Merry Christmas from Marathon

We hope you and your family have the best possible holiday. We are in Marathon Florida where the weather is very nice at the moment but subject to change daily. I have included a couple pictures showing our location in Florida and then zoomed in to show the mooring field, the stretch of US #1 which is the town of Marathon and the ocean beach we frequently visit when it is warm enough to swim. Hopefully tomorrow!

On the trip down, we stayed in Miami and sailed down Biscayne Bay and exited into the ocean at Anglefish Creek. We then proceeded to Rodriguez Key where we spent one night. The next day we sailed to Marathon (Vaca Key) arriving in the early afternoon. Both days were about 50 nautical miles.

Space Station Passes Over

Last night we were alerted to watch for the passing of the Space Station about an hour past sunset. It was a clear night and the moon had no risen so we had a great view. Photographing was this was clearly beyond the capability of my camera and personal skill. But as it passed overhead, it looked this size of a planet and was still in the brilliant sunshine - fun to watch. Thanks again to the skipper of Tarwathie for this astronomical tip.

Lunar Eclipse

I became aware of last nights spectacular lunar eclipse from reading a fellow cruiser's blog yesterday afternoon. I guess it is symptomatic of our wireless digital age that I should learn it this way when his boat is but 50 or so yards from ours. Anyhow the weather was forecast to be clear and a full moon was up in the East as we were eating our dinner. So I went onto the internet and looked up the timing for the big show and set my alarm accordingly.

I awoke around 1:00 am, put on the propane cockpit heater and settled in with my novel ready to watch the big show. What a great seat I had! Around 2:00 a good size chunk had been eaten out of the full moon. By 3:15 or so there was only a sliver of bright moon left on a red sphere of the moon in eclipse. Apparently the red is caused by ash in the atmosphere from a recent volcanic eruption. As we approached total eclipse, the stars came out. The great picture of a red moon was taken from the New York Times front page this morning. My less than spectacular shot was taken at 3:00 am.

Sunset in Boot Key

Here is a picture of the Traumerei taken by a neighboring boat while Carol and I were off to a Christmas Concert. Everyone here is speculating about what kind of winter we will have and hoping that it is nothing like last year. But of course there is no way of really knowing until it is history.

Boot Key Harbor (Marathon)

We arrived here Saturday afternoon after a great sail down the Hawk Channel from Rodriguez Key. We hurried along because a strong cold front with high winds was forecast to arrive Sunday evening. Sunday started out very nice with light northerly winds and sunny skies. Everyone in the mooring field was busy laying in every necessity for a long stay aboard. Last night the winds piped up at near gale force (low 30 knots), have stayed there through the day today, and are expected to last until tomorrow afternoon.

Fortunately there is some sun so it is warm in the cockpit, but the steady rattling in the rigging is getting on our nerves. Last summer I installed a shackle at the end of the bobstay near the waterline. That is now part of a three point bridle which secures us to the mooring pennant. It takes most of the load and we no longer hear the deck fastened lines chafing on the bow of the boat as we tack in high winds.

Hawk Channel

It's Saturday morning and we are on the final leg of our journey to Marathon Fla. We had a restful night at anchor and left at first light for the 47NM run to Boot Key Harbor. We are navigating the Hawk Channel which is a narrow body of water running between the keys and the Florida Reef which parallels the key island chain. The gps has us in the anchorage by a little before 2:00 pm. It is a gorgeous morning with a light north wind. The only thing we could ask for is just a little more wind. Here is a picture of the sunrise through the cloud bank over the Gulf Stream.

Rodriguez Key

We are anchored on the lee side of Rodriguez Key - a tiny island just off the Hawk Channel. You pick your spot based on the forecast wind direction and hope you don't have to move in the middle of the night. We are about 40 NM from Boot Key Harbor (Marathon Fla.) which will be our winter home. Last time through we went into a marina which wasn't great because of the sandbar at the channel entrance. Since we don't do overnights, we are now anchored here. In the picture you can see a cloud bank marking the warm waters of the gulf stream about 10 miles away to the South. Several miles to the south is the Florida Reef and about 90 miles to the South is Cuba. So we are hoping for a calm night tonight with no bouncing or dragging. We can't believe that people wait here for a weather window to go to the Bahamas.

