We had nice uneventful weather the first few days of our trip. We got up at the crack of dawn, had a quick breakfast and weighed anchor at first light each morning. We motor sailed when we could, and sailed when the wind was favorable. We had to keep moving if we were going to get to Stuart for Ed to start work on Monday October 28. We used our usual anchorages down the coast, Naples and Shark River. Then we hopped over Florida Bay to Channel Five Bridge and headed North to Tavanier Key and weighed anchor in the beautiful Florida Keys water.
Sailing down the coast on a light breeze
A beautiful sunrise over Naples, Fl
Dinner!
Ahhh, The beautiful Florida Keys, Channel Five Bridge
Our next stop was Key Largo and to Gilbert's for a quick fuel and water fill up. We were happy to see our friend Dennis, on board "The Beast". He came by the fuel dock and said hello. We had met him on our last stay in Key Largo, when we purchased Manatee. He's a dear friend of Ed's sister Georgeanne.
We headed out Jewfish Creek and into Barnes Sound and then Card Sound. As forecast, the wind and the chop picked up out of the North Northwest to 25-35 kts. We had a wild day of sailing on that breeze, it was fun. But wet, and cold!
Cape Florida Lighthouse
Miami! First sight of the skyline
Miami's waterfront
Haulover Inlet Lighthouse
We had a nice run up the ICW, past Miami's waterfront district and further North until we dropped anchor in Ft. Lauderdale.
The dreaded Julia Tuttle Bridge. We figure we need 54 ft. clearance. Yikes!
Close! So close. The VHF antenna wacked itself on every beam under the bridge.
We continued north along the busy ICW requesting bridge openings. At one point, we approached a slow down and a “traffic jam”, just before a turn. We weren’t sure what the holdup was, there were just so many large motor vessels just moseying along. None of the boats were passing others, as if something around that bend must happened to stop traffic. We were patient, got in line behind a large yacht. We saw a Coast Guard boat go by, we saw a couple of police boats go by, they waved at us. Some more rearranging of boats occurred and a captain of a yacht was thoughtful enough to ask if we were going to the boat show. Huh? Boat show? It was Ft. Lauderdale’s big yacht/boat show they hold every year. We were stuck in the staging area for the upcoming show! We thanked the Captain for asking us the obvious. We managed to excuse ourselves and got around the insanity and continued on our way.
Lots of very large beautiful yachts
One of the yachts just got into its spot.
This guy just showed up for the show
Southern Blvd. Bridge (under construction) Palm Beach
Jupiter Lighthouse (with scaffolding)
Feels surreal. After 43 years, we are back!
The beach can only be accessed via boat, it's usually deserted
Our new Homeport
Our hosts, Nancy, Wookie and John
A nice welcome home
We plan on staying at this dock for as long as we are able. It's a perfect spot for hurricane protection, we are near family and the waterways around Stuart are beautiful. Ed will continue his part time job while we continue to do improvements on Manatee. I will be able to use the garage at the house to sew, thus completing all the re-canvassing to forest green. Life is good!
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