Moored to the seawall at No Name Harbor

No Name Harbor is the first harbor south of Hurricane Harbor on Key Biscayne. The channel to the entrance is well marked and you can see the walking trails of the park to starboard as you come down the channel. Cape Florida Lighthouse can be seen towering above the palm trees in the distance. The ambience of the Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park welcomes the seafarers and land lubbers alike. There is an extensive bulkhead where boaters can pump out there holding tanks for free, and also tie up for the day, making easy shore excursions, especially if you intend to ride your bikes on the lovely bike trails. The cost to moor your boat to the seawall is $2.00 for the day and boats cannot stay there overnight. The anchorage fee in No Name Harbor is $20.00. There are pay stations along the seawall and payment is by the honor system. Keeping your receipt allows access back into the park, if you choose to go outside the park for nearby shopping.

No Name Harbor, view from the outdoor shower and laundry

There is no fuel or water available to boaters in No Name Harbor.  There is a restaurant beside the anchorage and another restaurant in the park near the beach. There is a free outdoor “cold” shower at the restroom and laundry facility. Gary and I used the shower, wearing our swimsuits. The view from the shower of Biscayne Bay was phenomenal. Gary said, “Where else can you have this kind of view while taking a shower?” While we were leaving the shower, another couple came to use it and asked us if the water was still hot. We told them we guaranteed it was as hot as it was when we came. The laundry has one washer and one dryer, not always operational, according to the cruising guide.

Stiltsville on Biscayne Bay (7 houses look like dots in the distance)

Stiltsville Information Sign

We rode our bikes around the whole park. The walking trails were along the shoreline and the bike trails were further inside. No matter where we are, we prefer to be close to the water, so we used the walking trail instead of the bike trail, seeing bike tracks in the sand on the trail indicating others had done so as well. The first point of interest we came to on the trail was an informational sign regarding Stiltsville. The remaining seven houses, now owned by the park, can be seen in the distance on Biscayne Bay. These homes built on stilts, hover over the water miles away from the shore. It’s a strange sight to see. Hurricanes have wiped out many of the structures of Stiltsville. My comment to Gary was, “Why would they think hurricanes WOULDN’T wipe them out?” Yet, seven have somehow managed to stay erect since the years of Stiltsville’s conception in the 1930’s. When you look at the picture, the small dots in the distance are the houses.

Further on the trail, we found the piece de resistance of the park, the Cape Florida Lighthouse, circa 1825. The lighthouse suffered from disrepair until the State of Florida purchased it in 1966 and has since refurbished it to it’s original grandeur. There are a plethora of beautiful sights in the Bill Baggs Cape Florida Park , one of which we found coming from the beach side entrance to the lighthouse area. Delighting us beyond measure, we saw a stunning palm tree lined promenade, directing one’s captured attention to the lighthouse.

Cape Florida Lighthouse at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park

Palm tree lined promenade to Cape Florida Lighthouse

The trail from the lighthouse led us to the beach, where Gary enjoyed a swim before we had our picnic lunch. While we were eating, we noticed a couple taking pictures while holding a huge starfish. We joined them and took our turn at taking pictures of the pristine specimen. In all our scuba diving, we have never seen such a perfect starfish, or one as big as this one.

What a special experience!

Starfish at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park

Gary holding starfish

Making a complete loop around the park, we ended up back at No Name Harbor and went to the restaurant there to have a drink before unloading our picnic/beach items at White Swan. From there, we rode our bikes out of the park and 1 ½ miles to the Winn Dixie grocery store. (From the park entrance, it is three lights down, on the left, second floor.) As it turned out, it was the same Winn Dixie we had gone to when we moored at Crandon Park Marina last April. We were pleased to find out the trip is much shorter from No Name Harbor than it is from Crandon Park Marina. From now on, we will tie up at the seawall of No Name Harbor and go to the grocery store from there, instead of Crandon Park Marina. If you are a boater with no bicycle, there is a bus stop just outside the park entrance that can be used if you don’t want to walk the mile and a half. There also is a bus stop near the grocery store.

Manatee at No Name Harbor

Sunset at Hurricane Harbor

We found Hurricane Harbor to be a well protected, albeit a rather small harbor, surrounded by ostentatious homes. At the far end of the harbor, where we anchored for the night, is a road with a bridge that apparently has metal grating. Grating is the operative word here, because when vehicles went over the bridge, the racket was very grating on one’s nerves (my nerves). Fortunately, the traffic was minimal by the time we turned the lights out for the night. If we come to this anchorage again, we will anchor at the other end, nearer the entrance. Even though there is a road at the end of the harbor, there is no where a dinghy can be tied up, enabling a shore excursion. There are no restaurants, or any other amenities for boaters at this anchorage. It’s just a nice calm place to anchor for the night.

