It’s Sunday mid-morning and we are barreling along at double digit speeds over the bottom in the Gulf Stream nearly 200 miles from our departure point in Ft Pierce and about 350 miles from Cape Hatteras.  After that point, we will exit the Gulf Stream and head the final 400 miles to Montauk and home up the CT River.

It’s been windier than Chris Parker had predicted and until the early hours of this morning we were motorsailing into a very confused Gulf Stream with 5-7′ waves that hit us about every 4 seconds.  With about 15-20kts of wind opposing the current, it made for quite a ride.  (Not in a good way)

Actually, it was rough enough that it was tough to get around the boat and spray was flying everywhere with a near constant stream of water heading down the decks.

Actually, the water running everywhere was a good thing as it conveniently washed away the “effluent” from Chris and Dave who spent much of the evening and overnight hours “feeding the fish.”

Fortunately, I wasn’t sick so I was able to stand extra watch and let them lay down, one on the leeward cockpit bench and the other on the cockpit sole.   It wasn’t a lot of fun for them, I am sure.

When it comes to seasickness, it’s not a matter of “I don’t get sick;” it’s more a matter of when.  It has been said that if you haven’t been seasick, you haven’t spent enough time at sea.  And, last night it was plenty rough indeed.

The good news is that it has smoothed out somewhat and we are now off of Georgia, about 100 miles from the coast and making our way north with the Gulf Stream, making between 9-11kts over the bottom.  Pandora’s romping along at as much as 8.5kts through the water with about 15kts of wind on the beam so it’s quite a ride.

There is more wind than we had expected, which is good, so we are making better time.

Of course, with about 2/3 of the distance yet to go, there is plenty of time for us to run into adverse conditions so it’s hard to say when we will be home.   However, baring a need to stop and wait for weather, I am guessing that we will be home sometime on Thursday or perhaps early Friday.

For now, I hope that the wind holds so we can keep moving and hope that crew is able to say vertical as we make our way north.   It’s certainly true that if you haven’t been seasick than you, well you just haven’t been sick yet.  So far, so good for me on this trip and I think that Chris and Dave are on the mend.  Fingers crossed that the worse is behind us.

Setting aside the fact that I am not a huge fan of passage making, the fact that it’s Mother’s day and I am out here instead with my Mother and Brenda is a bummer.    I guess I’ll have to make it up to them when I get home.

And, that’s my report…

It’s Friday midday and Pandora is making her way, SLOWLY, up the Intra Coastal Waterway, ICW, on our way to Ft Pierce FL where we hope to jump out to begin our big jump to CT and home.

My crew, Dave and Chris, arrived on Wednesday evening and dodged the raindrops to join me aboard Pandora.  That day it rained hard, much of the day, as the cold front came through Florida, bringing much appreciated lower humidity and significantly cooler temperatures.

However, the winds that accompanied the front did make me nervous that Pandora might drag her anchor in the not-so-great holding of Middle River.  Or, to put a fine point on it, because of the not-so-great “anchoring hygine” of a certain large ketch that also makes it’s home there.  I have seen him move around the harbor, in big winds, more than once and with the passage of the front on Wednesday, he did not disappoint, having to re-anchor several times, as he dragged about menacingly.  Amazingly, he was aboard when this happened.  What a novelty.

I guess that problem, along with the rest of us, will go away after July 1^st, when the harbor is closed, perhaps permanently, to anchoring.  I wrote about this in my last post at length, so I won’t repeat myself except to say that the whole issue of anchoring restrictions in southern FL is very unfortunate.  Well, enough of that for now.

Besides, that problem won’t have much of a near-term effect on Pandora for the next two years, at least, as we plan on being in the eastern Caribbean for two seasons.

For now my focus is on getting back to CT, the upcoming SSCA three day event, the SSCA Summer Solstice Gam, that I am planning for June.  I’ll also be remodeling two bathrooms and a laundry room (Important that I get these done, for the continued health of my four decade marriage), perhaps a cruise to Maine and some projects on Pandora, etc., etc,…    Did I mention that the lawn will need cutting too?

Well, you get the picture.  Lot’s happening and so little time.

