Waiting for the Winds of Change

I've never paid so much attention to wind direction in my whole life! To sail smoothly to the Bahamas, a southerly breeze is preferable, although an easterly breeze will do. Northerly winds, such as we've had all week, wreak havoc on the seas. But...there are worse places in the world to wait for a shift in the wind! After leaving Indian Key, we took a short, 6-hour sail to Rodriguez Key. We anchored in a quiet, sheltered location just off of Rodriguez Key and took a short dinghy ride across the bay to check out the local attractions.


Rodriguez Key Chamber of Commerce







Aqua-Man




Barry always enjoys his work!

 Not finding much, we headed back. Barry took the plunge and cleaned the bottom of the boat and the prop....it wasn't as 'hairy' as we feared! (Barnacles and algae grow like weeds down here--leading to a beard on unattended boats.)

We then enjoyed yet another magnificent sunset--just the two of us, sitting on the bow of our boat. The sunsets are hidden in the hills at home, so we soak them in every day.





Sunset over Rodriguez Key

 We've been in Coconut Grove now since Tuesday night, in a mooring field...close to Key Biscayne and Miami. 

It's rather tricky attaching to a mooring ball... Barry has to thread a mooring line from our bow through the pendant on the ball while I guide the boat. This time, it took three times to accomplish our goal...mostly because of the wind and because Barry got cut by barnacles on the mooring ball lines, causing him to drop the line. We are always aware that other boaters nearby are enjoying this show....

Mooring ball...thread the needle

we didn't disappoint them:)

Coco Walk Mall

Green Street Cafe

Coconut Grove is a sort of like the Central West End in St. Louis....artsy and relaxed. We've enjoyed breakfast at a cafe and appetizers at a local wine shop. We've also found an exquisite, independently owned book store that opens at 7 a.m.--perfect for early risers like us. We can be on shore, via our dinghy, and walking downtown before the sun comes over the horizon.
Wednesday night, while having a light dinner at a local restaurant, a flock of birds appeared out of nowhere! Actually, a gentleman walked through this open-air mall and let people 'play' with his birds, for a small gratuity. This was the highlight of our evening!



Bird Man of Coconut Grove



For a bird fanatic, this is the BEST!

Just so you know, we haven't been playing for the last few days....Barry has started the process of repainting the non-skid paint on deck. We're changing from the original blue-gray to a sea-foam green, which blends beautifully with the new green canvas. We've also started to remove the white paint from the teak handrails--taking it back to the original teak. (This process involves unscrewing the rails from the inside and outside, using a power sander to remove most of the paint, and then a razor blade to remove the stubborn white paint in the grain of the wood. Takes about 3 hours for 6 feet of rail. After doing one of the shorter of the four handrails, Barry thought it just might be worth the money to buy new handrails and skip the manual labor. Sounds good to me!)
Tonight, we are together, sitting on the bow of our boat, looking at a moon that is nearly full. The same moon has risen at home. Here, on Biscayne Bay, the moonlight dances on the water in front of us with the neon lights of Miami in the distance. Barry hugs me and says: "Life is good!" Yes...it is!





On the Road Again!

Story telling in our cockpit--Marathon

Sunset over Marathon--Boot Key Harbor

We've put Marathon behind us and are heading towards Miami, from which we'll jump off to the Bahamas as soon as the wind is in our favor--which may not be until later this weekend. Marathon is in the Keys, and is a gathering place for boaters from all over the Eastern US, Canada, and the UK. As I mentioned in a previous post, we luckily met up with friends and enjoyed catching up. At sunset, many people blow their conch shells and there may even be a cannon blast!

We left Marathon and motored for six hours to Indian Key, where we anchored for the night. Since we arrived with daylight left, we had a chance to explore the island.

 

Feels good to stretch out!



Mardi Gras at anchor

Indian Key is a small island on which a sea captain built a small empire 'wrecking' (salvaging) shipwrecked vessels in nearby waters. Problem is, the Seminole Indians were here first, and they attacked one morning in 1841--killing several islanders and scaring off the others. But it's a beautiful place to visit now.

 At sunset, we enjoyed a gourmet meal (if I do say so). We had Chicken Basil Cream Pasta, all made from canned goods. It was delicious...and we can eat the leftovers tonight. No chef duties for me tonight.

Cruising like this takes a change in behavior. Take a look:



Our wheels for the next two months



Laundry day

We're currently sailing gently over blue-green water that is so clear we can see 20 feet to the white sand on the bottom. Incredible!!

