Monday, April 26, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
We spent eight days at Dinner Key in Coconut Grove, Miami - four days on a mooring off Dinner Key and four days at a dock at the marina. We explored the area on foot and by bus and train. We wandered in Barnacle Park, the former home of boat designer Ralph Munroe in the 1880s, when this area was an exotic jungle of lush tropical vegetation only accessible by boat. Remnants of the once vast "Miami Hammock" still survive in this park, brave holdouts against the concrete and glass towers that, in just over a century, have taken over from the stately tropical hardwoods.
We had an enjoyable dinner aboard with Sue, my Isle of Wight school friend from Sandown Grammar School days. It's always fun to talk about 'old days and old friends'! It's hard to break with those strong emotional ties to 'The Island' - not that we would want to!
The weather which, for the first week of out return to Florida, had been perfect, had deteriorated dramatically and we knew that, if we were to make it up the coast to Fort Lauderdale any time in the next week, we had a 'weather window' of one day! The wind had been blowing 20 - 25 knots from the east for a few days and the waves in the Atlantic had built to 10 - 12 feet during the week, but there was to be a small lull of two days. We allowed one day for the waves to go down, and set off on Saturday 17 April. (The reason for choosing the open Atlantic waters over protected Intra-Coastal Waterway is the 'Julia Tuttle' bridge just north of Miami, which is only 55 feet high. Our mast measures 59 feet!) So, after a fast but bumpy sail of 6 hours, we pulled into Fort Lauderdale harbour, relieved that the six cruise ships, including the vast 'Oasis of the Seas', were not yet on the move! We made our way around to Lake Sylvia, a small 'oasis' of a lake in the midst of beautiful homes, dropped anchor beside a mock Italian palazzo, and enjoyed a splendid sunset, a breathtaking view of the departing cruise liners, and a peaceful night.
We knew that the weather was about to deteriorate rapidly the next day, but we wanted to see Fraser and Edi, our Canadian friends from Lighthouse Point, before we disappeared north. So we arranged to meet them for lunch at the 'Southport Raw Bar' - a favourite restaurant on the water, which involves a dinghy ride under a VERY low road bridge (as in flattening yourself on the dinghy's floor, and keeping your fingers crossed that you still have a head on your shoulders at the other side!). We had a lovely lunch despite the rain which had now started bucketing down, and we made it back to the boat, wet but in good spirits. That night our little 'sheltered' lake became a wild and wave-swept pool! Not too much sleep for me, but luckily our anchor, and everyone else's, held. By the next morning everything had calmed down and just about dried out, including us, and we relaxed and enjoyed our lovely 'oasis' for one more day.
On Tuesday 20 April, a red-letter day for us as it is our daughter, Charlotte's, birthday, we set off for Lake Worth - Palm Beach. There are 18 lift-bridges to negotiate on this fifty mile stretch of the ICW, and each bridge has set openings or is 'on demand'. Either way, there is a protocol for getting through them: Each boat calls on VHF channel 09 to the bridgekeeper and requests an opening. Once passed through the bridge each boat then thanks the bridgekeeper, and wishes him or her a 'nice day'! If there is an errant boat that joins a line of boats, but hasn't bothered to call, then that boat gets its knuckles rapped! Sometimes, because of the set bridge opening times, it's a race to get to the next one. Missing a bridge opening can mean an extra half hour spent hanging around in the narrow channel contending with strong currents, fluky winds and other boats! Ten and a half hours later we made it to our anchorage at the north end of Lake Worth, where we spent two relaxing nights.
Thursday was such a perfect day that, instead of travelling straight to our planned destination of Stuart, we decided to anchor in a small inlet off the ICW known as 'Peck Lake'. We had been here before and enjoyed the lovely Atlantic beach which is a short dinghy ride and walk across the barrier island.
But Peck Lake is shallow and this is where, for the first time in the whole trip, we went aground! A large trawler was anchored in the narrow channel, but we thought we could get around it and still stay afloat! Not so! Bill jumped in the dinghy and took the anchor to kedge us off, but luckily this wasn't needed, as just as that moment a large power boat roared up the nearby ICW channel and rocked us free! It was interesting to see the difference just a few feet made - from a depth of 3 feet we were now in 14 feet! So, we tentatively carried on into the anchorage, this time edging very close to the errant trawler. A peaceful night was had by all!
