Marine Liquidators

We have had the good fortune to see many cruising friends this year as they stop here in Vero for a few days of rest and re-provisioning.  Today we drove Rich and Anna to Ft. Pierce to shop at the giant marine warehouse filled with everything a boat could ever want or need.....cushions, line, anchors, sunbrella, stainless, toilets, cabinets,,,, What a great store!

Heading south in 2015

It has been a very busy fall for us with many changes in our lives.  We bought a retirement home in Vero Beach and closed in early October.  At the same time my mom moved back to the east coast from Denver and is living with us here in Florida.  Suzi Jordan, my sister-in-law, flew in from Colorado to stay with Mom while we move our boat south.  We are presently aboard Waves of Grace heading to Vero Beach City Marina after a challenging sail from Green Cove Springs and down the St. John's River.  The RR Bridge in JAX was scheduled to close Dec. 7th for a week for ongoing repairs so we needed to move the boat before Monday.  At the last minute, Larry MacDonald offered to help Walt get the boat down the St. John's River til Suzi arrived from Denver but as they approached the RR Bridge on Sunday, it broke.  Two hours later it opened part way and Walt managed to squeeze the boat thru the opening.....Suzi drove me to St. Augustine on Monday and drove Larry back to Vero.....Walt and I will be taking a mooring ball today in Vero til Feb 1st.  Wow!

Key Biscayne to St. Augustine

We had a great night in Key Biscayne and headed into the ocean for the anchorage in Lake Worth.  We then sailed back into the ocean but came in the St. Lucie Inlet because Ft. Pierce was closed due to salvage operations.  We stayed in Vero Beach for a week and then took a ball in the south field at St. Augustine for Palm Sunday.  Today we are in JAX Landing for a few days before heading to Green Cove Springs.  Walt enjoyed touring the Castillo San Marcos in St. Augustine and we both enjoyed the restored Basilica there......but the tourists were everywhere....wow, what crowds!

Heading north 3/15/2015

We spent one night in the Boot Key anchorage and at 10:30 we were filling up with diesel and water at Burdines.  We received our free french fries and free ice to head out into Hawk Channel in the most glorious turquoise water I had ever seen.  The water was stunning.  Since it was a Sunday there were lots of boats enjoying a sail.  We anchored at Rodriguez and on Monday we continued on to Key Biscayne.  Nine boats anchored with us just outside of No Name Harbor.

Indian Key 3/13/2015

We had a very long day of motor sailing from Cape Coral to Indian Key in 14-20 knots of wind ESE almost on the nose.  We came in using the marked channel leading to Everglades City which initially is quite wide.  We anchored near the east side in just 9 feet of water and had a very quiet night.  Here is the sunset which was beautiful.  We were amazed at how quiet and lovely this spot was after such wind and waves all day in the Gulf.

Dry Tortugas to Cape Coral 3/9-10/2015

We learned that it was easy to sail to the Dry Tortugas but difficult to sail back to the Keys.  Boats kept arriving but nobody could leave except for the planes and the Key West Fast Ferry......Finally we decided to give it a try and sailed out in 10-15 knots from the east with 4-5 waves.  We headed to Key West but could only do 3 knots.  We changed our course to Marco but it was still slow so we headed to Cape Coral and sailed all day and night.  We came in on Tuesday morning at 5:00 and decided to anchor.  When we turned on the engine we knew something was wrong......We anchored, turned off the engine and after 21 hours with no sleep Walt replaced the blown impeller.  Wow, off to anchor in front of the Westin Hotel where we stayed for 3 days.  Larry Stange, a cruising friend who now lives in Cape Coral, brought us a beautiful red, white and blue cruising spinnaker and whisker pole plus SSB radio.  Thanks, Larry!  We also went to Rumrunners on the Cape Coral waterfront to have lunch with colleagues from Dansville, Pat & Jack, and Sandy.  Shafers visited our boat later.

The Dry Tortugas 3/5-3/9/2015

The Dry Tortugas has been on our bucket list for a long time but it is difficult to sail to and from in the prevailing winter easterlies.  We decided to give it a try this year and sure enough it was an easy 70 mile sail from Key West in SE winds of 15 knots but every day there the winds blew at 20-24 from the east.......impossible for us to return to Key West!  Fort Jefferson is an amazing fort, the biggest US masonry fort ever built.  We toured the fort, walked the beaches, snorkeled, greeted Lyle the Crocodile who hung out in the moats during the day, saw the sooty tern nesting areas, and watched a 10' Goliath Grouper swim under our boat.  When we anchored on Thursday, there were only 3 other boats but when we left on Monday there were 11 sailboats, a trawler and 5 fishing boats.  Every morning we saw two seaplanes land with tourists and then the Dry Tortugas Ferry came over from Key West for the day with visitors.  This is an amazing destination with beautiful vistas and a rich history-don't miss it!

