More from Florida

I found a Hamburger Bean on the beach- this means great luck!

 When we first started sailing and meeting other cruisers, one piece of advice kept being repeated regarding having visitors on board while voyaging: boat guests can chose the date or the place to visit, but not both.

Now that we have some experience, we understand the logic behind this cruiser's rule - it allows for a little more flexibility. Cruising on a schedule is very difficult because there are so many variables that can affect timing. Pinpointing where we'll be in four days is hard, let alone four weeks. We live by the marine weather forecast more so than the calendar.

Suggesting the place to meet can be tricky as well since we're often cruising in places we've never been before. We don't know if it will live up to a visitor's idea of a good vacation spot. And contrary to popular opinion, the boat isn't like the Lotto 649 commercial portrays it. I'm always worried visitors won't get what they bargained for once onboard. Will they be able to sleep? Will they be scared, sick, bored? This isn't to say we don't like guests, but this type of travel isn't a resort-type vacation where everything is predictable. It's an adventure which requires a lot of flexibility and an open mind from anyone who participates.

My mother is a great guest because she understands all this; she comes with an adventurous spirit and no set expectations. She was ready with her answer when I asked "do you want to chose the date or the place?" She wanted to see the Florida Keys so we invited her to join us in Miami for Christmas and we would sail the keys together.

In November we realized we were a month ahead of 'schedule'. I asked her again: the date or the place? She stuck with the Keys so we changed the date to meet on November 23rd in Miami. A week before her arrival, we knew we wouldn't make it to Miami in time so if she wanted to keep the date, we'd have to change the meeting place to Fort Lauderdale. Did I mention how meeting up requires flexibility?

Even after her arrival, the daily plan was often tweaked as new opportunities arose - and everything turned out to be so fantastic! She absolutely loved her time on board. We sailed offshore from Fort Lauderdale to Miami and spent a little time in Coconut Grove. We had heavenly days anchored in No Name Harbor, Key Biscayne, which was our home base for most of her trip. We ended up seeing the Keys on a road trip with a rental car, focusing our time in Key West. 

A happy birthday for mom in Fort Lauderdale.

An anchorage with an amazing view of the Miami skyline. 
Surreal spot to spend the night.

South Beach, Miami - art deco scene.

 

We are now Key Lime Pie true connoisseurs!

Giving Dave a ride to shore.  No Name Harbor.

 

She was very lucky with the weather. It didn't rain. It was hot and gorgeous and just windy enough to keep the no-see-ums away (most of the time). We celebrated her birthday. We had some seriously delicious meals onboard, if I do say so myself, as well as some amazing meals in restaurants. She got to see a lot of wildlife including dolphins and a manatee up close. 

She endured one rolly night in an exposed anchorage. The wind picked up more than we expected, causing the boat to bounce heavily in the waves. The motion woke Dave and I at 3am. "I wonder if she's awake" I whispered to Dave. "Well if we're awake, she probably is too" he said. I went to the main cabin to check on her and woke her up in the process. Oops! I can't believe she had been sleeping through it!

She was fine with the nighttime dinghy rides as well, which can border on scary when it's pitch black out and wavy. We knew the three of us would fit however, since our dinghy capacity was put to the test with the one-legged veteran and his duffel bag in Georgia.

Highway 1 through the Florida Keys is littered with mountains of debris resulting from hurricane Irma. The pickup period ended in October but people are still in cleanup mode, piling trash on the roadsides. Authorities are arguing that this can't go on forever and are threatening to fine people who dump but the reality is, they're going to have to bring back crews and trucks to deal with the piles.

Ernest Hemingway's house in Key West.

End of the road!  Mile Zero - Key West.

A lot going on in the hotel parking lot!  Key Largo.

We were very pleased with Key West - a fun place that I would go back to visit again any time. An unexpected surprise was the neighbourbood of Wynwood near Miami that we visited since we had extra time with the rental car. Wowza! This area is being revitalized with a strong focus on street art that is really impressive. 

My mom tried to order the mozzarella advertised on the wall.
The waiter told her "That's art.  You can't order the art."

Wynwood Walls. 