Now we are almost back to the beginning of our tale. We are in Stuart, just three hours by boat south of our final destination of Fort Pierce.The sun is shining and the temperature is 85F, and we are bobbing around on a mooring at the lovely Sunset Bay Marina about six miles west off the Intra-coastal waterway (ICW), up the St. Lucie River.
The Marina at Sunset Bay hasn't been open for a year yet but it's already full, with a 90 boat waiting list. The moorings are mostly full too, and it's easy to see why. This marina has everything a sailor could want - great facilities, friendly staff, a wonderful west facing location, a boardwalk around the bay, and a five minute walk to a quaint little town full of shops to potter in, and restaurants of all kinds to enjoy. But the best thing of all at the marina is the 'Sailors' Return' - a restaurant on the water that, on Friday and Saturday evening, was packed with anybody who could afford the price of a martini (very reasonable)! The mix of young and old, city slicker and crusty sailor, makes for wonderful people watching. We spent a lovely evening here on Friday with Fruji and John Bull, joint grandparents with 'our boys' in Toronto. Fruji and John have a winter home nearby, and we have been invited there for dinner on Sunday evening.
Life is good here...so we have decided not to rush up to Fort Pierce after all! We'll give ourselves a few more days before we begin moving north again, and preparing for the serious business of 'returning to base' in Ontario.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Exploring Miami
We had anchored off Key Biscayne Yacht Club upon our arrival from Bimini. It was Easter weekend, the sun was hot, and everyone who owned a boat was using it. We swam and generally enjoyed the spectator sport of watching boats of all shapes and sizes cruise by, or stop for a short while to test the warm waters of the bay. But, after a glorious sunset had turned the bay waters crimson, most of the boats sped away back to their marinas, and we were left with just a few quiet sailboats for company. It was a perfect way to get acclimatized, once again, to the delights of southern Florida.
The next day we pulled up our anchor and made our way to check in at Customs and Immigration at the Cruise Ship docking area. We had decided to spend a night at MIA Marina, in the heart of downtown, so that we could avoid a long taxi ride, and also so that we could have a chance to explore a part of the city we had never visited before.
Immigration procedures at the Homelands Security Office in the docks went smoothly – we’d called the previous day and been given a number. Our taxi ride there was the first of many in which we, complete strangers in Miami and armed only with a tourist book, had to give directions to the Haitian driver who could hardly speak English! We carried a map with us ever after!
Now we were free to enjoy and explore the delights of the Bayside area, and also further afield. MIAMarina is part of the ‘Bayside Marketplace’. It’s an area of shops, restaurants of every nationality, and music. Each evening at 7 p.m. there was a different concert at the waterfront – our favourite performer was David Fernando with his Latin jazz group. Each day we would take our computer to Mambo’s Cuban coffee house to drink coffee and check e-mails.
We badly needed food on board, and were directed to take the free overhead ‘Metromover’ train to 10th Street where we would find a brand new Publix supermarket at the Mary Brickell Centre. We were so pleased to discover this lovely area – rather like Yorkville in Toronto – particularly as we happened upon a restaurant called ‘Balan’ at Happy Hour. We visited this twice to enjoy Happy Hour champagne and delicious dips and pita bread.
After four days of ‘extreme civilization’, and having managed to have a few electrical and other problems fixed on the boat, we headed out and back south to Coconut Grove. The wind in Biscayne Bay was brisk and we had a few hours of great sailing, only being passed by a sleek catamaran!
This time we decided to take a mooring ball in the brand new mooring field and not go into the Dinner Key Marina. So far it has worked out really well. When it is too rough to take the dinghy in without getting wet, we just call the shuttle to pick us up. We have planned a few areas we would like to explore on foot, or by public transit, and, as the weather is supposed to be rather stormy for most of this coming week, we’ll enjoy all that Coconut Grove has to offer.
Our next stop before sailing north to Fort Lauderdale will be the South Beach area of Miami – famed for its Art Deco revival architecture, white sand beaches and large gay population! Lots to look forward too!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Back in the U.S.of A....we've come a long way!
It's Easter Sunday - April 4 - and we've made it safely back over the Gulf Stream from Bimini to Biscayne Bay, Miami. A 9 1/2 hour trip with a few large rolling waves, but nothing to worry about. We seem to have travelled a long way in the last week since I last wrote.
Just over a week ago (Saturday 27 March) we set off from Highborne Key, Exuma Islands, headed for Nassau. We made it safely past the notorious 'Yellow Banks' - areas of coral which can only be spotted on clear sunny days, and can snare unwary boats. In fact, as we did on the way south, we cheated a little on this part of the trip, and sail a little further south around the White Banks and missed the hungry coral heads by a mile or two!
