2023: Spontaneity in Vero Beach FL

 25 March 2023

Depart: Private Dock Pompano Beach, FL 10:00

Arrive: Jensen Beach North anchorage 6:15

Distance: ~ 69 nm

Conditions: 15 knot winds, Ocean wave 2 to 4' with occasional 5', sunny, breezy

After saying good morning and farewell to our kind host and hostess for the past few days, we finally got underway mid-morning to continue our journey north. While staying in Pompano Beach, Clark got a text message from a boater friend stating that he, his wife, and his new boat were situated nearby and on our route north. He asked if we could stop by to see his new boat and collect input from Clark regarding questions he had on his new acquisition. Given this unexpected but delightful inquiry, we targeted an anchorage in Jensen Beach as our next stop. 

We knew, given the direction of the wind, that our exit into the ocean via the Hillsboro Inlet would be a wild ride, and it did not disappoint!

Once out of the inlet, we turned more northward and found the waves hitting our forward beam (side). Unfortunately the stabilizers were not always capable of dealing with the waves, and we found ourselves being pushed over sideways on occasion. For the most part, items stayed on shelves where they belonged. I had laid Clark's bicycle over on its side earlier since that always wants to take a tumble even in calmer seas.

When we reached the 3-mile offshore line, it appeared that we had found the Gulf Stream as our speed increased. We followed the 3-mile line northwards with the Gulf Stream and following seas helping to push us towards the St. Lucie Inlet where we arrived just after 5:00. To help pass the time on the ocean, we listened to "Saturday Story Time" on NPR radio.

Clark wanted to anchor as near to the Four Fish Marina as possible as that was where our friends had their boat docked. Unfortunately, Clark's first choice in anchoring locations turned out to be a no-go due to 25 knot winds. We found the waters too bouncy to expect a peaceful dinner. Chasing the plates around the table did not sound like much fun!

We abandoned that spot and headed north to anchor on the north side of the Jensen Beach Causeway bridge as that would give us wind protection. Unfortunately, there we found depth to be an issue. After nosing around for a while, Clark finally decided on a spot deep enough and protected enough to drop anchor. Finally, we were good for the night -- just in time to cook dinner.

The winds died down as the evening wore on, and we had a restful evening. 

26 March 2023

Depart: Jensen Beach North anchorage 9:05

Arrive: Jensen Beach anchorage near Four Fish Marina, 9:30

Distance: short

Depart: anchorage near Four Fish Marina 1:20

Arrive: Vero Beach Private Dock 4:50

Distance: 28 nm

Conditions: cool, calm, no waves, traveled on ICW

Knowing that we wanted to get to Vero Beach by the end of today's travels, we got going reasonably early to head to meet our friends at the Four Fish Marina. Clark did all but lower the dinghy before we left the anchorage to expedite launching it after we changed anchorages. 

It was 10:00 by the time we got anchored, got the dinghy in the water, and arrived at the boat ramp at the Sailing Center near the Four Fish Marina. Our friend Tim was standing on the floating dock at the ramp to greet us and grab out lines. After tying up the dinghy, we walked with Tim the short distance to his marina to go check out his new American Tug 41 named "Blue Sky" due to the lovely shade of blue of the boat's hull.

The marina slip was not ideal, but Tim and Alice were happy to have it as slips are in short supply. At low tide their boat is literally sitting on the bottom. Getting on and off their boat at this slip offers an interesting challenge. The boat sits a fairly good distance away from and higher than the fixed dock. 

Tim offered me two options for mounting the boat. I could try to reach the stern to step on the gunnel, or I could use a rope hanging from the boat about midships to hoist myself up to climb over the railing. Believe it or not, hoisting myself on via the rope was the safer and more feasible option. I gave my handbag and cellphone to Alice as I made my way to pretend to be Jane of the Jungle. I made it! Of course Clark used his long legs to just step onto the gunnel easy as pie!

