Log 111; Day 302; March 19, 2009; New River City Marina, Fort Lauderdale, FL.

This is a shot of our lunch stop Le Tub...just along the ICW about 1 hour south of Fort Lauderdale

Just an idea of what the inside of Le Tub looks like

I think you might be able to read the writing on the menu...it tells the whole story

Just up the waterway from Le Tub this is what you see...about 1 mile up from here is one of the busiest ports on the east coast, and the entrance to Fort Lauderdale

This is a shot of one of the mansions on the New River...just off the ICW

This is a picture from the bow of our boat, in our slip on the New River in downtown Fort Lauderdale

A little idea of how busy the waterway is right next to our boat

Just one of the many large yachts that go in and out of here

This yacht took 2 tugs to get it out of the New River

Log 111
Day 302
Thursday, March 19, 2009

7:30 AM EST
Location: New River City Marina, Fort Lauderdale, FL.
Weather: 72 and pouring down rain, with calm winds...going to 78 today with rain and thunderstorms.

It is raining this morning...and has been raining for the last 36 hours. Right now it is pouring. My XM weather radar shows showers all around us in Fort Lauderdale, and not moving. They predict it will rain most of the day.

Getting here...our trip from Miami was great. We had to wait about 15 minutes for one bridge to open (there are only two bridges we can’t get under from Miami to Fort Lauderdale), but other than that, the ride was perfect. It was certainly calm enough to go outside in the Atlantic for the trip up, but we chose the inside ICW so we could see all the sights. The sun was bright (weather channel called it a 10 on the exposure meter) and the winds were light. Also, not a lot of other boat traffic, so the navigating was easy as well. Most of the way, the waterway is straight forward, and deep, with only a few areas where the channel is narrow, and you have really pay attention to what you are doing. About an hour south of Fort Lauderdale, we stopped at Le Tub, one of the most unusual burger joints we have ever been in. It looked rustic from the waterway, and had a dock we could tie up to...so we did. Deb and I agree it was one of our better stops.

We arrived at New River about 2 pm. We originally planned to go and pump out the holding tanks before tying up at the slip, but traffic was so heavy, that we decided that we would tie up first, and get the pump out later. Instead of a usual slip, we are tied to a long wall of pilings that stretches all through the downtown area, and is managed by the city. There is no doubt that this is the busiest stretch of waterway we have ever stayed in. The day we arrived, there was a non stop stream of boats going past us until late in the evening. Every size boat was represented, from dinghies, to boats exceeding 100 feet in length. Way up in the New River there are large shipyards that build, and work on, yachts of all sizes. These yachts must go through this narrow and busy area, and it is amazing to see them go by. Sometimes they must have tow boats move them through the river, because they are too big to make the turns, and navigate on their own power.

Yesterday...it rained steady most of the day. In the morning, I put on rain gear and walked about 1/2 mile along the waterway, to the city marina office to check in, and get our bearings on the area. We are right downtown, so there is every kind of shop and restaurant you can imagine. We are also about 1 block from Los Ollas Boulevard...a famous high end shopping street in Fort Lauderdale. I doubt we’ll be spending much time there...they don’t have a marine store. While doing some boat chores during lunch time, I got a call from Jerry Williams, our friend on Sea La Vie, who we have seen a few times along the trip. He and a couple of his buddies were having lunch at the Downtown Saloon, which is just down the walkway from us, and called to see if I wanted to join them. His offer sounded much better that what I was doing, so I, again, put on the rain gear and walked down there. We ended up going to West Marine, and Bluewater Charts (a huge store dedicated to nautical books and charts, that I have been getting charts from for years) and stopping off at his boat at Hall of Fame Marina. Back at the boat, it was still raining, so we stayed inside, made egg rolls and hot and sour soup for dinner, and watched Trust Me for the dinner movie.

