Glenns Gone Sailing

Ed and Cheryl decided to stay in Community Harbor another night, but Nancy, Sandy, Gary and I wanted to go to Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park, so we ventured further south down the Keys today.

While going through a narrow channel called Steamboat Channel, White Swan ran hard aground.  Lily Pad was sailing ahead of us, unaware of our dilemma, and after we realized we were going to be there a while getting off the shoal, we radioed our sister ship with our VHF radio.  They came back to help us, and Sandy informed us we hadn’t furled in our jib sail, which was keeping us pushed up on the shoal.  DUH-H-H.  In our hast to do everything else we needed to do, we forgot about the jib.  Sometimes, Gary and I need a third brain, because the two we have together doesn’t do all the work necessary in certain situations.  Long story short:  We finally got off the shoal by both of us getting in the water and pulling up the rudders on both sides of the boat and dragging the boat backwards into deep enough water for the rudders and the outboard motor to do the rest of the work.  Gary hopped into our dinghy and he and Sandy stayed in their respective dinghy’s, motoring beside White Swan, in case they needed to assist her, until she was safely in deeper water.  (WARNING TO FIRST TIME BOATERS IN FLORIDA:  Later, we found out there could have been a fine for going aground with our boat in Florida because of “damage to reefs and seagrass beds“.  We are familiar with going aground in the Chesapeake Bay, which is commonplace there, so it never crossed our minds that it could be so detrimental in Florida to the point of a fine being issued for such an occurrence.  The rule of thumb regarding going aground in the Chesapeake Bay is, “If you’ve never gone aground, you’ve never really sailed the Bay. “  In Florida, the rule is to watch the color of the water and the saying goes, “Brown, brown, run aground. White, white, you just might. Green, green, nice and clean. Blue, blue, cruise on through.”  (Quoted from the Florida Keys Safe Boating Tips through the Florida Advisory Council On Environmental Education.)  The difference between the two quips is, in the Chesapeake Bay the bottom is mud for the most part.  In Florida, the bottom is coral or sand, and for both, guarded care is necessary to sustain the precious corals and seagrasses in the sand.

Since our encounter with the shoal in Steamboat Channel delayed our trip, we didn’t know if we could make it in time to get a tour of Lignumvitae Park.  But, we motored as fast as we could to get there just in time for the last tour of the day.  A private tour for just the four of us, at that.

Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park:

(By the way, for those of you have never traveled the islands of the Florida Keys, the word “key” means a reef or a low island.  In the British Virgin Islands, where we have chartered a sailboat many times, the spelling for “key” is “cay”. “Cay” is pronounced the same, and means the same as “key”; it’s just spelled differently.)

Lignumvitae Key is an island composed of fossilized coral rock.  Throughout time, soil built up on the rocks, enabling seeds to take root and start growing trees and flowers.  The seeds came from other tropical islands, carried by the wind, or by the droppings of birds, or by washing ashore from the sea.  Nonetheless, the seeds sprouted and the key became the lush tropical hammock that it is today.  (In this text, a “hammock” is the elevated land, above the level of the marshy part of the island.  The word hammock is used in this context a lot in Florida.  In fact, our new home is in a subdivision named Hammock Lakes.)

The Matheson House on Lignumvitae Key

Lignumvitae Key can be reached only by boat.  There are only two houses on the island.  One is where the ranger who cares for the island lives, and the other is the original house built in 1919, the Matheson House.  This house was built for the caretakers of the island, not for the owner’s use.  The Matheson’s chose to stay aboard their yacht when they visited their island. The house remains pretty much the same as it did back in 1919 and is in impeccable condition.  Most of the furnishing are of the original era in which it was built.  There are lots of pictures of days gone by throughout the house.  Outside, is the original windmill that supplied power to the house, minus it’s top.  Now, a family of ospreys has their residence on the pent house of the old windmill.  An adult and two nearly grown offspring were letting their presence be known to us, with their distinct osprey cries, as we ventured outside for our walking tour of the hammock.  When the osprey mother senses her young are in danger, she always takes flight from the nest, to divert the attention from her fledglings.  When she took flight as I approached their domain to take a picture, I was not surprised by her reaction; as Gary and I have seen the osprey mothers do this many times as we have passed their nests atop the waterway markers in the Chesapeake Bay.  I say “mother” loosely, as I don’t really know if it is the mother parent or the father parent displaying this protective strategy for their young.

