Palm Coast (March 26 - March 30)

Tuesday March 26, 2013
29 35.173 N
81 12.360 W

Really slow start this morning. We only had about 4 hours travel to Palm Coast and we wanted to arrive mid afternoon so we slept in a bit then showered and headed out for breakfast. Which was basically fun as we had a morning paper and Deidre's breakfast was fine and the coffee was OK, but I ordered something "new" and it was disgusting. That is two bad meals for me in a row.

We were underway by 11AM and arrived in the approach canal by 3PM. The wind was up all day with some really strong gusts, maybe as much as 30 MPH from the North and West, and quite cool. Fortunately we had been to this dock before and would be approaching with our nose into the wind, which helps a lot. The dock is a bit short (25' of face) so our aim was to have about 10' of stern overhang and 15' on the bow. Our hosts (Sarah and Phil) were waiting for us and all went well. No scratches.

Tide Hiker at her new home

There is another visiting trawler and so 6 of us are going out to eat tonight. It will be cold again tonight, may even make freezing.

Wednesday March 27, 2013

We picked up our rental and did some shopping. Spent the rest of the day doing some light maintenance and cleaning up the boat in anticipation of departing on Friday. Dinner out with Sarah and Phil.

Thursday March 28, 2013

Tomorrow we leave for Australia. We will be returning on April 17th and plan to resume our voyage to Charleston on April 20. So our blog will be dormant until then.

Thursday April 18, 2013

We are back on the boat, and happy to be here. Our current plan is to begin our trip to Charleston on Saturday, weather permitting.

Daytona Beach

Monday March 25, 2013
29 12.466 N
87 00.970 W

Lazy morning and French toast for breakfast. The forecast was not great (20-25 kt winds) but it was not much better for Tuesday so we decided to get rolling. Daytona Beach was only 40 some miles away and there were a few decent anchorages so we should be OK. (Wind does not bother us much when we are underway. But in 20 kt winds you need a decent place to put the boat overnight, that is what is on our minds mostly.)

We find fishing people quite strange

It was an easy days run. The wind got up a bit as we passed New Smyrna Beach but otherwise it was a breezy but pleasant day. As we approached Daytona I looked up the marinas - "just for fun" - and found a yacht club for 75 cents a foot. They only had 3 slips - but we only needed 1 so I gave it a try and we got a spot. It was a very easy approach for a "port tie" with the wind on our stb bow, which is perfect. We just "kissed" the dock. What a deal!

We have been thru Daytona 2 times before on the boat and never stepped ashore so we are in for a treat.

Deidre relaxing "at the club"

Its only 25 miles now to Palm Coast so we will be there early afternoon tomorrow. The trip to Australia is now feeling quite close.

Titusville, FL

Saturday March 23, 2013
28 37.853 N
80 48.244 W

Big day today, 66 NM. The weather is forecast to deteriorate and so we wanted to get some miles done. We were up at 7 AM and under way 20 minutes later at sun rise. It was glassy calm with a bit of mist on the water. Once underway Deidre brought up fresh coffee and toast and I was blissfully happy.

Last night we had dinner with people whose boat had been struck by lightening. This is the second time we have heard of this experience. The boat took 9 months to repair and just about every electrical component had to be replaced. As we approached Titusville we were watching (on the radar) three thunderstorm cells rolling over the marina, and lots of lightening. So we did the reasonable thing - a U-turn and headed the other way until the cells had passed. Now it is quite calm.

Had it not been for the diversion we would have done the 66 miles in 9 hours. That is a fast day for us, we seemed to be moving at 7.3 kts all day. We will stay here two nights on a ball because tomorrow looks "a bit rough" and we now have a couple of days up our sleeve. The plane leaves a week today.

Sunday March 24, 2013

The forecast indicated that the wind would arrive mid morning so we decided not to launch the dinghy or go ashore. That was a good decision, as demonstrated by this video!

Tide Hiker rocked around as the worst of the storm passed us. No boats in the mooring field broke loose, but it looks like there is a sailing boat aground on the other side of the bay.

Air Show in the distance

The rest of the afternoon was pretty calm. We launched the dinghy and went to a restaurant that had a dinghy dock. Lousy meal! But Doc Martin was on at 8PM so we went to bed happy..

