Road Trip - Miami Boat Show

All six of us were in the van and ready to go by 8:15. The ride up to Miami was about two hours and took us all the way up the Dixie Highway through much of south Miami. We arrived at the AA Arena where we were able to park in an underground garage just a short walk from the Water Taxi that would take us to the Strictly Sail (in water) part of the Boat Show. (a lot more fun than the school buses that take you from the Navy stadium to the Annapolis show!) We were surprised that the number of sailboats didn't come close to equaling the numbers we've seen in Annapolis. There was a small tent of vendors to pass through on the way to the docks, and we browsed a bit before heading to the Catalina dock to see who and what was there. Gerry Helldorfer met us there and we also were happy to see Yachta, Yachta friends Lyn and Paul Erb manning the Catalina store booth. We had decided not to try to stay together (likened to herding cats) for the day, but we did all get together to share a lunch with Gerry and swap tales.

After lunch we spent a little more time on the docks and happened to run into Erik and Marti Lostrom (my godson and his wife) who were down from Kent Island, MD to check things out and meet with some of their vendors, kind of a working vacation. We also made sure to visit the Presto 30 called Thorfinn because an old friend from my Maine days, Ben Emory, had told us he and his wife Diana are buying #7 and his son, Thor, has #2 which he raced in the Ft. Lauderdale-Key West race last month and come in 2nd. It's a very interesting design, worth googling. We missed Thor, but got to look her over. We then took the shuttle to the Miami Convention Center for the indoor portion of the show. WHAT A DEJA VUE experience that was! We walked in and stopped and looked at each other. The atmosphere was exactly like the good old days at what we always knew as THE boat show - at the Coliseum in NYC. We were a little disappointed at how much of the indoor show was taken up with smaller power boats, engines and fishing gear. We still managed to make a complete day of it and didn't get back to Marina del Mar until 8:00 pm where we headed to Sharkey's for their famous Friday Fish Fry. A little too noisy, but the fish was excellent. ~~~_/)~~~M&D

The water taxi whisked us quickly from the parking garage to the strictly sail portion of the show.

This is what greeted us when we headed over to the Miami Convention Center for the indoor portion of the show.

Busy day in Key Largo

We had an early start today because the tide was high a 7:53 am and we wanted to take a spin outside the canal to test the adjustment Dan made yesterday. Everyone (except Pete who had a 7:15 conference call) joined us for our morning run and we set off a few minutes before 8. We are so isolated from the real world here at Marina del Mar that we forget that there are strong winds once you pass the jetty at the entrance to the canal. It is also hard to imagine that Rt. 1 is only 500 yards away in the other direction. Anyway the wind was pretty strong out of the east as we headed out, but it didn't keep us from reaching 7 knots - - - this time we made it up to 26 RPMs - - - still not what Westerbeke and PYI would like to see, so Fred wrote this evening suggesting a further 4 degree adjustment. Dan isn't sure whether to do it here or wait until we get across.

We were back in the slip by 9 and got a call from Enterprise saying our mini-van was ready and we could pick it up any time. Long story short, John and I walked up and waited over an hour outside the office before finally getting the van. We came back and picked everyone up for a lunch excursion. Candi, the dockmaster, suggested Gilbert's Raw Bar and Grill about 9 miles north and on the bay side. It was a great place and lunch was good. We stopped at a farm stand on the way back and got some fruits and veggies. We also hit Publix hopefully for the last time and I got permission from Candi to freeze all my meats in her chest freezer when we got back.

Tonight was dinner and a movie. We ordered pizza and Joy and Dean (from Saskatchewan) who live aboard all winter down here brought African Queen for us to watch. What a treat. Tomorrow the Miami Boat Show. ~~~_/)~~~M&D

What a loyal bunch, everyone got up early to join us on our morning test run of the new propeller settings.

The invasion is moving into Port Largo Canal. We went through a fleet of Portugese Man of War jellyfish on our way out this morning.

Our lunch excursion to Gilbert's was a nice change. It gave us a good look at the Florida Bay side of the Keys plus a good lunch. We liked the name of the Catalina 36 we saw moored off the restaurant.

The wait continues

Well at least we are getting all our ducks in a row while waiting! We spent an hour on the veranda Tuesday morning signing over 50 different pieces of paper as we finalized the refinancing on the house. The notary was also a real estate agent and said she'd be glad to sell us a home if we were interested! One house is enough.

Dan was feeling much better, but not quite ready to go diving again. He had been in contact with Fred at PYI about re-setting the spring on the Ecowind and Fred told him to use the two screws he had included in the box with the prop. That was news to us, we hadn't seen any small baggie with parts when we unpacked the prop. When I took the box up to the front desk on Thursday to ask where to dispose of it, the manager said to leave it in the office because they liked to have one around for mailing stuff. Luck was with us, the box was still there and the baggie was in it! The prop work was done today, so we are taking a little jaunt tomorrow morning to see how the adjustment worked.

We've been here long enough that the regulars (fishing boats for hire, dive boats, etc.) are getting to know us, so when Andiamo's neighbor came back with a good catch yesterday, he offered them some yellowtail filets. John cooked them on the grill and they were delicious. We were looking forward to fresh fish in the Bahamas, didn't expect to get it here. We have signed up for a rental car for the next two days, hopefully for our LAST provisioning trip before we leave and also to go to the Miami Boat Show on Friday. I know, what could we possibly need!? We'll see. ~~~_/)~~~M&D

Diving Dan does it again. The hex set with the tiny set screw was just one more bit of his great mastery

Coconuts, the restaurant on the corner has been sporting the dilapidated canvas awning since we were here two years ago, it finally is getting a facelift. We haven't eaten there because we have been enjoying our veranda dinners too much.

Sun/Mon here we still are

The weather may be better,( still too windy from the North but sunny and warmer ), but poor Dan is under the weather. We aren't sure what hit him, but he's been laying low all day. Chicken soup for dinner didn't do the trick, I hope more sleep will!

Yesterday we did a short "sea trial" with the new propeller and could definitely tell the difference. We headed out mid afternoon (on a rising tide - a necessity for getting out across the shallows at the entrance to the Port Largo Canal) and were definitely doing at least one knot more in speed even with the engine only at 2200 RPM. That actually was our top RPM, so Dan will be going down under again to adjust the pitch of the prop.

Between yesterday and today I got both Grandma's and our taxes done - hooray - and with the carryover credit from putting in geothermal heat last year, we will be getting everything back! I clicked "send" about 8:30 tonight, what a great relief. Tomorrow we are meeting with a Notary to "close" on refinancing the house - Chase offered us 1/2 % less than we currently are paying with NO costs of any kind, so we jumped, and luckily it is all coming together before we "leave the country!" Next we just need the weather to fall into place. ~~~_/)~~~M&D

My first attempt at macrame - had to keep busy while Dan is sleeping.