Wednesday, April 25, 2012
All good things must come to an end.
The sky is a brilliant blue, the sea is sparkling turquoise and the temperature is hovering around a comfortable 26C - but we are packing up 'Southern Vectis' ready for haul-out tomorrow (26 April), and our trip back to .......snow, gray skies, rain.......Ontario!
We've had a wonderful and very warm winter in Florida this year, and are looking forward to next year's adventures - probably in the Bahamas.
Our run up to Miami from Marathon went well - we sailed all the way and spent two nights anchored at Rodriguez Key en route. We dinghied in to a local waterfront restaurant, the Mandalay, for lunch,and swam and enjoyed the peace of this beautiful spot.
In Miami we took a mooring at 'our club' - the Coconut Grove Sailing Club - and sat out some windy and wet days there - just as we had in February. Not sure what it is about Miami this year! But we did have some very good times: we had dinner at the Peacock Garden with Sue, and we had a surprise two-night visit from Marianne & Paul from Nova Scotia. We travelled with them in the Exumas two years ago, and have kept in touch. The weather had improved by then and we had a wonderful day sailing in Biscayne Bay, anchoring and swimming.
The weather was becoming unsettled again and we needed a good day to sail up the 'outside' to Fort Lauderdale. We realized that we only had a four day 'weather window' if we wanted to get back to our home port of Fort Pierce before the dire warnings of a huge cold front with accompanying thunder, lightning, gale force winds and tornadoes, headed our way. So we stayed only one night on a mooring at Las Olas in Fort Lauderdale, but managed a happy hour at 'Casablanca'. From there we headed up the Intra-coastal waterway through the 18 bridges to Lake Worth. Because of storm warnings, we tied up at a marina that was recommended by our friend, Mike - 'North Palm Beach Marina'. It was a good night to be there as a storm hit just after dark. Next morning we caught the 7:15 a.m. Parker Bridge opening and made it to Fort Pierce a couple of hours before the next storm! Phew!
We've had a very enjoyable time at our dock here at Harbortown Marina - but the time has been too short. The first few days were stormy with 60 knot gusts and heavy rain once again. Many boats came in from nearby anchorages to sit out the storms in safety. But now all is calm and perfect. We had a very enjoyable dinner at 'Capone's Hideaway' with Fruji and John last night and hope to get all our packing jobs done today in time for a last swim.
Tomorrow we'll spend the night in St. Augustine at the quaint B & B we stayed at last year, the 'Casa de Solana'. Then we'll drive back the way we came down - on the I 75 to Niagara-on-the-Lake.
We'll be back on 'Southern Vectis' in January 2013. That's the plan!
We've had a wonderful and very warm winter in Florida this year, and are looking forward to next year's adventures - probably in the Bahamas.
Our run up to Miami from Marathon went well - we sailed all the way and spent two nights anchored at Rodriguez Key en route. We dinghied in to a local waterfront restaurant, the Mandalay, for lunch,and swam and enjoyed the peace of this beautiful spot.
In Miami we took a mooring at 'our club' - the Coconut Grove Sailing Club - and sat out some windy and wet days there - just as we had in February. Not sure what it is about Miami this year! But we did have some very good times: we had dinner at the Peacock Garden with Sue, and we had a surprise two-night visit from Marianne & Paul from Nova Scotia. We travelled with them in the Exumas two years ago, and have kept in touch. The weather had improved by then and we had a wonderful day sailing in Biscayne Bay, anchoring and swimming.
The weather was becoming unsettled again and we needed a good day to sail up the 'outside' to Fort Lauderdale. We realized that we only had a four day 'weather window' if we wanted to get back to our home port of Fort Pierce before the dire warnings of a huge cold front with accompanying thunder, lightning, gale force winds and tornadoes, headed our way. So we stayed only one night on a mooring at Las Olas in Fort Lauderdale, but managed a happy hour at 'Casablanca'. From there we headed up the Intra-coastal waterway through the 18 bridges to Lake Worth. Because of storm warnings, we tied up at a marina that was recommended by our friend, Mike - 'North Palm Beach Marina'. It was a good night to be there as a storm hit just after dark. Next morning we caught the 7:15 a.m. Parker Bridge opening and made it to Fort Pierce a couple of hours before the next storm! Phew!
We've had a very enjoyable time at our dock here at Harbortown Marina - but the time has been too short. The first few days were stormy with 60 knot gusts and heavy rain once again. Many boats came in from nearby anchorages to sit out the storms in safety. But now all is calm and perfect. We had a very enjoyable dinner at 'Capone's Hideaway' with Fruji and John last night and hope to get all our packing jobs done today in time for a last swim.
Tomorrow we'll spend the night in St. Augustine at the quaint B & B we stayed at last year, the 'Casa de Solana'. Then we'll drive back the way we came down - on the I 75 to Niagara-on-the-Lake.
We'll be back on 'Southern Vectis' in January 2013. That's the plan!