Key West 3/4/2015

We sailed to Key West today from Marathon in 14-20 knot winds and arrived at 2:00 to anchor at Fleming Key across from the old harbor.  The holding was great but there were lots of tourist tall ships sailing to and fro in the anchorage plus a party cat with lots of music and dancing......not very quiet!  We had good protection and a restful night sleep with lots of other cruising boats.

Last Tennis 3/3/2015

We have played tennis five days a week for the last 4 months here in Marathon at the community courts adjacent to the mooring field.  Here is Walt with Coach Bill and a former tennis pro, Ray, who is 87 years old and still playing every day!  Wow, Florida keeps you young!

Butterfly Museum-Key West

We drove to Key West Feb. 26th with Sharon & Darik from Y-Knot.  Sharon and I spent over 2 hours in the Butterfly Museum on Duval Street and later met the guys for lunch at Schooners in the old harbor.  Walt was checking on the dinghy dock and anchorage as we are sailing the boat here in March on our way to the Dry Tortugas.

Miami Boat Show 2/12-13 2015

This year we spent two days at the Miami Strictly Sail Boat Show with Sharon and Darick from
 Y-Knot.  All day Thursday we visited yachts at the Bayside Miamarina where parking was only $10  at the arena parking garage.  It was a real slow drive from Marathon, though, traffic was just crawling around Miami......But the trip was worth it and we spent many hours walking through the large sailboats and catamarans.  On Friday we went to the Convention Center to view the equipment and extras that every boat owner needs!  We saw one boat with a wine cellar.....so we went to the Cupcake wine tasting event at the Convention Center.

Sand, not snow

This Valentine's Day the northeast was digging out of yet another winter blizzard....blowing snow, sub zero temps, and ice.  It's been brutal in New York and Cape Cod.  Here in the Keys the temps have been in the mid-60's with lows into the 50's at night.  When the wind is not blowing, Sombrero Beach is still the place to be!

Birthday Bash

We decided to celebrate all 8 of our birthdays every year during the first week of February by having a progressive boat dinner.  Each boat hosted a different part of our meal ending with a fun gift exchange on Yasmine Ann-the dessert boat.

Fiesta Key 1/27-29/2015

We took a road trip this week to visit our good friends, Don and Stella, who have been hiding out from the cold and snow in New York at a great condo in Fiesta Key just south of Bradenton.  Fiesta Key is a beautiful resort community situated on a very wide and stunning Gulf of Mexico beach.  We decided to tour Mixon Orchards where we learned about orange groves and then tasted orange swirl ice cream.  Included on the tour was an up close introduction of some Florida wildlife including crocodiles, alligators, and an 80 pound, 11 foot python.........

Car vs boat bikes

It's always a dilemma for us .......use our boat bikes for transportation here in Marathon or bring our car down from Green Cove Springs near Jacksonville.  The bikes give us a great workout especially on Sundays when we bike 12 miles round trip to church.  The bikes are fun to ride and there are lots of bike paths and sidewalks near us.  But this year we decided to bring the car down and yes, we have not put on as many bike miles as usual but we've been able to explore the Keys more than ever.  One of our favorite spots is Key Colony.  We've discovered the great early bird special at the Key Colony Inn for $14.95 which includes wine, salad, entree and dessert!  Now that's a deal!  Two weeks ago we attended an open house for a 3 million dollar home on Hawk Channel in Key Colony.  Then we drove to Duck Key and toured the upscale Hawk's Cay Marina and Resort.  The beach, pool, and tennis courts were very inviting!

And there were 7 on the boat.....

We hosted our two daughters, our son-in-law and two grandchildren for 10 days on Waves of Grace for Christmas.  Bonnie & Sid generously offered Stacey a bed on FIU since they were away for the holidays and we were tight for space.  But we had plenty of room for all 7 around our table for dinner every night.  Anna & Ryan kept us all busy at Sombrero Beach, Sombrero Reef, Sunset Tiki pool, and the Dolphin Research Center.  Stacey & I visited the Turtle Hospital which gave a wonderful tour.  All of our family members have returned to the chilly northeast.......and we seem to have a much bigger 42' sailboat than we did last week!