As the year ended, we were thinking our plans for the winter would remain unclear as we waited for the news about our son’s health. So, we were delighted, but very surprised, when we got a call on Tuesday, January 6th, that all was well with him. There were no more tests or further diagnoses required. He had a clean bill of health. So, all of a sudden our plans became very clear – we should head to the Bahamas. But while we were waiting for the news, we went to Disney World.
Hurray for Hollywood!
Hurray for Hollywood!
In what’s become an annual pilgrimage, we joined Pat and Fred just after New Year’s to spend a day at Disney World. After meeting at Krispy Kreme in Kissimmee (another budding tradition), we chose this year to go to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We spent all day riding rides and seeing shows. Some of the highlights were a dramatic motor stunts show and a fun ride where we scored points for shooting targets on a “midway”. On this particular ride, the guys left pretty grumpy that the girls had earned higher scores (due, of course, to their superior skills). Girls, girls, girls . . . We also were at the park for the last day of the holiday lights spectacle, where the “Streets of America” section was completely covered in colorful lights, which periodically danced to music. It was amazing.
After saying a sad goodbye to Pat and Fred (whom we thought we wouldn’t see for several months), we drove back to Jacksonville, while they returned to Riviera Beach. Little did we know how things would change in just a couple of days.
Some of the extra fuel tanks strapped to the deck at the stern. We have more water jugs on deck that aren’t in the picture.
People, Get Ready
The problem (if you could call it that) with our sudden decision to go to the Bahamas, was going to be getting ready in time to catch up with Pat and Fred. We had so much to do that we had put on hold or forgotten about that now was a top priority. We put together a list and frantically worked our way through it. We had to change insurance, notify the bank holding our boat loan, get cash, renew our DAN membership (for offshore emergency medical assistance), ensure our bank accounts would all be funded properly, file our tax extension, take care of the year-end and January business activities for Dave’s business, complete some recordkeeping for Cathy’s mom, complete some gift shopping for occasions we would miss, do laundry, and – oh yes – provision the boat for 3 months out of the country. The boat needed to be readied as well. We had to get the bottom cleaned and zinc replaced, top off the water, gas and diesel tanks, get our propane tanks filled and re-certified (just our luck, the last certification had just expired), and get the electronic charts we needed for the parts of the Bahamas south of the Abacos. Once we got all this done, we would then need to travel 250 miles (or 4 boat days) to get to Lake Worth where Pat and Fred were graciously waiting for us.
We started early and worked until late each day for the next couple of days, trying to get to everything on the list. The folks at Palm Cove Marina couldn’t have been nicer, agreeing to fax documents to the bank and insurance agent, giving us a credit on our monthly slip rental and helping us find the diver to clean the boat. The access to the nearby stores paid off as well, since we could make several walking trips to Publix, Big Lots, Target and Wal-mart to provision, to BBT for banking, as well as an easy bus trip to Sam’s Club for bigger items. And the strong wireless signal made it easy to do all of the internet shopping, e-mail and research before heading out. We certainly hope to visit them again on our trips along the coast.
The problem (if you could call it that) with our sudden decision to go to the Bahamas, was going to be getting ready in time to catch up with Pat and Fred. We had so much to do that we had put on hold or forgotten about that now was a top priority. We put together a list and frantically worked our way through it. We had to change insurance, notify the bank holding our boat loan, get cash, renew our DAN membership (for offshore emergency medical assistance), ensure our bank accounts would all be funded properly, file our tax extension, take care of the year-end and January business activities for Dave’s business, complete some recordkeeping for Cathy’s mom, complete some gift shopping for occasions we would miss, do laundry, and – oh yes – provision the boat for 3 months out of the country. The boat needed to be readied as well. We had to get the bottom cleaned and zinc replaced, top off the water, gas and diesel tanks, get our propane tanks filled and re-certified (just our luck, the last certification had just expired), and get the electronic charts we needed for the parts of the Bahamas south of the Abacos. Once we got all this done, we would then need to travel 250 miles (or 4 boat days) to get to Lake Worth where Pat and Fred were graciously waiting for us.
We started early and worked until late each day for the next couple of days, trying to get to everything on the list. The folks at Palm Cove Marina couldn’t have been nicer, agreeing to fax documents to the bank and insurance agent, giving us a credit on our monthly slip rental and helping us find the diver to clean the boat. The access to the nearby stores paid off as well, since we could make several walking trips to Publix, Big Lots, Target and Wal-mart to provision, to BBT for banking, as well as an easy bus trip to Sam’s Club for bigger items. And the strong wireless signal made it easy to do all of the internet shopping, e-mail and research before heading out. We certainly hope to visit them again on our trips along the coast.
Sunset off Daytona Beach as we head toward Vero
We're Off
After two days of scrambling, we decided we were ready to start traveling south. We would make a long (200 nautical mile) run to Vero Beach on the outside (heading out St. Augustine inlet and back in Fort Pierce inlet) as our first jump, about a 32 hour run. We took a day in Vero to finish the provisioning, filling up all of our fuel jugs, topping off our water tanks (again), filling our sun shower and strapping 2 jugs extra to the deck. We tried to do some more provisioning of fresh food, but since it was Sunday the buses in Vero aren’t running. After a long walk to the beach in search of a phantom farmer’s market and pharmacy, we instead found an art show and a closed sign in the pharmacy window. After walking for another half hour, we made it to a CVS, which had the batteries we were looking for, but not the fresh food. Luckily, Pat had offered to do some of the shopping for us, so that took some of the pressure off.
