Boat watching and Wine Tasting on the New River

8AM Thursday Thanks again Jenny...The laser worked it magic again. While I was lasering yesterday afternoon Joyce decided to attack the galley cabinets. These 2 cabinets hold an incredible amount of stuff, which the Capt has stuffed full for some time now...it's not unusual to open the cabinet and have something fall out. I came forward to all that stuff out on the galley counter tops. Wow... I retreated up above with a bottle of wine and coaxed Joyce up to see the boats. The river was busy that time of day, almost as bad as I-95 a mile to the West.

Since the galley was not in shape to cook anything we has some snacks with the wine till Grey's Anatomy came on. The Christmas season here is at full throttle.

Crashed early...Joyce up early to "arrange" the stuff still out around the galley.

By the time the Capt made his way forward the transformation had already occurred. Joyce says its the accountant in her the drives this quest for order. Has she met her match? Can I mess faster than she can clean??? Only time will tell.

One of our purchases yesterday was a cinnamon broom...WOW...whole boat smells like a cinnamon bun....goes well with my coffee this AM

Wow .....and a clean cockpit

Thur 3PM....well the Lady's cockpit got a through cleaning....first since last summer...because of the dirt and dust of the construction in Baltimore, it didn't make sense to clean much up there....before we left it was too cold. We spent better part of 2 hours cleaning...boat's waterline came up 2 inches as the dirt and crud went over the side..

We then walked the 1/2 mile to the Public supermarket. Joyce was going to treat me to one of their subs. (one can order a sub anywhere in the country there are Public's and get the same great sub.) Our last was in St Augustine when we had the car. The line was long.(Capt is not a line person) so we walked the store looking for bargains. After a most filling lunch we shopped till we could carry no more and walked...well the Capt gimped back to the boat. We were gone almost 3 hrs.. now the Capt is going back and laser his butt to prevent the pain which is just around the corner. We realized I had not been off the boat since last Friday. Debbie let me borrow her Mom's mini cycle so I could exercise on the boat. Too bad I can't hook the thing up to the propeller shaft, could save some fuel. I have been peddling away and it has helped, but need that contact with the ground on a more frequent basis. THANKS AGAIN DEBBIE...was going to flush the watermaker but...well enough for 1 day. Now that we are back and all the food we bought is stowed, the Lady is back down to her before "clean cockpit" waterline. The excuse for all the food was that we needed to get stuff for dinner tomorrow night when my Brit friend Phil and his new wife come over for dinner. Phil and I go back to the 1st summer I got the boat. We met in Annapolis...and well sailed together for almost a year before he spent some of his sizable pile of British Pounds to buy some cheap to him American business. That now is up for sale so he can continue his cruising plans....we might catch up later this winter down island. Well the pain is building....so me heading back for the laser. I have to turn off the A/C in the saloon before Joyce will come back down below.....75 deg is too cold for her....2 deg to warm for the Capt.....

South Florida Here we are..WARM

Thur Nov 29th 8:45 AM ....Well here we are downtown Ft Lauderdale and I mean downtown. Arrived early yesterday afternoon after mostly motor sailing down from Ft Pierce. Remember the AutoProp we discussed during the bridge fiasco, well when the boat is sailing along in light airs at 4-5 kts, we start the engine put it in gear at about 13-1400 rpm, the prop changes its pitch ...IE shifts into 4th gear and takes bigger bites of the water and bam..we are going 6-7 kts using very little fuel, charging the batteries making hot water and getting there sooner, in this case to enter on an incoming tide and make a scheduled bridge opening.

We shared the narrow channel with this large container ship...I kept to the extreme right side ...the ship lets go 1 huge blast on the horn as some #%$%&$% sailboat racers come tacking out the channel. These guys must have been from Annapolis....almost as stupid.... Joyce almost jumped overboard.

The bridge tender did not drop the bridge on us..guess this guy has more experience...and the boats are bigger and more $$$$$. Here is my expample of a well found trawler to move to when I can't sail anymore.