Anyway, I spoke to Chris Parker, the weather router, this morning and it looks like we can make a run for CT on Saturday as the north winds are falling out at some point around that time.  However, behind the front is well, there’s not much wind, so we will be doing a lot of motoring.   The good news is that Pandora carries 150 gallons of fuel in three tanks.  However, I have not tested that to see exactly how much I can actually burn in each tank before the level of fuel gets too low to be brought up by the pickup tubes.   However, with the additional 20 gallons that I carry in cans, I should be able to motor all the way without a fill-up.   And, hopefully, we will be able to sail at least part of the way.  Fingers crossed.

I expect to get an update from Chris in the morning again to determine if we should leave first thing or wait till later to make a “run for it”.   He has also mentioned that another cold front, perhaps a weak one, that is expected to exit the coast around Wednesday.  However, that’s a long way off and details could change.  And, to complicate the picture, there will be very light winds behind the most recent front so we will likely find ourselves motoring for days on end as we make the run north.  Keeping in the current of the Gulf Stream much of the way will be a big advantage as it will give us a 2-3 kt boost in speed until we exit the Stream north of Cape Hatteras.

It’s great to have someone to talk to about weather as keeping on touch of such an important topic that changes day to day, makes for much more pleasant passages.

Oh, before I sign off.  I have mentioned in prior posts that I continue to be struck by a bit of “culture shock” now that I am back in the States after two months in Cuba where life is so different.  Of course, I love living here in the “land of opportunity”.

I was again reminded of the stark contrast between our countries as we made our way past one of the largest megayacht yards on the East Coast, the Rybovich Yard near Palm Beach.

But before I show some of these amazing yachts, how about a reminder about what a private “yacht” looks like in Cuba.Perhaps not the largest one in the yard but huge. Or, to put it another way.  Huge, huger and hugest.His and hers?  So hard to choose.  No wait, the one on the left must be “his” as it has a large, er… crane sticking upon the bow.  Yes, of course.It is Mother’s day in a few days.  All wrapped up.  “Honey, I got you something nice…” And, certainly the “belle of the ball”.   Venus, designed by Phillip Stark the famous designer, for Steve Jobs.  Two HUGE egos working with each other.  That must have been interesting.  Unfortunately, Jobs didn’t live to see it launched.  His widow and family use it now days.  It was reported to cost $100M to build.   Want to learn more?  Click here…  That yard has perhaps one of the largest concentrations of “toys” belonging to the .001% gang just about anywhere.  Something to aspire to.  Not really, but something to dream about for sure.

And, if you want to get out on the water there’s always the Grand Celebration cruise ship moored nearby.And, if you don’t have as much $$ as you want you can always eat your weight at the buffet table and become part of the “superweight set”.    No wait, how about training to become the “heavy weight champion of the world”?  “Stop it right now Bob, that’s not funny!!  Well, not that funny.”

OK.   And, speaking of the super wealthy, and I am very unfortunately not one of them, I do have to worry about what Pandora costs so I always want to be sure that I am able to stretch my “boating kitty” as far as possible.  So, with that in mind, I shopped a bit for fuel today and was able to find it for $2.15 a gallon, a lot cheaper than it was down near Palm Beach and the “superyacht set” where it was around $3.00, a savings of nearly $100.  Good deal and that’s nearly 1/10 of a “boat dollar”!  Such a deal!

Palm Beach prices or not, fuel is a lot cheaper than in Cuba where it was the equivalent of about $5 a gallon and REALLY high in sulfur.  The sulfur content was so high that the fuel has a brown tint and smelled strongly of sulfur.    I understand that sulfur is actually good for the engine as it adds extra lubrication even though it smokes a bit more.   In the U.S., fuel is very low in sulfur due to environmental concerns.  Cuba doesn’t seem to be particularly focused on that and the air quality in the cities reflects that.

Soon we will be in Ft Pierce and will put the final touches on Pandora to get her ready to head offshore.  And, depending on the evolving weather forecast, we will head offshore on Friday or Saturday to begin our run north.   With a cold front due to arrive later next week, it’s at best a guess as to when we will round Montauk and enter Long Island Sound.   I’d guess around a week or perhaps a bit less and we should be there.