Alice and I got caught up as we haven't seen each other for a long while. (We saw Tim last summer in Massachusetts, but Alice was away at the time.) She gave me a tour of their lovely new-to-them boat. Meanwhile, Clark and Tim quickly got into the hardware / engine room type talk. Fortunately, Clark was able to give Tim some pointers regarding the questions he had on equipment. 

Knowing that we had travel plans for the afternoon, we decided to go for an early lunch. Tim and Alice had a special restaurant in mind, but as we drove through the town of Ocean Breeze, we found lines at the restaurant, lots of traffic, and limited parking. Tim came up with an alternative suggestion that sounded like a good plan. Alice and he like a food truck near their marina, so we went there. 

Fortunately, we arrived at "The Dog House" at a down time and were served quickly. As we waited for our order to be prepared, more and more folks arrived at this is a local favorite.

 

Alice, Tim and Clark as server takes our order

The man taking our order appeared to be new at his job. When he went to write down our order, he had no pen. To expedite things, Clark handed over his pen for the job.  Once the order was written down, I reminded Clark about his pen. Retrieving it seemed to be an impossibility. One group of folks after another appeared to place orders, and Clark's pen was getting a lot of use. 

Clark is very possessive of his pen. I knew he wanted it back, so I dug in my purse and found the one I carry. When there was a brief lull, I offered the server a trade - Clark's pen for mine! I figured if I did not make the sacrifice, we would be there for a very long time waiting. 

The menu contains many ways to order hotdogs!

With Clark's pen securely in his pocket and the food in carry-out containers, we made our way back to "Blue Sky" to eat lunch. To my dismay, the tide had risen and mounting "Blue Sky" was now even more challenging than before. I was not sure that I had either the leg or the arm strength to pull myself on board. With encouragement from my husband and friends, I gave it the old college try and managed to hoist myself up to once again climb over the railing.

Having gotten on, I told Alice that I might now be a permanent fixture on their boat as it was unclear as to whether or not I would ever be able to dismount. I had no idea when I signed up for boating that I would have to be a gymnast / mountain climber! 

Clark ate the Mahi Mahi sandwich and I had the Lobster Roll. Both were delicious. All too soon we had to say our goodbyes to get underway with plans of arriving in Vero Beach in good light. Perhaps we will see Alice and Tim again this summer as they make their way home to Massachusetts.

Needless to say, I managed to get off their boat. Clark pulled on the "dismount rope" to get the boat as close to the dock as possible. I climbed over the railing and dismounted the boat backwards stepping the long way down to the dock. It seems like I am always thanking God for my long legs!

Tim walked with us back to our dinghy and helped push us off on our way.  Surprise! The winds had picked up while we were on shore. We had a wet ride back to "Sunset Delight". Since the area is a "no wake zone", Clark could not get the dinghy up on plane to reduce the splash. As a result, waves crashed over the side of the dinghy showering all with salt water. I turned my back to the waves and protected my handbag from the saltwater. 

When we reached "Sunset Delight", Clark made a pass at pulling up along side. I was ready to stand up and grab SD's railing when we got close, but with the wave action, I wanted to be able to grab hold without stretching out, and that was not possible. We just were not close enough to grab hold of SD and had to make another pass. Fortunately Clark was at the wheel and not me or we would still be out there playing tag with the mischievous "Sunset Delight" who was happy to play "Catch Me if you can!"

As we practically flew by her side, Clark managed to grab onto "Sunset Delight". He desperately worked to get a line on before we once again shot past. Meanwhile, I had as much of a hold on SD as I could manage (not much) as I tried with the other hand to tie a line from the dinghy's bow to SD. Then, with the dinghy tied roughly in place, I managed to climb onto SD and help retie lines where they belonged.

We worked as a well-established team to get the dinghy up on the flybridge and secured in the wind so that we could get underway to Vero Beach. We were wet with saltwater as was the dinghy. We left the dinghy cover off to let things dry out and got underway. Phew!

With only 28 nm to go, we had a relatively short ride to Vero Beach. We texted our friends, Cathy and Franklin, the ETA of 4:45 once we had an idea of arrival time. They met us at the dock to help us tie up. The folks that own this private dock are not at home presently. However, they are letting someone else use their dock, so we have a boat tied up next to us even though it is not the usual one.