Today...as I have been writing this (I started at 7am...it’s now 9:30) the rain has come off and on...at this very minute it has stopped, and the sun is trying to come out. The radar shows lots of rain still in the area, with thunder showers forecasted for this afternoon. I’m sure today will be about exploring the area further. If it stops raining for a while, maybe we’ll even take a dinghy ride up the river. Speaking of the New River...earlier this morning two tug boats went up the river, and they just came by towing a 100 footer, and a few minutes ago, a 105 foot boat “Outta Touch” went by heading out of the river. This is a very cool spot, but not for the faint of heart, if you are driving the boat.


I’ll keep you posted.

Bob

Log 110; Day 300; Mar. 17, 2009; Miamarina, Miami, FL.

This shot is on Biscayne Bay...heading north...several miles south of Miami

Here is one much closer...as we enter the Miami channel

The closer we got, the more (and bigger) boats we saw

This guy landed a helicopter on this little floating raft, very close to our Marina

HQ in Miamarina...we are in the middle of everything

This is the boardwalk surrounding the marina

This is inside of the boardwalk...basicly a mall. But with no marine store. Did they forget to tell the designer of the mall that it was attached to a marina?????

Log 110
Day 300
Tuesday, March 17, 2009

5:00 AM EST
Location: Miamarina, Miami, FL.
Weather: 74 with calm winds...going to 85 today with light and variable winds out of the North

Day 300. This is almost the perfect morning. Up at 4:30...because I wanted to...not because I’m catching a flight somewhere. By 5, my early morning chores are complete, and I’m on the back deck of the boat. It’s 74 degrees out, so I’ve got the doors open. I’ve got the weather channel on...a hot cup of coffee...the computer...I’m writing about the great day we had yesterday..and looking forward to what’s going to happen today. We’re in a harbor right downtown Miami, the winds are calm, and about 800 feet to the east of us, is the Intracoastal Waterway. Even at this hour, the waterway has boats moving through the channel. I wonder where everyone is going so early? In the background, I can hear the dull roar of the engines of tug boats working in the harbor. I’m sure this is not for everyone...for me...it’s heaven.

Yesterday...we had an awesome cruise getting to Miami. In the morning, it was already very warm, so we took the isinglass off the front, and rolled up the side curtains, to open up the boat. After a little cleaning, to wipe off the dew, we left Key Largo at about 9. The ICW at this point is very straight forward to navigate, and although not deep...it’s at least 6 to 7 feet deep in the shallow spots, and the further north we got, the deeper it got. Most of the time the water was crystal clear, and we could see the bottom. We worked our way through Barnes Sound, on to Little Card Sound, Card Sound, and then to Biscayne Bay. Most of the waterway is open, and the distance between markers is sometimes several miles apart. The winds early were about 10 to 15 out of the ESE, so while we were going east we had a little chop off our starboard bow, by the time we turned north in Biscayne Bay the winds were light, and on our stern. We arrived in Miami about 2 pm, and were tied up in our slip by 2:30. Our marina is called Miamarina (pronounced My-ah-marina). An interesting name...I wonder what was second on the name list? Anyway...after tying up the boat, we walked around the marina to check things out. It’s an interesting place, but not our favorite marina. We originally signed up for 2 days, but will be going to the office this morning, and getting our money back for the second day, and heading out. Many, if not most, folks would probably love this place. It is surrounded by shops, and restaurants, but Deb and I don’t shop much, and rarely eat out, so we will be moving on.

Today...no fire drill, but we will probably leave the slip at about 9, and head north. It’s about 30 miles up the ICW to Fort Lauderdale, and all in protected waters. Most of the waterway channel is deep, and we only need to wait to raise 2 bridges, so it should be a straightforward, and easy, trip. The winds will be light and variable, so that makes it even easier. It is also some of the best waters for boat watching you will ever see. It should be a great cruise, and a great day.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob

Log 109; Day 299; Mar. 16th, 2009; Anchorage Marina in Key Largo

This is a typical shot of the ICW on the Gulf side of the Keys...even in the picture you can almost see the bottom

The ICW winds between lots of mangroves

It has narrow channels...followed by wide open spaces

And crab pots are EVERYWHERE

Our destination today was Anchorage Marina...that bridge is Route 1 that goes to Key West

Just across from Anchorage is Gilbert's Marina...where we could hear a great band playing

Just to the north...the Shuttle Launch at 7:43 pm last night

Log 109
Day 299
Monday, March 16, 2009

7:00 AM EST
Location: Anchorage Resort and Marina, Key Largo, FL.
Weather: 73 with light winds...going to 85 today.

