Here we are in Hurricane Harbour on the west side of Key Biscayne hoping to leave at 4 am tomorrow morning to make the crossing over the Gulf Stream to Bimini in the Bahamas. We left Titusville on Sunday Nov. 4th bright and early and set off down the ICW. The so recently overhauled engines purred away nicely - right up to the moment the starboard one suddenly quit almost 46 miles later. Just before we reached our destination of mile marker 925 by Melbourne/Palm Beach (which as it turned out was a lovely spot to anchor and spend the night). We weren't impressed with the engine letting us down, especially after we had waited such a long time in Titusville for them and the bill had been pretty high! Bruce was a lot more understanding and forgiving than I was. The starboard engine still didn't start the next morning when we headed off for Vero Beach, but we got along fine without it deciding to try and fix it once we reached there. From our experience of Vero Beach at the end of last season, we knew it was a really nice place to stay. Very boater friendly with a convenient free bus system to take us wherever we needed to go, if anything was needed to fix the engine. Also we knew it had internet access.
At Vero Beach we managed to make contact with our friends Jim and Kathy Long of 'Ocean Dreamer'. They were in the area for Jim to go to a car auction. In fact they had their camper at Fort Pierce and were living in it while Jim was at work at the auctions and also working on the boat at Riverside Marina. Kathy was down from their home in New Mexico but was due to fly home in a couple of days. So we arranged to meet that evening. Jim and Kathy picked us up from the marina in their van and took us for supper at a nearby restaurant where we caught up on each other's news. The following morning they returned and came out to Windrush where Jim helped Bruce try to fix the troublesome engine and Kathy and I talked. They were also kind enough to take us shopping - amongst the few items we bought I got myself a new swimsuit and a basil plant! We enjoyed another evening together on Windrush before saying our goodbyes - hopefully to meet up again in the New Year somewhere in the Bahamas. Unfortunately for all the work Bruce and Jim did on that damn engine - cleaning out the carb, which supposedly had already been done at the Yamaha place - it still wouldn't work!! So, the next day we set off again along the ICW - a one engine cat. Good job we started out with two! Bruce had managed to get in contact (through the Cruiseheimers net.) with John from Sam the Skull. He was in Manatee Pocket, near Stuart, and had been waiting there for Barbara to fly in from Scotland. She was due that evening, so we decided to meet up with them at Manatee Pocket and after another uneventful day we arrived there safe and sound. No-one was aboard Sam the Skull so we decided John must be at the airport meeting Barbara. We tried to stay up to see them, but as we were now getting into the cruising mode were just unable to stay awake long enough and were asleep by 8pm! Next morning John and Barbara came over to have coffee with us - it was fantastic to see them! We had a long chat - we'd been looking forward to finding out how their son's wedding in Georgetown had gone and it sounded wonderful! They told us Bernie of the m/v Countess Cosell was coming to Manatee Pocket in his truck and would take us all shopping or wherever we wanted to go. So we duly met up with him (looking just the same) and off we went. On our shopping trip Barbara and I each got a planter with 2 tomato plants in and so the competition to grow the best tomatoes began! Of course I had to name my plants, so my basil plant is called "Basil" and the cherry tomato plants are called "Tom & Cherry"! The day ended with us all going to a restaurant for yet another lovely supper in excellent company! How could I forget to say that just before we left Vero Beach Bruce also realized what was wrong with the engine - a faulty electrical breaker! While we were out with Bernie he got the part he needed to fix it and lo and behold the following day he put it in and we were back to 2 purring engines. Wonderful!! I am married to a very clever man! We stayed 2 days in all at Manatee Pocket and found it to be a lovely place to anchor. The city also provides free internet which made the anchorage even more appealing. The only thing against it we found when Bruce pulled up the anchor and found the anchor & chain, himself and the deck covered in thick, black, stinking mud! I should of taken a picture - I'll be ready next time. We were on our way early the next morning - Sam the Skull it turned out followed a little later. We were a bit reluctant to leave Manatee Pocket as the internet there was so good and we knew that when we reached our next destination at Lake Worth, the internet would be non-existent even if we paid for it! We were only in Lake Worth one night, leaving early on the morning of Sunday Nov. 11th - Remembrance Day.
Up until this day our trip along the ICW had gone pretty smoothly with little aggravation. Even though travelling on the ICW on a holiday week-end is really asking for trouble from all the inconsiderate motor boaters ignoring the 'no-wake' signs and passing you at high speed, so that your boat rocks like it is in a big storm! Today though was different. We managed to get delayed at one bridge opening and from that point on we were delayed at almost all the others and had to fart around trying to obey each particular bridge tenders rules about how close to wait, how far away to wait, when to approach the bridge, when to contact the bridge, etc.etc. until we were nearly pulling our hair out! Finally though the last bridge of the day was in sight - Las Olas bridge in Fort Lauderdale. The mooring we had planned on was just the other side of the bridge and we made it onto the mooring ball just before sunset. Our sundowners were really appreciated that evening!! We stayed there last season and found it to be a good little anchorage where we knew we could get internet and contact everyone at home. It is so good to be able to talk with family. It really makes our day when we can do that. We stayed 2 nights at Las Olas before moving on down the line to Miami, and after an uneventful 'bridge' day we arrived at our anchorage by the Venetian Causeway. Sam the Skull arrived later that evening after travelling along the ICW as far as Lake Worth and getting so fed up with the bridges with their tenders, that they came on the 'outside' from there to Miami, pulling in just before sunset.
We met up with John and Barbara the next day and travelled the Miami transport system to Little Havana. It was a very tiring but enjoyable day. We did lots of walking and also found out a lot about the bus system(!) for the future. We had lunch at a Cuban restaurant in Little Havana - I think it would be useful to learn Spanish. We had a great lunch and I am going to learn how to cook black beans in the Cuban style! I was hoping to find some Christmas presents but saw little there except cigars and food. The following day Bruce and I ventured out on the 'local' bus route by ourselves but were no more successful with our Christmas shopping. Time to move on. The weather forecast showed a small weather window to make our Gulf Stream crossing for Saturday Nov.17th - tomorrow. So along with Sam the Skull we moved here to Hurricane Harbour with plans to leave at 4am tomorrow and make the crossing. We will call in briefly to Bimini to register in and then continue on until the following day when we should be in West Bay, New Providence. Or maybe stopping one night at Green Cay, on the Tongue of the Ocean to fish. Sam the Skull planned to bypass Bimini and continue on to the Exumas and check-in when they reached Georgetown.