 







Random Pictures

Provisioning at Wallyworld

The Privateer Lynx at sunset

Linda in heaven

Doug, Tom, Linda, Karen, Brad, and Carol

Serendipity

Word for the Day: Serendipity--happy accident or pleasant surprise

After a 28 hour crossing from Fort Myers to Marathon, we had a serendipitous event...we acquired, quite randomly, a mooring ball directly behind a couple that we befriended last year--Mick and Sue!  Not only that, we have been welcomed by their friends who are moored nearby! It's like moving into a great neighborhood that has a block party every night! So even though Barry was operating on about 2 hours sleep, and I with about 4 hours--we joined them for a happy hour at a local restaurant. We marvel at the people we meet on the water--all so friendly and so full of great stories. (But excellent company or not, we were in bed by 9pm)

Our journey here was longer than expected, due to the fact that the wind was directly on our nose. Mardi Gras was bucking along all night--with some fairly heavy splash on the deck. Our new dodger (like a windshield for boats) protected us from the wind and the splash--what a great purchase! (You know that a boat is a hole in the water, into which you throw money, right?)

The night time sky is a thrill when sailing the Gulf. Multitudes of brilliant stars are visible--so many more than in St. Louis! For me, this is the reward for giving up a good night's sleep. During the day, we sailed for hours without seeing anything other than pods of dolphins and a few birds. I seem to breathe more deeply when on the water.

Due to an incoming weather system, we will be staying in Marathon for a few extra days. We're waiting for right weather 'window' to head up towards Miami and then over to the islands. In the meantime, at least we're among friends!

*I am having lots of problems with Blogger on my iPad, including great difficulty uploading photos. Hope to have that solved soon, without throwing the iPad overboard!

Gumbo recipe

Linda and I love to cook and I love to eat! Before we found our current Mardi Gras we would host a annual Mardi Gras party at our home in St Louis.  I had gotten a gumbo recipe by email from  a Mike Anderson who had a cooking show on a local radio program. He had developed his recipe over many years of trial and error. I have fairly well committed it to memory and I made a batch Saturday to be served with Dave's fish fry. Since a few people seemed to like it and asked for the recipe I will try to provide that now. (Linda's note: People RAVED about this gumbo, saying it was the best they ever had!)

Here is how I made the gumbo for the fish fry.

Stock.
On Thursday I carved the meat from a whole roasted chicken and simmered the bones and residual meat in 6 quarts of water for about 4 hours. After cooling I set it in the cooler till Saturday morning when I strained out the bones and gristle. Reheat in a large stock pot. I had to borrow one from Dawn at Bonita Bills.
Roux prepared in a heavy frying pan  It is better known as Cajun napalm and you will find out why if your fire is too high.
Dice and brown a package of andouille sausage and whatever left over chicken you may have liberally seasoned with cajun seasoning. We have a couple different brands. I especially like "Slap Ya Mama" by Walker and Sons but any one will do. There is salt in it so season until the salt taste is right.

Remove the meat from the pan and add enough oil to the remains so that you have a total of about a 1/4 cup. Add flour until you have a peanut butter consistency, about a 1/4 cup. Set your heat to medium high and with a spatula continue to cook the roux until it starts to turn brown. this is a slow process and takes constant attention so you will want to have filled your wine glass before you start. Unless of course you have the bottle next to the stove for refilling one handed. Figure on this step to take from 15 to 45 minutes. If you get it too hot and scorch it, throw it out and start over.

 The Trinity;
An essential part of Cajun cooking takes it name from the church. Onions, celery and peppers are in almost every dish I can think of. I use sweet onions and bell peppers. Sometimes I throw in hot peppers too. For this last dish I used a full bunch of celery, two fairly large onions and 4 peppers.
Have this chopped up before you prepare the roux and throw it into the skillet when the roux is done with a cup of the stock. This stops the roux cooking and starts the sautéing of the trilogy. Stir and turn over/ mix till they start to get tender then throw the whole mess into the stock pot along with the meat. Bring it to a boil and then turn it down to a simmer till a half hour before dinner time.

Make up an appropriate amount of good rice. My friend Jim here at the harbor and I agree that Jasmine rice is the best.
The finish:
Slice a cup or two of okra and dump it in with as many shrimp or crab legs or scallops as you can afford.
That's it. Jim, who lived in New Orleans for some time, says that there is no bad gumbo, just some are better than others.

