10 December 2022
Depart: Palm Beach anchorage 8:50
Arrive: Pompeno Beach Private Dock 2:00
Distance: ~ 40 nm
As we turned the corner to enter the Palm Beach inlet, I saw something near shore splashing in the water. Continuing to watch, I figured out it was a flipper (not on a dolphin)! I saw no dive boat nearby. I yelled to Clark "divers in the water on the starboard side" because after I saw the first diver, I saw two more. They seemed to be searching for something as they came up and dove down repeatedly.
Once we got closer we finally saw the dive boat. The boat was close to shore and the divers were out in the waterway.
Last night, we anchored close to the inlet, so it took very little time to get out into the ocean. Fortunately, the seas were favorable for an easy and enjoyable ride to Hillsboro Inlet. Clark heard predictions of 2 to 4 foot waves with occasional 5s with a 5 second period at Palm Beach on the weather radio. He decided to call Sea Tow to get info on Hillsboro where they were calling for 8' swells. The Sea Tow pilot told Clark he was sitting out in the ocean as he talked to him, and there was certainly nothing like 8-footers in the area.
View from the ocean near Palm Beach ...
Clark mentioned that we would be passing by Mar-a-Lago, so I got the camera ready and did some research online.
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| Our view of Mar-a-Lago from the ocean |
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Aerial view of Mar-a-Lago (*picture found on the internet) |
With calm seas and good weather, we saw a number of dive boats out in the ocean.
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Pirate's Paradise -- Dive Boat from Palm Beach |
After almost five hours on the ocean, we came to Hillsboro Inlet just north of Pompano Beach - our destination for the day. As we turned to come in, Clark pointed out a boat on the beach. Later talking to our friend in Pompano, he said that it must have happened recently and was not due to hurricanes because it was not there the last time he went out the inlet!
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| Beached boat! |
We had to navigate the inlet carefully using the local knowledge Clark got from Sea Tow captain; we needed to stay near the greens. As we approached the inlet the charter boat "Starlight 101" was coming out. Clark haled him on the radio to get passing information, and the captain could not be bothered to reply to us. Shortly after that, the boat abruptly turned to the north. Once it was out of the way, we could safely enter the inlet.
We saw this boat last year here at the inlet, most likely with the same captain. The captain appears to be aggressive and rude. The Hillsboro Inlet bridge opens on the quarter hour, and boats back up waiting for the bridge to open. For some unfortunate ones, they happened to be where "Starlight 101" wanted to dock. We never heard a call on the radio from the captain who just plowed forward and forced everyone out of the way. The apparent motto - "Scatter or get hit! I'm bigger than you, and I'm coming in!"
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"Starlight 101" - "outta my way, I'm coming through"! |
Our friend's house is on the water only 15 minutes from the inlet. We passed through the bridge at 1:45 and were tying up at 2:00. Our friends were traveling this summer and thus far had not moved off their boat and into their house. We spent our time rafted together at their dock sharing stories and dinners.
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| Clark and Steve going off to Home Depot together |
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Sunset view from "Sunset Delight" stern while docked at our friends' house |
11 December 2022
No boat travel
With so much to talk about, we knew in advance we would need to stay two nights here. Clark and Steve love to share boat stories and get technical while doing so. Steve's prior boat was the same model as ours, so we have a lot in common.
They compared instruments and navigation apps. Clark explored Steve's engine room. Loads of fun! Meanwhile I talked to Judy about hobbies and boat travel. They went to Philadelphia this summer while we were in Maine.
Pompano Beach is between Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, so there is always something happening. One day for no apparent reason, a blimp went overhead!
We found out that not only has Steve had a ride in a blimp, but he took lessons and knows how to fly one. He told us how nervous he got on takeoff the first time. The blimp, being full of helium, can take off at a 45 degree angle. A plane, which he was used to flying, would stall and crash at that angle!
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| Sunset at Pompano Beach |
12 December 2022
Depart: Pompano Beach Private Dock 7:55
Arrive: Pumpkin Key anchorage 3:45
Distance: 63 nm
Checking out the shoreline can be interesting. Some of the building architecture is unusual and caught my attention. The tall pink buildings in the picture below are "The Palms" condo complex. While the "staircase" looking one is the "Auberge Beach Residences". Per the internet, these are apartments for the very wealthy.
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Offshore near Ft. Lauderdale |
We saw a number of big ships anchored off Fort Lauderdale.
We saw another interesting building as we passed by Sunny Isles Beach called the "Pinnacle". It is a residence building rated 5 stars with two residences per floor with both ocean and city views.
Then, in between all these tall buildings, I spied an eye-catching tower. I tried, and Clark tried with binoculars, to read the tower with no success. Finally, I used Google Maps satellite view to determine what I was observing - Hallandale Beach water tower.
The tower depicts a beach ball being held up by a spray of blue water.
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| Water tower dwarfed by the tall buildings |
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Land view of "beach ball water tower" (*picture taken from the internet) |
When not studying building architecture, I watched someone enjoying a parasail ride along the coast.
Somewhere along the way south, the water turned from a green too dark to see through to a light blue so clear we could see the ocean floor 20+ feet down! Other than a shark I spotted in the distance (only the fin was visible), I could find no other sea life to observe as we passed by. I thought it odd and disappointing. Clark said the boat noise probably drove them all away.
Our route today took us past historic Stiltsville, Florida. The "town" is a lot smaller than it used to be and no rebuilding or repairs are allowed, so it continues to get smaller as storms pass through. We only saw 5 or 6 houses still standing. We saw more last time we came this way.
