Underway Again #8 Vero to Fort Lauderdale

We left Vero and headed off to Peck Lake where we anchored quite comfortably and the next morning on to Lake Worth where we anchored in about 10 feet of water and held well all night.  Since there was lots of wind and solar power we watched a movie "Torn Apart" which illustrates just how far people will go to preserve their culture. 

 

On we went to Fort Lauderdale.  The current was with us and we just flew at about 7.5 kn.  Some of the bridges open on the hour and half hour and others quarter past and quarter to the hour.  We were behind two large catamarans  most of the way and we quickly passed one bridge after another. 

 

 

 

 Some boaters hate this stretch and go out along the outside but we quite enjoyed  seeing one mansion after another. 

 

 

Looking around on the waterway, you wonder how there could possibly be an economic slowdown in the United States.  And yet Roman mentioned that as he had travelled down the Intercoastal Waterway, he noticed a lot of empty homes with For Sale signs.

 

As we were dropping anchor in Middle River Fort Lauderdale there were two small power boats who were already anchored.  Six children were jumping in and climbing out of the water.  Even two of the adults were swimming.  It was as nice a spot as I had remembered from last time, surrounded by million dollar plus homes each one with a large boat and many with an additional small one for just running around in.  The internet reception was intermittent and the signal very weak.  The next day Roman dropped me of, by dinghy, at Borders where we had used internet the last time and went off to do a few errands.  Borders had closed and I spied a medical building across the parking lot and thought to myself that that would be a much better place to wait for Roman than standing in the hot sun in front of a deserted store.  As luck would have it there was a nice little cafe there with internet and I managed to send off a couple of blogs in the next few days.

Rick's new hobby?

I managed to Skype with the kids and answer my e-mails. We let our friend, Dr. Rick who was in Florida at a conference, know where we were.  His conference finished, he surprised us by coming by the next day on his friend's 42 ft. motor yacht which was a far cry from our sailboat.  It was really great to see him!

On our "little" boat

 

There were several boats in the anchorage and we met a few other boats who were planning to cross over and we planned to make the crossing, sailing together, on Thursday morning and spent Wednesday getting ready, making sure everything was secured and lashed to the deck for  example.  Roman went and bought the last few grocery items we needed and filled up the diesel tanks.

Las Olas Bridge opening at 5:45 a.m.

Thursday we were up early, made sandwiches, had breakfast, got out what we might need and we were at the Las Olas Bridge at 5:45 and got the 6:00 opening at the 17th street bridge and we were going out the inlet.  This was it!
We were finally crossing to the Bahamas!  It was quite choppy but the wind picked up and Roman first put up the stay sail and went to put up the main and oh, oh, nothing happened.  Ours is an in-furling system which means that the sail is pulled in and out of the mast.  But this time, Roman just could not get the sail out.  We decided to turn back and let the others know and back we went to Middle River where we dropped anchor by 10:00.  Roman fixed the problem by that evening but the weather window had gone by and we had to wait for the next one.

When we were going back it was fully light.

Underway again # 7 Southport to Vero Florida.

Roman continued through South Carolina. On Oct. 30 the tide was with him and he made a phenomenal 71 miles.  That night he reflected in his journal about the beauty of the full moon reflecting on the Waccamaw River.

Going through Georgia requires patience.  Hell's Gate is named quite aptly but Roman waited for the tide and had no problems, but little Mud River was literally that and Roman led several boats through average depths of only 4.7 ft which meant he literally ploughed the channel for the other boats. 

Finally Roman made it to St. Augustine, Florida where he met up with John from Saber Tooth who was going to leave his boat in St Augustine while he and Nora went home for a couple of months.  They would not be back in Florida until mid January.

 

 Roman also looked for a place to leave his boat while he came back to Toronto to get me.  He decided to go to Cocoa where we had seen a great marina the last time we were here.


Cocoa Village Marina was a wonderful choice.  It is very well maintained with warm friendly staff and good security.

This is the dock where Moya Mreeya waited for us.

There is a park close to the marina and a village with quaint little shops.

 

 

Thursday November 15 Roman flew home from Orlando.  The days flew by.  We had a pre-Christmas dinner as we would not be here for Christmas.  Finally on December 7, I got the OK to go south.  I still am walking on two canes and the doctor said it would take two full years before the bone grew totally back but I can weight bear as tolerated.  On December 13 after all our errands were done, we left by car off the continue our adventure.