The cistern that supplied water to the Matheson House was seen but not available to tour.  Most of the original caretakers’ needs were met by the land and sea.  The focus on caring for the island today, is to maintain it as true to it’s original state as possible.  It’s care is entrusted to the Florida rangers.  There is only one other house on the island and that is where one of the Florida rangers stays.  Electricity for the island comes from a generator and water and all other supplies are brought to the island by boat.

As the ranger spoke about the infestation of mosquitoes on the island, in 1919 and present day, I wondered how the original caretakers took care of the need to protect themselves from such a nuisance.  There was no DEET back then. Maybe they covered themselves with mosquito netting.  None of us asked the question, so I have no truthful answer.

Lignumvitae Tree

As we went down the steps of the fossilized coral rock structured house, we were promptly greeted by a lignumvitae tree.  Now you know why this particular island was so named.  The lignumvitae that stands proudly at the corner of the house adjacent to the stairs, is a small tree in comparison to many others on the hammock.  This particular tree is very slow growing.  It had little white flowers on it and delicate leaves.  The most unusual trait of this little tree is in it’s wood.  The wood from this tree is almost as hard as steel.  In days past, the wood was used as bearing material for propeller shafts in PT boats.  Nowadays, the rarity of lignumvitae wood prohibits it’s use for commercial purposes.  As we toured the hammock, we saw other lignumvitae trees, one estimated at being 150 years old, yet not considerably larger than the much younger one that graces the corner of the house.

Another interesting tree, introduced to us on our walking tour, was the gumbo-limbo tree.  The bark of this tree is it’s fascinating feature, as it resembles layers of skin that easily sloughs off the trunk of the tree.  It’s commonly called the “tourist tree”, because “the tourists in Florida always get sunburned and then their skin sloughs off“.

After our grand tour of Lignumvitae Key, we took our dinghies back to our boats where Sandy, Nancy and Gary swam for a while.  I chose not to swim because while we were on shore, Nancy asked me if I saw the huge Portuguese man-of-wars in the water as we came in to the key‘s harbor.  Portuguese Man-of-Wars are sea creatures that are like huge jelly fish with tentacles that can be 40 to 50 feet in length which sting the  heck out of you if you get near one.  We were told, never to get near one if it washes up on the beach, as the tentacles are still poisonous even if the Man-of-War is dead.   I want to experience an encounter with a Man-of-War about as much as I want to experience an encounter with a crocodile!!!

From Lignumvitae Key we motored to a nearby island, Fiesta Key, and anchored for the night near a campground and marina.  Before leaving this anchorage the next morning, we visited the marina for purchases of ice and the forever sought after ice cream…a boater’s coveted treat.

4-17-10

Our travel today brought us to Mile 1150 on the ICW.  We are anchored in Community Harbor, Key Largo.  The three sister ships are once again reunited.  Sandy and Nancy’s Lily Pad was already anchored in the small harbor when Lady Bug and White Swan arrived.  Only boats with very shallow drafts can anchor in the shallowness of Community Harbor.  “Draft” is the term used for the distance from the bottom of the boat to the water’s surface.  Gemini catamarans have a draft of 20 inches.  Pat and Tom Dennis’ monohull boat, Swan, has a draft of six feet.  Therefore, they would be unable to go into a lot of anchorages we have been in with White Swan.  On the other hand, they could have been across the Gulf Stream by now, because their heavier boat can handle stronger winds than ours . There are advantages and disadvantages to both types of boats.  The important thing is to know the capabilities of your boat and sail her accordingly, respecting both the boat and Mother Nature.

Ed and Cheryl invited all of us over to their boat to watch a movie tonight.  We always enjoy movie night, especially since there is no TV aboard White Swan.  It took me five years to convince the captain of this boat, we needed a barbeque grill, so the way I figure it, in four more years we’ll have a TV on White Swan.  As with all things we have to wait for, it will be appreciated that much more when it happens.

4-16-10

Our next anchorage was a little further south in Blackwater Sound, very near where the ICW makes a cut through Key Largo via Dusenbury Creek. Nancy and Sandy are anchored past the cut in Tarpon Basin. The Pennekamp State Park is on Key Largo in between our two anchorages. Since they could dinghy to shore and walk to the park and we could dinghy through another shallow cut close to where we were anchored and go to the park via water, we made plans to meet them.

