Boating with Sunset Delight

Lighthouse at Hillsboro Inlet

24 November 2025

Depart: Pompano Beach, FL private dock 10:20

Arrive: Sands Key anchorage Biscayne Bay, FL 5:10

Distance: 53 nm

With the holding tank full, it was time to untie the lines. We had two choices go find a place to empty the holding tank and 1) come back or 2) keep going. Having been at our friend's dock for several days, leaving seemed prudent. We chose today, Monday, so that the weekend "warriors" were off the ICW to make leaving less challenging and more pleasant. Traffic on the ICW is prevalent on the weekends.

With no particular rush to get underway, we spent some time with our host before pulling in our lines. As such, we arrived at the Hillsboro Inlet bridge in time for their 10:30 opening. Unlike the mad house on weekends, we had one incoming and two outgoing boats (including us) for the bridge. The incoming boat had "right of way" due to the direction of the current. The other boat waiting to go out into the ocean appeared to be one that would want to go faster than us, so Clark told him to go next, and we went through last.

"Baboo" going through the bridge

Looking back with sun shining on the bridge

Sun shining on the Lighthouse at the inlet

I thought it interesting that a Sea Tow boat was hanging around apparently waiting for business to appear.

As can be seen in the above picture, the water was as smooth as glass in the morning with barely a ripple in terms of waves. Boat traffic was mostly sparse and scattered as we traveled the ocean. We had one sailboat that the AIS told us was set up on a collision course with us. I maneuvered the boat to go around him from behind just as he chose that moment to tack. I noticed his sail luffing first and realized that he was planning to tack. and what had been his stern would become his bow, so I had to change direction accordingly.

Later, as we passed Governor's Cut into Miami, we had to maneuver around another boat. This one a commercial vessel. Our paths crossed as he was entering the inlet while we planned to continue south on the ocean.

Marker near entrance to inlet

"Bimini Cat"

Other than these two "close encounters", the most interesting view today was the cloud cover. Clark pointed out to me the dark clouds in the sky behind us. The radar app, "Rainy Days", showed storms behind us but not reaching us.

Dark Clouds behind us

As the clouds moved in, the city buildings became obscured.

Building disappearing as clouds move in

Radar of sky behind us

Meanwhile, the skies to the front of us looked welcoming with white, fluffy clouds.

No storms ahead

Although Clark took apart and replaced our autopilot multiple times, it is still not reliable. Today, we did not even try to use it. When I was piloting the boat, Clark mentioned that he really liked his "new" autopilot (i.e. me!).

When we discussed travel plans yesterday, Clark targeted the "No Name" anchorage that we have used in the past. As we traveled down the coast today, however, Clark decided that, with the wind direction, we would have a more comfortable night in a more protected anchorage. I am not a big fan of "No Name" as it usually yields rocky nights from boat traffic and was happy to hear we would be continuing on past that particular option.

He found an appealing anchorage near Boca Chita that sounded attractive, so we headed there. Consequently, we traveled past Miami through Biscayne Bay and got to see the houses in Stiltsville.

Clouds over Miami

Cloudy skies near Biscayne Bay

We passed yet another bird perch along the way.

Clark pointed out that the water was very low as we passed through here. As a friend used to say, "we could see the birds ankles as they waded in the water"!

Deep water where we motored with
very shallow water to our starboard side
(not the color difference)

We have seen the houses in Stiltsville multiple times now. Today, we noticed some boats anchored in "town" fishing.

The house shown below has an observation deck, and all the decking appears to be new. Someone is busy with upkeep.

Observation tower and new decking here

Silhouette of a Stiltsville house

The clouds continued to make an impression on us as we traveled towards our targeted anchorage.

As our voyage came to a conclusion, we could see the lighthouse at Boca Chita in the distance. We visited here on one of our past trips through this area.

Sun shining on the
Lighthouse at Boca Chita

As opposed to places we anchored along the way south, with 12 feet of water depth and an 8 foot tide change (for example), today we had only 3 feet of water and 1 foot tide change. Clark hoped to anchor in sand, but all I could see below us was green vegetation. We put out plenty of anchor line to get a strong hold in the weeds.

Blue dot is us at anchor
off Sands Key

Then, we sat back and enjoyed the show in the sky.

Clark told me to look for the green flash, but as per usual, I did not get to see it.

Sunset at Pompano Beach, FL

16 - 22 November 2025

No boat travel.

After the mad rush down the coast to get away from cold weather, we found a haven in Pompano Beach where the weather has been perfect. To add to the beauty of the location we are rafted up next to our friend's boat at his dock. No one could ask for a better place to hang out for a few days.

Our time here has been a mix of relaxing (as a first priority), doing miscellaneous chores on the boat, helping our friend Steve with home projects, and visiting with friends (new and old).

Our first day here, Steve took me with him to Costco. I am not a member and was unprepared for the zoo that greeted us at the store. According to Steve, hoards of people flock here every day of the week. Steve was buying items in volume, so it made sense to shop here. I have always been overwhelmed with the quantities one is expected to buy here.

Steve, like Clark, keeps busy with projects. He is working on one now to replace steps made of bricks at the edge of his dock. What an undertaking! He is reusing the bricks he removed, and the old mortar has to be chiseled off in order to reuse them. Clark has been helping with the chiseling!

When not helping to lay bricks, Clark has been tackling our autopilot problem. He took the new pump out to inspect it, took it apart, found something blocking the shuttle valve, and metal particles in the unit.