We motored up the New River to the downtown Marina. We dropped the main and jenny and packed them to go to the sail-maker. They forgot to put the telltales on the new main. They are going to replace the sunbrella on the jenny and do some repairs. The sunbrella is along the bottom and back edge of the sail so when it is rolled up the sail is protected from the UV rays by the sunbrella. Here goes another $7-800 bucks. Better than a new jenny for $5500 or so...

I'm normally not much of a marina rat...but this place is rather unique. In an area with few places to anchor, and marina prices at $ 2-3 dollars a foot, the City of Ft Lauderdale has 3 different marinas at $1.25 a foot...and with a BoatsUS membership...less 25% for the 1st 3 days. We are literally downtown, 3 blocks form a supermarket, lots of shops for Joyce to explore. Los Olas Blvd is just 3-4 blocks over...the favorite place for all the $$$$ snowbirds from the frozen North. Small and large boats and "ships" moter past us all day long. The sound of bow thrusters warn of a big one making the tight turns on their way to the ocean. In this case the boat is being towed...1 in front to tow and 1 in the back to stop...

It's supposed to cool off to 78 deg ...wow a cold spell down here...yes Joyce is warm and happy till I turn on the A/C when I start to sweat. We have a list of boat chores to to do here while we have unlimited water and power...must go supervise Joyce....she is getting ready to do the cockpit..

To West Palm then Fort Lauderdale

This was our sunrise upon leaving Fort Pierce on our way to West Palm...anchored there before dark...then up early on our way to Fort Lauderdale. Paul is so much better at sharing the details of our travels so I'll leave that to him. This was our sunrise upon leaving West Palm. Seas were calm...
We did have a few squalls along the way...up to 9.5 knots one time....
And, here we going through the New River that winds through downtown Fort Lauderdale. We are in a marina right in front of the tall building with the orange stripe down the middle. The house on the corner in this picture is for sale...much too large for me...anyone interested? There was a much cuter one farther up the river that I would be happy with!!

Joyce is slowly winning

Monday afternoon 3:40. Well Joyce has the Lady looking pretty good. She is ahead of the Capt and his messes and making gains on organizing the Capt's assortment of stuff. This one subtle lady....no rants and raves...just steady progress. And yes the Capt appreciates all her work....I get the boat there...Joyce gets it there neat and clean..enough said....

Lazy Day in Ft Pierce

Monday AM Well we spent yesterday anchored off the marina right next to the "Ditch" A few ditch diggers joined us for the night. This whole area is "SHALLOW"...all of South Florida is skinny. We draw 7 ft...maybe a little more with all Joyce's food aboard. 7 ft is alot down here, We are anchored here with 1 1/2 ft of water under the keel. 3 yrs ago the boat swung with tide toward shore and stranded me at low tide. The Lady has a wing keel......it's about 3 feet wide and can stand on her keel. The Lady's waterline was 2 ft out of the water. The tides here run about 4-5 feet. This group of fisherman was standing on an little island, but as you can see...no island.....


We have decided to stay here today as winds are 15-20 out of the SE...which would be right on the nose...not in the mood to burn that expensive diesel I bled big dollars for on Saturday. Winds are supposed to be below 10 kts tomorrow...guess we will motor down slowly....the 15-20 would be a real uncomfortable slug to windward. If one must motor into the wind...below 10 kts is best.

Another Joyce Sunset

Yes, finally I have put my gloves, hat and wool socks away...

This sunset was last night looking at a Marina from our anchorage outside of Fort Pierce. Yesterday we both were busy cleaning the boat. We are waiting here for either the wind from a sailing direction (anything but South or Southeast) or at the minimum little to no wind to motor to West Palm Beach.

The Bridge comes down on the Lady !!!!

Friday AM 10:15 we hoist the anchor and prepare the boat for an overnight to Ft Pierce. This will be our last overnight for a while..it should be warm enough for Joyce from now on. We start circling in front of the Bridge of Lions with an out going tide of about 2 knts going under the bridge. The real Bridge of Lions is under re-construction . They have built this lift bridge (clearance 80') to serve the population during the 2-3 yr construction process. The 1 st pic is from the north...you can see the real Bridge of Lions just past the lift bridge. About 3 boats go out and 2 come in, we waited till the last incoming boat and then started into the current swept passage
I always put the bow thruster down to help keep the boat position while waiting for the bridge to open....and in case the strong current pushes us toward the bridge wall. I'm watching the sides of the bridge making sure we are centered.....Joyce is up taking pictures....