Cheryl and Ed relaxed on Lady Bug while we took our dinghy through a narrow cut through the Key to get to where Sandy and Nancy were awaiting us at Pennekamp State Park. The water was choppy in Largo Sound and we got wet going through the sound to get to our destination. Not having a GPS on the dinghy, and navigating by Sandy’s verbal directions given to us from his perspective from land, which is totally different from what is seen by sea, made it challenging to find them. After crossing Largo Sound , we made our way through a maze of mangroves and finally saw them waving to us from shore. Finding them was a combination of luck and a little navigational common sense.

We had a great time walking around Pennekamp State Park and then we walked approximately one mile to a restaurant Sandy and Nancy had found earlier in the day. After lunch, we parted ways at the park entrance and Gary and I went into the park where our dinghy was moored, while they continued walking another half mile or so to get to their dinghy which was tied up on the shore close to where Lily Pad was anchored.

When we went to the park, the wind was behind us and at times we rode the waves, giving us a smooth ride until our bow would lose the crest of the wave and dip down into the trough, which then allowed the water to come pouring over the bow into the dinghy. We knew the wind would be right on our bow going back to White Swan, and if it had stayed as strong as it was during our trip over, we would have had a very rough crossing for our return. Anticipating, a choppy, wet ride back to our boat, I’d worn a swimsuit underneath my clothes, so I took my outer garments off before slipping on a life jacket. If our ride back had been more bouncy than the ride to the park, I thought it would present a very real possibility of bouncing me off the bow of the dinghy and I wanted to be prepared for such an incident. Turns out, the wind calmed down, delivering an uneventful ride back to our boat. “Uneventful” is good…We don’t always need excitement in our lives.

Great Egret at Key Largo

Brown Pelican at Key Largo

On the ride through the cut, we saw lots of brown pelicans and great egrets.  This is the first area we have seen the tall white great egrets.  We’ve only seen the smaller snowy egrets thus far down the ICW.  The main differences between the two are, the great egrets are approximately 15 inches taller than the snowy egrets, and their bills are yellow where the snowy egrets are black.  Both have black legs, but the snowy has yellow feet while the great’s remain black.

We picked up our ice chest and a big bad of trash from the boat and went to a nearby marina for ice, gasoline for the dingy, and trash disposal. It’s a good thing White Swan didn’t need fuel, as the marina did not offer diesel. We noted two restaurants were near the marina, for future visits.

After dinner, Gary took a nap (a rarity) while I sat in the cockpit and read. The serenade of loud music from a tour boat, or the wake from all the power boats, didn’t seem to disturb Gary, and the activity provided entertained for me…beats staring at mangroves for two days.

4-17-10

Our travel today brought us to Mile 1150 on the ICW. We are anchored in Community Harbor, Key Largo. The three sister ships are once again reunited. Sandy and Nancy’s Lily Pad was already anchored in the small harbor when Lady Bug and White Swan arrived. Only boats with very shallow drafts can anchor in the shallowness of Community Harbor. “Draft” is the distance from the bottom of the boat to the water’s surface. Gemini catamarans have a draft of 20 inches. Pat and Tom Dennis’ boat, Swan, has a draft of six feet. Therefore, they would not be able to go into a lot of anchorages we have been in with White Swan. On the other hand, they could have been across the Gulf Stream by now, because their heavier boat can handle the stronger winds. There are advantages and disadvantages to both types of boats. The important thing is to know the capabilities of your boat and sail her accordingly, respecting both the boat and Mother Nature.

Ed and Cheryl invited all of us over to their boat to watch a movie tonight. We always enjoy movie night, especially since there is no TV aboard White Swan. It took me five years to convince the captain of this boat, we needed a barbeque grill, so the way I figure it, in four more years we’ll have a TV on White Swan. As with all things we have to wait for, it will be appreciated that much more when it happens.

4-15-10

This morning we left Linderman Creek, leaving behind it’s eerie maze of mangroves and “whatever” lurked beneath the water’s surface there.

We motored south to a small harbor in Barnes Sound, off northern Key Largo, named Thursday Cove. Sandy and Nancy chose to travel a little further south to Tarpon Basin.

Thursday Cove was much more open and we felt less claustrophobic there than we did at Linderman Creek.  Since the cove is a natural reserve, it offered no residences, marinas or any other businesses; just lots of mangroves, only not in such a confined space as our previous anchorage.

