has a fishing rod now, and says that soon we shall be self-sufficient as far as protein goes anyway.
Tomorrow we'll head for Fort Lauderdale - probably via the ICW so that we can look at all the mansions en route.
'Hasta la vista' for now.

We have been meaning to write a 'to do'list for the past two months. With one week to go before we take off to Florida, maybe it's a bit too late for that now! However, we have done most of the things that occur to us during the day, or, more usually, during the middle of the night.

Our home in Toronto is rented, our cat, Brandy, has not been rented, but lent to a caring cat lover, our northern boat, 'Vectis', is out of the water waiting to be shrink-wrapped for the winter, and we've been wining and dining on the strength or our imminent departure for days!
The weather for the past few days has been glorious, so we've also been doing some last minute wine tasting in and around the lovely wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake.

It's late October and it's time to get our northern 'Vectis' - a Hunter 340 - out of the waters of Lake Ontario in preparation for a snowy Canadian winter. During our sail last weekend in lovely warm weather, it was hard to believe that winter would eventually arrive. But today reality has set in! It's pouring with rain, and blowing hard. Time to head south and join 'Southern Vectis'.