Log 120; Day 332; April 18, 2009; Fort Pierce City Marina

This is Wayne Huizenga's jet helicopter, which landed just across from us at the Floridian

This is a shot as we entered Fort Pierce Marina...nice spot, the only issue was that with a NE wind, it blew right into the harbor.

There are 2 Tiki Huts on site...one just a little nicer than the other one

This is a big area for charter fishing and catching sail fish...if you look closely you can see our boat down on the right (with the dinghy hanging off the back)

A look down our dock at Fort Pierce...our boat is all the way down on the left

On Saturday morning they have a cool farmer's market

We chose to have our breakfast at the farmers market... a great Mexican burrito!

Here is a shot of the market early in the morning

You may remember me thinking I needed to check the generator impellor...as you can see...it needed replacing. Each of those fins should be the same length as the 5 you can see.

Log 120
Day 332
Saturday, April 18, 2009

1:00 PM EDT
Location: Fort Pierce City Marina...click HERE to see where we are on a map
Weather: 69 and cloudy...forecasted to be 78 and windy today

The winds kept up all night, blowing about 15 mph out of the ENE. We are at Fort Pierce Marina, and an ENE wind is just perfect for blowing the waves inside the harbor, so the boat rocked a little last night, and the waves slapped the boat as well.

On Thursday, we stayed an extra day at the Floridian, and spent more time with Jack and Char Meyering. In the morning, we took Jack’s boat to a new marina that Wayne Huizenga is building. It’s a great place, with room for about 190 boats, and also has about 100 mooring balls for those who want to pay $12.50 a night to tie to a mooring ball. From there we took the boat to a spot called The Deck, that’s been a Palm City item for many years. They have good food...but they also have grills where you cook your own burger...which we did. In the afternoon, we did some boat chores, and for dinner Jack and Char took us to a great little Italian place. Not much to look at...but great service and food. We had a great time being with them.

Yesterday...we started out the morning a little cool, but warmed up quickly. About 8 am Wayne Huizenga’s jet helicopter landed right next to the marina. If you see the picture...not a bad way to come to work. We left The Floridian about 8:30...and arrived Fort Pierce City Marina at about noon. The navigation was fairly straight forward. We first had to come 7 miles back up the St. Lucie River, and re-join the ICW, make hard turn to the left (north) and go about 20 more miles to the entrance to Fort Pierce Marina. The waterway through this area is fairly wide (sometimes a mile or so across), but the channel is still narrow most of the time. We only passed 2 boats along the way, and no big boats made us suffer with their wakes...so an easy trip overall. Once we arrived Fort Pierce we washed the boat to get all the salt off, and then completely wiped it down. It looks great. In the afternoon Deb took a walk into town, and I worked on the charts and plans going forward. Although we have really enjoyed our time the last few dinners, we were both looking forward to dinner on the boat, and getting back to our “normal” evening routine. Deb made a great chicken stir fry...and we caught up on American Idol. A great day.

Today...we went over to the farmers market for breakfast, and a look around. As you can see from the pictures, it’s a cool setup. They had a lot of things to eat, and the breakfast burrito caught my eye, but when I went to order it, I instead, ordered a lunch burrito. It was great. So great, that we went back for lunch, and had another one. Well, I did, Deb found a place that had jerk chicken. In between breakfast and lunch, I walked the craft show (that took about 5 minutes) and came back to the boat to check out the generator impellor to see if that is why there seems to be limited water flow. The bad news is, I was right (as you can see by the picture), and had to replace the impellor. The good news is, I carry a spare impellor, so I spent the next hour replacing it. Not a big job, but (like most things on a boat) hard to get to. Deb has been back and forth between the farmers market, and the craft show. She has not bought much, but enjoys them, none the less. This afternoon, Deb is talking about doing laundry, and I have a race to watch (last nights Nationwide Race from Phoenix) that I recorded. No matter what happens...it continues to be great living on a boat. Being retired, I’m not sure what I’d be doing if we were not doing this...what ever it would be...this is better.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob

Log 119; Day 330; April 16, 2009; The Floridian, Palm City, FL.

Palm Beach is known for it's beautiful hedges...and they have the coolest shapes

This is one of several hedges that look like trees

If you look closely you can see Debbie in the lower right of this tree. The roots are taller than she is.

Here are our friends Bill and Susie

If you were ever wondering what Deb does while we are cruising down the waterways

One of the many mega yachts we traveled with...check out the size of the fenders

A shot as we enter the harbor at The Floridian...only a few of boats here

The clubhouse at The Floridian...built by Wayne Huizenga for he and a few of his friends to use

Our friends Jack and Char

Log 119
Day 330
Thursday, April 16, 2009

7:00 AM EDT
Location: The Floridian, Palm City, FL.
Weather: 58, with calm winds...going to be 81 and sunny today.