Cheryl and Ed are always trying to find a place to take Molly to shore, and on there way back from one of their excursions, they stopped by our boat to inform us of a chair floating in the water near the shore, as they thought we might like to retrieve it to use in our cockpit, since I teased her about being rich enough to have a chair in her cockpit.  She has pretty, homey stuff all over Lady Bug, of which I’m jealous, so I tease her about being a rich b____, having all the pretty stuff that White Swan doesn’t, because there’s “no room”.  Anyway, Gary and I checked out the chair during our dinghy ride.  I wanted to retrieve it from the tangle of mangrove roots that had captured it.  My intentions were to set it up in the dinghy so I could sit on it and have Gary parade me by Lady Bug while I gave the Queen’s wave to my spectators, Ed and Cheryl.  I thought it would be the most hilarious thing to do, but my captain has his limits as to how much he’s willing to participate in my shenanigans. 

Molly

4-14-10

Gary and I don’t particularly like this anchorage other than the fact it is protecting us from the strong wind.  That is why we came into Linderman Creek, and it has served it’s purpose.  However, we’re tired of looking at mangroves.  And another dinghy ride for enjoyment’s sake is out of the question in this eerie mangrove, crocodile infested anchorage… When the weather allows it, we much prefer to anchor in a more open space where we can see a variety of sites.  My hunch is, that is also the preference of the sailors on the two sister ships anchored here with us.

Cheryl and Ed offered all of us a break to the monotony by inviting us to Lady Bug for dinner and a movie.  She made wonderful chicken and beef enchiladas, I made a Pecan Rum Pie and Nancy brought buttered sourdough bread and Dove CHOCOLATES to have during the movie.  Appropriately, we watched a pirate movie entitled Cut Throat Island, starring Gina Davis.  I don’t know if it is classified as a comedy, but we found it to be very humorous.  Sailors would watch it from a different perspective, as a musician would listen to music, a singer would listen to another singer, or an artist would look at a painting; as we all interpret what we see, hear, and feel from our own perspective.  As long as we find goodness and enjoyment in our interpretations, life is good. (Sometimes, I feel like letting the philosophical side of me leak out a little…sorry if I got a little on you…I‘ve been cooped up in the mangrove swamp too long. Would somebody let me out of here???)

When we were at Elliott Key, Ed apparently saw me dangling my feet over the dinghy as we floated in the water. Steadfastly watching out for us, he kindly warned me not to do so in the waters of Linderman Creek.  With all the mangroves around us, he was concerned about the possibility of crocodiles being in the area.  After a brief lesson on the difference between alligators and crocodiles, I gladly kept my feet or any other appendage from dangling over the side of the dinghy.  (Briefly: alligators have a broader snout than the more aggressively threatening crocodiles.)

I was so freaked out about the possibility of crocodiles in the area, when we stopped by Lily Pad, I promptly informed Sandy and Nancy of our pending doom if we weren’t careful.  Later, I saw the two fearless ones kayaking in the supposedly crocodile infested waters.  I yelled at her, “You certainly are fearless, Nancy!!!”  Her only concern was the swift current and trying to stay in control of her kayak.  When they came to our boat that evening via their kayaks, she tossed her mooring line to me in a hurry, and I held it tightly while she managed to maneuver herself out of the unsteady vessel.  I kept a lookout for crocodiles, as she remained oblivious to a more serious problem lurking, unseen, under the waters surface.

4-11-10

Sandy and Nancy decided to stay in Key Biscayne, FL and pick up a mooring ball at Crandon Marina for a couple of nights and then join us in the Keys, since the rest of us decided to go on.  After filling one of our fuel tanks and both water tanks (and buying ice and Klon Dike ice cream bars) we sailed over Biscayne Bay to Elliott Key, which only took us two and a half hours.  Gary and I were excited to finally be sailing on clear emerald green water.  Sometimes the water looked blue, but mostly it looked a pretty clear emerald green.  Since we were in clear water, we used our water maker when the engine was running.

Gary snorkeling at Elliott Key

When we got to our anchorage at Elliott Key, I knew it wouldn’t take Gary long to get in the water.  We have been doctoring an infected place on his neck for the last week, and I knew no matter how much I pleaded, he would get in that water.  And he did.  However, as soon as he got back onto the boat, he showered and I put peroxide and Neosporin on the infected site.  Fish feces can be very damaging to an open wound, and we know to be very careful.