So, don’t forget that you can follow along to keep track of our progress by clicking  here or “where in the world is Pandora” on the home page.  We post our position every four hours while we are underway.

Wish us luck.  Details to come, as always.

 

 

 

It’s only been a few days since Brenda and I arrived here in Ft Lauderdale after our two month cruise to Cuba and I continue to feel a strong sense of “culture shock” at just how different some in our two countries are, particularly here in Florida.

Brenda and I have written extensively about how friendly and generous many of the Cuban people were that we met, especially in the more rural areas. Unfortunately, now that I am back in home waters, I am not feeling terribly good about some residents of my own country.

For several years now, there has been a contentious battle over anchoring rights here in South Florida where some waterfront residents feel that their ownership extends to the water and and includes the views in front of their multi-million dollar homes.

This “battle” has taken an unfortunate turn of while we were in Cuba with the Florida State Legislature agreeing that this privileged few do indeed have the right to keep “others from playing in their sandbox”.   As of July 1st, several of the most popular anchorages in southern Florida will be off limits to overnight anchoring.  And this includes Middle River, where Pandora is now.

I am not opposed to changes in the laws as it does not seem right that someone can plop down a hook and stay, where they don’t pay taxes, for months on end.  And that doesn’t even begin to address the question of the “derelict” boats that litter some harbors in Florida.

Of the 3 other boats that are currently anchored in Middle River, all of them were there when we last visited in January on our way to the Bahamas.  And, one of those boats appears to be moored there indefinitely, with an absentee owner who does not sleep on board and who’s boat drags all over the anchorage whenever the wind picks up.   Clearly, these boaters are abusing the laws.

It seems to me, that a well maintained boats, such as Pandora, visiting a harbor for long enough to get a weather window to continue on is reasonable and that “cruisers” like us should not be lumped in with the “squatters” that camp out for months at a time or worse.

Early on in the “fight”, there was discussion about limiting the time that a boat could be anchored in any given harbor before they had to move on to another anchorage.   That still seems like a reasonable option and is certainly in the spirit of the “cruising lifestyle”.

Another inconsistency in all of this is that there have been laws on the books for years designed to address the “derelict” boats that litter the waterways in some communities along the ICW.   These laws are designed to remove boats that are clearly not in condition to “cruise” and are homes to individuals that have no intention of ever going anywhere.

This boat is just one example of what we have seen in our travels.  I can’t imagine the owner of this “yacht” being able to find a way to “cast of the lines” and head into the sunset as there are so many of them ensuring that he will NEVER leave. Anyway, the fact is that somehow waterfront property owners of houses that look like this (not necessarily this owner) seem to have taken a “nuclear approach” to address a complicated problem that has ended up hurting everyone except the few that have waterfront property.   Unfortunately, the few that “do not play well together” and have the resources, and “friends in the right places” have now been successful in securing their “saved seat” at great expense to the cruising community. Of course, the simple answer is for cruisers to avoid southern Florida and spend time elsewhere.  However, as is so often the case, it’s not as simple as it might appear, especially if their cruising plans include the Bahamas.  The reality of the Gulf Stream dictates that slower boats need to be at least as far south as Ft Lauderdale, or better yet, Miami, to be able to get a good angle to cross.

Another complicating issue is that there aren’t any affordable alternatives to anchoring in Ft Lauderdale or Miami, where the bans will be enforced.  Transient slip fees in local marinas run in the $2.5-$5/ft per night.  And frankly, spending $100 to $200 per night while waiting for a weather window to cross is just not in our budget.   In January Brenda and I had to wait for two weeks, against our will, to cross and marina fees for such a period of time would be a total budget buster.

Yes, I agree that the anchoring issue is a complex one and if a ban is going to be put in place, as it will soon be, then there must be reasonable alternatives available.   Currently, here in Ft Lauderdale there is a city managed mooring field but the fees are high at $45/night and there are only 10 available.  Other cities, such as St Augustine and Vero Beach, that welcome cruisers, have great facilities, and they only charge about $20/night.  They are very popular and I am sure that a similar program here would be well received. Visiting southern Florida need not be free, but it should be reasonable.