The scenery was beautiful.  The days sunny and warm.

We couldn't have asked for better travelling weather.

It had been years since we drove to Florida. and we were surprised how good the roads were and how quickly we got there.  It took two very pleasant days to get to Cocoa Village Marina where we stayed until January 9.

 

 

View from the clubhouse. 

 

 

 

 

It is very easy to stay at Cocoa Village Marina and hard to get away.  We met several very nice boaters and spent New Year's with them. 

 

After we left our car in our friend's Dave parking spot in Fort Lauderdale (Dec.27) we had no car but everyone was quick to offer to take us or give us the keys to their car.  Several boaters are spending the winter just at the marina.  It has great facilities and is spotlessly clean.  You have power, internet and even cable which we did not discover until just before we left. We were too busy to even think about it.

 

We did find time to go to the beach while we still had the car.  After that it was too hard for me on the buses as it is about 20 minutes by car but it takes 2 buses about 1 and half to the public beach which is very nice and surprisingly with few people. It was in the 70's in the daytime.  The tourists all wear shorts and bathing suits and brave the cold water (not us).  The Floridians are walking around with long sleeves and long pants and laughing at "those tourists". 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 It's all a matter of perspective.  When coming from the cold and snow 70's seem very warm indeed.  We have provisioned the boat well even buying several cases of beer as beer is very expensive in the Bahamas.  Yes we decided to go to the Bahamas this year and leave the Keys and Cuba and beyond to next year when I will be able to walk well and actually sightsee and explore.

So finally after a day with dense fog, another with heavy winds and then 2 days of computer difficulties, we left early in the morning bound for Vero. 

 

We anchored near Sebastian and the next day at Vero we took a dock where it be easier for me to get in and out of the boat.  Our friend Gerald lives in Vero and he came down to the docks in his little silver grey Miata and took me for a spin --too bad Roman, only room for one passenger.

We picked up some odds and ends and then we had supper together on the boat. 

Living on the boat is one chore after another.  We took advantage of the sunlight to dry a few things in Vero.

 One of the wonders of boating is having the time to really look at the beautiful world around us.  In the city how often do we stop and really look? 

The sky is different everyday and sometimes several times in one day.

Underway Again #6 Atlantic City to Southport

 

From Atlantic City, Roman sailed alone all the way to Cape May the first day and up the Delaware River to Chesapeake City the second day.

 

Nuclear Power plant along the river.

  

Until you experience it, it is difficult to understand the power of tides and currents.  If you are with the tide and current you just whiz along but if you are against the tide and the current it is a very slow uncomfortable experience.  The trick is to try to time your departures.  When the current caught up to Roman he was literally pushed along at 7.8 knots, then 8.8 and the last hour was 9.6 knots.  Unbelievable!!!  Our usual to speed with all the right conditions is 6 knots.





Approaching Chesapeake City 

 

From Chesapeake City which is on the north side of Chesapeake Bay he continued south and some of the most challenging conditions he experienced were in the Chesapeake.  He sailed, no literally surfed,  6 foot waves in 25 knot winds. This is a big bay and I would have liked to explore some of the ports we did not get to see last time and even go to Washington but Roman was on the fast track to go south!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Off to Annapolis, Solomon Islands, Deltaville, and finally Roman sailed all the way to Norfolk.

 

After the excitement of the Chesapeake, Roman enjoyed the quiet scenic ride through the Dismal Swamp to Elizabeth City where he actually relaxed for a day!  What a slacker!!!

Roman continued on his way but being single handed  had its moments.  He went to the bathroom and came back to find the boat on the wrong side of a marker and the boat heading towards very shallow water.  Once he stopped to check the engine and drifted again into a sandbar.  He became a pro at getting off sandbars.  Once he had to wait for the tide to come up and help him off the sandbar.  Fortunately our boat is steel and can withstand a few bumps along the way.  On the other hand, steel and salt water are poor companions and there was a lot of bright work to do when I got back on the boat.  To date, I have not caught up to all of it!  Sorry, no pictures of Roman on a sandbar.  You must use your imagination!