Unassembled Autopilot Unit

He cleaned it all out, put it back together, and was thrilled that he had "found a smoking gun"!

After putting it back together and installing it, he had me help him to "bleed" the system. To get the air out, he has me turn the upper helm wheel in one direction for 40 complete turns, move to the lower helm and turn that wheel the same direction for another 40 turns, then run the autopilot unit in the same direction for about 2 minutes. Meanwhile he is squashed into the lazarette attending to the moving parts there. Once that is done, I need to repeat the process turning everything in the opposite direction.

To turn the upper helm steering wheel one complete rotation requires 5 turns of the wheel as it is the size of a ship's wheel on a sailboat. The lower helm has a smaller wheel, so it is only 4 turns per complete rotation. By the time I have done almost 400 rotations each direction, I have had a minor workout of my arm muscles.

Sadly, when we tested the "repair", it still failed to do its job! Clark was so sure he had found the issue, he was very disappointed. Mulling it over, he decided that maybe he should have cleaned out more parts of the unit. So, after stewing on it for a couple of days, he decided to pull it out an inspect more of it. He found no additional metal particles in the unit. He reinstalled it, and I got to have another workout at the steering wheels. Oh boy! Oh joy! The conclusion to that exercise is, as I had decided many days ago, we need to buy a totally different unit. Hopefully one that works!

It has not been "all work and no play" while we have been here. Clark's friend dating back to 8th grade, Karen, came to visit with her partner, Rita. They are fun people. They drove down from Boca Raton to take us out exploring the area. We went to "The Whale's Rib" restaurant located in Deerfield Beach for lunch first.

"The Whale's Rib" restaurant

A woman was sitting at the covered "desk" out front and came to confirm we would be parking to eat at the restaurant. The parking lot is cozy as far as being a very tight space to maneuver, and I was glad I was not the one driving!

After a lovely lunch, that included their homemade potato chips (more like very thin French fries), we went for a stroll along the pier nearby. Karen checked with the parking lot gate keeper that it would be acceptable for us to do that, and she said it would be fine. The pier charges an admission fee to fish and/or stroll out there starting in January. We got to walk the pier for free.

Ev, Karen, Rita

Although it was a weekday, a number of people were out with their poles in the water. Birds strolled the pier as well looking for tidbits that had fallen on the decking.

Pier at Deerfield Beach

Looking over the side, we could see a few folks soaking up warmth from the Florida sun. Humidity has been lower than usual, and the weather has been pleasant. A red flag on either side of the pier reminded folks that it would be unsafe to swim nearby and was, therefore, prohibited.

Deerfield Beach

View from the end of the pier

After going out to the end of the pier, we walked the boardwalk.

Ev, Clark, Rita, & Karen

The Deerfield Beach "boardwalk"
(there are no boards!)

The following day, Steve told us that boating friends of his would be driving down from Stuart, FL for a day visit. Steve met Bonnie and John years ago. Their boat is named "Enjoy". Bonnie told me that after dinner in a restaurant she often hears folks say, "Enjoy!" and she looks at John and says 'How did they know?!"

Bonnie is a character - bubbly and funny and talkative! We decided that we would have a joint, at-home dinner, but we needed more baking potatoes. She said she would go to the store for them. I needed a couple of things, including ice cream for the night's dessert, and jumped in the car with her for the ride to the store.

When we got to the checkout, I went first. I asked the cashier if a senior discount was offered and, if so, was today by any chance the day. He gave me a puzzled look and said, "I don't know what that is." I got the impression that English may not be his first language.

When Bonnie checked out behind me, she decided that giving the cashier a riddle to solve would be great fun. The man bagging the groceries seemed to get the jokes, but the cashier was clueless. After the first one landed like a lead balloon, I would have thought she would pass on a second one, but she had no mercy!

Riddle #1: Why do anteaters never get sick?

Answer: Because they are so full of "ant"ibodies!

Riddle #2: What are vampires' favorite foods?

Answer: They like "Neck"torines but they love "Blood Oranges"!

Insert loud groan here!

Bonnie and John (whom Clark wanted to call Clyde - ha ha) kept us entertained until around 9:00 when we all decided to call it a night. "Enjoy" will be in the Bahamas for part of the winter. Perhaps some day our paths will cross again. I wish I had Bonnie's exuberance! What fun!

Other than keeping the boat tidy, doing laundry, and contributing to our "community" dinners at night, I have been relaxing with my historical / nautical war novels and keeping current on the NYT puzzles (and hoping Clark won't make me turn the helm wheel again). Besides helping to lay bricks and trying to solve the autopilot problem, Clark managed to pull out his guitar and strum a few songs.

The waste holding tank is getting full. Time to think about moving the boat! Looking at weather, conditions, and distance to travel, Clark is targeting Monday to get underway. Since we will, most likely, be at anchor on Thanksgiving Day, I bought the key ingredients for an appropriate dinner including stuffing, cranberry jelly, and pumpkin pie to go with mashed potatoes and chicken (instead of turkey) for us to eat while here with Steve and Judy before we leave.

I have been taking some pictures from Steve's house while we are here. It is located on the ICW and lots of boats go by. Many of them have music playing that can be heard for miles. (Why?) A lot of them ignore the "no wake" that should be honored through here. We get some rocking due to the waves but it hits our bow and renders gentle rocking for us. Many boats are work boats - fishing charters, tow boats, Fish and Wildlife (FWC) patrols, ... and a water taxi that resembles a school bus.