Tuesday...up early, and walked into town for breakfast at a place called Hamburger Heaven. The downtown area of Palm Beach is what you would expect it to be. Very quaint, with lots of shops selling things that are different from most main streets in America. The restaurant did not open until 7:30, so I had to wait a while, and as I walked the streets here I wondered...who buys this stuff? Back at the boat I went in the engine room for some normal engine checks, and also checked on the thru-hull strainer for the generator. It seems to me, that there does not seem to be as much water coming out of the discharge as there used to be, but the strainer was clean. I did not take the time to check the impellor on the generator...but that is next. Debbie, in the mean time, was having trouble staying awake. She had taken a Dramamine the night before because the boat was rocking so much, and was really feeling the effects of it. Actually, the boat was rocking so much early in the morning, that I, too, felt sea sick. Something that has not happened in a long time. We decided we needed to get off the boat, and got the bikes out, and rode into West Palm Beach (across the Intracoastal from Palm Beach) and had lunch at a place called ER Bradley’s Saloon...great spot with a large outdoor area looking out at the ICW, and good food. After lunch, we decided to take a much longer bike ride and go to Publix for a few things. As we headed back to the boat we took a great bike path which runs along the ICW, but Deb and I had to split up. When I ride, I ride to where I am going. When Deb rides, she is sight seeing, and always looking for her next picture. She finally told me to go ahead because “this is such a beautiful ride I just want to enjoy it”...which she did. In fact she ended up riding all the way to the other side of the island, and out to the Ocean. The only thing that made her come back to the boat, was a lot of thunder storms in the area. It was a good thing, because it ended up raining pretty hard for a while in the afternoon. For dinner we were picked up by Bill and Susie Donovan. As I mentioned before, Bill was the former CEO of the holding company of TLC. He was actually my bosses, boss. He and Susie have a home in North Palm Beach, and also one in Milwaukee. They spend the summers in Wisconsin, and the winters in Florida. We went to a very interesting place in West Palm for dinner. We went to a place called Jade, a place Bill and Susie heard about, but had not been to. It was fairly small, not very elegant, but with a family kind of feel. The service was ok, but the food was very good. And, as always, it’s not about where you go, it’s who you’re with, and we had great time. It’s always interesting to be with Bill and Susie. Our upbringing, our back rounds, and our lives could not be more different, but we always enjoy getting together.

Yesterday (Wednesday)...beautiful morning with calm winds. We left the marina at 9:20 in order to get a 9:45 bridge opening just 1.5 miles up the ICW. This was the only bridge they we would have to open for us all day. The 40+ miles up the ICW from Palm Beach to Stuart is easy to navigate, and very pretty. Everywhere you look there are large boats, to mega yachts, and beautiful homes to mansions. At 2 pm we arrived at what they call in this area “the crossroads”. This is where the ICW meets the Stuart inlet (from the ocean) and the St. Lucie River heads SW to Lake Okeechobee. At this point we turned left (west) and headed down the St. Lucie River to where it splits, and took the north fork (the south fork goes to Lake Okeechobee). From that point it’s only a mile or so to The Floridian. When we arrived, we were greeted by our friend Jack, and Patrick, the general manager of The Floridian. Patrick said to treat this place like our own, stay as long as we like, and enjoy the area.

Side note: The Floridian is a very exclusive Golf Club (that has a marina) built, and owned by Wayne Huizenga. They don’t except members...you have to be invited to join by Wayne. There are about 150 honorary members at this point, all described as Wayne’s friends. There are no membership fees, or annual dues...you only pay if you bring guests. Wayne owns hundreds and hundreds of acres of land around here, and at one point was going to sell land on this beautiful golf course for folks to build homes. Then one day at lunch (which our friends Jack and Char were at) Wayne and Marty (his wife) we talking how all these homes would change the looks of the area...so they decide not to sell any lots. Done...no homes on the course. This is just a beautiful place, that very few use (or can use)

Once we tied up, and washed down the boat, Jack came back to the marina (he has a home a couple minutes away) and picked us up to head to his house for a drink. We had a great time catching up (these are great people), and then headed out to dinner. We drove a few miles and Jack told us Wayne owned the ground on both sides of the road. We ended up eating at a nice outdoor restaurant called Bonefish Mac’s, in a plaza...you guessed it...that Wayne owns. During dinner, we shared a lot of stories about our trip, and what Jack and Char were up to, and a few stories were told about Wayne and this area. I’ll tell just one Wayne story, because it has to do with a boat. Jack and Char have had a home in this area for several years. When Wayne was building the Floridian, Jack helped design the marina, by giving them ideas on the slips, power required, etc. His involvement lead to meeting Wayne, and as Char puts it...”it came with a few perks”. Of course, we had to ask her to share one, and she did. A few years back, Wayne bought Greg Normans boat...a 238 footer...the largest aluminum boat ever built. He asked Jack and Char if they would like to go on it for a few days, and of course, they said yes. He told them to be at the Floridian at 8 am on a certain day, and they would be joined by another couple. At that point they were taken, by helicopter, to Miami, where they were joined by Wayne and his wife. They got on Wayne’s 737, and were taken to the Caribbean, where the boat was. The boat is so large, they can’t dock at marinas, so it was anchored off shore. They went from the 737 to another helicopter and then flew out and landed on the boat. Some boats carry a dinghy...Wayne’s boat carries a helicopter. They spent 4 days on the boat, had a great time, and returned in the same style as they left. Not a bad “perk”.