Vero Beach

Friday March 23rd, 2013
27 12.018 N
80 16.581 W

Leaving our Palm City dock 

We were up at 7:30 AM and underway by 8;45 AM. We lost 20 minutes waiting for the railway bridge at the Stuart neck. It was a coolish but calm and sunny day, and we enjoyed an easy run to the Vero Beach mooring field. We must almost be "old hands" as this is the third time we have visited this facility and our "record was on file" at the marina.

We knew that a boat we had met in the Keys was here so called them when we settled in on the ball. They seemed to be pleased to hear from us and invited us to dinner with 2 others. What a deal - they will pick us up in their dink, drive us in their car, and make the reservations.

Stuart, FL (3/17 to 3/21)

Sunday March 17th (David's Birthday)
27 12.023 N
80 16.578 W

Easy day today, only about 35 NM in calm weather conditions. We were under way at a leisurely 9AM and out into the Atlantic shortly thereafter. It was a bit dull and overcast but waves were only about 2' and we continued to catch what appears to be a northbound current, so for much of the 25 or so miles outside we were doing over 8 knots.

We saw flying fish for the first time today. They "flew away" from the boat and typically went 50 to 100 yards. Quite strange.

The St Lucie entrance is a bit tricky, so this AM I called Tow Boats US and the US Coast Guard to get "the scoop" They were not much help so I assumed all was OK, and true enough the entrance was terror free. It got a bit complicated as the entrance crossed the ICW but we managed that and continued up the St Lucie to Stuart. There were a lot of pleasure boats around.

We are now docked behind a house in a suburb of Stuart. I have just reserved a car so Deidre can do some shopping and I can run for parts as needed. We expect Steve Kosch to pop in tomorrow to review the project list for the next three days. All is good.

Monday March 18th, 2013

Photographic record of how it must go back together

We picked up our car before lunch and celebrated with a bit of shopping. Steve Kach turned up after lunch and we started work. I have given him a list of projects and I doubt if it all gets done in the time we have. Steve took the lead and I was the observer/helper. We got a lot of things taken apart and made a big list of purchases.

Deidre and I went out for dinner and I just about fell asleep at the table.

Tuesday March 19th, 2013

Our first glass of water from the water-maker

Full day of work for all three of us. Deidre had to drive to Ft. Lauderdale to get parts - 90 minutes each way. A lot got done but most things are still in pieces and the boat is a disaster-mess. I fell asleep at dinner again.

Wednesday March 20th, 2013

Today was "get-it-finished-day" as Steve had to be somewhere else Thursday. It turned into a bit of a bun rush but most projects were completed. Steve left at about 4 PM and I spent the next two hours cleaning up. I am really going to try to stay awake for dinner tonight.
At about 8 PM a 38 SFB arrived and claimed our dock! There were 4 young guys on board and I was in my PJs so I felt a bit outnumbered. But they were nice guys and they agreed to tie up the the boat lift behind us till we left on Friday.

Thursday March 21st, 2013

Notable day - this is our 41st Wedding Anniversary. And we still love each other, even when anchoring and/or picking up a mooring ball.

We only had the rental car till lunch time so we ran around doing a few last minute purchases in the morning. Steve had introduced us to boaters Pat and Chuck Berry and they picked us up at the rental place and we went out for a nice lunch down on the water at the Manatee Pocket. Lunch lasted till 3 PM. Chuck was also involved in the steel industry so we had lots to talk about.

Back at the boat we spent the rest of the day cleaning and getting ready for leaving the dock in the AM

Lake Worth

Saturday March 16, 2013
26 45.383 N
80 02.609 W

What a good day. Not a cloud in the sky, very little wind, smooth seas, no crab pots, deep, 1/2 knot favorable current all day, and anchored by 2PM. How can it get any better?

Six cruise ships at Ft. Lauderdale

We were up at 6:30 AM so we could catch just the start of the flooding tide. I had to turn the boat around and the river was only about 125 feet wide with expensive boats tied up both sides. Not a lot of room for error. As Deidre let go I backed the stern out into the flood current and it "caught" and by the time we were away from the dock we were half around. It was too early for much traffic so we had an easy run to the entrance.

The rest of the day was effortless, with only one 5% course change about 1/2 way there. We are now anchored in Lake Worth (Near Palm Beach). The anchor set first try.

Tomorrow we will run to Stuart where we have rented a dock behind a house for up to a week. Steve Kosch is arriving on 3/19 to do 3 days work on the boat, a couple of fixes but mostly PM.

