March 2015

It’s Monday morning and we are in Daytona but will soon weigh anchor to head up to St Augustine.  Interestingly, as we have moved north from the Keys we have noticed that the temperatures are cooling a bit each day with last night being the first where we needed a blanket, or sheet for that matter, in the last few months.  I sure hope that it doesn’t get too cold as we make our way to New Bern over the next few weeks.    I sure hope that the Carolinas are warm in mid-April.  Fingers crossed.

We had a nice walk in town yesterday.   The main drag is very pretty but it was sad to see that there are many empty store fronts in spite of everything that has been done to make it look inviting to visitors. Yesterday was the last day of what is known locally as “Bike Week” here in Daytona.  It seems that this event is the largest gathering of motorcycles anywhere in the US with hundreds of thousands attending.  And while we were here on the last day of the week-long event, there were still plenty of bikes around, thousands actually. Everywhere we went there was the constant din of barely muffled exhaust from an endless stream of cycles riding by.  While the biggest part of the event was on the ocean side of Daytona, we saw many bikes on the main land side, where we were.

I guess that Daytona is a great place to have a dealership and this Indian shop was really hopping.Plenty of “lady” riders.  How about this his-and-hers duo.  Guess which was “hers”?  And her clothes were about as subtle as her bike. This little number, probably not a “factory ready” bike, boasted 475 HP.This “bike cab” isn’t likely to get a medallion in NYC.  Perhaps a call to Uber would bring him to you.Loved the paint job and leather work on this bike.  Pretty impressive.  And, this “retro” bike was great.  Our son Rob’s dog Bo would look terrific riding in the side car, with goggles of course. And this one was a bit scary looking. If it was mine it would have to be black to complete the picture. Brenda’s post about our visit to Daytona was particularly good so check it out here.

Speaking of Brenda, she often writes about our exploits from a different perspective than I do and while I hate to admit it, her post about our harrowing experience the other day at Ft Pierce inlet pretty much captures the moment, er moments.  It’s pretty clear to me that this was a classic CLM (Career Limiting Move) for me.  I guess I had better tread lightly for a while.

Fortunately, as stressful as Ft Pierce was, last night’s dinner was anything but that. Looking pretty mellow and ready for a steak dinner with fresh potato salad.After dinner we enjoyed watching the city lights play on the flat calm water. Even our cockpit table sparkled.A great evening all and all.  

So, back to today and motoring up the ICW which I expect will also be pretty low anxiety.  Perhaps the memories of “Friday the 13^th” will wear off as we enjoy the sights of St Augustine for the next few days.  

While we continue our cruise north on the ICW thousands of bikers will be cruising home too but I guess that they will be doing it “Daytona style”.

Well, it’s time to make the coffee so we can get underway on this beautiful day.

Yes, it is indeed a beautiful day aboard Pandora.

It’s Sunday morning and we are anchored here in Daytona after moving Pandora about 50nm each day for the last few days.   Tomorrow we will head off to St Augustine, a favorite spot of ours.

It’s been a while since I have posted but motoring up the ICW day after day is tedious and when we get underway at first light and motor all day, I find that there really isn’t much time to do posts.  You would think that we’d have plenty of time to write as we motor up the protected waters of the ICW but the channels are often so narrow that you have to keep constant watch to be sure that you don’t run aground.   The ICW is often described as “the ditch” and that’s exactly what it is in many areas, a narrow cut dredged out of vast areas of very shallow waters that are only a few feet deep.

When we left West Palm Beach a few days ago we headed out of the Lake Worth inlet to make the 50 mile ocean run up to Ft Pierce.  The wind was pretty nice but it was a bit lumpy to start.  However, we made great time and arrived at Ft Pierce inlet around 2:30 in the afternoon, just about at slack tide when the seas in the inlet would be the calmest.

You may recall that a barge sank in the Ft Pierce inlet a while back and there are ongoing salvage operations being conducted to remove the wreck.  It’s a huge deal given the tremendous currents in the inlet and the massive size of the barge that sank.  I was concerned about navigating through the inlet with the salvage operations underway and called the US Coast Guard for instructions prior to leaving Lake Worth.  I was told that the inlet was closed that morning but that it would open around midday for transit.