Gary and I took a leisurely dinghy ride around the anchorage.  Ed had told us about making a glass bottom bucket so we could use it to check our anchor set.  We took this bucket with us in the dinghy and had fun using it to look at the soft coral as we floated along.  Ed and Cheryl got in their dinghy with their dog ,Molly, and headed toward shore, so we met them at the beach.  There were a lot of power boaters partying on the beach, with loud music coming from one boat in particular.  I was appalled at the trash strewn over what should have been a lovely beach.  Obviously, the partying crowds gave no regard to our fragile eco-system and thoughtlessly left their trash behind.  The sight left me with a sense of melancholy as I pondered the question, “Why do people contribute to the demise of our world with such mindless acts of carelessness?”

We were aware a storm front was suppose to come our way, and indeed it did, with gusts of wind up to 30 miles an hour.  Both Lily Pad and White Swan drug their anchors a little way before grabbing tightly again.  Fortunately, both of us were able to respond to the situation quickly and it was soon under control.  We were thankful we were not in a crowded anchor, such as the one in Miami.  Sandy and Nancy should have been fine where they were as well, since they were secured to a mooring ball.  Our anchor held tight during the night, as did Lily Pad’s.  We contemplated going to a different anchorage, as the front was to continue yet another day; but after both our anchors dug in so tightly and held fast, we decided to stay where we were.

4-12-10

The front lingered around us all day, with lots of rain and gusty winds.  Gary and I decided to take advantage of the rain and we put buckets out to catch the rainwater and I did laundry by hand.  I washed the clothing and then hung them over the lifelines, pinned on with clothes pins, and let the rain rinse them.  After the rain stopped, Gary rung the clothing out and pinned them back on the lines to dry.  Worked like a charm.  And it was fun to be so creative with God’s gift of rain.  We also took advantage of the rain and used it to wash the top of the boat.  I used a scrub brush and Roll-Off and scrubbed the non-skid surfaces while Gary followed behind me with a sponge and cleaned the smooth surfaces.  And the rain did the rinsing.  It was much easier than having to mess around with a water hose to do the job.  Afterward, Gary said, “I bet it’s been a long time since you played in the rain.”  Yep!  Too long.  We enjoyed it so much, we intend to do more of it.  It’s truly wonderful being married to your best friend and play mate.

After playing in the rain, I spent the rest of the afternoon cooking.  We invited Ed and Cheryl over for dinner.  I was going to make a lemon meringue pie, put after fussing with the oven and trying to accomplish a baked pie crust with minimal burned edges, I gave up the notion of trying to bake meringue in the boat’s oven.  So, I just made the lemon pie filling using the ripest of the lemons we had.  After hearing my dilemma, Cheryl contributed fresh strawberries and whipped cream for the topping–delicious.

Making a meringue pie and noodles goes hand-in-hand in my kitchen.  Meringue requires just the whites of the eggs, so I use the yolks to make noodles.  Since, I gave up on the meringue before it was brought to fruition, I refrigerated the egg whites to be used later in an omelet, and used the yolks to make noodles for chicken and noodles.  Mashed potatoes, and green beans finished the menu and when dinner came and went, there was little left in the serving bowls–interpreted as a compliment to the galley slave.

While I was busy in the galley, Gary studied charts to familiarize himself with tomorrow‘s journey.  He also kept his attention focused on the chart plotter and Sirius weather radio, tracking the front that was going through.  As luck would have it, there was a break in the weather long enough for Ed, Cheryl, and Molly to come for dinner and a short visit.

　4-13-10

We left Elliott Key after a leisurely time with latte, coffee and devotions.  Motor-sailing allowed us to charge our boat’s batteries, run our water maker, run our refrigerator off the inverter, and charge our laptop computer.

We were anchored up a small creek called Linderman Creek by 11:30 AM.  The wind and current is strong but our anchor dug in well and there are no wakes slapping up onto the hull of the boat, so inside the boat seems quiet.  The last two nights brought with them, choppy water slapping the underneath of the boat, creating a lot of bothersome noise.  I use earplugs during such times, but Gary chooses not to because one of us needs to hear what is going on in case of an emergency.  He said the noise awakened him a couple of times during the night last night.  It had to have gotten pretty loud to have awakened him, because he usually sleeps soundly.  With calmer waters where we are anchored for tonight, sleep rebound should come easily for him.