Greg and Lara on the Kadey-Krogen next to us are getting ready to leave for the Bahamas soon. After introductions, I threw some cheese and crackers on a plate, and Lara brought over melon and prosciutto, and the six of us had a quick and impromptu docktails on the back of our boat.

27 March 2023

no boat travel

I texted with my friend JoAnn this morning to find out how she was enjoying the Bahamas, and she said they were leaving today to start their journey home to Michigan. Knowing that they were flying into Fort Lauderdale and driving from there to Michigan, Clark suggested I offer them a night's stay on our boat before they continued on their way. We left it open with finger's crossed as to whether or not they would be able to stop in for a visit. 

Meanwhile, Cathy and Franklin had invited us to their house for dinner this evening. When I told Cathy that we might have overnight guests on the boat, she graciously told me to invite them to join the dinner party. Cathy had met JoAnn and the dog Sammy at Marlin Bay when C & F visited us there a few weeks ago. 

I gave it a 50/50 probability that JoAnn and Jim would say yes to our invite. Either they would be travel weary and glad of a place to stay relatively close to Fort Lauderdale, or they would want to get some distance behind them on their way to Michigan. We wouldn't know until they landed in Fort Lauderdale what they would decide to do.

Meanwhile, I did laundry in the morning and Cathy took me out food shopping to restock my freezer and fridge. Fresh fruit and vegetables are always on the list. Since I don't know when I will next see a food store, I stocked up such that it is a hazard to open my freezer door!

When their plane landed in Fort Lauderdale, I got a phone call - "We're on our way to see you!" Yay! I let Cathy know there would be 6 for dinner instead of 4. JoAnn and Jim arrived with their dog Sammy for the night at 4:30. They did a drop and run as they put their overnight bags on our boat. Almost immediately we left to go to Cathy's house for the evening as the dinner party was set to start around 5:00.

We could not believe our eyes when we saw the food spread that Cathy had put out for us, and that was just the appetizers! 

Even though it is still only March, the weather here is hot and humid - up around 90 something Fahrenheit. Eating alfresco did not turn out to be a great option, so we dined inside. Cathy sets a lovely table complete with real flowers and great cuisine. We had a wonderful night and lively discussion.

Clark and Jim 

Clark and Sammy

Every time we took our eyes off Sammy, she decided she would try to sneak onto the furniture. They let her get away with it outside (see above picture), but indoors, we kept telling her no. She did not like that rule at all. Eventually she jumped up on a leather armchair and defiantly waited to be told to get down. Cathy mouthed "it's okay" and so we let her stay there. Naughty girl!

"What do you mean I can't be on the sofa?"

The meal turned out to be a veritable feast with multiple, delectable courses including homemade NY cheesecake or Key Lime pie for dessert.  

Franklin, Cathy, JoAnn, Jim, Ev
and good food

Franklin, Clark, JoAnn, Jim, Ev
and a pretty centerpiece

The party broke up at 9:00. Jim, JoAnn, and Sammy were exhausted from their travels having started their day at 6:30 in the morning. I had the beds all made up and ready, so we quickly said our goodnights after returning to our boat for the night.

28 March 2023

no boat travel

We are in no rush to head home to the cold and decided to enjoy Vero Beach a while longer. We enjoyed breakfast onboard with JoAnn, Jim, and Sammy before they left in their car to make their way towards Michigan. JoAnn said, "I need one more picture before we leave."

Clark, Ev and Sammy

We walked them to their car, and Clark said, "We need one more picture before you leave!"

JoAnn, Sammy, and Jim
in their car

My ankle has been complaining at me the last couple of days. It may or may not be related to the gymnastics of getting off "Blue Sky".  Regardless, I felt today was a perfect day to stay inside and off my feet to work on blog entries. It is once again 90 and humid. 

