01/22/2012
The strangest thing happened on the way down here yesterday. As I've mentioned before, there are many bridges on this section of the waterway, many of whom have to be opened to allow sailboats through. Most have set opening times, on the hour and half or 15 and 45 after the hour to allow the traffic to flow pretty smoothly. However, even with this plan it occassionally gets jammed up waiting for a bridge to open, especially on a Saturday afternoon. Most of the time everyone stays out of each other's way and all goes pretty smoothly.
Yesterday we were behind this 50 foot ish sailing catamaran. Just as the bridge opened he started through ahead of us. No problem, until he slows down and slows down and truns in front of us leaving no room to pass...and little room to maneuver. The slower a boat goes, the less control it has because it is steared by the water passing over the rudder. We called on the VHF radio several times, no reponse. We could clearly see the skipper at the helm, but he certainly wasn't looking to the rear! Finally we used our compressed air horn and he about jumped out of his breeches! He scooted over and we finally had room to pass. And what did we see? Low and behold on the trampolene (mesh strung between the forward pontoons) complete with a whole crew, scantily clad young ladies "posing," was a photo shoot going on. They even had the large light reflecting screens which apparently is what was causing the captain to drive irradically trying to reflect the light just so. Oh well, this is Miami where one should never be surprised by anything, I suppose.
I just hope they made it through the rest of the bridges without an accident.
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01/20/2012
Now this is more like it! Seventy-three degrees outside at 8am! We had a great run down the coast yesterday from Lake Worth to Ft. Lauderdale. The wind from the north-north-east gave us a great run splashing through an occasional 3 foot swell. We had the Yankee unfurled and the iron jenny humming making up to 7.5 knots good. The temperature was 70 and the sun was out in a cloudless sky. We watched one sports fisherman bring in a three foot fish, but were too far away to identify it. Terry saw one wa-hoo (a tiny fish that will scurry across the water on its tail) and a huge mob of jelly fish. Otherwise the only sea monsters we saw were a couple of fishing boats who were so absorbed with the fishing they forgot they were driving a boat. One huge pleasure craft, Mustang Sally, cruised by. We were hoping it was owned by Wilson Pickett, but unfortunately it's a charter yacht. But at 110 feet, she's a beauty! We are loving the AIS we had installed. It gives the name, location, speed, and if there is a potential collision hazard if present courses are maintained; very good to have especially in busy shipping areas.
Today we're staying here in Ft. Lauderdale and will wash the salt off Zephyr, catch the bus to Publix, and play tourist on the beach later.
Stay warm friends of the north!
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01/19/2012
Yesterday we left Velcro and had uneventful passage to Lake Worth, about 63 statute miles. So sad to leave Lisa and Craig and Victor. Looking forward to crossing wakes again this spring. Pleasant night on the hook in Lake Worth. Up this morning to warmer temps and nice northerly breeze so decided to head outside and miss the bridges (21) on this stretch of the ICW. We are presently paralleling the coast and will come in this afternoon at Los Olas in Fort Lauderdale. Following seas are 1-2 foot swells and light chop with a lovely 8-15 knots of breeze pushing us along. The sun is shinning...what more could we ask for?
TTYL
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Picture is of what is left of the dragon on Dragon Point after being slain by a hurricane...so sad! (And he was the very last dragon.)
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01/16/2012
We arrived at Vero, also known as Velcro Beach because it is so lovely it's hard to get motivated to leave, Saturday evening. We had a great sail down from Dragon Point with good wind following us and the tide aiding. Vero City Marina Anchorage is as busy as ever, thus we were assigned mooring ball #54, nearly a mile from the dinghy dock. But, no problem for us as our dinghy, Merry Little Breeze, whisks us there in no time. Second Spree greeted us with big hugs and hellos and we all got together for happy hour and football at the Riverside Restaurant. Lisa's son Jimmy and his girlfriend Jenna were visiting and we all had a great time. Sunday morning we met Father Eugene and enjoyed a nice luncheon reunion with him and then imposed on him once again to be our escort for a few errands. He shared tales of his adventures since we last spoke to include a fabulous wine tasting dinner and a new resident moving into the New Smyrna house. We departed with promises to meet again in Key West. Back at the boat we took care of a few housekeeping items and settled in for a bit of a rest. Shortly thereafter we are hailed from a dinghy; it was Lisa and kids out for a tour of the mooring field. We invited them aboard and shared drinks and stories. And then along came another dinghy. Cap and Linda and Ronda from Zydeco had arrived after a successful refrigeration repair in New Smyrna. We visited a bit and then all made plans for tomorrow and our guests departed.