After two days of scrambling, we decided we were ready to start traveling south. We would make a long (200 nautical mile) run to Vero Beach on the outside (heading out St. Augustine inlet and back in Fort Pierce inlet) as our first jump, about a 32 hour run. We took a day in Vero to finish the provisioning, filling up all of our fuel jugs, topping off our water tanks (again), filling our sun shower and strapping 2 jugs extra to the deck. We tried to do some more provisioning of fresh food, but since it was Sunday the buses in Vero aren’t running. After a long walk to the beach in search of a phantom farmer’s market and pharmacy, we instead found an art show and a closed sign in the pharmacy window. After walking for another half hour, we made it to a CVS, which had the batteries we were looking for, but not the fresh food. Luckily, Pat had offered to do some of the shopping for us, so that took some of the pressure off.
Tower behind Peanut Island as we enter the Lake Worth from the inlet.
By Monday, we were headed out again before sunrise for an outside run to Lake Worth. It would be tight, but we hoped to anchor there before sunset. We headed into the inlet about 5:00 and were anchored near Marianna with a half hour to spare. Not bad.
As we started moving again, we once again ran into friends from our travels. Rick and Carla on Euphoria were on a mooring nearby at Vero Beach and Roy and Doon on Bold Endeavor were anchored next to us at Lake Worth. We exchanged plans with them and bade farewell, hoping to see them later in the Bahamas.
As we started moving again, we once again ran into friends from our travels. Rick and Carla on Euphoria were on a mooring nearby at Vero Beach and Roy and Doon on Bold Endeavor were anchored next to us at Lake Worth. We exchanged plans with them and bade farewell, hoping to see them later in the Bahamas.
Marianna anchored off Key Biscayne.
Lake Worth To Miami
After topping off fuel and water again (we’re not paranoid, just careful) the morning after we arrived in Lake Worth, we headed over to Marianna for a joyful reunion and game of Dominos. What a nice break from all the preparations over the last few days. We discussed plans for crossing to the Bahamas, and the plan was to move to Miami and cross to Bimini or all the way to Nassau. Moving to Miami was problematic because of a number of storms crossing the south Florida coast. It wasn’t the wind direction that was the problem, since the winds were mostly from the north, but it was their strength and the accompanying high seas. We went to bed Tuesday night thinking the one window we had seen was now gone, only to awake at 5am to the sounds of our neighbors pulling anchor. We had a quick conference and decided to go for it.
Unfortunately, we hadn’t hauled our dinghy yet, so we scrambled in the dark to dismantle the solar panels and then haul and lash down the dinghy. We were underway just after 6 and had to work hard to keep our speed up so that we would arrive to the anchorage before sunset. We just made it, settling in at the Key Biscayne anchorage by 6:15pm as the twilight was beginning to fade to dark and the Miami skyline started to sparkle with lights.
After topping off fuel and water again (we’re not paranoid, just careful) the morning after we arrived in Lake Worth, we headed over to Marianna for a joyful reunion and game of Dominos. What a nice break from all the preparations over the last few days. We discussed plans for crossing to the Bahamas, and the plan was to move to Miami and cross to Bimini or all the way to Nassau. Moving to Miami was problematic because of a number of storms crossing the south Florida coast. It wasn’t the wind direction that was the problem, since the winds were mostly from the north, but it was their strength and the accompanying high seas. We went to bed Tuesday night thinking the one window we had seen was now gone, only to awake at 5am to the sounds of our neighbors pulling anchor. We had a quick conference and decided to go for it.
Unfortunately, we hadn’t hauled our dinghy yet, so we scrambled in the dark to dismantle the solar panels and then haul and lash down the dinghy. We were underway just after 6 and had to work hard to keep our speed up so that we would arrive to the anchorage before sunset. We just made it, settling in at the Key Biscayne anchorage by 6:15pm as the twilight was beginning to fade to dark and the Miami skyline started to sparkle with lights.
Miami skyline from our anchorage at Key Biscayne.
Other Boat Stuff
So what else did we have time for in all this flurry of provisioning and travel? Well, before we left Jacksonville, we had our annual Vessel Safety Check, so we’re certified safe for another year. We also made a day trip to Daytona Beach, and after we made stops at the wonderful Farmer’s Market and (the equally wonderful) Angell and Phelps chocolates, we took in a great boating store called Surplus Unlimited. They had a big selection and good prices, worthy of stops on subsequent trips.
Jacksonville – one last glance
We took a couple of trips downtown to pick up and return our rental car. In the process, we finally remembered to take our camera. It’s a lovely downtown, and we leave you with a few parting shots of the city as we bid her goodbye for now.
So what else did we have time for in all this flurry of provisioning and travel? Well, before we left Jacksonville, we had our annual Vessel Safety Check, so we’re certified safe for another year. We also made a day trip to Daytona Beach, and after we made stops at the wonderful Farmer’s Market and (the equally wonderful) Angell and Phelps chocolates, we took in a great boating store called Surplus Unlimited. They had a big selection and good prices, worthy of stops on subsequent trips.
Jacksonville – one last glance
We took a couple of trips downtown to pick up and return our rental car. In the process, we finally remembered to take our camera. It’s a lovely downtown, and we leave you with a few parting shots of the city as we bid her goodbye for now.