The rainy day outside beckoned a lazy day inside. Rain showers fell throughout the day and the predicted thunderstorm came in the late afternoon and evening hours, ending late in the night.

We hoped for a break in the foul weather, so we could schlep our dirty clothes to the marina’s laundry via dinghy, but no break came and the task had to wait for another day. The only advantage of all the rain was Gary used Mother Nature’s fresh water to rinse the topside of the boat after he cleaned off the sea salt and bird droppings. While he cleaned outside, I tidied up the inside. Other than the small amount of cleaning, our only industrious feats for the day were preparing, eating, and washing the dishes for three meals. We decided we ate way two much for a day of inactivity. How many calories do you burn sitting and reading most of the day?

1-18-11

I got to do the laundry today. YEAH!!! Since the marina’s laundry only had one washer and one dryer, it took 5 hours to do 4 loads of laundry. No complaints…it was better than taking the city bus to a laundromat in Miami, which was the other option.

While I did the laundry, Gary cleaned out leaky lockers on White Swan, drained the fuel filter bowl, changed the prop, checked all the fluid levels, and played galley slave. He not only prepared and brought a lovely lunch for us to enjoy on a shaded bench by the laundry, he also made a delicious chicken stir-fry for dinner. He is actually quite the chef. He delights me with his culinary skills occasionally.

When we came to Crandon Park Marina our plans were to spend three nights, using one day to do the laundry and the other day we were going to take the bus to Miami and go to South Beach. Since it rained all day yesterday, delaying the laundry, we’ll hopefully get to South Beach on our way back through this area. You might be wondering why we would choose to do the laundry over a fun day in Miami. If you could have smelled the odoriferous aft berth where our dirty laundry is stowed, you would have quickly come to the same resolution.

The most joyous part of the day was not the sunset this evening, but rather the moon rise. A full moon, shining over the harbor before it was dark outside, sprayed a magical array of colors over the water. Words cannot truly describe the magnificence of the scene, nor can a picture, but in order to share it in the slightest way… Behold…

Moon over Crandon Park Marina at Key Biscayne

Goodyear Blimp over Ft Lauderdale

We motor-sailed 8 ½ hours to Ft. Lauderdale. The enjoyment of the day was seeing the beautiful water, of which we never tire. And after being “holed-up” for 22 days in one place, it felt good to be going somewhere again. By 5:10 PM we were securely anchored in Lake Sylvia and having a very happy hour relaxing before dinner. Lake Sylvia is a small lake near the Port Everglades Inlet. There is not much room for boats to swing around if the wind shifts directions, especially if there are a lot of boats anchored in this small, but well protected anchorage (this means there is land nearly all the way around the anchorage, protecting the anchored boats from wind). The lack of wind and few boats anchored here tonight will make for a very comfortable night.

After reading Jeans account of you relieving yourself while underway, I realized that you had missed the “notice to mariners” regarding such activity, to whit:

USCG Notice to Mariners – #0381965 -Instruction 4PN
Persuant to the allowance of females as crew aboard pleasure craft under 60 feet LOA and in regard to their duties with respect to the head, it is hereby ordered that all male personnel, including the ship’s Captain shall assume a seated position while performing a PPO exercise (personal pump-out). Male personnel may perform a PPO in the standing position in the following situations:
1. While the vessel is secured in a slip. This does not include seawalls.
2. While in dry dock after insuring that all seacocks are secured in the closed position.
3. While standing on the transom and facing aft in conditions under Force 2. Visual contact with the helm is strongly advised.
3. In the event of a ship’s fire, collision or imminant foundering, in which case an IPPO (involuntary personal pump out) may be unavoidable.

Hope this is helpful.

Sandy Graves
S/v Lily Pad

1/10/11  10:30 PM

Sailor’s Dream

by B. Jean Glenn

Awakened

wakes

slapping against the hull.

Wind

whitecaps

tossing to and fro.

Anchor

secure

rocking port to starboard.

Lullaby

rhythmic

music of the sea.

Stars

moonlight

quiets the sailor’s mind.

Sleep

un-emcumbered

rest for the soul in dreams.

Pat and Tom Dennis

We spent last night at the North Palm Beach Marina, and since the marina’s dock master told us there was no particular time that we needed to leave the boat slip today, we stayed until after the Dennis’s visit. It’s much easier to entertain guests from a boat slip than from an anchorage (no dinghy rides to and fro). Tom and Pat were also in awe of the mega-yachts in the marina, as well as the surrounding neighborhoods. After lunch at Duffy’s Sports Bar and Grill (where we go to watch football games), Tom drove us around the area. We showed them where the dinghies dock at the north end of Lake Worth and driving further, we found the state park we heard about, less than two miles from our anchorage (an easy bike ride). At the park, we can go to the beach on the ocean if we want to.