Armed with the knowledge that we’d be able to get through the inlet when we arrived, we headed out for the run to Ft Pierce.  Along the way Brenda suggested that we fish with the hope of catching a tuna.  No luck on that score but we did catch a nice King Mackerel which we threw back.  I wish I had taken a picture.  Oops.

So, fast forward to our arrival at Ft Pierce inlet…  I called the Coast Guard again to get entry instructions only to be told that the inlet was closed for any traffic with greater than 5’ of draft.  “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?” Pandora draws 6’ and we were just supposed to hang out for hours waiting to transit.  They were vague about how long the closure would be in effect but that we should be able to make it in by dark.  BY DARK!!  It was only mid afternoon.  Anyway, we jogged back and forth a mile outside of the inlet, for HOURS and FINALLY were instructed to head in at 6:00.  What a pain.

Buy this time however, the wind had picked up to the high teens and the tide was in full ebb with about 3.5kts of current heading out of the inlet.  There were standing waves at the entrance that were compounded by the restriction caused by the sunken barge.   We were told to proceed between the bouys marking the wreck and the north jetty.  Sure, let’s do that.

We and two other boats entered the inlet and I have to tell you that it was the roughest ride I have ever taken aboard boat.  The waves and current bashed us all around and I wasn’t really able to control the boat.  Things were flying around down below and Brenda was not a happy camper.  Friends of ours aboard Five and Dime, long time cruisers, headed in in front of us.

As Five and Dime headed through the cut they promptly ran hard aground and were slewed wildly sideways in the current as they pounded along the bottom.  Fortunately, after a few terrifying moments, they were swept off by the current.   I couldn’t believe it.  I was so close to them that I had to do a 360 turn to avoid getting in their way as they powered into deeper water and I was afraid that I would run into the sunken barge as I turned around.  Fortunately, I was able to get back on track and continued through the inlet.

Well, we made it but I have to tell you that it was terrifying.   Exhausted, we anchored for the night in a spot near a draw bridge that we’d go through the next morning and settled down for the night.  In the wee hours the next morning, Friday the 13^th, we were awakened by a strong rain squall coming through the anchorage.   I got up to check things out only to see that we were dragging our anchor, toward the bridge.  I started the engine and Brenda took the helm so I could raise and reset the anchor.   It all worked out but we came way too close to the bridge before we got control over the situation.  It was a very close call.

The problem was that I had not used quite enough scope although the anchor was well set.  When the squall hit the wind shifted 180 degrees and rose to about 30kts in a matter of moments.  This meant that the anchor was yanked out abruptly as we headed in the opposite direction and wasn’t able to reset quickly enough.   I am very careful about anchoring and making sure that it’s secure but as we were so tired after the inlet experience that I guess I didn’t do it as well as usual.

It’s been perhaps a decade since we last dragged our anchor in the middle of the night and I am very hopeful that it’s more than a decade until we do it again.

All and all, the Ft Pierce inlet experience… Not good.  I’d say that getting Brenda out of an inlet again, any time soon, is going to be tough.

So, here we are, in Daytona after a few long days motoring up the ICW.  It’s a beautiful day with a light breeze and puffy clouds overhead.

Our run in the ICW has been uneventful and we even were able to sail with our genoa for nearly a whole day and motor-sailing a good deal of the rest of the time.   It was terrific.  With a solid breeze behind us for the last few days we made good time and had a nice easy ride.

I have written about the problems with derelict boats in FL as there are boats everywhere that are just anchored and clearly are not seaworthy.   Perhaps this shot says it best.  “Will be moved in February”.  And they even suggest that you check out their video on YouTube.   Note that it’s now March and the boat is still there.  Yeah, and the check is in the mail.This boat has anchors out in every direction.  Plenty of crap on deck too.  Yup, derelict.  Unfortunately, many folks here in FL don’t distinguish between this and cruisers like us.  All this thinking about anchoring rights and derelict boats is getting me upset. Perhaps a soothing picture of a sunset, or is it a sunrise.  Yes, sunrise, is much more soothing.  There are many tiny islands along the way but not many smaller than this one.  Check out the tent.  Pretty private.So, today we’ll spend some time ashore here in Daytona.  More to come about that.

I’d better get going or I’ll have to write about not going ashore because I took too much time writing this post.