New River, FT Lauderdale (March 12 - March 15)

Tuesday March 12, 2013
26 07.010 N
80 08.358 W

Today is our first anniversary of owning the boat.

The forecast this morning was not great - "Small Craft Advisory" and seas 4' to 6' with surf and rip warnings to beach-goers. But the wind was only 10 - 15 mph and basically on our stern. The forecast for the next 3 days was worse, and we need to get North, and we would only be out for about 25 miles, so we headed out.

There seemed to be a few boats heading offshore and some radio chatter and we joined in. The sailing boats seemed to think that they would be OK but a trawler???? It turned out to be pretty rough and a bit awkward as the seas were mostly on our stern quarter so Tide Hider wanted to squirm around which really spooked the Admiral. We seemed to be in a pattern of 3 or 4 minutes of 3' to 6' waves and then 4 or 5 really large and steep swells. A few things broke free in the boat - including all the bottles in the booze cabinet. But we had learned a few tricks including a chair jamming the frig in place. Overall I think Tide Hiker performed really well

I was more concerned about the entrance into Port Everglades. It is a big ship entrance - so reasonably  wide and deep - but the seas were traveling diagonally across it and I assumed we could expect a strong shore current. These assumptions were both accurate and to make matters a bit worse two US Coast Guard boats were exiting, abreast of each other (rather than in line - selfish thoughtless bastards). So I called them on the radio and told them what I planned to do and they said "OK". Behind them were two tugs (there was a ship on the horizon) followed by dredge. But then we were in.

The "marina" we had chosen was the "City Docks on New River" - not really a marina but fixed docks along side the river all the way west in downtown Ft. Lauderdale. We have a great spot, right in front of a classy hotel.

Great location!

We were tied up and connected by about 3 PM. I hosed down the boat and then took a long shower, as we have city water and electricity from the grid. There is also a pump out facility close.This is the first marina we have been in since Naples, back on February 9th, 31 days ago. So the batteries and the generator and the water tank and the holding tank can take a well earned rest.

We went out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary.




Wednesday March 13, 2013

We have enjoyed a lazy morning. I have ordered a new starting battery for the port side and it will be installed tomorrow. I have sorted out our USCG documentation renewal and called a couple of friends for a chat. Next excitement is supermarket shopping without the dinghy. There is an enormous amount of traffic on the river. A good morning.

Exploring

Easy walk to the supermarket. We were back by about 1PM and after some lunch launched the ding and went exploring until we got too cold. There are a lot of super-yachts around here.









Thursday March 14, 2013

Quite day.  Breakfast and the paper at a French crepe restaurant. The new starting battery was delivered and installed. As expected it is a windy day and we have decided to delay our departure till Saturday. Read a book in the sun. Watched the big boats go by. Went for a walk. Dinner on the boat.

Friday March 15th, 2013

Its a long while since Deidre has been to a mall so we went looking for the beach and then a mall. We tried to use the local "Lolly The Trolly" but it never appeared so we ended up getting a taxi and doing a lot of walking. We were back by 3 PM and spent a couple of hours washing the boat, pumping out and filling with water.

Boats in Ft. Lauderdale.

Ft. Lauderdale is probably the "boating capital" of the USA. There is miles of river and canal frontage, and enormous marinas.There must be thousands of 100' plus private yachts and a lot of them have slipped past us at this dock. They still impress me and so I have taken a few photos.

Coconut Grove - Miami (March 8 - March 10)

Saturday March 9th, 2013
25 43.119 N
80 13.661 W

My hair is so thin!

I donned my dive gear and went under the boat first thing. Much to my relief the keel was fine - maybe it had lost a bit of paint, but that was it. So I warmed up in the shower and we were underway at about 10AM. Other than me stewing about the keel, it had been a great anchorage and a peaceful night. Today we would reach Miami.

Mangrove lined creek

We only had a bout 40 miles and it was a pleasant day. Some of the route took us along "rivers" thru mangrove islands and I found that quite entrancing. Every now and again we would come across civilization in the form of a fishing marina/hotel or a road bridge. The last stretch was across Biscayne Bay, and we could see the Miami sky line in the distance and pick up Miami radio stations.

Our destination was a large marina with a mooring field at Coconut Grove, a suburban town arbout 5 miles south of central Miami. As we later discovered, it was "Sailing Week" and as we got closer we got mixed up in hundreds of small racing boats. I paged the "Race Committee Boat" on the radio to get advice on the best course of action and to my great surprise they responded.