Frankly, crowded anchorages are a pain and I, for one, would welcome a reasonably priced alternative here in Ft Lauderdale and I am hopeful that cooler heads will prevail as this unfortunate situation unfolds in the coming months.

It’s worth noting that the SSCA, the Seven Seas Cruising Association, has been very active with this issue and your donation is needed to help fund the effort.  You can visit www.ssca.org to learn more about how you can help.

So, back to the issue of “culture shock”.   As we settle back into life in the States, this whole anchoring thing reminds me of the nursery school adage “Jonny doesn’t play well with others”,  a mentality that is in great contrast with what we experienced in Cuba where the approach is more akin to “it takes a village” or “we’re all in this together”.

Unfortunately, I fear, that as Cubans have more exposure to the “haves”, and especially those that have a LOT, from the US that they will loose the sense of community that makes them such a wonderful people to spend time with.

Yesterday, a cruise ship from Miami landed in Havana, the first in decades, and one more example of how things are changing in Cuba as more and more Americans travel there.   This article in the NY Times reported on the great excitement that the arrival  of the ship caused.    Here’s the Time’s photo of the ship entering port, a big deal indeed. I fear that the opening of Cuba in the coming years with greater exposure to the “saved seat” mentality of many Americans, will cause the people of Cuba to be more like us than the other way around.  That would be very unfortunate.

So, here in the “hostile waters” of Middle River I can only hope that cooler heads will prevail and that just because some have bank accounts that are bigger than others, that they won’t be able to take the position, like Yertle the Turtle, that they are “master of all that I see”.  Of course, we all know that it didn’t work out too well for Yertle in the end. Perhaps by living in the “land of plenty” we have become too used to “having what we want, when we want it” without consideration of what that might mean to others.

Yes, we do live in a great country where just about everything we could want is right at our fingertips as these views of “plenty” at the local market here in Ft Lauderdale illustrate.In Cuba, well, it’s a bit different.   The “meat counter”.Or the produce department.  And, that’s all of it.
And, the local deli selling sandwiches. There is plenty that we American’s can learn from the people of Cuba but I fear that it’s the Cubans who will learn bad habits from us.

As a Cuban that I met when we first arrived in Santiago de Cuba said to me “Good will come from more openness with your country, but I hope that the good of Cuba will not be lost”.

Me too as there are clearly some here in the U. S. who have forgotten how to “play well with others”.   Let’s hope that they don’t teach Cubans the same thing.

It’s Sunday morning and we are been back on U.S. soil (well at least near dirt) as we are anchored in a harbor here in Ft Lauderdale.

I should note that this harbor, our favorite in southern Florida, will be closed to overnight anchoring as of July 1st, leaving very few places to anchor going forward.   It seems that the Florida Legislator agrees with the property owners that they should control federal waters in their “back yard”.   This is a very unfortunate state of affairs and I fear that this “contagion” may spread to other communities if this new law sticks.  I expect that we have not heard the last of this.

Brenda flies out on Tuesday and Chris and Dave, my crew, arrive the next day for our trip north.  I wish that I could say that they will arrive and we will shove of for the run the next day.  However, as of now, it looks like we may run into a delay for a few days due to a big low that’s expected to move off of the coast on Thursday.  However, if the guys don’t want to sit still and wait for fair winds, we can always head up on the “inside” via the Intra Coastal Waterway for a few days until the winds shift in our favor.   Our strong preference will be to head offshore and make the 1,100 mile run in a single jump which should take about a week.