Blue dot at bottom of map shows Stiltsville.
We dropped anchor at Pumpkin Key as we have done a number of times before.
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| Sunset at Pumpkin Key |
13 December 2022
Depart: Pumpkin Key anchorage 8:15
Arrive: Marathon anchorage 4:15 / 4:30
Distance: 62 nm
Clark's original plan was to travel part way to Marathon from Pumpkin Key. After arriving at Barley Bay, where he had planned to anchor, at 12:30, we decided to keep going all the way to Marathon.
When I start seeing mangroves, I know we are getting close to our winter home.
We see many of the same sights year after year. The wreckage shown below has changed over time. The sunken sailboat near the mangroves has been there. It now has a bird's nest on the mast. A sunken sailboat is beside the first sunken sailboat. Two small power boats appear to be using the second sunken sailboat as a dock!
As we passed through the Key Largo area, I saw a tower that I have seen many times before. This time I decided to do research. After a bunch of digging, I discovered the history of this structure. This "massive concrete structure" is an abandoned microwave tower that AT&T converted into to a cell tower. It was constructed sometime prior to 1951, post World War II, as a long-range telephone / television tower.
When I am not surveying the passing scenery, I am frequently found in the position shown below on the upper helm of the boat. I am nearby if Clark needs me, and I alternate between snoozing and listening to the NPR stories on the radio. The hat is a must or the sun is in my eyes.
We arrived near Faro Blanco in Marathon at 4:00 and dropped anchor. I thought we were set for the night, but Clark decided that we might be too close to the Faro Blanco entrance. Knowing Clark, I decided we better pull up anchor and move right then and there because I sure as heck did not want to do it at midnight when he decided he couldn't sleep due to worrying about our anchor spot.
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| Faro Blanco lighthouse |
Sunset in Marathon seen while anchored off Faro Blanco.
14 December 2022
Dinghy only
Having arrived in Marathon a day earlier than planned, we had a day to visit Faro Blanco and meet up with old friends.
As we entered Faro Blanco, we saw our friends from the boat "Fins" walking by the lighthouse. (Their boat was totaled in Hurricane Ian in September, so they are staying in a nearby condo.) We chatted for a while and then rode around the basin to see who else was around. We found the dockhand Josh that we have known for years. He was busy doing a pump-out, so we just said hello and kept going. We knocked on the boat "La Cigale" but found no one home. Then we tied up to the swim platform of Morning Star II and visited our friend Anne who lives there.
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| Stella on MS II casually guarding the boat |
I called Stella's name and she looked over for a photo shot.
While we were talking to Anne, her husband Mel came back from grocery shopping, so we got to see him too. Unfortunately, we had to run suddenly because it started to rain, and Clark had left a hatch open. It was a light rain, and nothing got seriously wet.
We ate lunch on the boat, and Clark started the generator to boost up the batteries. Later, when that was done, we took the dinghy back to Faro Blanco to visit Sandy and Bill on L'Attitude Adjustment. We stayed until docktails where I got to meet or get reacquainted with other boaters at the marina.
As sunset approached, Clark said we had to go turn on the anchor light, so we jumped back in the dinghy for the quick ride back to Sunset Delight.
15 December 2022
Depart: Marathon anchorage 11:20
Arrive: Marlin Bay Resort & Marina 11:45
Distance: < 1 nm
We stowed the dinghy when we got back from Faro Blanco last night, so this morning we had nothing to do boat-wise until it was time to move over to our slip at Marlin Bay. I read my latest novel and Clark plowed through his email that comes in volume from numerous boating-related forums.
At 11:00 Clark called the marina, and they said we could come over when ready, so we pulled up anchor and headed in. During the night we had a storm with heavy rain and strong winds. The rain had passed, but some winds remained. Clark said the winds diminished as we got into the basin to dock. With the winds pushing us up against the dock, Clark had me hand a stern line to a dockhand as we came in to help hold the stern away from the dock as we tied up.
View of Marlin Bay as we approach the marina ...
We could not see many of the boats in the basin, but we could see the boat "All Talk" in the same slip as last year. Besides "All Talk" we knew that "Northern Lights", "Avalon" and "Journey", whom we also met last year, were back again this year.
On Thursdays, the Faro Blanco gang has docktails which they call "heavy Hors d'oeuvres" meaning "bring something besides potato chips". It is supposed to be enough that no one has to cook dinner afterwards. Several folks we know planned to attend, so at 5:00 we got on our bicycles to ride there to say hello.
We got a big surprise, however, when we found long-time boating friends of ours, "Hour Plan", who are now boatless, were visiting by car from South Carolina. Two other couples we know from boating had also arrived by car for a short visit - one from Virginia ("Flight") and the other from North Carolina ("Amelie"). We also got to say hello to several other boating friends who currently have their boats at Faro Blanco. It was a great reunion!
When folks started leaving, we put on our bike lights and rode home. The trip in the dark was made all the more interesting as I forgot to bring my non-sunglasses. Fortunately, we made it back without incident.
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Seasonal Elf Humor ...
It's the "Elf on the Shelf" time of year, and people can be so creative.
My elf is not a real "elf on the shelf" and is pretty lame.
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| Elf with Bestie |
My son in Connecticut has a daughter and a son ...
My son in Idaho has 3 daughters ...
and someone I knew from high school has a wicked sense of humor.
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