Coconut Grove Sailing Club

We've been at Coconut Grove since Sunday. It was warm and sunny on Sunday and now it is cold and sunny. Hi 30's at night and mid 60's during the day with strong north winds. Lots of Bahama bound boats sitting around waiting for a window. If they don't want to get beat up, it could be a long wait.

We head out tomorrow for the Hawk Channel and plan to be in Marathon on Friday or Saturday.

We have really enjoyed our stay at the CGSC. It is an all sailboat club which offers moorings to guest boats even if they have no club affiliation. Since we do have a club affiliation, we can partake of the dining room and bar. The club has 5 Ensign Class boats and three Classic Choy Lee boats - two of which are pictured here. This place feels a lot like home and the members go out of their way to make us feel welcome. Carol especially likes the launch which runs 24/7 and is a lot easier to negotiate than the dinghy.

Ft. Lauderdale

We are anchored in Middle River, Ft Lauderdale. A nice quiet spot with a great public radio station. Today was a short one and we arrived here about 10:15 and set the hook. Our cruising guides rate anchorages for their protection from the winds, quality of ground for holding an anchor, places to land a dinghy, distance to a Publix and so forth. We have a new category - Bandwidth. We have been connecting to the internet via our air card since leaving New Bern, but the real test is the ability to stream a video into our cockpit. Occasional we have achieved this in wilderness settings, but usually in populated areas, there are too many other users on their wireless devices. But last night at Boca, we had better bandwidth than at home! We sat in the cockpit enjoying a high quality video while watching the beautiful Christmas decorations sweep by. Tonight might offer the same. The picture is from our cockpit looking at the ocean front condos in the distance.

Boca Raton

We spent last night in Lake Worth with a few dozen boats waiting for a window to cross to the Abacos. They may have a while to wait since the winds are forecast to be brisk out of the north for quite a while. It was too brisk for us to go outside as well, so we suffered through 12 lift bridges to get to Boca. Our boat really is not fast enough to comfortably make the opening schedule, but we do it anyhow. I keep waiting to throw a rod or something! More of the same weather tomorrow so we will stay inside to Lauderdale, then hopefully outside Saturday for the short trip to Miami. We hope to make the last day of a big art show - Art Basel - which is billed as huge event. We will anchor off the Venetian Causeway a reasonable walk to the Miami Beach Convention Ctr.

The photo is Lake Boca Raton and the two Catamarans we traveled with today

Peck Lake

We are anchored in a little bit of heaven at Peck Lake. It's actually a wide spot on the inter-coastal waterway which the charts and guide books say you can't get into, but you can. We arrived here in the early afternoon. After lunch we launched the dinghy and took a short ride to the sound side beach. A very short walk across the island takes you to a beach only accessible by boat. It is a part of the Hobe Sound National Seashore. Terrific swimming in warm and very clean looking water. This stop is much better then the Jensen Beach anchorage of two years ago.

Thanksgiving

We enjoyed a very nice Thanksgiving meal even though we were at the last table called. But the food was still plentiful and the table company just great. Here is Carol talking it up with Libby Mills and Darick Ottow.

The temps were in the mid 80's and I took advantage and went for an ocean swim. Water temp of 75 felt just right. Tomorrow I plan to bike over to town for propane and breakfast at the Kountry Kitchen. It's about a 20 mile round trip and I will need the exercise after that meal.

Vero Beach

We are enjoying a sunny and warm time at Vero Beach. We have met up with a few folks from our 07/08 winter and are enjoying making some new cruising friendships as well. Today was a day to do a little Publix shopping, lunch at Kelleys Irish Pub, a bike trip to the beach, an ocean swim for George and of course a dish of ice cream at the Boardwalk Ice Cream parlor.

We are looking forward to the Thanksgiving feast and will share a picture of two from the meal.

Dragon Point

We are anchored comfortably in one of our favorite spots at the end of the Banana River in Melbourne, Fla. This is our third stop here and it has been very windy each time, but the protection is excellent. We went a little farther than planned yesterday and we dropped the hook at 9:45 this morning and are enjoying one last quiet day on the boat before landing at Vero Beach which will be a busy one week stop for us.