Is it Christmas yet? For us, the only reminder that Tis' the Season is the music we hear in the shops around town. Once in awhile a friend from home will text that it snowed and I think 'Oh that's right...it's winter there now". During our time in No Name Harbor, however, we were invited to a Full Moon Party at the Cape Florida Lighthouse which had a Christmas theme. We walked into a world of contrasts: there was a blizzard of soap suds (along with a warm breeze), Christmas trees (among the palm trees) and Christmas lights (and tiki torches). 

Full Moon Party - Cape Florida Lighthouse.

 

I'm okay with it snowing soapy suds!

When our holiday time with my mother came to an end, she reluctantly returned to Canada, and Dave and I tackled our next big task: provisioning for Cuba! We're getting ready for the next chapter and it's pretty exciting...

Touring Stiltsville off Cape Florida.

A happy sailor!

Northern Florida

After the brutal hurricane season that just ended, I'd wager that dock building and boat salvaging businesses in Florida are finding themselves very busy. We've seen so many twisted docks with portions missing and wrecked boats left for dead - it's a sad sight to behold but clean-up efforts are underway to rid the waters of these bad relics. 

The bow of a boat protrudes out of the water.

 

Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove has a whole parking lot repurposed as a temporary boat graveyard. We stayed for a few days in the mooring field. We wanted to refill our water tank and were told to wait while they found us an appropriate dock to tie up to. I commented that plenty of them looked available for this quick task, but we were informed that many of the docks that seem free, are in fact occupied by a sunken vessel that lies just below the waterline. Yikes - good to know!

Dinner Key Marina boat graveyard.

Dinner Key Marina had 137 boats sink courtesy of Irma; 50 of them were in the marina and the rest in the mooring fields. Damage seems inflicted so randomly - one boat can be battered to its demise while another next to it can get through without a scratch. Bella is a beautiful example of a boat that survived unscathed. She's a brand new 2018, 43 foot Tartan that we were anchored close to in No Name Harbor, Key Biscayne. The couple who live aboard bought her only two months before Irma hit. They tucked her in an anchorage and hoped for the best. She came out as perfect as she went in while the boat anchored just behind her sank. I have just a little bit of boat envy for Bella. She's a beauty! 

A tug with barge full of wrecked boats.

 

At least the boat's okay...but how to you get to it?

My only shot of Bella, leaving No Name Harbor.

Another common sight for us now that we're in Florida - which is much more pleasant to see - are the manatees! Posted signs say manatee season is May 1st to September 7th but no one told them that. It's the end of November and the big galoots are everywhere; we kept our eyes open for the telltale bubbles and the hump of a back - always ready to slow down or turn to avoid them. Unfortunately, the scars on their backs and tails reveal that collisions aren't always prevented. In No Name Harbor, there was a huge one munching weeds off the harbour wall and we got a great look at the massive sea-cow.

Cruising Florida has been great, especially since a current has been flowing with us for the last three days, speeding us up for short day passages and leaving afternoons free for visiting ashore. There's so much wildlife to observe, including an alligator sighting which we've never had from the boat before. We thought it was a manatee until it looked too bumpy to be that.

Since the American Thanksgiving holiday weekend was approaching, the perfectly sheltered mooring field at Vero Beach was quite full. To make the best use of space, we were directed to a mooring ball that already had two other boats on it. They say 'three's a crowd' but we had great neighbours and it was fun to chat with them in the evening and pet their boat cat named Blue (who can be seen on deck at night thanks to the blue light attached to his collar). Vero Beach is a good full service marina so we got laundry done, topped up on fuel, did our chores. We also made time to go to the beach. It's really like summer here with lush vegetation and warm water to swim in. Wonderful!

S/V Kianda, First Love and Jule III in Vero Beach.

These three are on the ball!

Walking to the beach in Vero!

We did a day sail on the ocean to get to Fort Lauderdale - in part to avoid the slew of bridges on the ICW and also because we were starting to miss it! It was a great day for a sail and we stopped the boat 3 miles offshore for a quick dip, which is a favourite thing to do when possible on passage. We're now in place in Lake Sylvia, ready for the arrival of a very special guest - my mom is coming to visit. 

If you can't decide between a sailboat and a motor boat, just do
what this guy did: get both, plus your own ship to carry them on!

I can't see this one making it through another storm.

Manatee tail with a notch cut out of it, likely from a boat prop.

Alligator!

So slow he's got moss growing on him.

No moss on this guy!

