Loblolly Marina 12/16/2010

Today was a lazy day all the way around as there was no sailing, no motoring, no cleaning the boat or doing laundry. Just a nice relaxing day. I took a few picture of Loblolly Marina while the crew went to the beach. With the weather having been as cold as it has been, today's warm up to the mid, may be even high, 70's was a very welcome change.

Schools of bait fish swam close to the surface to gather warmth from the sun while some bigger fish floated upside down or on their side unable to cope with the recent cold. This is a small marina that by design is usually quiet, however; the cold weather has kept the regulars inside their condos and near their heat pumps. But today's warmth brought out a few boaters and fishermen. Several nice fish were carried back as today's catch because the fishermen are out again and the fish are biting.

Several manatee swam through today. Two stayed a fair distance away but a third one surfaced next to the board walk, cleared the water from its nostrils and looked straight at me as I stop to see it. They're so ugly, they're cute! And there are birds too. I can't begin to say how many different kinds there are except to say mmmmmany!

There are at least two full time captains here and the mega yachts they tend to are spectacular. Each day, the captains wash and shine the boats waiting for the owners to come here for a sail or to direct them elsewhere for a meeting and sail there. So much money out there! I have to wonder where it all comes from. The one yacht, Harvest Moon, is over 70 feet long (see the picture) and the captain has been with the boat for more than three years. The channel coming into the marina is barely wide enough to accommodate the boats here but the water is deep and the condos and trees provide a great deal of protection from storms.

Yeah. . . . today was a lazy day. Maybe I'll do something tomorrow. . . or not!

Packet Inn In Florida 12/13/1010

After spending time in Melborne, we thought that we could get across the gulf stream but the weather has been very unusual for Florida at this time of the year. Temperatures have been unusually cool, the winds coming from the north against the gulf stream creating high waves and very poor sailing conditions to be far out at sea. So, we decided to head further south looking for warmer weather.

We continued down the ICW passing through Malabar, Sebastian, Wabasso, Winter Beach, Vero Beach, Oslo, Fort Pierce, Jensen Beach, St. Lucie, Hobe Sound, Jupiter Inlet, Riviera Beach, West Palm Bay, Lake Worth, Boyton Beach, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Pompano Beach, Fort Lauderdale and on to Miami with numerous anchorages along the way.

While in Miami, we took an afternoon to look at the boat that George wants to buy. The next morning, we headed further south to Pumpkin Key. It wasn't really Florida warm but it was comfortable. And, then we head to Key Largo and Gilberts Marina. George had been to Key Largo before and remembered the resort from his prior trip there. Food at the Tiki bar was as great as George had described and there is a small private beach close by.

The following morning, we left for Duck Key when we discovered an error in the navigation charts for Blackwater Sound. Where there was suppose to be 6 and 7 feet of water, according to the charts, but there was only about a foot and we ran hard aground in 20 knot winds. After trying every trick in the book, we called for Tow Boat to come and get us moving again at high tide the following morning. We were having alternator problems at the same but resolved that issue after finding a broken wire. A new terminal end in place on the wire and a less than gentle tug from the Tow Boat and all was well.

We continued on down to Duck Key and Marathon Key through a concentration of pods for crab or lobster traps like I've never seen before. Even though we had planned to go on Key West, we decided to turn around and head back to Key Largo for fuel, a good nights sleep and relief from the attack of the pods.

Following our adventure in the Keys, we crossed Card Sound again and entered Biscayne Bay to anchor with Miami skyline for our evening view once again. Leaving Miami, we tried to head out into the Atlantic through the Port of Miami but quick found out that the Dade County Police preferred that we not do that. Something about getting too close to all of the cruise ships makes the police a little bit cranky.

Going on north on the ICW to Fort Lauderdale, we left the ICW for the Atlantic where we had a very nice sail up to Hillsboro Inlet in 2 to 4 foot swells and a gentle reaching wind. Winds were building and small craft warnings were being issued toward evening hours and so we headed back north on the ICW. We finally pulled into Sailfish Marina for the night near Riviera Beach. The winds had to increase to 60, maybe even 70 miles an hour that night. We found it necessary to adjust our lines several times because of stress on the lines and changing tide levels.

The forecast was for more of the same the next day and we decided that we didn't want to spend another night where we were so we headed north again. After about 30 miles or so, we found a small, nice, secluded and protected marina in Hobe Sound, Loplolly Marina. That's where we are as I write this.

Passing through Bascule Bridges, bridges that hinge on each side and open in the middle, is a way of life when traveling on the ICW. The bridges have operators, "Bridge Masters", that can be helpful.....or not. Some Bridge Masters open the bridges according to the time schedule for that bridge; 1)on the hour or half hour, or 2)on the 1/4 hour and 3/4 hour, or 3)on demand pending traffic. However; other Bridge Masters seem to like watching boaters fight the wind and strong currents of the ICW. Even though we had more good Bridge Masters than not, it is the other ones that we are sure to remember.

Something else that I'm sure we will all remember is all of the wrecked and sunken boats along the way. We saw masts sticking out the water, mostly submerged, some with sails still in the raised position. Others boats were upside down on shore and still others were in the trees well back from the shoreline. It makes me realize why there are some 20,000 Canadian boats and an undetermined number of US boats that make this journey ever year. They know better than to be here in hurricane season! You can be sure that we'll be out of here before that season rolls around!

We have seen thousands of other boats and ships. Some are much smaller than our vessel with the other extreme being the large mega yachts. Still larger are all the cruise ships and container vessels. But as far as sailboats, we're probably about average in size. Some, maybe even a lot of the boats, have been all over the world. This one will not be! This has be a challenge and an adventure that we have enjoyed and struggled through. And we are only a third of the time through it. But, it has been everything and more that we've expected it to be.

After some much needed R&R in Melbourne Florida the crew of the Packet Inn moved south. As the weird weather continues they were still confined to the ICW.
Tom, George and Lucy anchored in Biscayne Bay (outside of Miami, FL) last night and will be taking a leisurely sail down to the Keys today since the weather in the ocean will be rough with a nor-easter. Once they have a window they will be heading to the Bahamas.