Sandy and Nancy arrived around 1:30 this afternoon.  It’s very remote where our three Gemini’s are anchored.  Gary and I would not have chosen such an isolated spot if we had been traveling alone.  We’ve never had a problem in the past, but we also have been selective in our anchorages.  We feel there is safety in numbers, so we are comfortable here.

Mangroves at Linderman Creek

The little islands in this area consist predominately of mangroves.  Mangroves are found in the tropics and they are noted for their interlacing roots that can be seen above ground.  We went on a dingy ride through the serpentine creek,  and to me,  the mangroves cast an eeriness onto the ambiance of the waterway.  I’d much rather see a sandy beach.

Cheryl didn’t feel well so she and Ed passed on a social evening, so Gary and I taught Sandy and Nancy how to play Parcheesi.  Tomorrow night, all of us are planning on a pitch-in dinner and watching a movie aboard Lady Bug.  We are enjoying our new boating friends tremendously.  The commonality of loving being on the water unites us.

4-7-10

Lady Bug and Lily Pad going out the Lake Worth Inlet 4-7-10

We left our anchorage just inside the Lake Worth Inlet at daybreak. After motoring to the turning basin (a body of water inside the inlet where big ships can turn around), the three Gemini captains latched themselves to their jack-lines and went forward on the boats to put up the main sail. A jack-line is a line tied from the stern (back) of the boat to the bow (front) of the boat, One is put on the starboard (right side) and another on the port (left side). The person going forward latches themselves to the jack-line with a tether that is attached to their lifejacket. These lines are not routinely used in calmer waters by most sailors. But, they were an added feature for our Bahamas trip.

Rough seas encompassed us as we entered the awesomeness of the ocean. We motor-sailed to the first marker for the inlet entrance (if you were coming in from the Atlantic), which is a little over one mile out to sea. All three of the suddenly re-sized minuscule Gemini’s were being tossed around like popcorn. The leader of our flotilla, Captain Ed, decided we should return to port, as the whole ten hour trip over the Gulf Stream would have been uncomfortably rough. None of us had a problem with his decision.

Since we were going to start making our own water with our water maker after we got out into the clear ocean, we had let our water tanks go down pretty low. Now that we are back in port, our only two options to obtain more water is to pull anchor and go to a marina or take water jugs to the marina via the dingy. As mentioned in previous blogs, getting in and out of marinas is not always an easy task, so we opted for the later choice. The only problem with that option was, we didn’t have the big blue 5 gallon water jugs that most cruisers carry aboard. In preparing for this trip with our shortsightedness, we didn’t see the necessity for them. We continue to learn what is really needed for a cruiser on a small boat. (“Small boat” is relative.) The necessity of “jerry jugs” for water, offered us an excuse to go to West Marine. (THE store for boaters.) Fortunately, there is a store about a half mile away from where we are anchored, and we have walked there numerous times while waiting for our “weather window”. We walked to West Marine, only to find they had sold out of these pretty light blue necessities. (Jerry jugs for water are light blue, yellow for diesel, and red for gasoline.) The young salesman who attended to our needs, called another West Marine store and made arrangements for someone from the other store to bring two of the beauties over to the store where we were. We have a newly found respect for jerry jugs, after the effort it took by everyone involved in the transaction to get them.

After obtaining the jerry jugs, the next step was taking them to the marina to fill them. This act involved a fairly long dingy ride through a lot of chop (choppy water). Since I sit near the bow of the dingy while Gary is steering with the outboard motor, I became a shield, protecting him from a lot of the spray of water as we bounced through the waves. By the time we returned to White Swan, we both had to change our clothing and quickly prepare to go to the “meeting of the Captain’s minds” aboard Lily Pad.

During a time of drinks and refreshments, provided by all of us (which is a common thing to do for boaters), the captains decided we would try to continue our trip on Friday (today is Wednesday). Ed, Gary and Sandy made this decision after looking at the weather website. As we have learned, this plan is subject to change from day to day.

We can now see the necessity of having an internet air-card while cruising in the United States. When not at a marina offering Wi-Fi, or being at a library or internet café, we have no internet. The next time we do extended cruising in the states, we will definitely have some type of internet air-card. However, it will be of no use in the Bahamas, and that is why we opted not to get one for this trip. Again, we are continually learning about what is really needed for such a lifestyle.

4-8-10 8:00 AM

Since we plan on leaving tomorrow, we will move our boats closer to the mouth of the inlet this evening.

