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!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment