31 January - Day #58. Putting out of Ft. Lauderdale I couldn't help but wonder if we're well enough insured. With huge yachts lining the ICW, it feels like running a gauntlet lined with Ming vases and Fabergé eggs. Usually I only fret about Nellie's engine quitting during open water passages. Now I'm wondering if we can get the hook down before the rapid current pushes us into one of these Picassos. I'll bet Buba's Paint and Body wouldn't be the first place called for a quote. The yachts are beautiful but even if we had the money we've decided we're not big boat people. For one thing their owners insist on wearing uniforms while going about their daily boat chores. We're more the t-shirt and cutoffs crowd... The bridges get more plentiful, and oddly, lower and lower as we approach Miami. With her mast and antennas down Nellie only needs 14.5'--we think. On two bridges we hold our breath and reflexively duck, greatly relieved by what we don't hear--crunching sounds from Nellie's superstructure. Today's picture is of Miami with her necklace of bridges. At anchor behind Pumpkin Island and finally in the Keys! 51nm today and 1470nm total. DBH

30 January - Day #57. John drove over from Naples and we visited all our favorite chandleries. Bill and Heidi, S/V Act III, who we first met Christmas eve (Day #23), although it feels like we've been life-long friends, such is the way while cruising, are dock mates. This evening we dinghied with them to a sailors' haunt called the Raw Bar. Amoung other things we celebrated our parting as they're Bahamas bound. Today's picture shows the crew of Act III trying to rig dinghy running lights. At the dock in the Ft. Lauderdale Municipal Marina. 0nm today and 1419nm total. DBH

29 January - Day #57. Ft Lauderdale's waterfront is a lot like Disney World, but without the admission fee. Everything here is larger than life. Tour boats filled with wide-eyed tourists ply the waters. The major attractions are the myriad yachts and huge houses. To rise above the crowd a yacht must exceed 200'; there are lots of them. And, just about every house belongs in Architectural Digest. Today's picture sums it all up. At the dock in the Ft. Lauderdale Municipal Marina. 39nm today and 1419nm total. DBH

28 January - Day #56. We slip the mooring line just after dawn. It's nice to be underway again. Bernie Madhoff called Plam Beach home--at least when he wasn't in NY City managing his clients' money. I can't help but wonder, as I survey the many large yachts and estates here, what Bernie's impact has been and will be. Today's photo is of two tall tall ships visiting Peanut Island. On the hook in Palm Beach, FL. 61nm today and 1379nm today. DBH

27 January - Day #55. You have to love a town that has free bus service right in front of the marina. This morning we caught the bus into town and then walked a few miles to the mall--all in a futile search for a Chinese restaurant. We had to settle for our second favorite, the $1.70 hot dog and Coke at Sam's Club. Could the day get any better? Well, yes. Seems the bus stops at Walmart too. While on the bus fellow cruisers told us about a killer pub named Dockside. In the afternoon we dinked over as it's just across the ICW from the Marina. With four beers we went through their entire appetizer menu: crab dip; artichokes; ribs; mussels; and, calamari. Still on the mooring ball in Vero Beach. 0nm today and 1319 total.

26 January - Day #54. Ron Knaggs, N1GYX, is a twice former Commodore of the Waterway Radio and Cruising Club and has spent many hours facilitating ham radio nets--a job akin to aircraft controller. Done well it's like a ballet. I watched him simultaneously and seamlessly work the broadcast portion, an internet messaging program, which handles behind the scenes communications, and CQ100 which is an internet based HF radio. Saying good bye to Ron and Shelley we headed north to Vero Beach. Vero is known as Velcro Beach to cruisers and we wanted to find out why. On mooring ball #15 in the Vero Beach Municipal Marina. 10nm today 1319nm total.

25 January - Day #53. Very heavy winds and rain this morning with a forecast for more of the same. Things looked bad all around us and we were pretty sure we'd be stuck at the dock for the day. But, amazingly, by 09:30 the winds clocked around and then literally seemed to go from a near gale to a light breeze. By 10:00 we were unplugging the power cord and releasing the dock lines. The day even improved as we headed south and by mid afternoon the sun broke through the clouds and light winds pushed us along. Yup, we're spending a lot more time at docks than we ever have before. But, it's especially hard to pass up offers to dock at fellow cruiser's homes. In the few days that we've been members of the "Waterway Radio and Cruising Club" we've already been graciously invited us to two docks for the evening. Tonight was one such invitation from Ron and Shelley Knaggs. They grabbed our dock lines and gave us a warm welcome when we pulled up to their home this afternoon. Our docking was promptly followed by a social hour aboard where we got an opportunity to chat and get to know each other a bit better. Today's picture is of the channel into Queens Bay--so Ron, where's your dock again ... At the Knaggs' dock in Queens Cove, FL. 43nm today 1309nm total