Monday, April 16, 2012
Family visit
Everything was in place. The scrubbed decks of 'Southern Vectis' sparkled in the sunshine at her dock at the 'Sombrero Boatman Resort' at the head of Boot Key Harbour, Marathon. We'd provisioned suite 406 at the resort with all the basics, and then some. Patti, our neighbour, had kindly lent us her car as our bikes would have groaned with the load. We were ready. Louisa, Steve and our grandsons, Leo, Orson and Simon, had spent a day in Orlando visiting 'Harry Potter World', and were now making the long, six hour drive down through Florida and the Keys, to visit 'Granny & Grandad World'!!
During the past month of our stay in Marathon we had been researching 'things to do', and had come up with a longish list of possibles. We were realistic enough to realize that we'd probably only do half of them, if that.......but we were wrong! At the end of the visit the only thing left undone was a kayak trip amongst the mangroves - maybe not that exciting for three energetic boys who were happy spending as much time as possible in and under the water of the pool or the ocean.
The resort was perfect for our 'group' - a very relaxed atmosphere, and also not too busy. Louisa & Steve had rented a mini-van so we could all travel together on our excursions. But instead of ticking off one of our 'things to do' each day, we found ourselves able to cover at least two, and sometimes even three. Our 'group' was a tour guide's dream.......no complaints and tons of enthusiasm!
We spent some memorable times at Sombrero Beach, just down the road from the resort. We could get there by dinghy through 'Sister Creek'. Grandad & Simon did some fishing en route, but found that they needed more practice! We also had a wonderful afternoon at Bahia Honda State Park beach, snorkeling in the warm, turquoise sea, and building sand castles with the icing sugar sand.
Key West was only an hour's drive away, and, as we had spent some time there with the boat, we could act as tour guides. We visited the Old Historic Seaport and showed everyone where 'Southern Vectis' had been docked. We walked to the centre of activities for the old town - Duval Street - and wandered along the packed sidewalks, window-shopping. A favourite activity was the visit to the 'Toy Factory' where we met Jamie, a magician Bill & I had met on our last visit. The boys were entranced by his card tricks and bought some tricks to practice at home. We found a nice Irish pub for supper, and then joined the crowds at Mallory Square for the 'Sunset Ceremony'. The boys found watching stilt-walking, fire throwing jugglers, and the many other assorted 'acts', far more fascinating than watching a fiery red ball of gas sink into the sea!
And so our days passed all too quickly. Louisa and Steve went out to Sombrero Reef on a scuba trip, we visited the Dolphin Research Centre and the Turtle Hospital. We also visited some of our favourite 'Tiki Bars' - Salty's, and the Keys' Fisheries - and had a memorable last night's dinner at the 'Sunset Grill', where the boys swam as the sun set on our perfect time together.
On Easter Sunday, before they set off on their drive north to Stuart to spend some time with Fruji and John, their other granny & grandad, there was an Easter Egg hunt on 'Southern Vectis'. Luckily the Easter Bunny had sensibly left the chocolates in the air-conditioned cabin!
They are all back in Toronto now, and we are back in Miami. We miss them, but look forward to seeing them all again soon on our return to Toronto.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
We meet 'Island Boy'
While we've been in the Keys we have met so many people from so many parts of the world. However we found two of the most interesting people living right here in Marathon.
Bo & Brende have lived in the Keys for most of their lives. We met them by chance at the Marina, struck up a conversation, and discovered that Bo was the author of two books about life in the Keys, based on his life and love of these islands. The books are aimed at the young teenage age group. We decided to buy copies of 'Welcome Home Island Boy' and 'Rescue in the Gulf Stream' as gifts for our grandsons. Of course, with the author living so close by, it was obvious that we needed to get the books signed by their author. So one afternoon we were invited over to Bo & Brende's house, had the books signed, and were given a fascinating tour of Brende's garden, which was filled with plants and trees native to the area, and often used as remedies or simply as herbs in cooking.
We were shown the huge staghorn fern which was planted by Bo's father in 1938, and delicately beautiful orchids growing on the trees. Then, of course, we could not resist reading the books before we gave them to our grandsons! Apart from being exciting adventure stories, the books told the story of lives spent in an enviably beautiful, but not always safe (as in hurricanes) part of the planet.
Bo & Brende have lived in the Keys for most of their lives. We met them by chance at the Marina, struck up a conversation, and discovered that Bo was the author of two books about life in the Keys, based on his life and love of these islands. The books are aimed at the young teenage age group. We decided to buy copies of 'Welcome Home Island Boy' and 'Rescue in the Gulf Stream' as gifts for our grandsons. Of course, with the author living so close by, it was obvious that we needed to get the books signed by their author. So one afternoon we were invited over to Bo & Brende's house, had the books signed, and were given a fascinating tour of Brende's garden, which was filled with plants and trees native to the area, and often used as remedies or simply as herbs in cooking.
We were shown the huge staghorn fern which was planted by Bo's father in 1938, and delicately beautiful orchids growing on the trees. Then, of course, we could not resist reading the books before we gave them to our grandsons! Apart from being exciting adventure stories, the books told the story of lives spent in an enviably beautiful, but not always safe (as in hurricanes) part of the planet.
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