Fort Myers Beach, FL--Home Sweet Home

We're back at our favorite place in Florida--Bonita Bill's marina in Ft Myers Beach. The boat will get to stay here when we fly home on Feb. 20th. (Did you know it is cheaper to fly home than rent a car one way? That includes a $75 fee for Pearl too! To fly with us, she just needs to smell good and be quiet--those are the airline's rules. Well, she smells good.)

In about 10 minutes, I can walk over a bridge to this beach. 

On one of my morning walks, I discovered a mermaid!

On the top of the bridge, overlooking the water, as I head to the beach!

One of the best things about Bonita Bill's is the music! Every night there is live music or karaoke. Jam session on Monday night ROCKS! (And this all takes place 100 yards from our boat)

We took great pleasure in whacking these crab legs. Finally, a little revenge for all of the crab traps we have to avoid when we are sailing. They dot the waterways down here and would wreak havoc with our prop if we caught one of the lines of a trap. (Factual tidbit: Crabbers snap off both of the crab's claws. Scientists found that crabs can survive without them as they regenerate. Wonder what the crabs think about that)

Our wonderful friend and sailing mentor, Georgie, and her granddaughter Lana joined us for an afternoon sail to Sanibel Island. 

It's our Mardi Gras party! With a boat named Mardi Gras, you know we have to cook some gumbo and  share it with our friends. Barry made two batches this year--one with homemade shrimp stock and one with homemade chicken stock. It's amazing what he can cook in our little galley. One of our friends even said Barry's gumbo surpassed the gumbo you might find in New Orleans! Wow!

We are in the final 10 days of our trip this year. We are heading home a bit early because one of my sisters is getting married :) in early March and because the weather has been mostly chilly and windy down here. But the boat is in a good spot and we will return soon to enjoy beautiful Fort Myers Beach. Can't wait to see everyone  back home!

                Moon over the shrimp boats

Misadventures and Homecomings

Ah...where to start? If you read the previous entry, you know we had a 'rough' crossing from Key West (We just heard today that even seasoned, gnarly shrimpers didn't venture out the night we did!! WHAT?!?!)

Adventure #1:

We had tucked into Bahia Honda State Park harbor to avoid the high winds a week or so ago, plowing our way through the 'skinny' entrance. (skinny = shallow) We don't want to live in this harbor, so it's time to go. Barry studies the tide tables and decides that we need to take off at 2:45--when the tide will be at its highest. He and Jerry 'sound' the entrance--using a lead weight on a measured rope to gauge the depth. (He also called TowBoat US, just in case). The picture above shows Jerry and Barry apparently making their way through....

This photo shows Mardi Gras STUCK, kicking up the muddy bottom. In a stroke of genius, Barry asks our new BFFs to rev past us, creating a wake that floated Mardi Gras off the bottom! No need for TowBoat US--not when you have a captain who can think on his feet:)

Adventure #2:

After Jerry and Kak returned home, Barry and I moved the boat to an anchorage off of Key West, that was a short dinghy ride to the downtown area. We anchor the boat and believing that the anchor is well set, we take off for dinner in Key West. It is almost Barry's birthday and we want to have some fun!

Look! It's a chicken! They rule the roost in Key West!

We visited the Butterfly Conservatory in Key West...so beautiful!

Listened to a TERRIFIC bluegrass/cajun band while eating a tasty $5.00 cheeseburger (YES--even in Key West we found a bargain!)

As dusk approaches, we decide (begrudgingly) that it's time to leave the music behind and head back to the boat before it gets dark. When we arrive we find our boat butted up against one of the old, derelict boats found so often in the Keys, on which a hermit lives alone drinking himself to death. (or something)

You see, when anchored in an anchoring field, you expect everyone to put out about 100 feet of anchor line and rope, so that everyone swings together during a tide change. Surprise!! This derelict boat was moored on a 10 foot line so it didn't swing around at all. The hermit (or whoever) had put fenders between our boats, so the damage was minimal. Lesson learned: don't anchor next to derelicts.

Homecomings:

Just before heading to the 'anchorage'  in Key West, we met up with our friends Lori and Russ. We met them last year in the Bahamas--when they were traveling on their catamaran. Now they are traveling in a beautiful motor home and just happened to be nearby. So much fun to relive memories of the Bahamas!

We've landed in one of our favorite places--Bonita Bill's Marina in Fort Myers Beach on the Gulf side of FL. We kept the boat here for a couple of winters before starting our trek around FL to GA. So good to see everyone again, and to be within walking distance of a white sandy beach and a cheap trolley (remember, we have no car!) Making a decision as to where to go next...but enjoying the surroundings!