So many choices.  We have about a month to go until we have to leave Pandora with the broker in New Bern NC where we will unpack all of our stuff and get her cleaned up and ready to sell.  We did have an offer on her a few weeks ago but it was a bit low.  However, after we countered the “buyer” bolted and decided to buy another boat.  Alas, better luck next time.  

Anyway, now we are down to the last month aboard our “winter home” Pandora and we are thinking hard about where we will stop.  We have been reminiscing about all of the great spots we have visited in the past along the 800 or so miles left on our trip.  Where to go?   Hmm…

However, with a month to go we are certainly feeling a bit pressed for time. Things sure have changed now when a few months seems like a short time to us. 

The other night I was talking to my friend Craig, who’s still working and he was quite amused by our take on how short a time a month is.  From his perspective a month is a huge amount of time and with “so much” time left we shouldn’t have to think much about where to stop.  “Just stop.  Don’t worry, you have plenty of time.”

Anyway, so last night we got out the cruising guide and made a tentative list of places we want to visit on our way north.  Our first stop, where we are now, is West Palm Beach, the home of the best public docks we have seen yet.  The downtown area is beautiful and there are loads of places to eat out.  We ran into friends of ours Jim and Joan aboard Jade, who we have seen off and on over our years of cruising.  We had a great time out for dinner at a neat Mexican place, Roco’s Tacos.   Don’t we look happy?  A bit too much perhaps. Yup.We’ll have spent two days here and now will head north along the waterway.  Stops we are thinking about are Vero Beach and Fernandina in FL and then we’ll do our best to jump past Georgia with it’s super shallow waters.  After that we hope to spend time in Beaufort SC, that’s “BEEWFORT”, unlike the Beaufort “BOFORT” NC.  Then on to Charleston, Georgetown, Myrtle Beach and a few others as time permits. 

With about 50 miles making for a long day on the ICW, we should have time for a few days in many of our favorite spots along the way.  We expect that we will have to be moving for a total of about 15 days to make it the entire way.  We are really looking forward to revisiting some of the places that we enjoyed on our first run south several years ago.

We had a few long days from Marathon to here and I can’t say that we will be too quick to visit the Keys again.  There are precious few good harbors along the chain and the experience of waiting nearly two weeks to get a mooring in Marathon left us pretty cool on the area.  However, we did get a bit of excellent sailing in along the way and plenty of experience in running aground  to round things out.   The good news is that as stuck as we were several times, we always seemed to find a way to extricate ourselves without the humiliation of a tow.  I guess that’s because we opted for the “unlimited” towing package from Boat US.  It’s sort of like carrying an umbrella when it’s threatening rain.  Works so far.

For a few days we waited in a lovely spot Angel Fish Creek, near Key Largo for favorable winds to make the run up to Ft Lauderdale.  The view was terrific although there was no place to go ashore anywhere nearby.

The late afternoon light on the mangroves was beautiful. Even though we had perfect protection from the ocean swells, that didn’t get in the way of our view.   Quite dramatic as squalls rolled though the area. And, after one of the more “exciting” squalls, we were rewarded by a beautiful rainbow.  The photo doesn’t do it justice.So, tomorrow we head north again.  I will have to find out if the Ft Pierce inlet is open or if it’s closed again before we decide to make the run on the outside instead of on the ICW.  A month ago a 100′ barge sunk in the inlet making passage quite challenging.  Last we heard it was open for limited traffic. However, I heard today that perhaps it’s closed now for salvage so I will have to call the coastguard before we head out to make an ocean run in the morning.

We hate to leave West Palm Beach but there’s lots of fun places to come.  It’s so great to have so many choices.

It’s Saturday morning and today we sit.  After two days of moving north through the Keys, we are now anchored in a cut, colorfully called Angelfish Creek, at the northern tip of Key Largo.  It’s a beautiful spot with mangroves all around and excellent protection from the wind.

Yesterday we decided to come in here in spite of our fear that we might run aground as we entered from the ocean side.  To say that the entrance is tricky, doesn’t do it justice as the currents run very hard though this spot and as the current leaves the narrow confines of the swamp, where the depths are in the 15-20’ range, any sand carried by the swift current is deposited at the mouth as a sand bar so the water gets pretty skinny as things widen out.