Bloody sailing boats

We were all secure by 5PM and after cleaning up we went ashore and explored the town. Turns out to be a pretty upscale place with a busy entertainment center. We found a place with "2 for 1 drinks" and "50% off appertisers" and a live band and settled in. To my complete surprise Deidre took her two "Mojitos" and finished them both off. She was a lot of fun, but had a bit of trouble getting back into the dinghy later on!

Saturday March 9, 2013

My laptop refused to boot this morning. It has been acting up for a month or so. Last night I dribbled some wine on it and that seemed to be the last straw. My desktop computer in the pilot house cannot find the Internet. Time to buy a new lap top.

On the people mover - free

We headed ashore at about 10 AM. It was a nice day, sunny and warm. We headed to the bus stop to go into town. Today turned out to be an exercise in urban mass transit. We took a bus to the railway station - 25 cents. We bought a rail/bus day card for $7.00 and took the elevated train down town where we swapped to a free monorail "people-mover". After looking at a couple of computers and enjoying a cup of coffee we took a bus to "South Beach".

Happiness

South Beach was hopping. Turns out it is "Spring Break" season and there are "millions" of college kids in town. The people watching was spectacular. At one point I said to Deidre "Does this remind you of Rio?" Her answer "If everyone lost 100 lbs, maybe!" We had lunch on the sidewalk under umbrella. My lunch was the best I could remember - only $8.50 for the plate and "beers two-for-one". South Beach is now my favorite destination. It is a spectacular and vibrant city.

Tired Deidre

I bought a computer and left it to have my files loaded (I had the solid state back up with me) but they had some trouble and we have to go back tomorrow. We did not get back to the boat till after 6PM. A bit of wind had arrived and we got wet.

For the moment my lap top is working again - sorta-kinda..







Sunday March 10, 2013

Bacon and eggs for breakfast to celebrate daylight saving. We were ashore by about 11AM and started the trek across town to South Beach where I dropped off my old computer so they could remove the hard drive and copy files. Then a cab up to Lincoln Street for lunch.what a happening place. The road had been converted to a mall with out door eating - 60 restaurants in a mile - and lots of people in all sorts of get-ups. We have decided that Miami Beach is the "look-at-me" place. Saw a Mercedes that had been totally chrome plated.

We bought one and split it

We had lunch, did a bit of shopping and wandered around till the computer was ready to pick up. Of course it was not really ready, but the files had been transferred and the rest seems to be up to me. Then the trek back - bus, people mover, rail, bus and dinghy. Same as yesterday the wind was up again and Deidre got soaked in the dinghy.

Monday March 11, 2013

We are staying another day. The sea conditions include waves up 9'! So we have decided Deidre will go ashore for some "by myself time" and I will try and sort out some more of Windows 8.

Overall I am super impressed with Miami. It is a clean, modern, attractive and vibrant city. There is a lot of construction going on. Public transport seems really good. But it is a bit disconcerting that English is very much a second language here. Miami Beach is really good fun.

Tarpon Basin

Thursday March 7, 2013
25 07.808 N
80 25.967 W

The weather forecast was still not so good and included 5 - 7' foot waves offshore (diminishing in the afternoon). We needed to go offshore for at least the first 25 miles and so were a bit apprehensive. But we were starting to feel a bit cooped up in Marathon, and the weather forecast seemed to get worse for the next week or so, so it was "now or never". I called Shay on the radio and chatted with him about expected conditions outside. The wind had been strong but offshore all night, so we decided that if we kept in as close as depths would allow we would be OK. So we cast off and headed out.

We did not see anymore than 2' for the whole leg and enjoyed a relaxing run! We came inside at "Channel #5 and finished the day in calm conditions. The inside channel tends to get a bit shallow and for a few miles we seemed to be in less than 5'. We draw 4'9" and the boat slowed down and we had the impression we were plowing a furrow in the bottom. But that passed and we ended up at a great anchorage in Tarpon Basin, after a 54 NM day.

That evening I was chatting with another friend and told him of our experience in the shallow water. His response blew me away. He told me of "a friend of his" who did the same thing in the same area and WORE 1/2" OFF THE BOTTOM OF HIS KEEL and it cost $10,000 to repair! Apparently the coral sand is very abrasive! That night I just could not sleep and resolved to dive under the boat in the AM and have a look.