Presently there is a high pressure system stalled out in the Atlantic which is pumping in a brisk east wind, clouds, and occasional showers. But all is comfortable in our sun room and Carol is working on her cross stitch and practicing the Dulcimer. Chicken French and a nice bottle of chardonnay are on the menu for tonight

Jacksonville, Fla

We spent a very nice two days with former NC neighbors Jim and Ann Freeman and their dog Dinah. It was the first time off the boat and sleeping in a land bed in three weeks. We also took the first of many beach walks of the trip -very nice

Amelia Island, Fla

We spent yesterday anchored in Bells River across from Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island. Bells offered a nice anchorage and we spent the day exploring the town of Fernandina Beach. Fellow cruisers have always recommended Fernandina Beach as a stop, be we have been put off by the heavy industry along the waterfront. This time we decided to give it a try. It was as advertised! A really nice old town with quiet streets and beautiful old homes. While walking the streets you are completely unaware of the large paper mill and other industry just a short distance away. After lunch at a fine restaurant and a long hot shower at the marina, we returned to our boat hoping for a quiet evening aboard. Unfortunately the railroad and papermill noise prevented that.

Georgia ICW

Lots of cruisers berate the Georgia intercoastal waterway because of it's twists and turns and few places to land and walk the dog. We however love the diversity and the many sounds that allow for sailing. This trip through we have been blessed to be in phase with the tidal currents and have made great time. The weather so far on our trip has been mostly ideal. Cold nights and sunny days which warm the cockpit early in the morning. Today we left a peaceful anchorage in the Federica River which runs along St Simons Island. The little fort is Ft Federica dating from 1730 and was the center of a settlement started by James Oglethorpe to halt the advance of the Spanish in the region. This picture was taken during the cocktail hour last night. The second photo is of the anchorage near the Cumberland Island National Seashore. It was taken during the cocktail hour this evening. Cumberland Island is just north of the Florida / Georgia border. Tomorrow we will be exploring the historic town of Fernandina Beach Florida.

Still in Charleston

Today is cold and windy so a good day to catch up with the Blog. We have had three beautiful warm and sunny days here and have made the most of them. We took a tour of the Calhoon home- truly amazing place with great formal gardens. We did the carriage tour yesterday morning and learned some new facts about the city history and saw some new sights including the old city jail. It has been turned into a school for the construction trades and the students are restoring the structure.

The highlight of our day yesterday was a cooking class. This class was run by the Maverick Kitchen Store. (Our favorite Charleston Restaurant SNOB is a Maverick establishment) Anyhow the lesson was fish and shell fish with 5 terrific dishes which we students helped prepare. I liked them all but my favorite was the Mini Lobster Quiche.

Charleston

Well we are once again in Charleston, one of our favorite cities. We are docked at the Maritime Center this year which is a terrific location for shopping, dining, and nightlife. Harris Teeter is about 3 blocks away and a liquor store and hardware store are next door. Tomorrow morning, Sunday, we plan to a Greek Bakery for brunch.

I have included a number of pictures and can't figure out how to properly integrate the text so here the captions:

Mi T Mo an unusual pleasure craft on the Cape Fear River. They were anchored near us in Wrightsville Beach. Yes that is a Honda CRV on the deck.

A Spritsail Skiff in the anchorage at Wrightsville Beach

A fine wood turning for a X-mas Tree ornament at the Charleston Sat. Market

Ashley Harwood artisan - We bought 6 cherry salad bowles

Carol Feeling Witchy

The Traumerei in her slip at the maritime center

Another day on the ICW

Today we left Mile Hammock at first light. A mistake since we had to wait 45 minutes for the Surf City bridge. Our fellow cruisers had this figured out pretty well as they joined us just as the bridge was about to open. We'll have to get back into the bridge schedule planning mode!

Here is a view of the cockpit and what we look at and through while driving. This year we have an air card for the computer, so we can surf the net, check emails, and update the blog while underway. It helps with the boredom of the ditch.

Heading South Again

Carol and I are taking our second boat trip to the Florida Keys. We are anchored in Mile Hammock Bay which is on the grounds of Camp Lejeune. It is a beautiful fall day and the south bound cruisers are pouring in. We have loose agenda of spending Thanksgiving in Vero Beach, Christmas in Marathon, and maybe Easter in the Abacos if the weather is favorable for a passage across the Gulfstream.

The newly improved Traumerei is performing well except for a couple of plumbing problems. Air leak in the washdown system and an air bubble in the engine cooling water loop to the water heater. Seems like we've seen these before so we should have resolved in a day or two.