Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Trip to Boca Chita
We traveled to Miami on Friday; to arrange a trip to Boca Chita with Mary Ann, friend from Point Lookout, NY. On Sunday morning Jim picked her up at the dinghy dock in Miami, and off we went south again; sailing downwind in Biscayne Bay. We were abit concerned that Boca Chita would be crowded, as it usually is on the weekend - but there was plenty of room for Kismet. It was fun showing this special place to Mary Ann. Yesterday, Mary Ann and Jim decided that we should SAIL out of Boca Chita, sans motor. I was abit nervous, but it was fine - we were out without a problem. We had a wonderful sail up the bay in about 15-18 knots of wind; dodging the sailboat racing! We even sailed through the Rickenbacker Bridge. We decided to anchor in Sunset Lake; a protected anchorage that we had heard about but never came into. We had only known that there was a resident here that doesn't like cruisers anchoring near his house. Of course, just when Jim was going to drop the anchor, a guy yelled out - please don't anchor in front of my house! Anyway, we moved over and picked a new spot. This is a good spot for the crummy weather that we are supposed to get tonight - wind & thunderstorms.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Sailin' Biscayne Bay
We weighed anchor at 0700 on Monday, and sailed fast up the Bay to the Biscayne Bay anchorage. At about 1100 it started raining hard, visibility became very poor, and NOAA was calling for thunder, lightening, rain, wind, and waterspouts! Well, we only got rain and some thunder but the possibility got us to get anchored & secure by noon. On Tuesday, we motored into No Name Harbor and spent three great days there. We had a nice lunch with friends Shel & Elaine, who live in Key Biscayne, and befriended Susan & Don from "Old Sam". Lots of laughs, walks to the beach, toured the lighthouse, went snokeling, and had 3 fun dinners with "Old Sam".
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Sunday Afternoon At Alabama Jacks
For the past two years we have been vowing to go to Alabama Jacks Restaurant for the "World's Best Conch Fritters" - but we have never figured out where it was! Until today! Last night we anchored near (1/2 mile from shore) Elliot Key. The island was crawling with Holiday Weekend campers & boaters; so.....this morning we decided to take advantage of the NE wind and sail south to find Alabama Jacks. We anchored northwest of the Card Sound Bridge and took new dinghy for an adventure to find the restaurant. After one wrong turn down a canal, we found it. What a fun place! Bikers and boaters galore. Very crowded even at noon time! Great fritters, steamed shrimp, chocolate peanut butter cheesecake, and of course a couple of cocktails! We dinghied back to "Kismet" and then motored over to the northeast side of the bridge for the night. The wind is supposed to blow from the eastsoutheast.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Southbound
We received our new dinghy last Monday. We went into the Las Olas Marina for one night - did laundry, showers, boatwashing, freezer defrosting, pumpout, and got mail & the dinghy. Dockage was very reasonable - $37.00. On Tuesday, we were back on anchor in the Middle River. Our registration was sent separately, so we had to get another mail delivery at the UPS store. On Wednesday, we registered the dinghy, and went to West Marine to buy a towing bridle, new little anchor, chain, shackles, and a numbering kit. On Thursday, Portie did his last task of towing new dinghy over to Las Olas Marina; where we delivered Portie to his master, Luis - who works at the marina. He was thrilled to have his first boat! Back to the anchorage where we met Mary Ann, friend from Pt Lookout, NY for the afternoon. On Friday, we finally left Fort Lauderdale after 2 and 1/2 weeks. Started out with very little wind; so......the captain put up the spinnaker. It was great until the wind switched direction (to our beam) and piped up to about 18 knots......It was a little hairy for awhile. Then the main came out with the jib & we had a nice sail down to Key Biscayne. Went into the Bay through the Biscayne Channel - very cool. Dropped the hook outside No Name Harbor for the night. Today we had a lovely sail 16 miles down the bay to anchor by Elliot Key.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Relaxin' in Lauderdale
Our visit to Fort Lauderdale has turned into a longer time than we had originally planned. Portie's wounds are mortal; so we did order a new inflatable dinghy. That should arrive on Monday, the 10th. Then we need to register it, apply numbers, set up a towing bridle, etc., etc.....Raymond and Susan Hall stopped by for a visit on their way back from Key West. We had a fun lunch, and they drove us to get our enclosure glass repaired. We did move from Lake Sylvia to the anchorage in Middle River. It is actually even better than Sylvia, because of a very secure and FREE dinghy dock nearby. Publix, and the Galleria Mall are very close by; along with a West Marine, post office, and DMV. It is fun to explore all the canals in "The Venice of Florida".
Monday, January 3, 2011
Welcoming in 2011
We left North Palm Beach last Tuesday, and motorsailed out Lake Worth Inlet to Port Everglades. Not much wind; but enough waves to do some damage to Porty. He got his seam ripped by his bow about 8 inches. Jim wants to do a repair with a piano hinge - I vote for a new dinghy! So we are looking around Fort Lauderdale. We have the time; and this certainly is a good place to find one. One of the vinyl panels on the enclosure also got a mysterious rip in it during the same trip; so we need to repair that. We are enjoying being anchored in Lake Sylvia. Over the Holiday weekend there were over 25 boats in here - some very large vessels! We enjoyed a lovely dinner for New Years with Fabio & Eleanor on "Amandla" and Alfredo & Nicoletta from "Janchris". It is pretty convenient here - we leave the dinghy at the Southport RawBar and can walk to virtual anything we need. It is warm, partly sunny, and in the 70s. Nice!
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