We went into Soveral Harbor in Palm Beach Gardens for a
scheduled repair of our windless “up” button. Without it, anchoring was a chore.That week we had two issues with
our air conditioning, so being the “luxury cruisers” as folks tease us, we also
had that repaired. Lucky us, it was
Christmas week so our stay was full of sun, the beach, church on the 25th,
good food and a chance to provision at Carmines,
right in our harbor. A week of good weather and a rented car and we were ready
for West Palm, a short hop to a different marina and New Years Eve. We enjoyed
the options here including fireworks at midnight followed by a trip across the
bridge to the Breakers. We did ride out a northern front for two days before
moving to Boca Rotan Lake and the nicest anchorage we’ve had in a while. It was
great to test out all our equipment.
Rick is fastidious about his boat maintenance; we had
planned a haul out for just before the Bahamas but we could hear a clinking sound
when under sail with the engine off. We have listened to tales of repairs from
experienced sailors and voted to have the boat hauled out at Crackerboy Boat Yard in Palm Beach. The
seasoned sailors were right; the yard knew what they were doing. We had the
cutless bearing and zincs replaced and the bottom washed in ninety minutes and
we were on to Ft. Lauderdale for two days, playing tourists on the water taxi and
crossing the road to the beach to read on the sand for a day.
We have heard sailing friends say they wouldn’t “do” the ICW
in Florida because of all the bridges, we say it has been a lot of fun, the
scene changes daily so we love it. We did make the short run on the outside
from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami Beach because there is a 56’ fixed bridge we can’t
outsmart with tides, the ocean is the only way to do it. Winds built from the
east so we had a slight rock and not as good a sail as we had hoped for. Great
news, the boat is silent as she should be under sail, that’s all that mattered
about that trip. We found Ft. Lauderdale interesting, but we wouldn’t go to
Miami Beach Marina again as it was rocky 24/7 with heavy traffic. By design, we have taken a mooring now in
Dinner Key (Biscayne Bay, an hour down the coast) for a week. Here we are
reading, sewing, sleeping and chatting with sailors as we come and go to
Coconut Grove. We had not planned to be this far south so we are finalizing an
itinerary and soaking up local knowledge before we take on Hawk Channel and the
Keys.
Many of you have asked about our photos. We have taken
enough to fill a hard drive (not really) but we are selective about taking
shots and what is a keeper. We weigh lighting against composition most of the
time, some days we just enjoy the view.
 |
| Hillsborough Inlet Light, FL |
 |
| Art Deco Light House Miami Beach Marina at the Inlet The South Beach Look! |
 |
| Welcome to the Breakers for Brunch |
 |
| Only in Miami |