It only got down to 73 last night, and for the 5th night in a row, we had to run the A/C in the bedroom. This morning on the back deck, it is very humid, and you can tell it will be a hot and humid day.

Yesterday...after 28 days at Sombrero Resort in Marathon, we untied the lines and headed out about 9 am. Even in the harbor you could tell it was windy, and we had made a good decision to go the ICW on the Bay side of the Keys. When we got to the 7 mile bridge, we certainly confirmed it. The several days of constant winds (even though not that great) had developed a hard chop to the waves, and we were really rolling side to side, as we made our way under the large span of the bridge to enter the Gulf side. Once through the bridge though, it was not bad, with only a moderate chop on our starboard bow. Winds out of the ESE...we were heading E. We joined the ICW at MM1200 (which means it is 1200 miles from there to Norfolk, where the numbers start again as they head North) and were heading for MM1135 at Anchorage Marina, North of Key Largo. The first 30 miles or so of the ICW in that area range between 1/2 mile, to 2 miles off the Keys. You are in very open water, and it is very shallow...ranging from 5 to 8 feet. Most of the time you can see bottom, which makes it very nerve racking for us to travel in. About 2 hours into the day, all of a sudden, we heard a loud bang on the boat, like we had hit something. I was right in the middle of the channel, so I knew I was ok there, but as we looked behind us we could see, what looked like, 2 or 3 crab pot balls broken up. After hearing the noise, I had immediately put it into neutral, and when I put it back in gear, we had a vibration on the starboard side. Not knowing what was wrong...I assumed somehow I had hit a crab pot. That’s bad news, because we were in the middle of nowhere. The good news was, last winter I had installed line cutters, that are designed to cut crab pot lines. If they were working...then I might just have the crab pot line wrapped around my shaft (not caught between the strut and the propeller which would be bad), which was causing the vibration...and by putting the engines in reverse, and backing down on the throttles it might (should) unwrap the line and we’d be ok. That’s exactly what happened. When I put the transmissions back in forward...no vibration. Crisis averted.

The further we went, the better the cruising, and the better the scenery. The ICW would get close to shore in some places, and wind through mangroves in others. It was also a sunny, beautiful Sunday, so there was lots of big center consol boats running up and down the water. A couple of times we’d be in the mangroves, coming around a blind corner, and be met by a very fast (25 to 40 foot) boat loaded with folks flying past us, going the other way. It was very cool. We finally got to Anchorage Marina (MM1135) at 5:15 pm. It was hot and sunny, and the boat was loaded with salt, so the first order of business was to wash it off. This was also when I made a stupid mistake and decided to jump from the dock to the swim platform, and slipped and got my feet tangled in the dock line. To catch myself, my left arm reached out for the dingy. The good news was I caught it...the bad news was it extended my arm WAY beyond where it had been extended before. It hurt bad, and I knew it would hurt worse later...so I immediately applied Ibuprofen and alcohol (the kind you drink) and kept on working. (it was hard sleeping last night, and it hurts like hell this morning...more Ibuprofen today). The cool thing was, that just across the harbor at Gilbert’s Resort, was one of the best sounding bands that I have heard in a long time. Normally I am not a big fan of loud music, disrupting what would otherwise be a nice peaceful afternoon...but this was an exception. They were great. Great songs, great voices, and they played the songs EXACTLY as the originals. Songs from everyone like, Janice Joplin to the Four Tops to Bobby Darin to the Rolling Stones...and lots more in between. Each song better than the last...Deb and I were loving it. More good news...they quit at 7 pm...so we could enjoy our dinner (awesome pasta) and a movie (Ocean’s 13...again). Perfect. Also...during dinner we looked up and saw the trail of bright orange exhaust trail from the launch of the Space Shuttle. Very Cool.