Cruising reminds me of the stories told by grandparents of visiting with neighbors on front porches while sipping lemonade; a simpler way of life. Is it for that time of friendly respite that cruisers are searching? We have been lucky to find it.
Life is an adventure...
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| Sailing Away on Zephyr |
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01/13/2012
Good morning,
Today we left New Smyrna Beach at 7:00 am headed to Titusville. Our week-long visit and road trip from Pennsylvania with Fr, Eugene was delightful. We have become crossword masters! We made a side trip to visit a day with Auntie Gladys and, of course, squeezed in an oyster dinner and a trip to the Back Street Pub as well as Belks and Pier One. Yippee!
While in New Smyrna we were fortunate to visit with Fr. Seraphim who was a most gracious host. Thank you! We took a couple of nice walks along the beach where the sand is a perfect powder and the water tropical blue. We took an extra day and visited the beautiful San Pedro Retreat Center with Fr. Eugene and had lunch with Fr. Pat. I believe if young people spent more time with our priests and saw firsthand the life of the religious, we would have many more young men and women choosing this rewarding life.
While in New Smyrna we got an email saying that a Benateau sailboat had pulled into the slip next to us. Low and behold it was Zydeco with Cap, Linda, and Ronda! This is our seventh serendipitous meeting since our first meeting in the fall of 2010! We had a happy reunion and look forward to next time, for it seems there is always a next time!
We have been keeping in close touch with our daughter Kara as she works on her wedding plans. The date is set for July 7, the day after our 44th wedding anniversary. They have decided to tie the knot in Johnstown which pleases us all hugely!
And, I will mention that yesterday we celebrated my birthday. Thanks to all who sent emails and called. I am truly blessed!
It's time to make lunch so must get busy...oh, the life of a sailor!
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PS The picture is this morning's sunrise with a pelican off to find the little fishyie.
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01/07/2012, New Smyrna Beach
We left home Wednesday the 4thwalking across the few inches of new snow so cold it squeaked. The thermometer read four degrees! We drove for two days with a one day layover in North Carolina at Auntie Gladys' where we of course ate and ate and shopped! Saturday morning we reboarded Zephyr in Daytona and found everything to be ship shape! We were gone for over five weeks and really expected to find something askew, but alas, nary a thing was out of place. We're planning to spend a couple of days with Father Eugene in New Smyrna before continuing on south. And, by-the-way my northern friends, it was 75 here today.
Our visit at home was delightful. The grandkids are wonderful, we had so much fun. Our daughters are doing great. Kara and Dave got engaged over Christmas and Katie and Johnnie are very close to closing on their dream home/farm. We had so much fun visiting friends and relatives it was really hard to leave...however, if I'd stayed much longer I know I wouldn't fit through the companionway from partaking in all the Christmas feasts! Ohhh, the January blues, lol!!
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12/04/2011, Daytona
Oh, one last note before we leave for Christmas. We met so many nice folks here on F Dock at Halifax Harbor! We had a great time last evening meeting and visiting with the other boaters, and the boat parade was really beautiful. Today, one of the revelers, Brett from Moscow, Russia, picked us up after church and we joined some other folks from last night at Piranha's...would you believe it's a Steelers bar? Yep, once again we've found another gang of Steelers fans here in Florida!! And what a great game; the team played well (and won 28-7), the food was good and the camaraderie fantastic! I do believe I'm a little bit hoarse this evening from all the cheering! Thanks folks, it's been just great fun!