Perfect sail to Fort Lauderdale!

Dave setting the spinnaker.

 

Georgia!

It was a 24hr sail to get from Charleston, South Carolina to St. Simons Island, Georgia - a trip that would take only 3 hours by car. But getting from point A to B in the fastest and easiest way possible is not in the spirit of adventuring, now is it! It isn't the destination but the journey that matters most - as the saying goes. Time passes differently on the boat; the scenery drifts by slowly yet the hours quickly. We lose focus on the future as the present is so striking. There's infinite opportunity for life experience (some of it good, some of it less good...) I'm not a huge fan of the overnighters at sea, but I can't deny there's a quality to the time spent on the ocean that is absolutely in no way comparable to driving a car on a highway to get somewhere fast, down the road. (But would I take a boat that can do a couple knots better? Yes, yes I would.)

On this particular passage, once we were away from land and on the open sea, the wind was favourable as forecasted with the predicted wave action (it's never a given that reality will match the marine forecast). I'd agreed to the overnight passage; that this weather window was acceptable. But then, facing those rollers, I thought: 'we won't be able to sleep in this' and 'can my stomach hold tight for the journey?' Rough seas don't automatically mean I'll be sick, and calm seas don't mean I won't be. It depends. As they say: the only cure for seasickness is to sit under a tree. So the ticket is prevention and I try to avoid the known seasickness triggers. And... I'm happy to report there was no issue at all, even with the larger seas because the motion just wasn't a disagreeable one to me.

We sailed whole day and much of the night before adding the motor at low RPMs to help when the wind died down. A full moon brightened the sky and even when it clouded over it was still light grey enough to see our surroundings. Complete blackness at sea isn't my cup of tea; an Earl Grey is much preferable. Around midnight we were both up, each with earphones on, Dave listening to a podcast and me to music. I don't know why we'd never done this before! Turning my mind over to music during the 'harder hours' made it so much better! I'll do this every time from now on. 

Sunset at sea.

The welcoming committee upon entering the channel.

When we arrived to Georgia it was...so...hot! And beautiful! We both liked it right away.

St. Simons Island has been named the best place to retire by Money Magazine. While sitting on a bench outside the ice cream shop, we chatted with some real-life retirees who backed up the claim. They love it here. One couple had been vacationing in St. Simons for years and when came the time to retire, they knew it was the place to settle down.

One older man was amazed by the story of our year of adventure. "I read about people like you in magazines!" he said (as any sailing magazine will reveal, there are thousands of people like us doing this, and much greater pursuits by far!) His parting advice to us was: "do it while you're young". As I watched him - so jovial and energetic, with his ice cream in hand matching his pink polo shirt and a little dog under his arm, the golden years don't look too bad either. No one ever said getting old is fun but we're meeting so many older people seeming to thrive. It's inspiring. He also told us where to go for the best 'hot cakes' in town and precisely how to order them. We went and he wasn't wrong!

We anchored off St. Simons in a creek near a park with a dock. From there we could easily bike to town. One evening we picked up a rental car, put the bikes in the trunk and left it all in the park parking lot for a road trip to Savannah the next day. 

The moment you hope the published bridge height is accurate.

Creek near St. Simons, Georgia.

As we were dinghying to the dock in the morning, a man on the only other boat in the creek waved us over. He had no dinghy and wanted a ride to shore. We said 'sure' but were both thinking this could be a bad idea... Our dinghy is 8 feet long (i.e. small) and we had bags on board for our road trip. Dave, unsuccessful in sounding confident, said "the dinghy is rated for three people." "We're gonna find out!" said the man, as he tossed us a big duffel bag that landed with a thud. The large man got onto his boat ladder, swinging over his prosthetic leg for Dave to secure while he set himself in the dinghy. We made it to shore but it was all Peli could take. None of us moved for fear of rocking the boat - holding our uncomfortable poses like yoga. When we arrived to the dock to told us that if he were to go over, he'd "sink like a stone". Glad it didn't come to that.

Savannah is another jewel of a city with much to offer for a fun visit - a great way to kill some time while awaiting our visitors. When Remembrance Day weekend came, we skipped over from the creek near St. Simons Island to a marina in Brunswick, to greet Jan and Maxwell! We met the two of them while cruising in Bahamas five years ago when they were taking time off to live aboard as well. A great bond formed and we've met up somewhere every year since. These crazy kids drove from their current home in Mississippi to come and hang out with us for a few days, since we were only a 7hr drive away! 

