Off to the Bahamas!

Setting off this morning to the Bahamas - should arrive Monday morning to  Great Harbour in the Berry Islands. Will be back online in a day or so when we get Bahamas chips for our phones.

Last chance for free water and cheap diesel fuel! 

Back to Key Biscayne

We spent the morning doing some chores.....laundry day.  We had a pile of "cold weather clothes" that needed to be washed and stored until next winter!

Used the washing machine for the wash cycles, but chose to "line dry" them - it took about 30 minutes for even the jeans to be dry.  The bulbous looking thing is a fitted sheet.

We decided to head back north to better position for our departure to the Bahamas - probably Sunday.

Got to sail a little bit dead downwind on the way back to Miami.  Pretty water!

We anchored in a little cove called Hurricane Harbor.   It's a really pretty little area - room enough for 8 or 10 boats - right beside some really fancy houses.

Pretty neat - all quite for the evening.

We did have a chore that needed done before we head out Sunday morning - the jib cover has a large zipper that must be 10 years old.  It just doesn't like to do it's intended job.

So, I had ordered a new 4' long zipper from Sailrite before we left home, just never got around to changing it out.

 Not a difficult job - I just ripped off the old zipper.

And sewed the new zipper in place. We used the little metal clips from the old sail to "terminate" the zipper and cut it to the exact length.

All finished - (you can see that the sailcover is a bit "salty".....

In place.

Ready for the Gulf Stream crossing on Sunday!

Key Biscayne to Sands Key

Beautiful sunrise this morning!!!

The anchorage was a little exposed so we decided to head south about 15 miles to Sands Key near Elliot Key for a change in scenery.


Pretty lighthouse on Key Biscayne.

On our way there, we went thru the "Stiltsville Channel" - kinda surreal.

The stilt houses look a little abandoned, but not entirely.  Wonder if anyone uses them?  They're just out in the middle of Biscayne Bay.

Sand Key - pretty and no one within miles!

We got in the dinghy for a little exploration - what looks like a manmade canal thru the mangroves leads to a little "lake". 

We pulled over and tied up the dinghy hoping to walk thru the mangroves to the ocean side.

There was a path thru the limestone/coral ground.....but it was high tide and we eventually couldn't get thru due to the water (we could have waded thru, but it was murky swamp water).  So, back to the boat.

Quiet evening.

Miami near No Name Key

We decided to move about 5 miles to a different anchorage to avoid the bright lights.

Pretty coastline with equally pretty clear water.

And right about sunset, the local sailing school came out with their sailboats for a "regatta".  Fun to watch with the Miami skyline in the background.

West Palm Beach to Miami

Early morning departure just as the sun was peaking out.

Just out of the channel at West Palm, there was some neat traffic.

We sailed just offshore - good winds and little waves.  We had 10 hours ahead of us so making good speed was important.


What If under sail!

And Cathy took a similar photo of us.

More ships as we approached Miami late in the day.

 We were in the Govenor's Cut Channel going into Miami when this huge cargo ship came up behind us.

But we made quick tracks towards downtown and our anchorage for the night, following What If.

Last night together for the What If and Sojourn crews!  Cathy had made a big pot of wonderful soup while underway so we enjoyed our last evening together.

Our anchorage for the night - called Marine Stadium after the old watersports stadium that has been abandoned nearby.  Strange sight....

Looking the other way - the Miami downtown skyline.

The lights from the city were cool -  not that we'd want to be around this every day - it was nice for an evening.

Same scene this morning. We don't really have plans at this point - so we'll see how the day/week unfolds!

Vero Beach to West Palm Beach

It's getting warmer!!  Finally put away the blanket - slept with just a sheet - perfect!

Pretty sunrises in at the Vero Beach City Marina.

Our raft of 3 catamaran friends.

Cathy and Ed were invited to their nearby cruising friends' Dot and John's house for dinner - and we got to tag along.   Good fun meeting fellow sailors  Mary Ann and Ed also.  You just never know what a day on the boat will bring!

Time to leave Vero Beach - we were up early to cast off from our "raft".  Jerry and Donna were up to see us off.  We'll cross paths with them again in the Bahamas.

Motoring out of the Vero anchorage, we spotted another Manta!  Esmeralda - didn't get a chance to meet the owners though.  (There were only 127 of these boats built and it continues to amaze me how many of them we've seen!)

A big storm was chasing us - but we mostly outran it southbound.  The water is changing colors now from brown to almost blue!

And as the day progressed, the surroundings got a little "tonier"....for the next few days I believe our surroundings will be like this as we head tomorrow offshore to Miami!

Vero Beach

We made it to Vero Beach today....rafted up with What If and Bluejacket (friends from Oriental).  Will be a day or two before heading further south.


                                                                         What If                      Blue Jacket                      Sojourn 

Heading south

Time flies when you're busy traveling.....

We left Pine Island for a full day of motoring down the intercoastal waterway.   Leaving the anchorage at Pine Island.

 We stopped for the day in Daytona Beach.  Rafted up again with What If for a fun evening of dinner and chatting.

Up fairly early and headed out.  Lots of marshy land at times....and lots of fancy houses too.

Actually put the headsail up for a little while....but the winds were fairly light and the waterway is not really "sail-friendly" due to it's twists and turns.

Rafted up again at Cocoa Beach.  Really nice to just step from one boat to the next for dinner and drinks!  Off to Vero Beach tomorrow.