Cheers,
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12/03/2011
We arrived in Daytona Beach on Thursday afternoon under cloudy skies and brisk breezes. This is our midway point where we'll depart Zephyr and fly home for Christmas on Tuesday. We had a good motor-sail down from St. Augustine, much different from last year when we got lost in the fog! It is interesting coming down the ICW virtually through people's backyards. There will be mega-buck mansions for a quarter mile and then, right next door, red-neck looking fishing camps with all the nautical decorations to be found at Dollar General and piers designed by Red Green. Such a dichotomy we have in our precious USA!
We are leaving Zephyr in the care of Halifax Harbor Marina. It's a huge gated marina (500 slips) in a well
protected harbor. There is a dock party and the city of Daytona's Christmas boat parade we're looking forward to tonight. We will do a bit of laundry and boat washing before we leave, but we have been really fortunate that the only repairs we've had to do to the boat have been minor. So, since we have a couple of days here, we're just going to slum around, ride our bike, practice city bus riding (being country dwellers, this is an art form we've yet to perfect) and go to the beach!
We will blog again after we return in January; so for now we wish all a blessed merry Christmas and good fortune, good health and smooth sailing in 2012.
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Merry Christmas Ya'll, Dean, Chrissy and Stelly
11/27/2011
Whoopee! We are in Florida - and, the weather is lovely.
I must have had a gremlin in the blog yesterday. After typing several paragraphs it just all disappeared. When I rewrote, it did not show up on the blog. Well, it's not the first or the last unsolved puzzle in my life!
We made great progress yesterday, a little over 60 miles! The tide was high when we left and we sort of followed it all day, only having to deal with one bit of shallowish water. Georgia is so beautiful with it's miles and miles of marshes, abundant shore birds and an occasional dolphin. (Speaking of which, we have seen fewer dolphins this year and they seem to be all bussiness, not swimming in our bow wave or looking up to say hello, but swimming casually along.)
The weather today, Monday, is supposed to get ugly with thunderstorms and southerly strong winds. Think we'll stay put today.
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I am so glad you got to Fl safley. How did you make out with the front that came through? When is your flight home?
..LisaRos xo
11/24/2011
It's been a good week aboard s/v Zephyr. The temperatures have risen nicely, the wind has cooperated, we've avoided the skinniest of waters in the ICW and made good progress south. Tuesday at 8:27 AM we crossed the 500 mile mark of the ICW which begins in Norfolk and ends in Key West! Too early for a toast, but we did a couple of yippees!
We made a quick stop in Charleston and then, watching bridge opening times and tides, we continued on to one of the most beautiful anchorages I can remember; Tom Point. We are in the Low Country of SC where the marsh grasses look like the fields of wheat in Saskatchewan, rolling on for miles up to the live oaks covered in Spanish moss. We were the only boat in sight but not alone for the pelicans and dolphins kept us company. After the sun had settled, the dolphins began herding their fish dinners along the bank of the channel. They work together to corral the fish with much splashing and blowing. Unfortunately, by now it is too dark to actually see them, but the sounds tell the story. It is a wonderful feeling to peek into their natural habitat and makes me sad when I think of other dolphins held prisoner in zoos and shows.
We are sharing Thanksgiving with the folks here at Port Royal Landing Marina. They are absolutely the friendliest folks we have met at any marinaso far! Today they are preparing six smoked turkeys and have invited the marina guests and guests from around the neighborhood to bring a covered dish and feast. They also have a Thanksgiving special on slips - buy two nights get the third free, and that is just great for us. Terry did engine maintenance yesterday while I used the marina courtesy pickup truck to go to Parris Island Marine Base to restock at the commissary.
When we were at Hoboken, we met Lisa and Craig on Second Spree. We have rejoined them here and have been having the most fun! They are really fun kids out on the adventure of a lifetime. We had them here for dinner Tuesday night and laughed so hard at our silliness that we suffered sore ribs the next day. Last night we ate at the marina restaurant together and once again raised a bit of a ruckus...in a good way. Our new friend Gwen invited us to come knock on her door next spring on our trip north and she'll have us in for G&T's and dinner!
Yes, life is good on our boat. For that and the family and friends at home that we miss hugely, we give God thanks this Thanksgiving. We are abundantly blessed and hugely grateful!
DeColores,
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ps -Picture - See, we're not the only old goats on the waterway! These ferral goat seem to do quite well...as do the goats in the picture! ;-)
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