Til next time...

You Know It's a Rough Passage When...

You know it's a rough passage when...

...the coffee table in the galley flips over, not once but twice. Leave it on its side, and put it out of its misery

...EVERYTHING dives off of the starboard (right) side of the shelves--including the microwave! Latched cabinet doors open by themselves! (I would take a picture, but I can't move)

...Pearl, the sailor cat, needs comforting down below in the bunk. Linda would LOVE to do that...except she would have to go down the steps--which would be like doing doube-dutch jump rope backwards. think about it

...Linda keeps trying to put the wave action into words so landlubbers can understand how it feels to be on a moving ocean. Words like tilt-a-whirl and demonic swing set come to mind.

...Linda insists on putting on the 'good' life jackets, you know the ones that inflate automatically when you hit the water. Oh, if it doesn't inflate, here is a yellow tab to pull. Once it inflates, look--there is a whistle you can blow. Let's see...my husband can't hear high pitches face to face--how the H*** is he going to hear a whistle on the Gulf of Mexico?!?

...Linda also insists on attaching tethers to the life jacket and the life lines on the boat. This way, if one more of those REALLY big waves hits us, we won't be washed out of the boat completely. Linda asks the big question..."Just how far over the side of the boat will I be dangling? And what do I do then?" Oh look.....you pull yet another thing that releases you from the life line. Linda says "I'll be DEAD." To which Barry calmly replies..."You won't be dead."

...Linda remembers telling Kak and Jerry just last week that if something awful happened while she was on the boat...she has had a good life. While staring down bigger than expected waves, Linda has the sudden realization that she does NOT want to be washed overboard, into cold water, wearing 2 pair of pants, boat shoes, 2 shirts, 2 jackets, and a partridge in a pear tree. This is NOT how she wants to go!! (And you thought it was WARM out here in the Gulf...hah)

...For women only: Taking a pee is a matter of first bracing yourself so you can pull down the elastic waisted pants (worn intentionally--do you know how hard it is to unbutton and unzip pants when you are on a rolling boat in a teeny bathroom??) and then positioning oneself over the toilet bowl at just the right spot, during just the right wave action. I am training my bladder to HOLD IT

...Barry keeps suggesting that Linda eat something. Hmmm, crackers sound good. But she can't imagine getting an eating utensil to move successfully into a bowl of HOT food, that keeps moving up and down, side to side. 

...Linda says: "This is the LAST passage I will do." You know it's rough

Travels to Key West

My faithful blog follower, little sis Kathy, begged for a new entry....so I'll tear myself away from the sunshine to do a little writing. A lot has happened in the last 10 days or so. We have been marooned in paradise (specifically Bahia Honda State Park--in the Lower Keys) since Saturday the 24th--due to a northerly wind with gusts up to 30mph. The open water was no place to be...just ask sailor cat Pearl. We were enduring a rolly ride up on deck, but poor Pearl was down below howling for me to save her.

(Pearl...contemplating jumping ship in the days before our open water adventure)

You see, we tried to tell the Captain that his weather resources didn't jive with the posted weather/wave predictions we saw at the fuel dock right before leaving Marathon, FL. The Captain (we call Barry this to make him feel good:) predicted waves of 1/2 meter (20"). The pros at the fuel dock predicted waves of 2-6 feet!! Wait a minute...can we discuss this?? Sure  enough, within a short while we knew we would have to find a protected dock or we would all be sick and beat up. Luckily it was high tide (something we don't think about in St Louis) and we were able to plow our way through the narrow opening to this lovely little harbor. Let's not talk about the smell of batteries burning up or the way the Captain reached for the TowBoat US phone number--we made it. 

Barry and Jerry training to be on the Olympic rowing team.

We have visited several places as we journeyed towards Key West--including Key Largo. While there, we anchored the sailboat and dinghied through the mangroves to another state park, searching for a beach. (Did you know that sandy beaches are few and far between down here in the Keys?) We made the mistake of asking an auxilliary Coast Guard member for directions to the beach, as the GPS was wrong. He promptly asked if we all had life jackets...ummmmm, no. Note to self: even if we are traveling through water that is shallow, always carry life jackets. Speaking of shallow water--upon our return to the sailboat, we encountered very shallow water--meaning the outboard was useless, so Jerry and Barry had to be our gondoliers. Can't understand why they wouldn't sing. 