Have a great time at The Bee Co. mead tasting. Savannah.

Forsyth Park, Savannah.

Savannah, Georgia.

The good times rolled with our buddies, as we knew they would! The best was hanging out on Jekyll Island, St. Simons Island, and on the boat itself at the marina in Brunswick (so basically 'the best' was all our time spent with them!) The marina offers social hours with free wine and beer for all its guests so we stopped by. We were the youngest there by about twenty years. These cruisers form a tight community. They're free as the wind to come and go as they please. If you ask them their cruising plans, they can't really tell you beyond winter because the plan will change with the tide. It's motivating to see these fun-loving, adventure-seeking, cheap wine-drinking old salts continue to do what they love. Hopefully there's some of that well into the distant future for all of us!

Happy reunion!

Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island

Mother Nature goes gothic on this beach.
Extra beautiful on this grey, blustery day.

I'm posting this next picture of Jen and Maxwell so that A) you can see how adorable they are and B) it's the only picture I have with motor vessel Wabi Sabi in the background. One afternoon while Dave was doing maintenance in the cockpit and I was napping in the forward cabin, Wabi Sabi went berserk! We don't know the cause of the trouble but he gunned it toward our boat, then in reverse, then peeled out of his slip. Dave ran to fend him off Kianda. Running on deck means something is wrong and the sound awoke me immediately with such a jolt, I knocked my head on the cabin bulkhead with full force; I saw stars. Wabi Sabi ended up hitting our ladder then pulling out an electric cable from the dock he backed into. Accidents happen, control can be lost; we all know this. How you handle the aftermath is important and obviously you have to own up to it. I couldn't believe that the captain left without coming over to talk to us! He just...took off! If we run into him down the road, I'll have to tell him that there was no damage to our boat, in case he's curious. The egg on my temple was tender for 4 days from the hit to the wall though.

Jen & Maxwell sit, while Wabi Sabi lurks...

When Jen and Maxwell left Brunswick, we did too. We moved to another creek where we installed our new satellite communication system (for Cuba!) for the better part of three not-so-fun days. It was cold, the wind blew like stink and we had to work! Once it was done, we were eager to make our way across the Florida border. There were two ways to do this: go through St. Andrew Sound with its huge waves, or take an alternate route through shallow creeks. The tide was rising (7ft tides in this region!) so the creek seemed a viable option until we got into it and decided to abort when we only had a few inches of water under our keel and daylight running against us. It was so windy and we didn't want to get caught here in the dark. We turned away from the creek and toward the ocean of St. Andrew Sound. The waves were monstrous but we knew we only had to 'turn the corner' - we would have to plough into them for a short time, round a buoy, and then we would run with the waves back into sheltered water. Just 'out and back in'. So we went for it.

Stuffing wires into a pole.
Some days you gotta pay so that other days you get to play!

We took on some of the largest waves we've ever experienced. I had the helm the whole time because it's the best place for me in wicked waves. Kianda would climb up the waves and then free fall into the trough. A few times my feet came clear off the cockpit floor as we dropped off the crest of waves. To say we held on tight is an understatement. So much for our freshly washed foul weather gear! We were soaked with salt water spray within seconds. I kept saying "almost there!" It lasted 35 minutes and thankfully no longer. Once in calm water again, I went down below to assess the cabin. I had stored everything away but whatever could get loose did and there were cushions thrown about, an open drawer, a mug that got away and landed in a box, unbroken. Most surprising was that the force of impact into the waves was such that it pulled the wood trim from walls of the head! Nails expelled from the walls! Dave said he's been on a Coast Guard vessel when the waves were so rough the trim came off as well. I didn't realize that was a thing.

This way was too risky as we couldn't find deep enough water.
So we turned to the insanity that was St. Andrew Sound...

Dave in the calm after the waves!

We didn't regret the decision to go for it though; it was a calculated step. When you're prepared for madness it's more easily taken than when surprised. The conditions were the same the next morning so we were happy to have that part over and done with. I fixed the trim and we were no worse for wear. It was smooth sailing the ICW into Florida. Hello Sunshine State!