The cruising guide suggested that there would be just about enough water to get into the channel if we entered the creek about one hour into the flood but not before.  If we were to do that, we were told to expect about 7 feet of water, a foot to spare given Pandora’s nearly 6’ drat.  However, as we were afraid of it getting dark before we got settled, we were forced to enter at slack low water.

To make matters worse, the channel was lined with markers driven into the sand that were barely further apart than about 50’.  This meant that were we to get stuck on a sandbar, that we would have precious little space to maneuver back into deeper water, if we could figure out where that was.  In the late afternoon light seeing the depth of the water is nearly impossible.

We also discussed bypassing this spot entirely and continuing north to a spot just south of Miami, where we would arrive between 9 and 10 PM.   That didn’t sound very appealing as it had been a long day and we hate making landfall in the dark.  So, we opted to head into Angelfish Creek, sand bar and all.

So, we entered the creek at dead slow and crept our way inside.  Unfortunately, the tide chart I was using didn’t appear to be correct as it was actually dead low instead of two hours into the flood that was predicted.  I suppose that we shouldn’t have been surprised as tides can vary a lot depending on wind direction.  Alas, all went well and while we ran aground while anchoring (again) we were all settled by the time the sun went down.It was very nice to have a view of the mangroves and yet being far enough away so that the no-see-ums weren’t able to find us.  

Speaking of no-see-ums, we left Marathon two days ago, and decided to head up on the inside to avoid the unfavorable winds on the ocean side.  We also wanted to see some of the sights on the Gulf side of the keys, which we had heard were very pretty.  It’s really shallow on the Gulf side and for the first day we only ran aground a few times.  Pretty shallow all the way.   At one point, we actually were leaving a mud trail behind us that stretched to the horizon as the bottom was soft mud and the keel disturbed it as we passed through water that was only about a foot or two beneath our keel. 

Aside from one bad grounding and a few bumps, we did fine and anchored for the night in a lovely spot on the western side of Islamarada.  After a long day we decided to head out for dinner and jumped into our dink for the mile run down to the Islamarada Fish Company, which we had heard was pretty good.

Indeed, the spot looked terrific from the water with many tables under a huge thatched hut.  In the early evening light it looked enchanting.Brenda and I ordered margaritas which tasted great after a long day on the water.   We were amused to learn that the restaurant was owned and operated by a retail operation Bass Pro Shop, which had a huge store on the property.  I guess it makes sense to have a seafood joint and a tackle shop together.   Makes sense?   We decided to reserve judgment on that point for the moment.   The margaritas were good, right?

As the sun went down everyone had to make a stop on the dock to snap a photo or two.  The view was perfect.   Bass Pro Shop knows how to make a lovely spot.   We both ordered ahi tuna rare, one of our favorite dishes.  Well, there is rare and there is “raw”.  And, the center wasn’t the only thing that was pink.  Oddly, they drizzled something pink and creamy on the top which looked more like a mostly melted strawberry slurpee.   It seems that Bass Pro Shop is better at making the moment than they are at cooking fish.  Oops.  Well, the evening was wonderful even if it was the most mediocre $100 dinner we had ever had.

They even had live music being performed in the glow of a dozen tiki lights.    So, a great spot if not great food.   Next time, a hamburger and fries.So, the next morning we upped the anchor and headed up toward the part of the trip that would be the most challenging with miles of shallow channels to get over.  We timed it to make the best of the 6” to 1’ of tide and off we went.  Well, we made it less than 100’ into the channel and bumped along the bottom.  Oops, better bag that idea.  Never mind.

So we turned around the headed back the 10 miles in the direction we had come the day before where there was a bridge we could go under to make it back to the Atlantic side of the Keys.   So, ten miles in the wrong direction and then back toward our destination.    Note to self:  When the chart says shallow, they mean it.  Don’t even try.

Anyway, our run here took about 10 hours and was over 60 miles, twenty of backtracking.  Alas, we got here and here we will stay for today while we wait for a favorable wind on Sunday.

So, our plan is to head offshore from here the 45 miles to Ft Lauderdale on Sunday and then to do short offshore runs from there to Ft Worth and on to Ft Pierce.   After that we expect to run inside up to northern FL with some stops in St Augustine and a few other cities that we really enjoy.

Our goal is to have Pandora in New Bern NC by mid April where she will be in the hands of the broker.

So, all is well aboard Pandora as we sit for a day waiting for favorable winds to carry us north.  It’s a beautiful spot and to be writing a post in the cockpit with this view from our stern is pretty nice.