Today...we are going to spend another day here. Jack is coming to the marina at 10 this morning and we are going to jump in his son’s 29 foot runabout, and go see the new marina that Wayne is building. From there we are going to lunch. Not sure what else...but we’re looking forward to a great day.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob

Log 118; Day 328; April 14, 2009; Palm Beach Town Docks

These big boats are amazingly clean...if you look closely at the side of the boat you can see the refelection of Deb and me in the dinghy.

When we went to lunch at a marina on Sunday they had some large Tarpon that stayed there because folks fed the. The one in the pictute is about 5 feet long, and just after Deb took this picture he came out of the water and tried to bite my hand...but missed.

The ICW...some of it has beautiful blue water

Here is an example of the hedges in Palm Beach. They are very big, and have some very creative shapes

This is a shot on the ICW looking at Palm Beach Town Dock Marina where we are today

I asked Deb to take this picture to give you a perspective on the size of these boats. If you look closely you will see a women standing on the swim platform.

The boat with the dinghy on the back is HQ, parked in our slip

Ben and Elizabeth who were kind enough to treat us to a great time...and dinner.

Log 118
Day 328
Tuesday, April 14, 2009

6:20 AM EDT
Location: Palm Beach Town Docks; Palm Beach, FL.
Weather: 76 and windy...it will be 88, sunny and windy today

It only got down to 76 last night...and very muggy. It also remained windy, and the boat rocked in the slip most of the night. They are talking about setting a heat record today (90 degrees), and also predicting SW winds, with gusts up to 30 mph. The wrong direction for us in our slip.

Yesterday...we left our slip in Marina Bay at 9 am, and arrived at Palm Beach at 4 pm. The trip up the Intracoastal Waterway is very straight forward, and easy to navigate. The only real issue is, much of the waterway is narrow, and if you are going slow (like we were) you have a tough time dealing with big boats going fast. They put out large wakes, and they are so close to you, that it’s hard to get a good angle on the waves, and it really rocks our boat. It happened a couple of times, and while there was no damage, many things in the boat did turn over. I got on the radio at one point and asked this big Sea Ray if he was crazy, for going so close to us at full speed, instead of calling me on the radio and arranging an easy pass. His only reply was “sorry”...to which I said “you’re right...you are”. A normal day on the ICW. For dinner we were picked up by Ben and Elizabeth Gordon (Ben is a friend and business associate from my TLC days), and we went to a local Italian hot spot. It was packed, and you could tell this was a normal crowd. We had great food...and a great time. This is just a different part of the world.

As most are aware, the Palm Beach area is very beautiful...and very rich. I took a break from writing this log and walked the dock this morning, and the boats that have permanent slips here are awesome. Like a lot of the marina’s we have been in lately, our boat (45 feet) is definitely the smallest one. I also took a 4 block walk into town for breakfast this morning, and the houses and cars are amazing. I now know why General Motors is struggling. I saw BMW’s; Mercedes: Lexus; Bentley’s; and even a Rolls Royce...but no Chevy’s parked in the driveways. The other thing that is amazing is how everyone has grown, and trimmed their hedges. As you can see by the picture, they are very big. As I said...this is a different part of the world.

Today...we will be staying here one more day, so we can explore some of the area. Deb wants to get the bikes out...who knows where we (or she) can ride to from here. There are a lot of famous places close...including the world famous Breakers Hotel (we’ve stayed there a couple of times, and it is amazing). They might even have a tavern with a cheeseburger in the area...but I doubt it. Tonight we will be having dinner with Bill and Susan Donovan. Bill is the former CEO of C2...the parent company of TLC. He and I continue to stay in touch, and we look forward to seeing them again.