But we heard some singing in Marathon! This is the Eric Stone Band...world famous to people like Jerry who love island music. Just so happened they were playing at the dockside restaurant we chose to frequent. (Chosen because we could get there easily in our taxi--the dinghy) Great band! Good food! Marathon, FL is a parking lot for 'cruisers' who just want to stay put--not us! Although the marina offers a large laundry facility--in which I learned how to watch and pounce upon open dryers and washers. So many different skill sets to learn....

Another gorgeous sunrise over our anchorage....one of the benefits of being on the water

The above 4 pictures are of Bahia Honda State Park--our home away from home (and wind) for the last four days. Lovely beach; well-stocked gift store and concession stand; nature talks with park rangers; butterflies; manatee momma and twins; walking trails; and more.

A must-see in Key West is Sloppy Joe's--where Hemingway supposedly hung out.

Cheers from Jerry, Kak, and Barry in Sloppy Joe's.

Jerry trying to paste a River Bill (favorite website) bumper sticker on the Duval St sign.

After riding the local bus to Key West one time, we decided to break down and rent a car--so we could travel at our leisure to Key West and beyond. Pictured above is sunset at Mallory Square--where everyone gathers to watch street performers and eventually a spectacular sunset. We spent a couple of afternoons in Key West enjoying shopping, the Mel Fisher Treasure Museum, beautiful architecture, and colorful characters like the guy on a scooter in a top hat and a red velvet coat, with two little dogs perched on his knees. Could I make that up?

Just look at that sky!

Til next time....

Fort Lauderdale south to Miami

Since we last 'talked', we have found the warm weather we were searching for! We are currently in No Name Harbor, south of Miami. This is a state park, complete with walking trails, a protected harbor, a restaurant, a lighthouse, a washer/dryer, pump-out, and miles of beach. The washer/dryer and pump-out (don't ask) are most important for travelers like us--but we're enjoying everything about this place.

Our good friends Jerry and Kak joined us in Fort Lauderdale and will be with us for two weeks as we head toward Key West. They are sleeping in the V-berth--can you say 'close quarters'? But there have been no complaints!

Pearl, the sailor cat, sometimes ventures out on deck to take in the sights--but only if we are moving slowly, like when we were waiting for drawbridges to go up. She is a good little traveler--even without the kitty tranquilizers we used last year.

Backing up a bit, we celebrated my birthday at Jensen Beach--an artsy beach community that is the home to one of our favorite restaurants--Crawdaddy's-- where we can eat and drink on the patio under a massive tree festooned with lights and banners. Luckily, a trio was playing bluesy, cajun music while we ate a dinner of crab cakes--one of my favs!!

Traveling further south, we realized that there is a LOT of money in the Lauderdale/Miami area. Homes sitting on the water, scrunched together, are worth millions!

                                                                  Miami Skyline

On our way to Coconut Grove, we sailed through Key Biscayne and watched several races during which colorful spinnakers were used to boost speed. Upon arriving at Coconut Grove, we picked up a mooring balll--first time for Jerry to co-pilot while Barry loops the line through the top of the mooring ball, all done while the boat is still moving. Teamwork!

Today, Jerry and Barry are doing some repair work on the boat while Kak and I do laundry and take a walk. The beach is a short walk away, so hopefully we'll head there this afternoon to 'unlax' as Jerry says. See example below! Stay tuned....

Southward Bound 2015

Baby, it's cold down here. I'm talking 5 layers of clothes and 2 pr of socks cold. (I know...St Louis is FRIGID right now. I'll stop whining....but can someone mail gloves and long underwear please?) We left St Simon Island, GA on Mon. Jan. 5th and are slowly making it down the east coast of Florida to pick up our friends Jerry and Kak in Ft Lauderdale. That's a 300 mile trip....no biggie, right? In a car, that takes about 5 hours. In a sailboat, it will take 6 DAYS--traveling an average of 8 hours a day. Did I mention,it's cold and windy?

After a rollicking, practically sleepless night on the ocean, we dragged our tired selves into a charming marina just south of Daytona Beach. High winds were predicted, so we wanted to be tied into a dock for the night. Lucky for me, there were nature trails and lovely residential streets to roam while Barry did what he likes best--work on the boat! 

Because the waves on the ocean were predicted to be 10 footers, we stayed on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) in FL--protected waters that run parallel to the ocean, providing a safe place to boat. Most bridges are high enough for our 55ft mast, but sometimes we get to stop traffic in order to go through a drawbridge. Just past this bridge, we found a small, protected cove with a fishing dock to tie up to. Manatee greeted us as we came in just before dark. 