Clark on the other hand decided today was a good day to wash the salt off the boat. He took a brief break around 4:00 to go with Franklin to a store to buy zincs for the boat; otherwise, he spent all afternoon outside working hard!

2023: Pompano Beach FL

 19 March 2023

Depart: Buttonwood Sound anchorage, Key Largo, FL 8:50

Arrive: No Name anchorage, near Miami, FL 3:00

Distance: ~ 40 nm

Conditions: Overcast, Cool

The water was so clear at the Buttonwood Sound anchorage that we could see our anchor sitting on the bottom. At first I wondered what that green snake-like thing was floating on the water, and then I realized it was the anchor resting on the bottom! Since it is lying on its side, it didn't appear to be doing much work, but we had barely any wind so the boat was just sitting there and not pulling on the anchor.

When we left anchorage, we were low on water in our tanks, so we hoped to pick up some from a marina along the way. We figured we could do a pump-out at the same time, but that was not as urgent as the water need. The marinas Clark called either did not answer the phone, did not have a working pump-out, or would not give us water without a fuel purchase. One place, Gilbert's Resort, said that could sell us water for $25, but it would be free with fuel. 

Without checking on the price, Clark decided to get fuel instead of paying the $25. We took on 130 gallons at $5.29 / gallon. At that price, we paid a lot more than $25! On the bright side, we won't have to stop for fuel again for a while. In addition to being expensive, the fuel fill and especially the water fill were the slowest ever. It took forever to get water in the tanks. 

20 March 2023

No boat travel.

Last night was somewhat rocky in the anchorage. Since we prefer to travel on the outside, i.e. in the Atlantic Ocean, I convinced Clark to stay put for an additional night. I prefer rocky waters to dealing with Miami bridge openings and traffic. 

I relaxed with my book and crossword puzzles while Clark did some boat repairs. He decided to look into the auto-pilot problem; however, when he checked to see why it was failing, it appeared to work fine. The other maintenance item he had to deal with was two gauges whose screens have a burned-out appearance obscuring the display. He replaced the ones we use on the upper helm with the two from the lower helm that we almost never used. So now we have good gauges and can once again see our RPM numbers.

Clark took some pictures at sunset.

We dropped our anchor within viewing distance of Stiltsville.

Blue dot shows our anchor position

21 March 2023

Depart: No Name anchorage  9:35

Arrive: Private Dock Pompano Beach 3:00

Distance: ~ 40 nm

Conditions: Sunny, 60s, Puffy Clouds

                      ~ 18 knot wind, 4' to 5' waves on ocean

I took a variety of pictures looking back at No Name as we sailed away.

Miami in the distance

Some of what's left of Stiltsville

Lighthouse at No Name

Viewed from the ocean

We tend to listen to NPR when we travel because they have interesting stories. One of the topics today was about a 5000 mile wide blob of sargassum headed towards the Florida coast. As we rode in the ocean today, we spotted some of that sargassum.

As we motored towards the Hillsboro Inlet past Fort Lauderdale, I was entertained watching Clark trying to get a picture of the flying fish.  Mostly he got pictures of the ocean, but he finally got a decent photo.

Flying fish in center of picture

We arrived at the Hillsboro Inlet Bridge just before 2:30, but the bridge tender said she would open for us at 2:45. Clark did the station keep routine while I put out lines and fenders for docking next to our friend's boat.

Station Keeping by the lighthouse at Hillsboro Inlet

We arrived at Steve's house just past 3:00 and fussed with positioning the boat,, tying the lines, and plugging into electric for another half hour until we had it all just right. 

Steve put an elevator in his house for easier access to the upstairs. I reminded him that we didn't get to see it in December, so he brought us in and let us check it out.

Ev with Steve at the controls

Clark solo trip

I offered to make dinner. Steve had chicken he wanted to get eaten, so it was his chicken and my cooking. I made one of our favorites called "Chicken Testaverde" although instead of making it as a casserole, I served the piece parts separately so folks could pick and choose how they combined the ingredients. It's basically chicken, rice and cream of chicken soup combined with Lipton Onion soup mix. Yummy!