Today we are headed to Miami. Our trip will take us east this morning, and then a turn to the north as we enter Biscayne Bay, which are the waters on the southern side of Miami. We don’t have a reservation anywhere yet, but there are lots of options. The last time we did the Loop in 2000 we spent time in this area, so the waters will be much more familiar now. The weather is supposed to be sunny, with a high of 85 and winds out of the ESE at 5 to 10. Again. Perfect.


I’ll keep you posted.

Bob

Log 108; Day 298; Mar. 15, 2009; Marathon, Fl.

Deb at Sister Creek beach (that's the Atlantic in the backround)...I always wonder who she gets to take these pictures of her when I'm not around?

That's me, at the mouth of Sister Creek, (in the Atlantic) trying to catch some fish

On the way back from the beach, we helped some kayakers by towing them against the tidal current

They did not know where to go, so I towed them back to my favorite fishing spot back in the mangroves

At one point the mangroves open to a small interior lake...that is where we dropped them off

This guy on the shore has a tarpon on his line...but he didn't catch it.

One last shot of the mooring field in Boot Key Harbor...a couple hundred sail boaters spend their winters here.

Log 108
Day 298
Sunday, March 15, 2009

7:00 AM EST
Location: Sombrero Resort and Marina, Marathon, FL.
Weather: 72 with gusty winds out of the ESE...the forecast is for 83 today with moderate winds

Saturday...spent most of the morning doing chores to get the boat ready for cruising again. After lunch we decided to head to the beach at Sister Creek, where we would drop off Deb, and I would go fishing in Sister Creek for a couple of hours. Deb really enjoyed the beach, but the fishing was not that great. I caught about 6 fish, but all were fairly small. On the way back to the boat 2 cool things happened. First, I saw a couple of kayakers who were trying to fish from their kayak, but were having trouble paddling up against the current (from the outgoing tide) so I asked them if they wanted me to pull them way up in the mangroves and they could fish as the tide brought them back out. YEA...was the response, so that’s what we did. It was fun to see how excited they were.

After dropping them off, we went back out to the main channel, and were heading back, when I saw a big splash off the point ahead. Normally when you see that, it’s a big pelican, or other large bird diving for fish, and I was waiting to see what it was, when out of the water jumped a large tarpon (which is what I saw the first time, but didn’t know it). Deb was facing the wrong way to see the fish, so I was telling her how big the tarpon was, and I was going to throw a lure in the water as we passed the area where I saw the tarpon jump. Just as we were getting to the spot a guy on shore yelled at us to stay back...because he had a large tarpon on his line (ok...now we know where the tarpon came from). The problem was the guy did not know what he was doing, and did not keep the line tight. At one point he yelled to us that his line was “stuck on the bottom” (as he was yanking his line like he was trying to free a snag). I told Deb...”I think he still has that fish on”. Then all of a sudden the guy yells “no...I still have him” and starts to reel like crazy, and just then the fish jumped straight out of the water...right beside the dinghy. If I would have stretched way out, I could have grabbed the fish. And as quick as it started...it was over. The guy let slack in the line, and the tarpon got away. But for a couple of minutes it was exciting. Sorry...no pictures. Back at the boat, we had a very relaxing afternoon and evening. For dinner, we had pork chops on the grill, rice and sweet corn. The movie was We Are Marshall...great.

Today...we plan to head north. The winds are much greater than forecast, with gusts of 17 out of the South Southeast. That being the case...instead of heading out in the Atlantic and up Hawks Channel where the waves are going to be 2 to 3 feet, we are going under the 7 Mile bridge and on the Gulf side, and work our way to Miami that way. It’s a lot shallower, and harder to navigate...but also much calmer, and we won’t be bounced around. It also means we won’t be going to Key Largo tonight, because you can’t get to the Key Largo marina from the Gulf, so we will need to come up with another plan. I have a couple of options in mind...we’ll just have to see how far we get. You know me...always flexible. Right.


I’ll keep you posted.

Bob