It’s Wednesday morning here in Marathon and, not surprisingly, it’s plenty warm and sunny.  It seems that the unseasonably cool weather that we were facing a few weeks ago has given way to tropical temperatures and I have to say that it’s not hard to take for us snowbirds.

Even though we are now beginning to sweat a bit about our plans to get Pandora north to North Carolina where she will stay while she’s on the market,  we are feeling pretty dug in here in the Keys.  I can’t say that I prefer it to the Bahamas as it just isn’t the crystal clear perfect blue water that we love.  However, it is good to be in easy touch with family.

Our boys are both pretty busy with Christopher headed of to San Francisco for a few months as he works on starting a business and Rob, on top of a grueling work travel schedule, is planning a wedding. And anyone who’s planned one, knows that they tend to take a life of their own.

On top of that, my mother has been in the hospital and we decided to move her into a more permanent nursing home from her assisted living apartment.    One way or the other, there’s plenty going on so it’s good to be within easy, and affordable, cell range, something that’s  we never have in the Bahamas.

So, our thoughts turn north even though we have nearly 6 weeks till our April 15^th deadline when we have to head off to a friend’s son’s wedding.  One way or the other, lots of fun stuff to plan for and around.  And, on top of it all we will have to catch a weather window  soon to get back to the Ft Lauderdale area and north to the Carolinas, about 800 miles north from Marathon.

So, enough about what’s happening next, how about yesterday?

Yesterday we saw turtles, lots of turtles.  It was great.  We visited the Turtle Hospital, a short walk from the City Marina and got a tour from one of the staff.  This “hospital” is a sanctuary for seaturtles that have been injured in some way, by boat strikes, cold water standings or other problems.  They do what they can to rehabilitate injured animals and, if possible, return them to the wild.

It’s a fascinating place and it’s clear that the staff is dedicated to doing what they can to protect marine turtles of all kind.   Interestingly, there are only five species of marine turtles worldwide, something that I had never thought about it but assumed that there were many more.

I won’t go into too much detail except to say that it was a fascinating tour which included a lecture as well as an opportunity to see and even feed live turtles.

By far the most abundant type in the wild is the Green Turtle and there were plenty of them to see.  They are called “green” as their meat is that color.  They are vegetarians and we each were given an opportunity to feed them lettuce and green pepper.  They were quite beautiful.   We have seen many of these while sailing but it was great to see them up close.It was also interesting to see the color variation, even among the same species.   Some were not as brightly colored.Most were more juvenile, less than two feet long but there was one hatchling there.  Very cute.  It seems that some turtles hatch on the beaches and get confused by lights from shore and end up walking toward land instead of heading out to sea.  Baby turtles spend their youth in the “Sargasso sea” about 6o miles east of Florida and don’t come back into coastal waters until they are larger and can defend themselves.  As you can imagine, the fatality rate of tiny hatchlings making their way from the beach and 60 miles out to sea is very high.

There was a pretty good group on the tour and we were each able to feed the turtles, who loved that, as we surrounded one of the tanks.  Here’s Brenda doing her part with enthusiastic turtles each trying to get their fair share. The markings on their heads and shells is quite beautiful.It was also interesting to see some of the very large iquanas that lived on the property.  This guy was clearly a dominant male and seemed pretty sure of himself.They do great work at the “hospital” and are doing a good job of getting the word out to visitors about saving these wonderful creatures. 

Speaking of “locals”, I have mentioned the number of cruisers that hang out here in Marathon.  How about this shot of the dinghy dock, one of two at the city marina.  This will give you a pretty good idea of just how many cruisers are here.  And, this is only one of the docks and these are only the dinks that are ashore at any given time.  It’s amazing just how many boats there are, and they never leave.

Interestingly, I got a call from a friend last evening, as Brenda and I were watching the sunset, who wanted to tell me that while we were good friends he wasn’t thinking good thoughts about me at that particular moment as he slogged his way through an ice storm on his way home from work.

Nope, no ice here except in my G&T but I guess I’ll leave it at that as I have some errands to run and want to be sure that I am able to get a spot on the dock without pushing aside one of those pesky dinks.   Just like the “turtle hospital” this place is looking a lot like “senior rehab” for all of us “snowbirds”.