We've been entertained by dolphin, diving pelicans, wayward crab pots, unexpected groundings in the channel, nesting osprey, starry nights, a delicious shrimp pasta prima vera in our galley, pine islands, and hot showers after a day on the water in 30 mph winds with temperatures in the 40s. Stay tuned...

So you are thinking of buying a cruising boat.

This entry is intended to satisfy the curious who are interested in going cruising. 
This is Barry writing today but don't run away as Linda will return very soon. I want to talk about where we have been with Mardi Gras and where we had planned to go as well as report how we have enjoyed owning a cruising sailboat so far from our home.

For the last 30 years I have had the dream of one day sailing away to a tropical paradise. Family, work and mortgages postponed my dream until I retired. Linda had some trepidation as I was shopping for and ultimately buying our fixer upper sailboat but she is adventurous and has been a fully involved partner in our cruising life. Just reading her entries in this blog will show how she has enjoyed the journey. 

I shopped for a year before buying this one. I had a of couple bad experiences with boat brokers. One lured me to Rhode Island with a promise that a certain boat could be bought for a particular price just to find that the owner actually wanted twice what the broker said. The broker thought if he brought an offer the owner might sell. My airfare and expenses were over $1000. Another broker that we had an appointment with in Miami cancelled at the last moment because he had what he thought was a sure sale with another client on a different boat. That appointment had been set long in advance. He also told me that he wasn't that interested in selling a boat for less than 40k which was what the boat that I was interested in was selling for. 
Anyway we bought our boat directly from the owner. 
Don had owned the boat for 10 years and had never sailed it. He bought it in Fort Lauderdale, trucked it to Pensacola and let it sit on the hard for 7 years. At that point he hired the marina to clean the green water out, and start an expensive overhaul. The repairs cost a lot and the workmanship was sometimes questionable. He lived in Nashville and had a job that left him little spare time. Just like many other boat owners, his decision to buy a boat was a mistake. In every marina that I have been in you can walk through and see sadly neglected boats. Often some of the well maintained boats seldom see their owners but rather just see marina personnel keeping them clean. It is a strange phenomenon.  

I'll try to make this brief. 
We bought the boat in Pensacola FL in May 2010. It had new paint, propshaft and prop a running Diesel engine ragged out sails with new standing and running rigging. The interior was basically disassembled. 
I worked on it for most of a month to get it ready to cruise. I added a generator, bought sails, cleaned, and polished and finally brought Linda down to see our dreamboat. Linda put her touch into the galley and our cabin and we started to use the boat. Pensacola has a lot to offer and we really enjoyed it. 
Our long range plan was to move the boat to different marinas along the coast of Florida and to travel back and forth from our home in St Louis using our boat as our movable residence. 
I have the belief that you have to be careful to not scare your mate in bad weather or with daredevil maneuvers so that she will not be scared away from cruising. So I assembled a crew of friends to help me cross the Gulf to Tarpon Springs, Florida. SInce that time in November 2010, Linda and I have been through some rather tough crossings with big waves and have learned that not all crossings are smooth but if the boat is ok, it can handle it. It may be a little uncomfortable but we know we will be ok.
We traveled 300 miles in 50 hours and successfully arrived at Anclote Harbor Marina in Tarpon Springs. Six months later we moved to Tampa. Then we spent a year in Ft Myers Beach and liked it so much that we will probably return to Bonita Bills Marina in the near future. While in Ft Myers, we also explored as far as Marathon, Key West and Dry Tortugas. 
In January 2013 we left Ft Myers and went to Miami to get ready to make the big jump to the Bahamas. It's not really that big; just a 13 hour run in daylight to Bimini where we had our first customs and immigration experience. We spent 2 months and had a great time. Friends flew in to Nassau and they stayed with us for two weeks. The water is so clear, and the fish are so colorful! We met wonderful people who were cruising as we were and made some great friends. When we returned to Florida, we sailed from Bullock Harbor in the Berry Islands directly to West Palm Beach and checked into customs there. We had researched marinas and had decided to go to Loggerhead Marina in Stuart FL where we kept the boat for the next year. We traveled back to the boat when we could and continued to work on her, make improvements, take care of needed maintenance but always enjoy her.
In January 2014 we left Stuart and traveled back to the Bahamas again going as far south as Georgetown. We spent nearly 3 months this year and really enjoyed our time there. We returned to Stuart and left the boat there for one month before I returned and moved the boat north to Jekyll Island GA as we continued our plan of exploring other areas. We have since moved another few miles to St Simone Island.
That brings us to today as we are leaving in the morning to spend a few days on our Mardi Gras. Thanks for reading. Email me if you have any questions as like any other sailor, I love to talk about our our boat. Barry