When he got to Southport North Carolina close to the border of North and South Carolinas, everyone was preparing for Hurricane Sandy.  The restaurants along the pier were being boarded up and were closed for business. Roman tied the boat up and prepared as best he could. Now for the other silver lining.  If I had been with him we would have stopped at many places for a few days to sightsee and explore.  If that had been the case, we would have been caught by Hurricane Sandy.  Instead Roman was south of  Sandy when it turned inland and he just experienced waves, rain and wind.  

Others were not as lucky!

Waiting at Southport gave him an opportunity to spend time with our friends Woody and Shirley.

 

After Sandy he was all ready to take off.

And off he went south south south searching for warmer weather.

 

Please feel free to comment on our blog.  We would love to hear from you. 

 
Albert Chan, are you still reading this?  Let me know what's happening in your life. 
Chad and LeeAnn, how are you?
Tom and Chris, where are you?

 

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Underway Again #5

 

 

It is now January 14, Ukrainian New Year and I am sitting in the lobby of a professional building writing this blog as Roman looks for a gas station to get gasoline for the 4 stroke engine we have on the dinghy.  We are anchored in Middle River Florida. 

It is an awesome anchorage just as nice if not nicer than I remember it from 5 years ago.  The water is clear and looks clean.  We are surrounded by million dollar plus homes. 

Yesterday when we anchored there were two small boats already anchored - two families with about 6 children jumping in and out of the water.  They had stopped for swim.  The weather in sunny and beautiful, a warm front has the temperatures in the 80's for the week.  I find the sun too hot and sit in the shade on the boat.  Thank goodness for our bimini.

Just to bring you up to date, thanks to Dr. Rick I had the surgery on October 9 and it went well.   I was out of the hospital the next day and now had to work at getting better.  I am blessed with my children.  Although I spent time at my son's, I mostly stayed with my daughter, and she was absolutely wonderful.  She joked that she now had three children to look after. She drove me around to many appointments and made sure I was well looked after. Katya is a marvellous cook and is very careful about what she buys and where she shops.  I have never eaten so well.

I believe that everything has a silver lining; you just have to look for it. 

The accident gave me an opportunity to see my grandchildren on a daily basis, get to know them  much better and to bond closely with them. I miss them every day.

It also showed me how lucky I was to have such caring friends.  Lesia  took me to Sunnybrook for the surgery and  Jeanette for the follow up visit.  Olia came over and helped with the baby when Katya had to go to the doctor. Val and Ron took me out for dim sum. Irene put me up for a night and visited me. The rest called me and made me feel loved and special. Baba Maria made me varenyky(perogies). I am truly thankful for my friends and family.

While I was being pampered at home, Roman was battling the seas alone or mostly alone.  Richard, a new friend we made at Waterford, went with Roman from Riverview Marina where Roman replaced the furlers that were damaged in our lock accident and did whatever repairs he could.  The mast was stepped. (put up) Some repairs will have to wait until we get the boat back to Canada. 
 

 Beautiful shoreline!

The weather was quite nippy and they were grateful for the protection the bimini provided.

Off the boys went down the Hudson River to New York City.

 

This is a the carrier Intreped which has an old space shuttle on it and has been

converted into a Space Museum.

 

If I had been with Roman we would have stopped in New York for sightseeing and maybe a theatre production.  Roman and Richard just cruised by waving at the Statue of Libertyand then they went out into the Atlantic. 

 

 The waves on the Atlantic were quite big but what was difficult was that the wave intervals were very small which meant the waves came quickly and the ride was choppy.

They put into Bargnet Bay where the winds were over 30 knots all night. Bargnet Bay is tricky getting in and out and going out, they got stuck in a sandbar and had to call Boat US for a tow. They were on their way by 10:00.

 



Richard enjoyed being at the helm and by 3:30 they made it to Atlantic City where they put up at the Golden Nugget Marina, formerly the Trump Tower Marina.

 

 

Richard's wife met them there to pick Richard up.  They all went to dinner and from the look of the picture, it looks as if they enjoyed themselves.

Moya Mreeya docked at Golden Nugget.







Atlantic City at night.






Golden Nugget at night.  Fortunately Roman does not have any desire to gamble.  Now, if I had been there I would have gone in and seen what I could do with $40 which is my limit.