Tarpon Basin to ... oops....

The maintenance glitch yesterday was minor.  Today we traveled about 18 statute miles...not counting the back-n-forth-n-forward-n-reverse required to try to get afloat after running aground.  In fact, as I write we are on the bottom waiting for the next high tide and hoping that it isn't effected by this north wind we were counting on to run us south.  As some boats went by they checked in to see if we were OK.  We said we were but asked about how much water they were in as they went by.  We realized we were not in the right spot (duh!) but also heard later from one of them that he was bouncing off the bottom a couple of miles south of here.
As there is no great way out to the deep water outside the keys (Hawk Channel) without going north we may do that in the morning when we wake up and float the boat.  Not sure what the plans will be next but the leg down to Key West may be out the window.  Had a great day jumping into the dinghy, hauling the anchor out 200 ft, dropping it, coming back and taking the extra fuel containers off and putting them in the dinghy to lighten Brunelle, pushing the boat, hauling the anchor out again, etc., etc.  Tomorrow will be a better day!!!~~~~(\_~~~ D & M
Google Earth track file (complete with two unplanned stops)

Morning started fine. Coffee, Mangroves, and wandering south.

Later Dan was out looking for water around the boat. Not a lot to be
had and the charts are just not that accurate.

Trying to reduce weight on the big boat...not sure it amounts to much.

Key Biscayne to Tarpon Basin

A lot of shallow water today.  Wind was from the north all day.  Just like the Chesapeake the water is blown out during a north wind.  Shallow got shallower.  Plan was to try to go further but there were not a lot of places to anchor to be out of the winds so we chose Tarpon Basin.  About 7 others chose the same stop.  As it turned out it was lucky we stopped early as we realized we had a leak in the transmission cooling system.  The folks in Annapolis, when I called, said just by-pass it.  We did that and hope we are ready to go.  I hope you don't hear more about this.  Otherwise the day was spent motor sailing, reading, doing yoga, having a great breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Retirement is worth working for!  ~~~(\_~~~D & M
Google Earth track file

Another quiet day to begin with. Pegg doing her yoga (raja kapotsana - a variation). Martha was giggling at what she was reading all day (my camera failed). Jay and I took turns at the helm and drinking
beer...sometimes did both.

Anchored early because next stop was too far and forecast was too lousy...wind to be from the N and NE to 25 knots tonight.

Ft. Lauderdale to Miami (Key Biscayne)

Adventurous day!  We haven't been "outside" since we came into St. Augustine on Nov. 10th.  We couldn't leave our spot until after 9am because the bridge doesn't open until after rush hour.  We stopped for fuel just before the 17th St. bridge and made it out the Port Everglades cut just past 10.  We had to head out to the three mile limit for "head" reasons, and were surprised to encounter the Gulf Stream before we reached our goal.  It was a rough ride for about an hour, but as soon as we headed back inshore, we were able to set the whisker pole and go wing and wing all the way to Government Cut.  Of course we faced an incoming tide on the way out and an outgoing tide on the way in, but we still had a pleasant day and dropped anchor just south of the Rickenbacker causeway bridge at 4:25.  The helpful north wind also brought cooler temperatures, so we'll sleep under blankets tonight.  ~~~(\_~~~D&M
Google Earth track file

We seemed to be in the middle of the race course for a bunch of Finns racing offshore.

Pegg and Martha pose in front of the Rickenbacker causeway and the Miami skyline right after we anchored.

All in Ft. Lauderdale - Middle River to Downtown

Forecast for the day was not good so we decided not to go on.  Next step would be out Port Everglades Inlet and then south about 25 miles in the ocean to Government Cut in Miami to come back in.  The front that is to come through today will bring in northerly winds which should take us south in the morning.  We are guessing two more days to Key West.  We decided to head up the New River in Ft. Lauderdale to the downtown area.  Fascinating ride up the river and again lots to look at here.  Have seen more big boats in the last few miles than I think I have ever seen in one area. ~~~(\_~~~ D & M
Google Earth track file

All kinds of sights going up the New River! Note the gator about to
get the Rudolph.

All kinds of boats...this looks like they converted the bouy tender
that blogmaster Sam was on in Maine.

Brunelle downtown! Shiraz, whose home port is Stockholm (hasn't been
there yet - bought in the US) just came from the Bahamas crewed by captain and girlfriend, each with two children, and each of them with their significant other...10 people!

Jay and Pegg on the draw bridge above us. They got caught on the
wrong side on two openings as it was pouring!

Boca Raton to Ft. Lauderdale

We spent the morning ashore with cousin Joan, Pegg got a run in, Jay got a new phone (he has a way with "go" phones--he keeps breaking them or dropping them in the drink), Dan got laundry done (not really...Joan, Pegg, and Martha did most of it).   Martha did some exercising in Joan's condo's pool and we restocked the boat AGAIN!  We decided that we could get closer to the Port Everglades inlet if we set out early afternoon, so we weighed anchor and started the painful process of rushing or dragging our feet between bridges and made it to a very nice little niche among thousands of canals here in Ft. Lauderdale and will head down to Port Everglades in the am to see if the weather is right for going outside for the day  tomorrow.   We just finished watching the Lauderdale police sneak around our anchorage (no running lights) and then they turned on all the lights and pulled over a small runabout.  They towed them in towards the dock here and then let them head in - turned off all lights again and headed out to look for some other unsuspecting soul! ~~~~(\_~~~~ D&M
Google Earth track file

Jay and Dan with cousin Joan in front of the pool that separates their conco from the ICW. NICE place!!

Steve and Joan's condo from the water as we left today.

Boca Raton. Lotta great sights. Saw an Iguana climbing out of the ICW up a concrete wall, another in the middle of a big tree, and one sitting on a draw bridge fender that we should have gotten a picture
of!! Strange critters.

Hobe Sound to Boca Raton

We've read that you should avoid this part of the ICW on a weekend, and now we know why!  Roly poly all day with thousands of little and big motorboats!  We arrived off of cousin's Joan's condo at 5:15 after SEVERAL slow passages between bridges that had scheduled openings that we could not make with the tide against us all day.  The sun was out and the sights were opulent, but we're ready to break out of this soon.  We had a wonderful meal with Dan and Jay's cousin Joan and husband Steve, plus showers!  We hope to visit with them again tomorrow. ~~~(\_~~~ D&M
Google Earth track file

Misty moonlit morning

Typical "side road" as we get closer to Palm Beach

Vero Beach Marina to Hobe Sound (100 yards short of the 1000 Mile mark on the ICW)

We got underway at 8:45 this morning after adding 12 gallons of diesel, topping off with fresh water, and emptying the ever filling holding tanks.  Yesterday there was not a cloud in the sky.  Today there were more clouds which helped the sky look that much bluer.  A great day.  We did not go as far as we set out to go...but we're vacationing.  We ran into a little more current than we had in the past couple of days and that slowed us.  Going by the St. Lucie River and inlet water was going every which way and boats were the same.  Today being Saturday there was a lot of traffic out there.  The inlet is only used by small boats with local knowledge and many were coming in from fishing in the ocean.  Turning west to go up the river would have taken us to the west coast of Florida through Lake Okeechobee and various rivers, canal, and a couple of locks and a couple of bridges too low for us.  Not as much work today.  I did make Bloody Marys and cleaned up the pistachio shells we spilled at lunch.~~~(\_~~~D & M
Google Earth track file

This sums up a great day. Some areas had homes. Some were wider.
Most were like this.