22 March 2023

No boat travel.

Clark has been having some problems with a rash that refuses to get better and started to spread. We decided that today's mission would be to visit an Urgent Care facility and get some professional help and prescriptions. Steve dropped us off at the Urgent Care and promised to come back for us later.

The doctor we got was a character. He kept cracking jokes as he did his job. He was knowledgeable and performed multi-tasking with aplomb. In short order he had us on our way with prescriptions in hand. We walked from there to the CVS about a mile down the road. CVS said the prescriptions would be ready in two hours, and since it was just after 11:00, we decided to walk around and find some place to eat lunch. 

We found a TD bank, so we went in and got some cash and then continued on to the Red Fox Diner.

photo from internet

After a delicious lunch, we still had time to kill before our 2 hour wait was up, so we walked around a bit. Took a lightning quick walk through the Dollar Store and then picked us some items at Publix for dinner. 

We had to wait in line at CVS pharmacy when we got there, and by the time we stepped up to the counter the prescriptions were ready for pickup. As promised, Steve came and got us from the CVS parking lot.

I made dinner again tonight. Steve's house is on the ICW, and the weather was pleasant. We ate the pasta dish I prepared al fresco watching the boats go by the house.

23 March 2023

No boat travel.

We planned to stay at Steve's dock for two nights, but when we learned that he planned to drive to the Palm Beach Boat Show on Friday, I convinced Clark to stay for two more nights, so he could go with Steve. It took a lot of pushing and shoving, but Clark finally gave in and said we could stay. 

Today was a casual day chatting with Judy and Steve and watching the boat traffic. All sorts of water vessels pass by Steve's house from hover boards to barges. Some are interesting to look at. Some are noisy with scantily clad females dancing on the bow. Some are tow boats and police boats. Some go fast (when they should not) and make a big wake to shake us up. Others blare their music so loud it makes my ears hurt. It's quite a never-ending show. I heard boats going by with music blaring at midnight as well as at 6:00 a.m.

When we discussed dinner, Steve volunteered to cook us steak and baked potatoes. He demonstrated his method to tenderize a steak. It worked and the steak was very tender.

At sunset, the view from the stern of our boat was nothing to complain about.

Sunset view from our stern

24 March 2023

No boat travel.

Having taken the sunset picture last night, I decided to take the daytime picture this morning.

Steve told us the drive to Palm Springs for the Boat Show from his house would take about 45 minutes or so. We were up early. I made Clark breakfast and gave him a bag with food packed for lunch at the show. I planned to stay in Pompano and do a bunch of laundry as well as some other chores and then just relax for the rest of the day. Having spent time with Clark at prior boat shows, I knew that doing laundry had much more interesting prospects!

We had a bit of time to wait while Steve finished getting ready to leave. While we waited, I got to watch this fellow run around on the table where we were sitting.

They left around 9:00, and Judy and I did not hear another word from them for hours. Finally around 4:00 Clark texted to ask how things were on our end. We were fine; he was fine, so we didn't hear anything else until Clark texted to say they were on their way back and would bring pizza when they came. We sat down to eat dinner at 8:00. We were all very hungry!

Clark took a couple of pictures at the show. They had BIG boats at this particular show.

While eating dinner, Clark got a text from boating friends of ours who said that they are currently at a marina in Jensen Beach which is on our planned route north to Vero Beach. We have made arrangements to meet up with them Sunday morning to see their new American Tug before continuing on to Vero.

South winds at 10 to 15 knots predicted for tomorrow, so we plan to be traveling on the ocean once again.

2023: Everglades FL

 17 March 2023

Depart: Port of the Islands Marina, Naples, FL 1:00

Arrive: Little Shark River anchorage, Everglade, FL 7:30 (at sunset)

Distance: ~ 50 nm

Conditions: "in our face wind" on the Gulf from the south @ 15 knots, light spray from waves, sunny, cool wind and long sleeved shirts required

We could not attempt our getaway  from Port of the Islands until 1:00 due to shallow water on the way out to the Gulf of Mexico. With time to kill, Clark pulled the dinghy down to look at the engine problem. Talking to the dockmaster, Clark discovered that there was a possibility that the only issue was dirt clogging the tell tail of the engine. Clark took a thin piece of wire and was able to clear the clog. When he saw water come out, he tried the engine and found all was well. Phew! We have a working dinghy with minimal effort!