Our plans are to head out tomorrow and travel another 40 miles north, to the Palm City area, where we will be meeting up Jack and Char Meyering. They are friends who live here, and also have a home in Michigan. We are invited to stay at a private marina called the Floridian. The golf club, and marina, are owned by Wayne Huizinga (owner of Waste Management and former owner of the Florida Marlins). I don’t believe there any memberships...as they say it “Wayne just lets friends of his use the property”. Jack Meyering is one of Wayne’s friends...and we are one of Jack’s friends...so that is how we have been invited to stay at the marina. It’s too long of a story, but I got a call once from Jack’s son Ron, who was at the Floridian, and telling me that they were in the club house with Wayne, Greg Norman, Dan Marino, and several other celebrities who were there...just hanging out. That was also the day that Wayne bought Greg Norman’s 262 foot boat (that he just had built). Wayne then took the boat to a ship yard, and promptly cut off the top and rebuilt it...so he could land his jet helicopter on it. One more time...this is a different part of the world.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob

Log 117; Day 326; April 12, 2009; Marina Bay, Fort Lauderdale

We went on a long dinghy ride...and Deb finally got her mud slide (the drink) to take along

This is the M/V Jungle Queen that cruises up and down the New River twice a day...it's interesting to see how fast he goes, and the narrow bridges he gets through

We took the dinghy up to the end of the New River

You can see critters like this along the walls of river...I can't imagine having these living in your back yard

Lining the banks of the New River are yacht after yacht

Along the New River are several major ship yards where they can do anything to a mega yacht...hard to tell, but this is over a 100 footer backed in here.

This boat with the 4 engines on it is the tender (dinghy) for the yacht next to it.

Again, hard to tell, but the smallest boat in this picture is over 100 feet long, and the biggest is probably close to 200 feet

Log 117
Day 326
Sunday, April 12, 2009

6:05 AM EDT
Location: Marina Bay Marina, Fort Lauderdale, FL.
Weather: 71 with calm winds...it will be 87 and sunny today

Happy Easter.

It only got down to 71 again last night, and we had the A/C on in our stateroom. The last 2 mornings, as soon as I got up, I had to turn the A/C on in the salon because the humidity was so high (92%), and we ran the A/C all day yesterday...the first time I can remember doing that in a long time.

We continue to enjoy our time in Marina Bay. It is a little remote, and if you were going to stay here for a long time, you would need a car, but it’s quiet, and I love the new floating docks. And, like many of the marinas around here, it’s full of large beautiful boats, which makes a great dock walk. Across the river is Jackson Marine, where we had our boat worked on in 2000, when we made the first loop trip. It’s more of a working yard than a marina, and right now it has about 100 boats all lined up, that have been repossessed, and each boat has a tog on it that says to keep off...unless with auction personnel. I guess it’s a sign of our current times.

Friday...we spent most of the day running errands, because it was the last day we would have a car. One of the things we did was buy Deb a new camera...we have given up on her other one, since it has been fixed 3 times. We also made a trip to the grocery store, Wal-Mart, and of course...West Marine. We had lunch at Ernie’s BBQ...not much to look at from the outside...but great food, and lot’s of it. Back at the boat, it was organizing all the supplies we bought, and relaxing. It was hot & humid, and it felt great to be in the air conditioning. For dinner, Deb made her famous (at least to me) chicken enchiladas, and we started to catch up on all of the recorded episodes of American Idol that we missed while we were gone.

Saturday...it was hot and humid all day. First thing in the morning, I took the rental car back to the Fort Lauderdale airport, and took a taxi back to the boat. Question. I don’t think I’m prejudice against foreigners living here...but is it too much to ask for taxi drivers to be able to understand English, and have a clue where certain locations are? And when you talk to them, for them to acknowledge they hear you? And, to obey the rules of the road? Anyway...I made it safely back to the boat at about 9 am...barely. Before it got too hot, I decided to wax the back of the boat. While we were gone, we got black streaks down the back of the boat that I could not get off by washing, so I put on a wax/cleaner that did the trick. Deb decided to do a very thorough cleaning of the helm area. After lunch, we took a long dinghy ride all the way to the end of the New River. It’s amazing how far back this river goes, and also amazing how many boats (BIG boats) line the water way, and many, many, canals. We really enjoy doing this...and get lots of use from our dinghy. Back at the boat, we watched storms build up all around us...but no rain fell. For dinner, we had tuna steaks (that turned out to be bad...as in very fishy) and sweet corn. Our movie was 2 episodes of 24...what a great show.

Today...we have some light organizing to do today, before heading out tomorrow. I’m also sure we will get one last dinghy ride in, because this is the last time we will be in this area. On NOAA weather this morning, they said the sun index is 11. I’ve never heard of that before...I thought it only went to 10? Anyway...the sun will be very intense today, and so I’m not sure how long we will be out in it.

Tomorrow...we will leave Marina Bay and head for Palm Beach...a run of about 45 miles up the ICW. We plan on having dinner Monday evening, with Ben and Elizabeth Gordon. Ben has his own business...which specializes in finding buyers and sellers of Logistic companies. I have known him for several years, and he helped us look at potential buyers for TLC a couple of years ago. They live in Boca Raton, so we plan to stop on our way north for a visit.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob