Journey's End--Naples!

Day #34: To cover the 76nm to Naples and arrive during daylight hours we had to weigh anchor at 0420 this morning. Since Bicki's at the helm I'm relegated to foredeck duty. Usually I'm fine with this. Today, not so much. The noseeums had massed, sensing, perhaps, breakfast. Not only do the beasties have big teeth but good memories too; last time we anchored here I was breakfast. While I'd forgotten the chainmail I settled for a long sleeved shirt, jeans, socks, gloves, and a noseeum bridal veil held in place with a ball cap. Hey, don't laugh, this outfit is all the rage among us hehene matadors--¡ole!
There's something magical about being at sea beneath a full canopy of stars. It was hard not to look up even though crab pot watch demanded our full attention. The seas were as calm as only the Gulf of Mexico can be. Just to make things a little more exciting, Mother Nature brewed up a squall, pictured above, and had it race us to the dock. We won.
It took 203 engine hours to cover the 1320nm from Church Creek to Naples, FL. By all accounts a great trip. DBH

Shark River

Day#33: The Hehene Coast is what we euphemistically called the waters off San Blas, Mexico. That was after a friend grew to Michelin Man dimensions from a multitudein of hehene bites. Hehene, you see, is Spanish for noseeum, and by any name, a miserable creature. In fact, that's why I sit here now, in the dark, all windows closed tightly, although the cabin temperature is in the high 80s, and cower in fear. We are in the middle of Florida's Hehene Coast, more popularly known as the Everglades. Tonight's anchorage in the Little Shark River is about as far from civilization as you can get in Florida--40nm from both the Keys and Marco Island. This estuary is a gateway to Florida's Tenthousand Islands. Today's picture is of Bicki exploring the area aboard her 'African Queen'.

It was a nice 39nm run from Long Key to Little Shark River. The east winds pushed us along but created white caps and lumpy seas around Cape Sable. Rounding the Cape put us in the lee and the waters calmed dramatically. It's a birthday of sorts for Nellie, she just went over 5000 hours of being underway, 3000 of that since we've owned her. For this trip there are 1244nm under the keel so far. DBH

Shallow

Day #32: We're cruising in the Keys! The water is 80F, warmer even than the air, and a beautiful green-blue. On a map the Keys look simply like a long chain of islands. But cruising in the area you learn that there's a huge difference between the Keys' Atlantic and Gulf sides. Most notably, how shallow and calm the Gulf side is. That's why we're cruising on the Gulf side. The depth sounder never got above 9' and most of the time it showed 6' or less. This water is too shallow for big boats which is why they transit on the Atlantic side. It's nice to only draw 3'-6".

Today's picture shows Mini-Ne keeping track of our position while worming through the shallows. We dropped the hook off Long Key after a relaxing 54nm run. We're up to 1204nm for the trip.

Moving

Day#31: Our book fair comes to an end after attending three more sessions this morning. Then, with the winds back under 20kts, but not by much, we head Nellie south into Biscayne Bay. Leaving Miami with only 3 hours until civil twilight we still managed to make 20nm before dropping the hook off Elliott Key. Today's picture is sunset in the Keys. We're up to 1150nm on the trip. DBH

Longitude

Day #30: One of the things I enjoy most about cruising is the connection with the past. For example, much of our understanding of the night sky comes from the work of early navigators who were simply trying to figure out where they were. Using the north star they could determine latitude, i.e. their distance north of the equator, with great accuracy. To make landfall in Veracruz, Mexico, a Spaniard sailing from Seville would head south until the north star was 19 degrees above the horizon and then head due west. The only problem with this solution is that the sailor had no idea how close he was to Veracruz--in other words, his longitude remained a mystery. It wasn't until the British, in the 18th century, developed the chronometer (i.e. the watch) that the problem of longitude was solved. Dava Sobel's Longitude is an excellent book which covers this entire topic. It was therefor a great pleasure to hear Dava speak at a session of today's Miami Book fair.

We did a 10nm cocktail cruise of Miami harbor today; sure is a pretty place. Total mileage is 1129nm thus far. DBH

Wind and Rain

Day #29: Knowing there was severe weather coming, last night we dropped the hook in an anchorage known as Marine Stadium. We then settled in and waited for the gale to arrive. Still calm at midnight we gave up and went to bed. This morning it was gray and overcast but Nellie sat in calm waters. It wasn't until we heard a radio report about Miami's on-going gale that it dawned on us how good the anchorage really was. We were being completely sheltered from both wind and waves. Priceless.

So how hard was it blowing and raining? The picture of Ann Howard, Bicki, and Susan Howell was taken while lunching outdoors, but under a large cover. Obviously it was a damp affair.

Three nautical miles today to get into Miamarina in downtown Miami, FL. A total of 1119nm under the keel. DBH

El Dorado!

Day #28: The ICW between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami is like Venice's Grand Canal--without the quaintness, ancient structures and gondolas. Actually it's a very scenic, narrow waterway chock-a-block with houses and condos. We must be in south Florida because for the first time since leaving Maryland the translucent blue-green water is clear enough to see the white sandy bottom.

For Spanish Conquistadors El Dorado was a fabled golden city--while never found, those who looked were sure it was just over the next mountain or around the next river bend. Today we arrived at our El Dorado, aka Miami. Ok, so it may lack the majesty, but hey, by aiming our sights lower, we actually found it!

When we started this trek 28 days ago, the goal was to be in Miami for the book fair that starts tomorrow. Now we're at anchor just 1-1/2nm southeast of the mark. 31nm today and 1116nm total.

Errands

Day #27: Our intentions were good: a quick run to West Marine and then continue the journey south. West Marine is a short bus ride away and we got there two minutes after their doors opened at 9 am. The thing about Ft. Lauderdale is that everything, boat wise, is available here, but maybe not in the first place you check. Sure enough, our broken little paddle wheel, which tells us how fast we're moving through the water, wasn't available at West Marine but they recommended we go visit Electronics Unlimited. This brings up another great thing about Ft. Lauderdale, everything is fairly close together. So, a short walk later we find ourselves talking to Captain Henry, who, after 35 years as a yacht skipper, had swallowed the anchor and found work ashore. During the course of our hour long conversation I asked if he could recommend a cocktail cruise route through Miami. His eyes lit up and then with an efficiency only years of practice can hone he laid out a fun and interesting trip. Oh yea, he found the paddle wheel we needed too. By now the sun was fully on the yardarm and any thoughts of continuing south forgotten. Lunch, a nice walk along the beach, and then just hanging out aboard Nellie did in the rest of the day. We'll move south tomorrow, maybe.

As the picture shows, we're still in the very comfortable mooring field in Las Ollas, Ft. Lauderdale, FL. 0nm today and 1085nm so far. DBH.

OMG

Day #26: In the picture above, see that little 100'+ yacht on the far left? Pity its owner. He's rich--but lives in the land of the really, really rich. Here 200' yachts fill marinas. Welcome to Palm Beach! Mega Yacht marinas and mansions line the ICW from here to Miami. If Disney World and Architectual Digest teamed up, this stretch of water would be the result.

Not 500 yards from the heart of Ft. Lauderdale beach is the Las Olas mooring field. Its 10 moorings are highly coveted and can rarely be found vacant. Well, guess what? Yup, here we sit, surround by palm trees, a warm breeze blowing, and wondering how we got so lucky! 44nm today and 1085nm so far. DBH

Moving

Day #25: This must be what a delivery trip feels like; off at dawn (the picture is the proof) we dropped the hook just north of Palm Beach, FL, at sunset. Just a lot of pointing the nose south today. 69nm today and 1041nm for the trip. DBH

Picnic

Day #24: "The day you buy a boat it begins to sink--how quickly is a matter of the maintenance practices." This, and other words of wisdom, percolated-up at today's Waterway Radio Cruising Club (WRCC) picnic. The members of this club bridge what otherwise are two disparate hobbies: cruising and amateur radio. One thing for sure, they're a fascinating bunch. One couple is on their way to Georgetown, Bahamas, making this their 21st winter cruising there. Rick Muething, who sailed his boat from California to Florida via the Panama Canal, is the developer of Winmor (which enables email via ham radio). Many of the attendees we knew by voice only, it was nice to finally meet them face to face.

Florida, perhaps justifiably so, is the butt of many jokes; a fair proportion focused on its large senior citizen population. For example: 'Florida, God's waiting room.'; or, 'Florida's number one imports? Old people and empty coffins.'; finally, 'You know you're in Florida by its drivers: two hands gripping the wheel; blue hair barely visible above the seat; and driving 35mph in the interstate's left lane--with the turn signal blinking incessantly.'. It was while listening to a local FM radio station today that got me thinking about Florida and its seniors. The station was playing 'easy listening' a euphemism for old folks' music. But it was the music from my youth: ELO, Beatles, Beach Boys, Queen, etc. Oh, oh, ...

We've dropped the hook just north of the Sebastian Inlet. The inlet is about halfway between Melbourne and Vero Beach, FL. 20nm today and 971nm for the journey. DBH

Hamsters

Day #23: After filling the fuel tanks and emptying the holding tank we escape the comforts of Cape Canaveral marina life. Vero Beach was a long 60nm away, doable, but not meant to be.