Anyway, stay tuned as the long term forecast becomes short term.   When you get down to it, here’s nothing quite as accurate as a weather forecast for today. Just look out and see what the wind is doing “right now”.  Beyond that, well, it’s an educated guess at best.   I plan on talking to Chris Parker, the weather router, on Monday morning so, more to come…

Perhaps before I get into our departure from Cuba I’ll show one more photo of Pandora in the marina.  And, Brenda relaxing in the cockpit on our last day in Havana.And, that night, we had a wonderful dinner with friends at a local spot a short walk from the Marina.  Brenda wrote about this spot, I am sure.  Check it out but don’t get lost and forget to come back and read the rest of this post.  Right?   It was fun to have a farewell dinner with our new Canadian friends. Ok, now that that’s out of the way…

We left Marina Hemingway on Thursday morning early, just as it was getting light and visited the Guarda Frontera to check out.  Even though I had already “cleared out” the prior afternoon and paid my bill, they still wanted to go through the formalities, yet again.  Have I mentioned that the Cuban government loves process?

Anyway, we had to call the Frontera as we cast off of the dock and alert them that we were on our way.   And that was in addition to confirming, the day before, that we’d be leaving at 06:00.  We arrived at the customs dock as directed.  They checked our passports and signed our “despacho” for the last time, clearing us to leave Cuban waters.  They had each of us sit in a chair to have our photo taken.  I snapped this photo just before they waved “photos forbidden”.  Got the shot!  The Frontera work 24/7 so you can leave at any time, with permission and proper procedure followed, of course.   With good weather in the forecast, it had been a very busy morning for them.Papers signed, they boarded Pandora, in stocking feet of course, to confirm that we were not harboring any additional “stowaways”.

We passed by Havana as the sun rose over the city.  A fitting moment to reflect on all that we had experienced during our two months in this fascinating country.  Of particular note, the Soviet embassy really sticks out on the skyline (the tower on the right with the odd top) as a reminder of all that has happened in Cuba for the last 50 years.   It is fitting that relations between our two countries are finally improving.  However, it’s very unfortunate that it has taken so long to make things right.   The excitement of the Cuban people as they look toward the future made our visit very timely and perhaps nothing illustrates the friendly people of Cuba better than this tiny fishing boat out for a day on the ocean.  The crew ,as is always the case, waved enthusiastically as we sailed by.  And, nothing better exemplifies the changes coming their way than this huge ship heading past us and that little fishing boat as they make their way into Havana harbor.The Frontera were called out to check on a small sailboat that someone thought was having trouble.  They passed right by us however, for a moment, I did wonder if perhaps they would board us for one last look as we headed home.So, off we headed for the 250 mile run to Ft Lauderdale.   About ten miles outside we were visited by a “stowaway”, we thought might be attempting to emigrate to the U.S..   I don’t know what type of egret this was but he stood nearly two feet tall.  We have been often visited by birds in the past but never by one as regal as this.

He circled Pandora for nearly an hour, trying to find a good spot to land and rest.First he tried to perch on the lifelines, right outside of the cockpit, not 5 feet from us.  Not too comfortable as Pandora pitched in the short steep chop.Then, he tried clinging to the bouncing dink on the stern.Finally, he settled down on the deck where he rested for the rest of the day.We did what we could to avoid frightening him away until we had to tack near dusk.  The banging of sails as we came about, proved too much for him so he headed the 50 miles back to Cuban soil.  So much for international travel.

We made a fast trip to Ft Lauderdale helped along by the Gulf Stream that gave us a boost of nearly 2 kts for much of the run.  We could have gotten more current but I stayed near the edge of the “stream” to avoid the most confused seas caused by easterly winds against the current.  Brenda was feeling pretty “green” as Pandora pitched along in the short steep 5-7’ chop.  It was a bit of a wild ride with spray flying over the bow as we drove into the short seas.

I had been wondering what clearing customs would be like after all of the complexities of gaining approval for visiting a “hostile state” like Cuba and was prepared for officers to board us here in Ft Lauderdale.  The whole process turned out to be a “non-event” with the clearing done via phone with both the USCG and then customs.  However, we were still required to show up in person, within 24 hours, at a customs office near the cruise ship terminal to finalize our arrival.

Expecting to be grilled and be forced to prove that we had indeed followed the “rules”, I was ready.    “So, what happened when you cleared in Bob?”  Not much.  A simple “how was Cuba?” and “welcome home”.  I followed with “Great, you should go”.

And yes, you should go.  What an experience.  What a great country.  What terrific people.

Don’t miss it…