We had a wonderful welcome in Nassau from Marianne & Paul, who had managed to persuade Peter, the dockmaster at the Nassau Harbour Club, to give us a dock next to them. (There are lots of tales about 'Peter the Greek'...but that's for another time!) We celebrated a lovely sunset in the usual way - gin & tonics followed by a glass or two of wine - and caught up with all their news. The leak in their boat had been fixed, and now they were awaiting the arrival of their daughter and her husband before setting off for the Abaco Islands.
We appreciated Nassau much more this time around.Its' chaotic traffic, thronging crowds and general air of gentle decline were an interesting and not unwelcome contrast to the pristine and quiet anchorages of the Exuma Islands. We visited the Straw Market, took a look at Government House, once the home of the Duke & Duchess of Windsor, and then discovered a little hotel, The Towne Hotel, just off the beaten tourist track and on the road below Government House. We were admiring the hotel, when the proprietor invited us in to see his parrot, Max!! So off we went and ended up having a delicious, peaceful and extremely reasonably priced (for Nassau) lunch.
Our last evening was spent on 'Knot-A-Gain' with a pot luck supper of fresh lobster, steak and all the trimmings.
At 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning, the last day of March, we waved a fond farewell to Marianne & Paul, and set off for our 115 mile trip over the sometimes tricky Northwest Providence Channel and the Great Bahama Banks, to Bimini. We planned to get as far as 'Mackie Shoal' (79 miles) and anchor for the night. All went well - the seas of the Northwest Channel were almost flat, as were the conditions on 'the Banks'. Although we had set off alone, we soon made contact with other boats en route via our VHF radio, and arranged to anchor together. It was comforting to think that other boats were around in all that wide open water, and waiting for our arrival. We were the last to get to our 'spot' and were welcomed with a VHF message from 'Southern Dreams': "Welcome to the marina...hope you sleep well!"
It was already dark when we dropped anchor at 9:15 p.m. Just a few minutes later we looked to the east to see a spectacularly huge and full, orange moon rise majestically out of the sea! All the VHF radios 'oohed and aahed' at the sight!
The soft nudging of the waves on the hull lulled us to a sound sleep that night.
The next morning we set off early and made Bimini by 4 p.m. The entrance to Bimini Harbour is very tricky for a variety of reasons: Firstly the current in and out of the narrow entrance can be fearsome, secondly the entrance is narrow and bordered by jagged reefs and sandbars just waiting for a likely victim, thirdly, there are no navigational aids (channel marker buoys) to help you thread your way through all this! (This is typical of the whole of the Bahamas, where you are on your own when it comes to navigating the perilous reefs that surround the islands, and that have been the downfall of many vessels, large and small, for hundreds of years!)
Despite all of the above, we liked Bimini from the first moment we saw it. Alice Town, the main town on North Bimini, consists of just a small strip of shops and bars, but the town is full of life, colour....and music! As it was Easter weekend there was what sounded like a 'Battle of the Bands' going on! Bahamians like their music loud, with lots of base! We stayed at the Blue Water Marina, which is right in town, and right in the music zone! We thought we could stand it for a few days, and met some other boaters who also felt the same. We walked the island's two streets, and we admired its' lovely beaches, we watched the Easter Parade on Good Friday, and then, after a few nights of earsplitting music from 2p.m. until 4 a.m., a large group of boats, including 'Southern Vectis', slipped their lines at dawn and left the celebrations to continue without them!
Our crossing of the Gulf Stream was uneventful. The wind was from the east, and the waves of 3 to 5 feet, with the occasional 8 foot roller, were from the same direction. After 9 1/2 hours we arrived at our lovely anchorage just west of the island of Key Biscayne, Miami. We've anchored here before. It's just off the Key Biscayne Yacht Club, and some lovely houses multi-million dollar homes. Richard Nixon used to have a home here, but it's been torn down now!
A couple of miles across the bay are the delights of Coconut Grove and the Dinner Key Marina. We'll probably move over to their new mooring field in a couple of days. Then we'll make our way slowly north. But there's no hurry! The sun is shining and the pelicans are diving for their lunch beside our boat...and it's time for our lunch too!