Ham radio has always been a big part of our cruising life. In Mexico we regularly checked into three morning nets. We'd speak to friends back in the US and keep track of cruising friends as they circumnavigated. Aboard Nellie we have a nice ham shack. One of the radios is interfaced to the shipboard GPS and sends out our position report every three minutes. This same radio supports the ham version of 'texting'. With our high frequency radio we've been checking in with the Waterway Radio Cruising Club (WRCC) almost every day since we left home. In short there's no end to the many different ways to communicate aboard Nellie.

So this afternoon were chugging along and I'm ham-texting with a friend in Melbourne, FL when another friend, Terry, calls me on the VHF radio. Terry is from Western Florida and I was surprised to hear him. Turns out he's here in Melbourne for tomorrow's Waterway Cruising Club's (WRCC) Annual picnic. How serendipitous. We just couldn't pass up an opportunity to finally put faces with the voices we've been hearing for so long on the radio.

It was a short 21nm day that brought us to the anchorage off Eau Gallie, FL, but it puts our total at 952nm under the keel thus far. DBH

New Toy

Day #22: Lots of chores got done today. The most work was getting the toilets new 20' long hose snaked back through the boat. Now with a rebuilt vacuum pump, rebuilt head, and a new hose connecting the two all is right with the world again--at least today ;-)

Today's picture is of the devastation caused by the installation of a new piece of electronics. The Garmins, acting as multifunction displays, cut down on the visible clutter in the wheelhouse, but do nothing to help with the 'behind the scenes' clutter. In fact, because they're so versatile, they make the 'behind the scenes' clutter worse as there's always just one more thing to be digitized. Today's effort was the beginning of getting the Garmins to display engine RPMs, voltage, temperature, oil pressure, and transmission oil pressure. I find that working with sensitive electronics is best done while consuming beer...

Still in the Harbortown Marina Canaveral, FL. 0 miles today and 930nm thus far.

Errands

Day #21: When a car is made available after three weeks cruising, we go shopping. Top of Bicki's list was a new cap for an aching tooth. It took all day but she's good to go now. Bsides the dentist, we visited Noland Engineering. Noland makes the RS11, a circuit card that will allow Nellie to display engine data (rpm, water temp, oil pressure, etc.) on her Garmin displays. The advantage of this is that all nqvigation and engine data are displayed on the same screens. Truth be told you also get 'cool points' for having all the data in one place.

Today's picture is of John Mackie with one of the four iron fuel tanks, removed from his LNVT, which he's repaired. John's been insisting that it's possible to repair the rusting 23+ year old tanks. I have to admit the tanks do look good.

Still in Harbortown Marina Canaveral, FL. 0nm today and 930 total.

Lazy Day

Day # 20: It was nice not be in a hurry this morning. Harbortown Marina, where we'll hole up for the next two days, is only 3 miles away. So, reading and a few chores occupied us fully. When the winds piped up to about 20kts we weighed anchor and moved on.

Marinas are a necessary evil. There we can plug into120v power, get water and do the laundry. It's also a good time for boat projects.

Just down the dock from us is John William, a 37' LNVT, owned by John and Sue Mackie. The Mackie's are always very gracious. This evening they had us over for dinner. The picture above shows John, Sue and Lucy receiving the coveted LNVT Traveling Gull trophy.

At the dock in Harbortown Canaveral Marina, Cape Canaveral, FL. A whooping 3nm today and 930nm total.

Duck Bill

Day #19: What does the term 'duck bill' or 'joker valve' bring to mind? If you're a cruiser you're rolling your eyes and moaning. It's not the function that causes consternation for a duck bill is simply a type of check valve. No, what strikes fear in the heart of cruisers is having to replace them for they operate in the bowels of the head (toilet). A friend, who while an apprentice plumber, was advised to smoke cigars when attending to sewer systems. So, along with my rubber gloves, eye protection, and disposable Tyvek suit, I lit up a stogie. Bicki kept us moving south, the windows open and billowing smoke, while I fought with effluent filled hoses and replaced the duck bills. I'm happy to report that while there may be crossed legs aboard Nellie, it's not now out of necessity.

With the winds expected to continue from the northeast we dropped the hook in the lee of Bennett Causeway, Cocoa, FL. 57nm today and 927nm thus far. DBH

Tomorrow, Tomorrow ...

Day #18: Look closely at the picture, there's a rainbow! It took two days and three nights to show up, but better late than never. With the winds down, the sky brightening, and the engine purring, we continued our trek south. Even the temperatures, which got almost into the 80's, cooperated.