If you look at the base of the pilings you can see the current. We are going about 4 knts with the current...right down the middle of the bridge opening.

About the time Joyce takes this picture she says " The bridge is coming down..."...I look up and indeed the bridge IS coming down... "@$#%$#@&%...YOUR RIGHT IT IS" I throw the boat into reverse and give it full throttle....remember we have 17 tons of boat....plus the ton or so of food...going forward at 4+ knts...we have a 100 hp engine....we are maybe 75 ft from the bridge....now we want to go the other way against a 2 knt current backwards....sailboats do not like to backup in a straight line....by this time the bridge is well down below the 68' air draft of the Lady. I had 2 things going for me that morning that saved the rig...1st.Amel uses a propeller called an Autoprop. Its kind of like an automatic transmission for boats. It gives the same thrust in reverse as it does in forward.....even folds to cut drag while sailing.....and when 1st put in gear it takes little bites of water like a tugboat ...then as the boat accelerates it changes gear...kind of like 1st gear then 2nd and so forth in a car............2nd I had the bow thruster down...this lets the helmsman steer in reverse kind of like having and outboard....it allows me to push the bow left of right....anyway....I have the boat backing out of the bridge.....we had become the morning entertainment for sure....I'm backing at full speed..just missing the boat that had entered just before us....as I back around...I must get the bow around and pointed away from the bridge so we are not swept side ways into the bridge abutment. I full throttled ahead to swing the bow with the thruster and motored back into the anchorage........my heart still racing...about that time the TOW BOATUS comes along side and asks if we are all right....I think he thought he was going to get a nice tow out of all of this....I said yes..except for my blood pressure...He said I should call the bridge tender...which I did after I calmed down..We did receive a "That was some great seamanship getting out of that one." complement from the TOW BOATUS guy...guess he should know....the gets to tow all the stupid ones home after they screw up..... and they make a good living down here....lots of stupid ones... like the bridge tender....
Once on the outside we head south .... of course the wind is on the butt....so we put out the starboard pole and sailed "wing on wing". There was enough wind to have us sailing along at 7-8 knts down wind.

The winds were supposed to shift from the NW to the NE and drop during the night. We were alone out here...had not seen any boats all day except for the shrimp boat convention we saw earlier that afternoon...for sure no ditch diggers. As the sun went down in the west the full moon rose in the east giving us a gorgeous but cool evening.

After dinner Joyce crashed aft...I got her up around 11pm...she came back and got me at 11:30 pm...seems the wind just shifted and then died...we rolled up the sails and started the "iron jenny". Joyce was being nice to me by letting me sleep...around 4am...yep she let me get almost 4+ hrs of sack time...the wind had started to pick up out of the NE...we brought in the starboard pole, rolled out the jenny and sailed along at 8+..Joyce crashed....A few cruise liners past us on the way back into Cape Canaveral to get a new herd of cattle...I call the Cruise Ships..."cattle boats"....just watch the passengers when they go ashore....they are like a herd of cattle..get one going someplace and there are 50 right behind them...more on them when we get down to the islands......I saw a light ahead about 4:45.....a white light..which would mean a boat from the stern....could not see anything on the radar.....kept getting closer...played with the gain on the radar...finally seeing them at 2 miles. A very poor radar return...WOW...another sailboat....on the same course as we were....now it was a race....we were close hauled as the wind was still shifting to the east....we were going between 8-9 knts...unfurled the mizzen for that extra 1/2 knt....now in the high 8's and 9's. About sunup we passed on his starboard side about 50 yards away. It was a 46-48' cutter...a sailboat with 2 sails in front of the mast. By the time Joyce came forward, they were a sail in the distance....We had planned to arrive in Ft Pierce about 1pm...but because of out great sail trimmer"me" and some wind from the right direction we arrived at 10:30am. We went in and fueled up...OUCH....104 gallons...$371 dollars later...did fill the water tanks...we were going to try and scoot down to West Palm...another 50 miles...but the Capt was not in the mood to enter the inlet in the dark....so anchored...cooked our "Thanksgiving Dinner" since we had gone to the Wiegand's on Thursday.. Nothing on the tube...no judge shows or Jerry Springer on the weekends. I still have my Netflicks account and as long as we have phone service I can watch movies online,so we went aft to watch a movie in bed. on the computer......Joyce was out after the opening credits....but she was warm...the temp here this afternoon was 80...only down to 65 deg at night...so we can now slow down and enjoy the warm weather....yes Joyce finally stowed her gloves ...wool socks and scarfs.