Fort Myers, Final Days

We have had our boat at Bonita Bill's marina since Oct. '11. While here, we have met some great people and made life-long friends. Here are a few pictures to share, as we pack up to move on to points further south. We plan to move on to Marathon on Monday, one stop closer to the Bahamas!

Steve...the harbor master extraordinaire!

Our 'Cheers' for the last 15 months. We'll miss this place!

Starting out on a sunset cruise with John at the helm and Dave relaxing, watching the water go by

One more spectacular sunset!





 

Judy...chilling out



Our great friends,George and Sue... transplanted from St. Louis to Tampa. We met for a beach lunch at Sarasota. So good to see them!

So You Say It's Your Birthday!

Vultures circling....I may be a year older, but I'm not dead yet!

Yes...yesterday I turned another year older (and hopefully a little wiser). I spent the day doing only what I wanted to do.....which did not include cleaning, laundry, scrubbing, cooking, washing dishes...you get the picture. Instead, we went canoeing at one of my favorite places in the world--Lover's Key State Park. We rented a canoe for 4 hours, not noticing how WINDY it was. Off we set, into the mangrove lined river, eager to see manatees and birds and maybe a sunning alligator. After two hours of fighting the wind coming straight at our bow--we decided we had had enough fun for one day!

Captain Barry

Our view during my birthday dinner

Fort Myers Beach

     Time flies! We've already been here for 5 days, and I haven't blogged yet! (Well, I tried yesterday....but I inadvertently erased the entire entry. I'm a little rusty at this.)
     Barry hit the ground running and has been busily working on the boat all week, with the installation of the davits (pulley system for the dinghy) being the biggest accomplishment. We have also started the process of provisioning and organizing the boat. Organizing the boat is painful, as it is not only our living space but also Barry's workshop and garage (so to speak). We negotiate for space--he for duplicate tools and materials ("you never know when we'll need this, Linda") and I for uncluttered living space. So far, we're still married, so I guess it's working out:)

     But we're in Ft Myers Beach....so you know we've also had FUN! Almost every evening, we meet with friends Kathy, John, Judy, and Dave at the "Liar's Club"--a tiki hut at one end of the marina's restaurant/bar. We watch the sunset while boats come and go. Our friends from St. Louis--Lou, Tina and Laura--visited us on Thursday. We sailed to Sanibel--passing a magnificent replica of an 1812 sailing vessel on the way. She is called the Lynx and she's docked across the inlet from our marina. The weather has been perfect....so when I'm not working on the boat, I've taken walks on the beach, done some bird watching,  and I've sat on the deck of the boat with a book in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. Ahhhh....
      There is always something to watch here! While eating lunch yesterday on deck, an osprey decided to do the same thing and landed with a nice-sized fish on the mast next to our boat. We watched as he tore into a fish, still wiggling. I've also witnessed a rescue operation--of a baby macaw! Evidently it got spooked and decided to take a swim (they can't swim) right next to our boat. A friend of the bird's owner jumped in the water and handed the shivering thing to the owner, who promptly placed the bird on his shoulder and walked away, leaving his friend struggling to climb up the ropes and onto the dock.  Everyone survived--and I found out that the bird has pulled this stunt 5 or 6 times. The owner thinks the bird will finally learn his lesson--but I wonder about his bird brain.
   Sorry this is so long.....I'll try to write more frequently in the future, instead of waiting so long! Also...I hope to have more pictures next time. I'm using my iPad now to do the blog, and I am struggling with uploading photos.

A New Year, A New Adventure!

     Happy 2013 to all of our friends and family, near and far! After a wonderful holiday season, we are on our way to Fort Myers Beach--ETA 5pm. We're driving through the Orlando area where it is currently 79 degrees under partly cloudy skies. But enough of that (I don't want to upset my readers in St. Louis, where the high today is 26).
     We spent last weekend at Norm and Barb's lovely beach cottage in Beaumont, NC. Barry worked on Norm's boat engine, while Barb and I rode bikes and explored the town which has homes dating back to the 1700's. While there, Barry found an ad on Craigslist for davits (stainless steel pulley system for hoisting the dinghy) so on our way south, we stopped in New Smryna Beach to take a look. Well, for those of you who know Barry, this will come as no surprise--he now has a new BFF named Hank. We stopped by their home just to look at the davits, and 5 hours later we left with davits in hand, emails exchanged, and memories of a delicious brunch prepared by Hank's girlfriend Bernadette. We meet such interesting people during our travels!