Just over a week ago (Saturday 27 March) we set off from Highborne Key, Exuma Islands, headed for Nassau. We made it safely past the notorious 'Yellow Banks' - areas of coral which can only be spotted on clear sunny days, and can snare unwary boats. In fact, as we did on the way south, we cheated a little on this part of the trip, and sail a little further south around the White Banks and missed the hungry coral heads by a mile or two!
We had a wonderful welcome in Nassau from Marianne & Paul, who had managed to persuade Peter, the dockmaster at the Nassau Harbour Club, to give us a dock next to them. (There are lots of tales about 'Peter the Greek'...but that's for another time!) We celebrated a lovely sunset in the usual way - gin & tonics followed by a glass or two of wine - and caught up with all their news. The leak in their boat had been fixed, and now they were awaiting the arrival of their daughter and her husband before setting off for the Abaco Islands.
We appreciated Nassau much more this time around.Its' chaotic traffic, thronging crowds and general air of gentle decline were an interesting and not unwelcome contrast to the pristine and quiet anchorages of the Exuma Islands. We visited the Straw Market, took a look at Government House, once the home of the Duke & Duchess of Windsor, and then discovered a little hotel, The Towne Hotel, just off the beaten tourist track and on the road below Government House. We were admiring the hotel, when the proprietor invited us in to see his parrot, Max!! So off we went and ended up having a delicious, peaceful and extremely reasonably priced (for Nassau) lunch.
Our last evening was spent on 'Knot-A-Gain' with a pot luck supper of fresh lobster, steak and all the trimmings.
At 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning, the last day of March, we waved a fond farewell to Marianne & Paul, and set off for our 115 mile trip over the sometimes tricky Northwest Providence Channel and the Great Bahama Banks, to Bimini. We planned to get as far as 'Mackie Shoal' (79 miles) and anchor for the night. All went well - the seas of the Northwest Channel were almost flat, as were the conditions on 'the Banks'. Although we had set off alone, we soon made contact with other boats en route via our VHF radio, and arranged to anchor together. It was comforting to think that other boats were around in all that wide open water, and waiting for our arrival. We were the last to get to our 'spot' and were welcomed with a VHF message from 'Southern Dreams': "Welcome to the marina...hope you sleep well!"
It was already dark when we dropped anchor at 9:15 p.m. Just a few minutes later we looked to the east to see a spectacularly huge and full, orange moon rise majestically out of the sea! All the VHF radios 'oohed and aahed' at the sight!
The soft nudging of the waves on the hull lulled us to a sound sleep that night.
The next morning we set off early and made Bimini by 4 p.m. The entrance to Bimini Harbour is very tricky for a variety of reasons: Firstly the current in and out of the narrow entrance can be fearsome, secondly the entrance is narrow and bordered by jagged reefs and sandbars just waiting for a likely victim, thirdly, there are no navigational aids (channel marker buoys) to help you thread your way through all this! (This is typical of the whole of the Bahamas, where you are on your own when it comes to navigating the perilous reefs that surround the islands, and that have been the downfall of many vessels, large and small, for hundreds of years!)
Despite all of the above, we liked Bimini from the first moment we saw it. Alice Town, the main town on North Bimini, consists of just a small strip of shops and bars, but the town is full of life, colour....and music! As it was Easter weekend there was what sounded like a 'Battle of the Bands' going on! Bahamians like their music loud, with lots of base! We stayed at the Blue Water Marina, which is right in town, and right in the music zone! We thought we could stand it for a few days, and met some other boaters who also felt the same. We walked the island's two streets, and we admired its' lovely beaches, we watched the Easter Parade on Good Friday, and then, after a few nights of earsplitting music from 2p.m. until 4 a.m., a large group of boats, including 'Southern Vectis', slipped their lines at dawn and left the celebrations to continue without them!
Our crossing of the Gulf Stream was uneventful. The wind was from the east, and the waves of 3 to 5 feet, with the occasional 8 foot roller, were from the same direction. After 9 1/2 hours we arrived at our lovely anchorage just west of the island of Key Biscayne, Miami. We've anchored here before. It's just off the Key Biscayne Yacht Club, and some lovely houses multi-million dollar homes. Richard Nixon used to have a home here, but it's been torn down now!
A couple of miles across the bay are the delights of Coconut Grove and the Dinner Key Marina. We'll probably move over to their new mooring field in a couple of days. Then we'll make our way slowly north. But there's no hurry! The sun is shining and the pelicans are diving for their lunch beside our boat...and it's time for our lunch too!
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