Turkey at the Weygand's

12Noon Turkey Day...Debbie and her husband Bobby picked us up at noon for the 40 min drive inland to Debbie's parents home. We started off with "Starr " stories.( Starr used to work with me....well lets say he was always on the edge...you can read that any way...and be right.)..my 1st "fried" turkey....



now a believer...not a can do on the boat....think I would have had a few chickens ready to throw in to get best use of the oil....could have thrown them in a baggie and froze them...dinner was great....almost as good as the company..






Notice no Joyce in the Pic


..Debbie and Bobby drove us the 40 min back to the boat....of course I left the key to the dink in the back of their car.....thanks to the salesMAN in Debbie she did think to bring her cell...was able to call soon enough to get the keys before they got too far away. . Well back on the boat...warm and fuzzy...and full....crash and burn...ready for the long day tomorrow.....Hope everyone had as nice a Turkey Day as we did.....the Weygands made us feel like family.....

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a shared sprout/avocado wrap for breakfast . Slowly increasing the sprouts on Paul's half...darn...he noticed this morning!!!

Yes, I took the cruiser alcohol test. Want to guess first?

Okay...my score was 55...I'm considered a lightweight...anyone surprised?

Hope to get a walk in after we eat...good for both of us! Best wishes for a safe, wonderful, thankful day to all and families!

Happy Turkey Day

Gloomy but warm this AM here in St Augustine.....checking our Email and catching up before going to dinner at the Weygand's. We walked around town yesterday afternoon till the Capt's legs said whoa....I need to get out and walk more. We had a nice lunch and came back to the boat only to find wind 10-15 from the S..and against a 2-3 kt current in the opposite direction...makes the boat "sail" around...so we moved further south in the anchorage so we would have some room. Since we were the last boat to anchor...we have to move.
My continued thanks to Jenny for the use of her Laser. This little black box (really grey) has kept my back problems under control. The residual problems with my back can put me down or back on the percocet (the good stuff) Yesterday AM I could hardly walk...lasered myself for 30 min and was able to walk the town. On a side note, I have had a cyst on my back for 10 yrs....every year of so the thing flares up and I have to go get the thing lanced..pills the whole thing....well the damn thing started to flare up again....Joyce hit it with the Laser for 3 days now the the thing is going away. The science behind it is cool...the low level (no heat) laser stimulants the cells microcondia , which in turn accelerates the cell self healing . Been available in Europe for years but only the last 5-10 here in the states and then for specific diagnosis. I'm saying it seems to helps almost anything.....makes sense...If anyoneone wants more info...email me.


Here is a cruiser test for all you wantobe's. One must know his or her booze. I'm taking care of Joyce. My score was a 91...will report Joyce's later.
http://www.justsayhi.com/bb/booze

Putt putt from Fernandina Beach to St Augustine

We left Fernandina Beach at 7:30...no wind ....had a nice motor to St Augustine...guess I will have to ask some ditch diggers why the don't run on the outside on a day like this...they motor all day anyway..why not??

Lot's of shrimp boats out today....they like the shallow water around the inlets. ..seems the shrimp go in and out with the tide...see all the birds waiting for lunch....

Matt's Marine flag took a beating during the gale...guess I will have to replace it soon...Looks like it's been through a few wars. Joyce is trying out her green thumb. Going to see if we can grow some fresh herbs. The Capt is in need of some fresh stuff...dried isn't the same.


As we approached St Augustine I radioed the Bridge of Lions and asked what their raised height was...they say 80 feet...so we will go inside and anchor...this is the only bridge on the Intercoastal that the Lady can get under...all the other bridges are a standard 65 feet...we are 68 ft.....damn it looked like we were going to hit it.