Today, we plan to do a few odd jobs around the boat. One of Gary’s odd jobs is to fix the latch that fell off the closet in our berth while we were bouncing around in the ocean yesterday. We also need to walk to West Marine and get some more Water Sorb for the fuel. This product keeps condensation down in the fuel tanks. After we go to West Marine we’ll stop by the grocery for a few things, since we walk right by a Publix. Publix is Florida’s version of Indiana’s Kroger.

A few other interesting things that happened yesterday that taught us new lessons:

1. One of our hatches was down and appeared to be closed, but there was a jack-line laying under it and it was not securely locked. The first big wave that splashed over White Swan sent a deluge of water into our cabin. Lesson learned: Don’t assume the hatch’s locks are in the proper position, just by looking at them. We need to literally inspect them from the top of the boat as well as inside the cabin. In this scenario, not only did we get a gush of water in our cabin, if Gary had to use that jack-line to go forward, it would have been caught under the hatch making it impossible for him to use it. Not a good thing to happen out to sea.

2. When we returned to port, I just happened to get in the sail locker which is on the bow of the boat, and I noticed there was some water in the bottom of the locker. Long story short, we had to add a rubber gasket to the hatch cover to fix this problem. We don’t even want to think about how much water would have gotten into that locker if we had continued across the Gulf Stream yesterday. Lesson learned: make sure all lockers are water tight before entering the high seas.

3. We had a large dinner last night and I think it was still digesting when we got in the rough waters of the ocean. I have never gotten seasick, even during the storms we’ve encountered on the Chesapeake Bay. But yesterday, I started feeling a little woozy. Generally, we don’t carry Dramamine onboard, but coming back into the anchorage gave us opportunity to purchase some for the next time we go off shore. Lesson learned: take Dramamine the night before we plan on going off shore.

4-8-10 8:30 AM

Captain Ed just called Captain Gary, requesting a meeting and coffee at 9:00 AM. Looks like the weather has changed, indicating a change of plans.

Sandy and Nancy from Lily Pad, as well as Ed from Lady Bug, came as expected at 9:00 AM. The weather is not going to be conducive to make our crossing to the Bahamas for at least a week, so we all decided to start heading south down the ICW. Since the Gulf Stream is going to push us to the north, the further south we are the better it will be for the crossing. We will go as far as Miami, at the least. There is an inlet to the ocean at Ft. Lauderdale and if the weather permits, we might go out and sail offshore down to Miami.

We left the anchorage at the north end of Lake Worth at noon and traveled 19 miles south arriving at our anchorage around 4:15 PM today. We went through six bridges today so that is why it took us so long to go such a short distance. It was fun traveling with two other boats. Only one bridge opening required a game of tag, making circles in the waterway, because we had to wait a long time. Bridges will be our nemesis the rest of the way south, as they litter the ICW with one every two miles or so. That’s the major reason we are considering going off shore from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami.

There also are a lot of power boats using the ICW in this area, and their wakes push us around like someone forcing there way through a crowd. This is the main reason sail boaters are not particularly fond of power boaters. Power boaters are referred to as “stink potters” and sail boaters, “rag baggers”. We think the only courteous stink potters are those who were once rag baggers and know what it’s like to get tossed around by the power boater’s wake. Our friends, Kirby and Roberta Mehrhof, who are avid sailors, also have a small power boat they named “Rag Bagger” because they want everyone to know to which side of the fence they really belong.

Cheryl wasn’t feeling real well today, so she and Ed missed happy hour aboard Lily Pad. We had a delightful time with Sandy and Nancy. Gary and I even got to watch their TV for a little while. We are finding out, most of the cruisers have a TV aboard. Gary is still prolonging the advent of a TV on White Swan. Personally, I miss Oprah, Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz!!!

4-9-10

Long day today. We traveled 34 miles and navigated through 16 bridges. We left at 8:30 AM and arrived at Lake Sylvia in Ft. Lauderdale at 4:45 PM, The section of the ICW we traveled today is the worse part of the whole ICW for sail boaters, with all the power boat chop and bridges. We are all relieved that part of the trip is over.

Gary and I are amazed we have traveled 1065 miles south of Norfolk, Virginia on our boat, White Swan. The chart we are using, guiding us down the ICW, ends at mile 1095 at Miami; and we will be there tomorrow. Amazing! We have learned so much about sailing during this adventure. Who said “you can’t teach old dogs new tricks“? These two old salty dogs are still learning something new everyday.

