A lot has happened since my last post. We finally left Fort Pierce on February 4th and headed south to West Palm Beach via the Atlantic. Florida has been strange this winter. Temperatures have definitely been below normal as you can see from some of the pictures I've included in the Photo Gallery. About fifteen degrees below normal. We're not freezing and I sure am glad we're here and not in Ohio, but I'm just sayin.
So we arrive in Lake Worth at West Palm and anchor for the first time this season. It was a glorious night until all hell broke loose around midnight. Big winds and torrential rains kept us awake all night and in the morning at the very peak of the storm the guy who was anchored about 500 feet ahead of us suddenly was about 100 feet ahead of us. He had slipped his anchor and was getting ready to back into us. It was raining so hard we couldn't see the shore line and suited up in full foul weather attire, Peg/Marg and I hoisted anchor and got out of there. Luckily we were able to find a slip at the new Riviera Beach Marina about a mile away and weathered the storm there. In fact, we decided to stay there two days to do some shopping and just relax.
We also got to see the Bahama Celebration finally go to sea. If you hadn't heard the story, the maiden voyage of this cruise ship was cancelled because the Coast Guard would not issue them a certificate of seaworthiness because their PA system wasn't working. 1000 pissed-off customers were stranded with nowhere to go, eat or sleep. A public relations disaster of epic proportions. Well, a few days later they were able to sail to the Bahamas and we got to see their departure (see the picture in the gallery). My niece Christina and her boyfriend Ed are sailing on the Bahama Celebration the end of the month. I think it will be fine.
So, after the adventure in West Palm, we set sail south to Fort Lauderdale where we had a most pleasant experience at the New River Downtown Marina run by the city of Fort Lauderdale. The place was downright beautiful. What a great stop. I only wish we could have stayed longer. I included a couple of pictures in the gallery. They don't do the area justice. You just have to be there.
We got to Biscayne Bay in Miami on Monday, February 9th, in time to meet our buddy Blue the next day. We stayed in No Name Harbor in the Bill Baggs State Park, a favorite place for us. Blue, Peg/Marg and I left on Weds, the 11th for Rodriguez Key in the Florida Keys where we overnighted at anchor and then we had the greatest sail of all time from Rodriguez to Marathon. We got the perfect wind from the perfect direction and were able to sail at between 6 and 7 knots for nearly seven hours. Along the way we saw dolphins, a sea turtle, and enjoyed blue skies and mild temperatures. Then we were on to the Little Shark River the next day where we anchored for the night. Little Shark is kinda near Everglades City but devoid of cell service, wifi, and city lights of any kind. It was very dark and isolated. The next day, we had to leave before sunrise to be able to cover the 60 nautical miles to Marco Island to arrive before sunset. That was the hardest leg of all. We had very strong winds on our nose and waves that got really big. It was a very exhausting journey that took us nearly 10 hours and required that we dodge thousands of crab pots for all but about one hour of the trip. After sailing in the Gulf for a season, dodging crab pots, you tend to lose your appetite for stone crab. But despite the difficulties of the trip, we made it to Marco and tied up at Rose Marina about two hours before sunset. We thought we would be going out and celebrating Blue's last night with us but all we managed was one drink and a lobster dinner. I was lucky I didn't fall asleep in my roasted potatoes. Blue left the next day after six wonderful days with him. I hope he had as much fun as we did.
To cap off our stay in Marco, my Dad, Mom and Aunt Kathy showed up to spend a day with us. How cool. We had lunch at place called the Funky Pelican or Crazy Flamingo or something like that. I hope they liked it. It was funky but good.
We are here in Marco until Friday the 20th. Some more Florida Fronts are coming through the next two days which will make travel less than desirable. So we'll hunker down and get some chores and cleaning done. Then we're on to Fort Myers/Sanibel Island to meet with Janet, Bob and the grandkids. They're making their escape from Cleveland weather. Compared to the temperatures back home they may be at risk of bursting into flames when they arrive in Florida. Can't wait to see them.
Thanks for reading and following our latest exploits. Keep in touch for the next installment of Dick and Peg/Marg's most excellent adventure.