Driving further down A1A, Tom found the jetties at the Lake Worth Inlet, and Peanut Island just around the bend from the inlet, where Pat said they had anchored before. We saw the anchorage where we stayed at Singer Island in April of this year. It’s always interesting for boaters to view areas from land where they have been by sea. Pat quoted (from an unremembered source), “ When you go somewhere by land, you go through the back door. When you go there by sea, you go through the front door.” I love that quote because experientially, that is really how it feels.

Before going back to White Swan, we stopped by the French Café and Bakery to get dessert to enjoy at the boat before our guests left. While at the café, I had opportunity to practice my French (limited as I am). Gary and I are going to France this September with friends from Indianapolis and it’s always a treat to speak French when opportunities arise. Interestingly, our friends who are going with us to France are as excited about going as we are (our first time to go across the Big Pond), because we are going to travel southern France on a cruising boat (with Gary as the captain); and even though both couples have been to France many times, they have never viewed it by water. From reading our blogs, they realize it will be a totally different perspective and experience for them, thus their exuberance.

Back at the marina, the four of us walked over to the marina office and viewed the ICW and Parker Bridge. Again, interesting to all of us because it’s viewed from a different perspective on land. Earlier, while awaiting Tom and Pat’s arrival, I sat on a bench at the marina office and watched the water traffic go by… very peaceful.

Before Tom and Pat left their marina this morning, they bid bon voyage to another fellow sailor, John, who left port to head south. We are hoping he will stop here at Lake Worth on his journey south, so we can see him. He has spent a lot of time cruising the Ft. Lauderdale and Miami waterways and we would like to learn from him what he knows about the areas. Obtaining firsthand knowledge is invaluable, as there is only so much you can learn from charts and cruising guides.

Our time together with the Dennis’s passed swiftly and we said our goodbyes after enjoying dessert aboard White Swan. We were left with good memories of a delightful visit, as well as two and a half weeks of mail that Pat had gathered for us. She also brought us a fresh supply of lemons picked from our Melbourne neighbor’s tree. Florida’s fresh fruits are so fabulous, and we particularly enjoy our neighbor’s juicy lemons in water as a refreshing drink or used on baked local fresh fish. YUMMY……

Mine started a few days before we left Melbourne, with what looked like a pimple on my inner thigh.  It looked like it was a white head and when I tried to squeeze it, nothing came out.  I wasn’t concerned about it until the day before we were to leave, I woke up and there was a red circle around the pimple. It looked like a spider bite.  The day we were to leave port, it felt hot and had doubled in size.  That’s when we went to the doctor.  She suspected MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus), took a culture to test it, and started me on the antibiotic, Keflex.  Not knowing at the time if the infection was staph or not, her instructions were, “If it doesn’t start to improve within 48 hours, switch to Bactrim”, the sulfa drug, because sulfa will kill MRSA, where most antibiotics, such as Keflex, won’t.

The next morning I awakened to find it had grown twice the size again, and the cellulitis around the boil-type infection continued to grow daily until it was bigger than a grapefruit. It was a good thing I switched to the Bactrim.  The rest of the story has been written in previous blogs.

So…how did I get it?  I asked the emergency room doctor that very question and her answer confirmed what Gary’s doctor told us a couple of years ago when he got MRSA.  CA-MRSA (Community Associated MRSA) is everywhere…on grocery cart handles, door knobs, everywhere.  It used to be people only got it in healthcare facilities; this type is now referred to as HA-MRSA (Healthcare Associated MRSA).  Pretty scary.  In Gary’s case, it started with an ingrown hair in his nose that he picked at.  In my case, when I tried to squeeze the pimple, the doctor said instead of the infection coming out, it probably just spread under the tissue.  Bottom line…Don’t pick at anything on your body.  And, if something doesn’t heal within a couple of days, see a doctor.  MRSA WILL NOT HEAL WITHOUT THE PROPER ANTIBIOTIC AND/OR MEDICAL CARE; AND, IT CAN BE LIFE-THREATENING IF LEFT UNTREATED.  I am fortunate that mine is healing properly and when I was at the ER the first time, they checked my blood to make sure it was not in my bloodstream.  Prevention: wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands.  Use soap and water when available and wash for 15 seconds.  Antibacterial gels should only be used when soap and water is unavailable.

This is what I have learned about MRSA  and it has been stated to the best of my understanding of the disease. *** IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS, CONSULT A MEDICAL DOCTOR.