The anchorage was crowded...we finally found a spot...a little closer than I liked......boat looked familiar...was a Frenchie from Quebec that I made move because he was too close to me over in the Bahamas last year..tried to get me to move ...told him we were fine as I had watched how the boats moved when the tide flipped..... I had called Starr, a friend I used to work with....seems his sister Debbie was visiting their parents and the were going to be in St Augustine this evening....Debbie called and we all met for a drink...small world...and now we have an invite for Turkey Day Dinner.

Best provisioned boat in the Caribbean

Monday 7pm..Well we turned in the rental car...not before we again provisioned the already full stores aboard the Lady. We picked up the car for the weekend.(Enterprise 50% off for a 3 day weekend) and they come pick us up at the Marina. We bought food on Friday...again on Saturday..some on Sunday and finished up today with a major buy,,,We need to get away from the stores for a few months and eat down the fridges and stored food...Wonderful boneless leg of lamb on sale...had to get that since Matt and his girlfriend are coming down between Christmas and New Years. He only comes for a food fix...so stocking up on his favorites before he ships off to Iraq for 7 months...

Both freezers are packed

We had some of my mothers Tamale Pie for dinner last night...thanks Mom...took me a while to conjure up her wonderful recipe...but I think I did her justice...another for the book.

Honest..we have more food aboard then any other cruising boat around....more pickles,,, green olives....lamb, chicken, pork, corned beef...sausage....damn we could go for 6 months without a shopping spree....Joyce's idea is to have what we need where ever we need it...true there are things one cannot get or are way to expensive as you go down island....well Hellman's mayonnaise , pickles, Frito's, Triscuit, olives,Wheat Thins,Popcorn, certain spices. all stocked up on the Lady...none of that yucky island meat for us...only choice US beef chicken pork and lamb for us...there goes the diet.

Liquor Locker..Saving room for my Venezuelan Rum and Joyce's Samboozle...known to most of us as Sambucca.

Fun in Fernadina Beach

Was a sunny and warm..to me anyway...(we did get the coats and scarfs off Joyce)...Sunday . We dinked ashore...of course I forgot the car keys..the ditch diggers had gotten a early start...marina almost empty. Went on a hunt for the fort we passed on the way in...after a few dead ends..we found Ft Clinch will let the resident historian do her job...

The Fort site is now a State Park and there are acres and acres of natural Florida growth and undergrowth. The moss that hangs off of the trees is amazingly beautiful!

The Fort itself was built to how it stands today...but really never finished. Amelia Island was deemed indefensible by the Confederates and the Union forces took control and remained.

There are these shooting holes all around the Fort...I enjoyed the ones with the view of the beach and the ocean best!
On each end of the Fort are these paraputs that give the walls of the Fort protection. Inside there was a small kitchen...a jail...a small bunkhouse area...the amunition storage area...and there was even ONE - one hole outhouse...amazing to me when you think of how many men would have been stationed there!

Anyone recognize this guy???

























This is the Amelia Island lighthouse...

Downtown Fernandina Beach has these statues in front of most of the shops. Very cute little town. The Island started out under French control...then Spanish control...British control...back to Spanish control - with U.S. Marine protection - because of piracy issues....and finally in 1821 part of Florida and a U.S. Territory

View from the boat of the Marina and the downtown historical district.

Stowaway

Almost forgot to tell you of our "stowaway". He/she/it joined us a few hours out of Fernandina Beach and stayed with us until after we anchored. He/she/it came into the saloon (living room) after we anchored...was on the computer...on the couchs...in the galley (kitchen)...and I was thinking to myself what a great additional he/she/it would make to the boat...except I would have bemoaned the mess. But isn't he/she/it beautiful and cute???

Not the 1st time I have these feathery visitors on the Lady H. While crossing the Bay of Byscane on the way south to the Canaries on the maiden voyage, we had a similiar bird befriend us for almost a day. We were more than 250 miles from any where....this again happened on my way north from the Caribbean 2 yrs ago...same thing...several hours on the boat...down below the whole thing....It has been suggested to me that H (the boats namesake, my wife ) is checking up on me to make sure I'm happy in life....one must wonder???