Happy New Year from Solar Eclipse!
Quick synopsis: We are currently in the Florida Keys at Marathon . The boat was launched November 30 in Fort Pierce, east coast of Florida, we stayed there at anchor to finish a few jobs we didn't need to do while still on the hard and waited for weather to start our journey south on the ocean side. After waiting out a couple of cold fronts we decided we would have to travel via the ICW (not our favourite) if we were to get anywhere and made the run down to Lake Worth accompanied by our friends on Sea Foxx (pronounced Sea Fox 10). From there we were able to sail on the "outside" stopping at Fort Lauderdale for a few days where we shared an exceptional Christmas day and dinner with Sea Foxx, then off to Miami. Here we parted company as they were heading to the Bahamas as soon as they could get weather. Coming out of Miami we sailed to Rodrigues Key (next to Key Largo) and met up with other boats we knew , La Buena Vida and Carpe Diem, and arrived in Marathon December 28. We rang in the New Year at a local club with good friends and a great blues band.
More detail: Fort Pierce / Vero Beach.
We arrived in Florida on Canadian Thanksgiving Day. The next day we went to the boat, realized it was just too hot-hot-hot to work; taking them up on their standing offer, we drove over to Fort Myers to spend a few days with John and Barb Moore (Halifax friends) and played instead of working. After all, there was nearly six weeks to ready the boat before hurricane season was officially over. We really had a lot of fun; we went swimming, went to the beach, did a road trip of Sanibel and Captiva Islands, out to enjoy some live music at a local club, they even had a cocktail party while we were there so we got to meet some of their `winter` friends. We returned to the east coast reluctantly but the weather had cooled somewhat and we had work to do. There were a lot of Canadian boats at the yard where we left Solar Eclipse, many of whom we were well acquainted and as the month progressed these friends from last winter started to arrive. We were comfortably ensconced in the same condo we had rented in the spring and with so many old and new friends around the yard, we had a fairly busy social calendar. By the time she was launched, Solar Eclipse had gleaming stainless steel, fresh varnish, new canvas (Dodger, Bimini and Weather Curtains), the topsides had been compounded and waxed to a mirror-like shine, a new bottom paint and boot-stripe colour scheme - she looked really good! The dinghy was also much improved, it had been repainted and the canvas chaps had been cleaned and repaired. Nearly two weeks in a slip and we had the rest of the jobs and provisioning for 5 months pretty much done. We were good to go, we slipped away from the marina and went to an outside anchorage to wait for the weather to cooperate. While the bad wind blew (cold fronts) we were generating lots of power, so the sewing machine was set up and Marlene finished a set of fuel can covers to match the new dark blue boot-stripe. We think we look pretty sharp!
Old Port Cove, Lake Worth (Palm Beach).
Well the wind was not going to stop for days yet, so we and Sea Foxx (Ed and Dee) decided to take the Intra Coastal Waterway (ICW) to Lake Worth. We could make it in daylight if we started early enough; the sun was still setting earlier each day. This was our first trip south of Fort Pierce on the ICW and it was actually quite pretty much of the way, the size and luxury of the estates and homes along the way were mind boggling. Timing worked well for all but one of the seven opening bridges and we had the anchor down just before sunset on December 20. The next day we found a Starbucks where we could get WiFi, went to the Publix to stock up on some fresh veggies - just about the nicest food store I've ever been in - and then out to dinner with our good friends Russ and Cheryl Wilcox, who live in North Palm Beach, Ed and Dee where able to come along as well. It was a great evening but a cold ride back to the boat in the dinghy. The anchorage was obviously very popular as it was full but different from any we'd experienced before, there were luxury condos all around lining the shore and many huge, huge yachts.
Fort Lauderdale.