4-10-10

Cruise ships at Miami

After motoring for five hours and going through “only” nine bridges, we arrived at Miami, Florida. The harbors sport a lot of tour vessels of various kinds. We have seen more tour boats here than anywhere else, including Fort Lauderdale. We saw numerous huge cruise ships in both Fort Lauderdale and here in Miami. The cruising guide reported six or more of these pleasure cruising ships in port on any given day. I mentioned before how the size of any boat is relative. Relative in comparison to one of these ships, makes White Swan look like the pinhole of a needle in a haystack.

We are close enough to the ocean now, and in much cleaner water, so we tried out our water maker. At first it was producing drops at a time and we thought we might have made the wrong decision in getting the smallest unit. Gary figured out we didn’t have one of the valves in the proper position, and after turning it where it needed to be, it began producing water at a decent rate. While it was making droplets of water, I made the comment I’d seen IV’s deliver at a faster rate, and maybe we should have gotten an IV pump to do the job. I crack myself up.

Gary invited our fellow sailors to come to our boat for refreshments and a meeting to decide what we will do tomorrow. Anticipating a social hour, I baked mini-muffins, while we were traveling today, to share with the group. I’m still trying to figure out how to use the oven on the boat without burning it’s contents. Today, I baked using the lowest temperature on the dial, turned the pan every 3 to 5 minutes and successfully baked the muffins with no fatalities. We were going to buy a new and better oven for the boat until we decided to buy the new house. So during my frustration when using the boat’s oven, I remind myself of the lovely new home we have.

After meeting with the captains and first mates on the other two Gemini’s, we decided to go further south to the Florida Keys and anchor at Pumpkin Key while we wait for our weather window to make our crossing to the Bahamas.  Gary and I are excited to get the opportunity to explore the Keys.  He read in the cruising guide, the Keys are commonly referred to as “the Bahamas of the States”.  We’ll settle for that for now.  It’s all Good…

4-5-10

Gary and Ed have been deligently watching the weather reports for both here and the Bahamas.  It looks like we might make our crossing on Wednesday or Thursday.  Hopefully, by Friday we will be seeing the crystal blue water we all are longing to see.

Today, Ed took us to shore in the dingy and dropped us off so we could do some shopping .  Just a short walk brought us to the grocery store and the CVS.  Cheryl went to Stein Mart, which is in the same plaza as the grocery store, while Gary and I walked another half mile to West Marine.  We reunited at the grocery and finished our shopping there.  While Gary was going through the check-out, I walked across the street to a French Cafe and purchased a freshly baked round of bread.  We have all the ingredients needed to make bread on the boat, but as long as it’s available to buy, the galley slave is opting to enjoy the fresh baked goods of others. 

Yesterday morning, Gary and I went to the French Cafe for breakfast with the couple from one of the other Gemini catamarans in this harbor, Lily Pad.  The captain’s name is Sandy, and his wife and first mate is Nancy.  Sandy and Nancy’s boat will be  the third Gemini in our flotilla going to the Bahamas. We found out the fourth Gemini in the harbor has had no one aboard for awhile.

Yesterday evening, Chery and Ed came over to our boat for Easter dinner.  She grilled a pork tenderloin and I made eveything else.  After dinner, we taught them how to play Parcheesi.   

No church service.  No Easter egg hunt.  No big family dinner.  Gary and I sat on the love seat on the back of the boat, and listened to the church bells ringing in the distance.  Church of a different kind.  A great Easter Day…

Lady Bug going under dual-laned bascule bridge

4-3-10

We left Hobe Sound at 8:00 AM and arrived at Lake Worth around noon.  The journey was arduous in that we had to go through 6 bridges, some of which we had to await their opening as much as a half hour.  During that half hour time Lady Bug and White Swan played tag,  making circles in the channel.  Dealing with the current now, is commonplace.

One of the bridges was a dual-laned bascule bridge.  Simultaneously, both bridges lifted. Seeing it was a first for us.

At a marina in Lake Worth, we filled our diesel tank, purchased ice and then anchored near two other Gemini’s.  We haven’t met their owners yet, but by the time the evening is over, we will.  The owners of Lily Pad have been in contact with Cheryl and Ed and they are the ones who want to cross over to the Bahamas with us.

Ed will check the weather report one last time, and make the decision as to whether or not we will make our crossing tomorrow.