This part of ICW feels like we're on a small, meandering river. The only challenges are staying within the channel markers, which are few and far between, and making sure the mast and antennas are down for the low bridges. Lots of very nice real estate lines the banks.

We dropped the hook in Daytona, FL, after a very relaxing seven hour cruise. 45nm today and 870nm total.

The smoking gun

Day 18: Yesterday's big winds continued until about sunset today. But now, for the first time in two days, I don't feel like I'm in a washing machine. In fact the silence is eerie after all the howling wind and waves slapping the hull.

Despite the weather we dropped the dinghy this morning and motored into town for breakfast. The ride kind of felt like taking our lives in our hands; the waves, wind and current were conspiring to get us wet--if not worse. Nothing beats a big dinghy with a powerful engine.

On Friday's trip from Fernandina Beach to St. Augustine we ran on the last untested fuel tank. A few miles short of St. Augustine we had to bleed the filters of air. This was pretty conclusive evidence that this fuel tank was the source of the engine's hiccups. Today we found the smoking gun--a cracked brass fitting.

Still in St. Augustine's mooring field. 0nm today and 825nm total.

Bell Ringer

Day #17: While being passed by a comparable sized American Tug yesterday, I opened the Dutch door, leaned out, smiled, and waved a jaunty hello. In response a hand, divorced from any semblance of a human body, appeared through a small aperture in their wheelhouse door and waved back. I had to chuckle--it might as well have been a bobble-head hand. The LNVT's Dutch door not only facilitates friendly gestures but definitely gets cool points too.

Nellie's ship's bell is mounted just forward of the starboard Dutch door. Winds over 20 knots can cause it to ring. Today it's performing a solo rendition of Flight of the Bumblebee while Nellie and her mooring ball dance the Jitterbug. Windy? Yea! Sustained winds over 30kts. Other than a 0300 mooring line reposition, today was a down day. Much needed I may add.

In a very windy and rocky mooring field in St Augustine, FL. 0nm today and 825nm total. DBH

O-dark-thirty

Day #16: According to Captain Ron, hero of the eponymous movie, Dawn comes early on a boat. By this I think he means that reveille often precedes sunrise. That was certainly the case today. When the anchor alarm sounded at 0530, I went from sound asleep to standing in the wheel house--and wondering how I got there. The alarm meant that Nellie might be adrift, her anchor dragging. It wouldn't be impossible as a squall, boasting 25kt winds and rain, was upon us. The wind driven waves had riled Nellie and she was fighting her leash like a junkyard dog. While the leash was taught, it hadn't let go, so the hours until dawn were spent on anchor watch. No rest for the weary.

Today's picture doesn't do justice to the conditions, which were foul, but after sunrise Nellie's crew recovered her anchor in Force 6 winds and got underway.

This evening we're happy to be moored just off St. Augustine, FL. 54nm today and a whole 825nm thus far. DBH

Florida!

Day #15: An easy run today. We started in Georgia's remote and isolated 'low country' and are now anchored off Fernandina Beach, FL, a resort community. They've got a great hardware store, which was our first stop once ashore. We picked up some parts to help diagnose the cause of our recent fuel problems. Nellie has actually been running well, but until we find the cause of the 'unpleasantness', we'll keep looking.

Today's picture was taken just after dawn as we left last night's anchorage in Teakettle Creek, GA. Blue sky and calm seas--this is what cruising is all about. 59nm today and 771nm so far. DBH

Georgia on my mind

Day #14: This was a day of cruising dichotomy. We woke to the smell of hot Krispy Kreme donuts, which were delivered, along with the newspaper, right to Nellie's companionway (for you landlubbers that's the front door). Now we're gliding by golden grass coved hammocks without a sign of civilization in sight--not to mention a Krispy Kreme. South of Savannah the ICW becomes more like island cruising than river cruising. One large island after another is all that separates us from the Atlantic. Sounds, the big bodies of water between the islands and open to ocean swell, have names like St. Catherines, Sapelo, Doboy, and Altamaha. The winds are 20kts from the north but Nellie cuts a clean path through the moguls and gives her crew a comfortable ride. The tide here has an 8' swing. At anchor in Teakettle Creek, GA, we get used to hearing the rapidly rushing water. Its lapping sound reassures us that the anchor is holding; in these waters it's silence we fear. 53nm today and 711nm total. DBH

25 cents

Day #13: Nellie's engine ran for six hours without a hiccup today. We suspect that a faulty $.25 o-ring was allowing air into a fuel filter. While never much fun at the time, we always learn a lot from the hiccups along the way.

Today's picture is of Bicki loading groceries. Reprovisioning is one of the necessary evils of cruising. In the Thunderbolt Marina, near Savannah, GA. 37nm today and 658nm total. DBH