The forecast for December 22 was favourable for us, so we could go outside and make our way south to Fort Lauderdale, unfortunately the promised good wind died and we had to motor sail most of the way but we made very good time. We had an interesting approach in the harbour as two massive cruise ships were coming out, you know how big they can be and we looked like little specks next to them, a bit intimidating. This was our first visit to Fort Lauderdale and believe me it was a surprise at every turn of the channel. Mega yacht after Mega Yacht, huge sailing vessels, after a while a hundred footer along the way started to look small, the residences along the way where almost unbelievable. Doug's comment was "how do you spell opulence?". We carefully treaded our way into Lake Sylvia, although it didn't look much like a lake; it was pond-sized and there was no shoreline per se, it was all sea wall with immaculate grounds and mansions to the edge. We caught one of the best tropical sunsets this season. Forecast for the next several days is for high winds again, there will be no going outside for some time and the rest of the ICW down to Miami is all bridges, 17 or so; we both (boats)decided it was not a trip we wanted to make. Although we wanted to be in Marathon for Christmas it wasn't going to happen, we were with good friends and we'd spend Christmas together wherever that was. We moved to one of the city managed marinas, Cooley's Landing, the next day and booked in until boxing day. The trip up the New River was well worth the few nail biting moments; as before the homes were indescribable, restaurants, cafes and office buildings built right to the water's edge. The river was very narrow and twisting, more of a canal - again, no shoreline, just sea walls and there were huge tour boats and yachts along both sides, many times we had to move to only a few feet from the sea wall as yet another huge yacht was pulled by tug down the river. Fortunately Sea Foxx had made the trip several times before so they led the way calling the bridges to open; these were very close together, often couldn't see one around the bend until you were there and then you were calling the next bridge almost before you cleared the one you were in. All of a sudden Sea Fox made an abrupt starboard turn at the shore, we finally realized that we were at the marina which appeared to be just a row of very narrow slips along the sea wall. A bit tricky getting in but It was an exciting one hour trip! The facilities were really quite good, hot showers, big laundry room, at the edge of a city park, big gazebo next to the dock and towering sky scrapers all around us. Home for the next three days. We put together a Christmas menu and went shopping the next morning, Snow Crab for an appetizer, fresh Leg of Lamb with mint sauce, tiny Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes. Yum, yum. Christmas day the four of us explored further up the river (by dinghy) for a couple of hours, following many of the lovely canals, gaping at the real estate both on land and in the water, overwhelmed (not necessarily in a good way) by the wealth in this city. That evening we enjoyed our Christmas feast under the gazebo and were thankful we are who we are and grateful for the kind of things we cherish in life.
Miami.
Boxing day and we were on the road again. One downside of the New River is that you can only go in or out at slack tide because otherwise there is a 5-6 knot current and you cannot safely manoeuvre the river and bridges, so we had to wait until noon to cast off lines - meaning Miami was as far as we could go in daylight. Safely out of the river and harbour of Fort Lauderdale we motor sailed to Miami, connecting with a couple of boats we heard on the radio and knew from last season; they were headed to the Keys as well. Following Sea Foxx to their favourite anchorage at the Miami Yacht Club, we wound our way past the container terminal and ship turning basin, it was pretty active and we had to stay clear of two large ships. We continued through a busy downtown waterfront section, through a couple of bridges, and across the bay-like harbour. However light was running out so instead of the yacht club we anchored between two of the several man made islands in the bay. In the morning we would be parting company, we were headed for Rodriguez Key then onto Marathon, Sea Foxx was going directly to the Bahamas.
Boot Key Harbour, Marathon.
The sail from Rodriguez to Boot Key Harbour was an exciting one. The day started out calm although good winds were forecast, we even had a little fog during the first hour. As the day progressed the 5 knot breeze continued to build, we were on a close reach and put a single reef in the main at 22 knots. Solar Eclipse was in her glory and we were again impressed with her sailing ability. A warm welcome was received as we checked into Boot Key harbour mid-afternoon, meeting up with goods friends on Lappidus with whom we travelled for nearly two months last season in the Bahamas. This is a popular winter stop-over for many cruisers and many spend the entire season here. The city run marina were we are has more than 230 mooring balls, few are vacant; there are also numerous boats in the anchoring section of the harbour. If any of you have been watching the weather channel, you'll know that Florida has been experiencing exceptionally cold temperatures on and off since November, right now is one of those times. Since we are on a mooring we can't run our heat pump furnace, but we do have a small portable propane heater that we are very happy to have in our inventory. We didn't dream it could get this cold so far south! However we have many friends here and the weather hasn't slowed us down too much, though at times I think I'm wearing everything I own and wish I had that sheepskin jacket I left behind in the van. As mentioned earlier we had a very enjoyable New Year's celebration with several friends; since then we've been to the famous Keys Fisheries for a fill of delicious Stone Crab claws. The fishermen harvest just the claws and the crabs grow them back! There are many attractions in the area and if the cold fronts continue to blow, keeping us on the mooring, we will have lots to do; there is even a reasonably priced shuttle to Key West if that is the way we need to travel to take in the highlights there.
Well that's our update so far, sorry it took so long but as you can tell we've had lots of fun time between the boat jobs!
Happy New Year - Doug and Marlene
Sorry there is no photo at the moment - I'm not the one with the photo skills and Doug is off doing errands. He told me what to do but it didn't work!