Knowing that we would be watching for shallow water as we traveled, I made sure we had lunch before we took off.  The map pictured below shows the location of the marina buried deep in the mangroves.

Making our escape through the mangroves ...

We saw two of the contraptions shown below as we navigated the mangroves.  They appear to be used for geographical surveys of the water depths.

We targeted to reach the shallowest point around 2:00 when the tides would give us the most water. The dockmaster left around noon to meet boaters coming into the marina so that he could show them the way in. We passed them on our way out.

They waited until we had a wide area to pass. Suddenly  what was a quiet waterway became Grand Central Station! Apparently, the catamaran required 4.5' of water depth. They asked what we had seen at the lowest point which was 5'4" of water. They were happy to hear that.

Clark gave me a choice for anchorage tonight - a) possibility of bugs or b) possibility of rocking. I chose B without hesitation. We anchored in the Gulf of Mexico about one mile offshore. 

Anchored one mile off shore in Gulf of Mexico

I saw no bugs, but I did see a pretty interesting sunset. I thought the clouds looked like animals in front of the sun.

Looks like a lion to me!

18 March 2023

Depart: Shark River anchorage 9:00 and 10:10

Arrive: Buttonwood Sound anchorage, Key Largo, FL 6:00

Distance: ~ 65 nm

Conditions: calm and sunny

I made the right choice for the anchorage. We had light rocking only and minimal signs of bugs. 

We pulled up anchor as per usual and started on our way. Unfortunately, shortly after we started moving, the autopilot gave an error message that said "drive". Clark played around with it but said it was not behaving properly, so he rebooted the system. That did not help, so we were without autopilot for our travels. 

As Clark tried to diagnose the autopilot issue, he heard a clicking sound coming from the props and decided he better dive into the water to take a look. He shut down the engines to let us drift while he checked things out. 

Just as he was ready to get in the water, I saw a fin in the water. I hoped it was a dolphin, but it was not shaped correctly and the behavior was rather frenzied. I called out to Clark to hold up on getting in the water. He came to have a look and agreed that we were looking at a shark in a feeding frenzy.

As we watched (I could not get a good picture), we saw the shark dive repeatedly and finally something blood red was floating on the water beside the shark. Then the red object and the shark disappeared together and all was calm. 

Brave soul that he is, Clark then climbed into the water to look at the props. I was on high alert and told him I would start banging on the hull if I saw anything of concern. 

He managed to check both props and come up with an "all looks normal" diagnosis. As he stepped on the swim ladder to climb out, one of the bolt holding the ladder together broke and disappeared into the water. 

Our list of things to fix increased by two today: autopilot and swim ladder. What else could go wrong today?

We drifted for an hour while we first watched the shark and then as Clark checked out the props. By the time we were ready to go, we had drifted back almost to our starting point an hour earlier.

Yellow line shows our path from drifting

Clark has been spoiled with the autopilot capability. For all of our years boating prior to "Sunset Delight", we did not have an autopilot. Today he complained about watching depth, reading the chart, and steering simultaneously. Something he did for years. I was not sympathetic because I begged him to get autopilot before we did the Loop on "Sea Moss", and he refused. 

We arrived back in the Keys close to Marathon, but we are heading home and used a route that placed us in a more northeasterly position.

We saw the typical "birds on the marker" as we navigated the skinny waters of the ICW.

Expecting rain tomorrow, Clark went until 6:00 to anchor near Key Largo. 

The map below shows our anchorage selection for tonight. We looked for a place with lots of space, protection from weather, but open with a cool breeze. Clark found what we were hoping for in Buttonwood Sound, Key Largo, Florida.

Clark took a sunset picture of Key Largo.