13 Dec 2010 Patrick AFB to Vero Beach, FL
Before we left Manatee Cove Marina (Patrick AFB) we did a little provisioning and Christmas shopping. It was a short run down to Vero Beach. Several miles before the mooring field, tornado warnings were posted in the area in which we were traveling. The weather fizzled out and the warnings expired. The marina personnel assigned us a mooring ball alongside
M/Y Palette, John Peach's trawler. Since John was not aboard, I staged all the lines and when Ted pulled alongside John's boat I got off of our boat and onto John's boat a little forward of amidships with my boat hook and bow line in hand. His caprail, just aft of his bow, is level with our side decks. Once we were secure, we put the dinghy in the water to go check in.
Here's an overhead shot of the mooring field in Vero Beach.
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Vero Beach has an excellent bus service which we took advantage of to run more errands and complete our holiday shopping. Christmas Eve we moved to an empty mooring ball so that our friends on
Summer Wind could moor with us. Christmas Day saw a good turnout for the pot luck Christmas dinner. We also lucked out with the weather. It had been fairly cool until Christmas Day. We both got underway the next day.
26 Dec 2010 Vero Beach to Hobe Sound, FL
It was so windy when we left today that the boat wanted to heel over. Turning on the stabilizers helped arrest that motion. The wind never fell off so we anchored off the narrow channel that makes up Hobe Sound.
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27 Dec 2010 Hobe Sound to Jupiter, FL (Admirals Cove Marina)
Another short day. We moored in the marina at Admirals Cove so we could visit with our friends, Joel and Marian Busse. We did dinner at their place and ours and took in a great movie, The King's Speech. Marian & Joel are wonderful hosts!
ACM is an incredible stop. "Delicately nestled along the natural tropical waterways of magnificent Jupiter, Florida, The Club at Admiral’s Cove stands alone as the preeminent family golf and country club offering a first class marina, 45 holes of championship golf, yacht services, tennis, a luxurious spa, salon and a full-service fitness center. Members here cultivate friendships, bask in the treasure of more than five miles of navigable waterways, and enjoy superb dining, golf, and facilities." It is a beautiful property and I really enjoyed using the fitness center.
29 Dec 2010 Jupiter to Lake Santa Barbara, FL
After 2 days at Admiral's Cove we were underway once again bound for Ft Lauderdale. This whole stretch of the waterway is much more urban as one makes their way through Palm Beach and into greater Ft Lauderdale. It was a longer day than most - almost 8 hours and 20 bridges. Six bridges had to open for us.
Somewhere along the route these dolphins cruised briefly on our port side. Halfway through the video the dolphin looks like he's looking up at me.
30 Dec 2010 Lake Santa Barbara to Lake Sylvia, FL (Ft Lauderdale)
An easy run down to Lake Sylvia which is a very popular spot for anchoring and local boaters. You can see the Class A inlet for the port just below the lake. Ft Lauderdale is a great stop for us. We positioned ourselves here so we could move up the New River when the current is close to slack.
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31 Dec 2010 Lake Sylvia to New River, FL (Ft Lauderdale)
The city has slips along the sides of the New River. It is a residential setting with lots of green space. Lots going on between the people and boat watching. Here we are along the wall; that's
M/Y Summer Wind behind us.
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| Aloha Friday and Summer Wind moored along the New River, Ft Lauderdale, FL |
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Being New Year's Eve we had dinner out with Dick & Elle; note the "boater casual" dress.
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| Dick & Elle Lassman, Ted & Nancy - New Year's Eve at Mangoes on Las Olas Blvd | | | | | | |
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Ft Lauderdale had a number of New Year's activities going on with their own version of The Ball. You can see it above us in this photo.
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| New Year's Eve - Along the New River, Ft Lauderdale, FL |
Happy New Year!
While we were here we discovered that we were too late to get into the marina at NAS Boca Chica. No surprise there. So we scouted out private dockage in the Keys and Ft Lauderdale. We were lucky to get dockage back at Plantation Yacht Harbor marina in Islamorada for a month. We'd also explored dockage in Ft Lauderdale at private docks. Found a great spot to spend a month farther up the New River. Dick & Elle had also planned to stay on a private dock. Upon their arrival they discovered that the 30 amp outlet for power was for a dryer; not a boat. We were able to hook them up with the folks we discovered and now they are all set.
We checked out the Las Olas Art show....
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| Art Show - Las Olas Blvd 1 Jan 2011 |
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| Nancy, Elle & Dick - Walking along the New River |
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and watched the boats on the New River....
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| M/Y Blackhawk |
Note the BoatUS boat on the bow and the stern.
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| Shark Boat |
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| Lady in Distress |
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6 Jan 2011 - Ft Lauderdale to Key Biscayne, FL
Departed the New River bound for No Name Harbor on Key Biscayne. Take a look at the toys in this "garage" belonging to the big yacht.
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| Toys in the "garage" - Ft Lauderdale |
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| "Garage" door on right hand side of yacht |
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You can see the extra green markers in the channel near Haulover Beach Inlet as well as the dredge in the corner. You can also see the marina in the background
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| Additional navaids near Haulover Beach Inlet |
Downtown Miami...
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| Downtown Miami |
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We had strong west winds all day. As a result the windsurfers were out on Biscayne Bay.
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| Windsurfers off Virginia Key - Biscayne Bay |
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Fortunately there was room in No Name Harbor to anchor; it is a popular jumping off point for the Bahamas and can be quite congested. We also set the anchor the first time. Usually the bottom here is soft and it takes multiple times to set the anchor properly. As I recall I even backed down on it with as much as 1400 rpms and it didn't move!
Here's a few of the sailboats anchored on our starboard side.
No Name Harbor sits inside the confines of
Bill Baggs Cape Florida state park on the tip of Key Biscayne.
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8 Jan 2011 Key Biscayne to Rodriquez Key, FL
After 2 days in No Name Harbor we got underway again and headed for Rodriquez Key. From there we'd wait for high tide to pass through Snake Creek and into Plantation Yacht Harbor marina.
We're anchored on the south west side of the Key; south of Key Largo and north of Tavernier.
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9 Jan 2011 - Rodriquez Key to Islamorada, FL
Entering the channel into Snake Creek; the white buoys outside the channel mark an area off-limits to "motorized" boats.
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| Entrance to Snake Creek Channel - Islamorada |
Crossing over to the bay side....
We'll be at
Plantation Yacht Harbor marina, in Islamorada, for a month. Will pick up the blog again when we leave The Keys 9 Feb.
