Mike and Kathy-warm and sunny
12/18/2008, Miami, Florida

December 18th... Lake Worth to Miami, FL


Ah yes... on the go again. I was up this morning at 3:56 am. "Night Hawk" was gone so we called Barry to check the conditions on the Ocean. Barry's report was positive, and Mike from "Valkyrie" chimed in to chide us for staying in bed way too long. (3:56... I don't think so) Anyway, we hauled the anchor and were out of there by about 4:30 am.

In the ocean we found some swells that were falling apart and winds that really couldn't make up their mind.... 8 knots to 18 but not consistant. We stayed close to shore and tried to find the Gulf Stream counter current. We weren't entirely successful, but did at times find a fair current in excess of 1 knot. We would catch a push and ride it for a few miles and then alter our depth to try to find another one.

We sailed all day on a beam reach that was rolly but reasonably fast ... most of the time above 6 knots. We caught one king mackerel, but threw him back. We had some mackerel one day that we didn't enjoy. We have since learned that they can be good if done correctly. We also had some dolphins playing around us for a short time.

In the afternoon we rolled up or head sail to allow "Perseverance 2" to catch up. But when they did, an hour or so later, our good wind had died and they passed us going away. We sail well between 15 and 20 knots, which we had been running with during the mid-day hours, but in the afternoon the wind went variable, down at times to about 7 knots, we slowed and eventually started the engine to protect against anchoring at dark.

The wind picked up again and we sailed into Miami with out any serious problems. The hot water heater seems to have another leak but that's a job for tomorrow.

We motored into the harbor and anchored in an area called the Venetian Causeway. There are several man-made islands here with very special older homes. There are boats everywhere. We need to replenish our the fuel that has been expended in the last three days and Kathy wants one more stop at the grocery store before we leave on Saturday morning..... hopefully.

The highlight of our day however, was a VHF call from "Cielo." We met Kevin and Lizz last year in Cape May, NJ and have attempted to keep up with their travels during the last year.... it will be fun to touch base with them tomorrow and get a first hand story of their travels...

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Mike and Kathy-warm and sunny
12/18/2008, Peck Lake, Florida

December 17th.... Peck Lake to Lake Worth, FL

With a cup of coffee in hand, I dinghied over to "Night Hawk" to discuss a plan for the day. We only had about 20 miles to go so there was no huge rush. It was decided that we all needed a walk on the beach before heading out to deal with 7 bridge openings.

Peck Lake is separated from the ocean by a 50 yard dune that is covered with vegetation. You can't see the ocean from the anchorage, but you can hear the waves crashing on the shore. We walked down the beach a mile or so and then turned around. In one specific area there were about 50 small boats fishing with cast nets. They would throw their nets and then back up their boats as they hauled them in. It looked like an accident waiting to happen.

Whatever they were fishing for moved gradually to the north and the boats followed.

When we returned we got the boats ready for travel and headed out at about 10:30. The trip south through a few lakes, Hobe Sound and finally Lake Worth was uneventful. The bridges are a pain. Some open on request, but most here in South Florida are restricted to the hour and half hour so there is usually quite a bit of time spent treading water waiting for an opening.

Our anchor was down adjacent to the inlet at about 3:30 in the afternoon.

We spent the rest of our daylight hours preparing "Sapphire" for ocean travel, and had some chicken for supper.

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Mike and Kathy-warm and sunny
12/18/2008, Peck Lake, Florida

December 16th... Vero Beach to Peck Lake, FL

We were off at 8am had an uneventful trip south in the company of "Night "Hawk" and "Pesaverance 2" It started off partly sunny, but by about 11am it clouded up and we had a few light showers. The wind picked up around these squalls but the ICW was almost flat. By the time we got the anchor down in Peck Lake, it was sunny and hot again.

Peck Lake is a nice anchorage but buggy when there is no wind-and there was no wind. Mike from "Valkyrie" stopped by on his way to take a Ham radio test. He has a friend with a car here to drive him around.

After testing the depth around "Sapphire", we dinghied over to "Night Hawk" for a drink and some snacks. When Tom and Kathy arrived... I ferried them over as well.

We returned before dark and made some supper before watching some video

It was nice to be back in traveling mode after a month of sitting. However we did get some much needed projects accomplished in Vero and had a great time with all our friends there.

There was one interesting occurance today...we were following "Night Hawk" and were approaching the tall bridge in Ft. Pierce. Both boats were perfectly lined up on the span that we needed to pass through when "Night Hawk" was caught by the current caused by the incoming tide and was pushed to the starboard about 100 feet in 20 seconds. They steered to port and had no problems. Knowing what to expect, we were a little prepared but the current did about the same thing to us as we approached the bridge.

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