After a lot of great food, wine and laughs it was back up to Ft. Lauderdale and more bad news on Kinja's engine -- more parts to order, new problems to be solved--oh, the joy of owning a boat!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Silver Lining
One of the nice things about waiting for the engine to be repaired is that we were able to take some time to drive to Miami and visit with Sue's sister and brother-in-law (Joyce and Michael Kaplan). It is a short 45 minute drive to their place in Deering Bay, just south of Miami. We had a great visit and throughly enjoyed their condo -- very peaceful and relaxing. We felt like we were in a tropical resort.
After a lot of great food, wine and laughs it was back up to Ft. Lauderdale and more bad news on Kinja's engine -- more parts to order, new problems to be solved--oh, the joy of owning a boat!
After a lot of great food, wine and laughs it was back up to Ft. Lauderdale and more bad news on Kinja's engine -- more parts to order, new problems to be solved--oh, the joy of owning a boat!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Done with the Intercostal !
After many passages on the ICW like Dismal Swamp, Alligator River, Mud River, Lockwoods Folly, Cape Fear, Mosquito Lagoon, Haulover Canal and several Hells Gates, we are definitely done with the ICW!!
We rolled into Ft Lauderdale Monday evening Feb. 15th after a long day of passing under 21 drawbridges which all open at different times during the hour. It is impossible to hit them all at the right time... so it makes for a ver-r-r-r-r-y long day.
Of course there is never a dull moment. When we were motoring into the BahiaMar Marina our engine started making some very strange rattling and banging noises. Not good! We got tied up fine and called a mechanic to take a look. Nothing is simple with boats..........
We have been at the BahiaMar for almost two weeks waiting for parts and the repair work to be completed.
There are plenty of huge yachts around here. Some that we saw have over 10,000 square feet of living space.
Kinja at dock
The weather has been off and on and the good news is that we would not have been able to make the crossing to the Bahamas during this last two weeks anyway because of the north winds blowing the Gulf Stream into massive seas. So we have been enjoying Ft. Lauderdale and the surrounding area.
Happy hour is always good...
As soon as the engine is fixed we will head south to Key Biscayne and wait there for the crossing to Bimini.
We rolled into Ft Lauderdale Monday evening Feb. 15th after a long day of passing under 21 drawbridges which all open at different times during the hour. It is impossible to hit them all at the right time... so it makes for a ver-r-r-r-r-y long day.
Of course there is never a dull moment. When we were motoring into the BahiaMar Marina our engine started making some very strange rattling and banging noises. Not good! We got tied up fine and called a mechanic to take a look. Nothing is simple with boats..........
We have been at the BahiaMar for almost two weeks waiting for parts and the repair work to be completed.
There are plenty of huge yachts around here. Some that we saw have over 10,000 square feet of living space.
Kinja at dock
The weather has been off and on and the good news is that we would not have been able to make the crossing to the Bahamas during this last two weeks anyway because of the north winds blowing the Gulf Stream into massive seas. So we have been enjoying Ft. Lauderdale and the surrounding area.
Happy hour is always good...
As soon as the engine is fixed we will head south to Key Biscayne and wait there for the crossing to Bimini.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Bridges
Every day brings a new challenge... that is what sailing is all about. We left Titusville early in the morning on February10th headed to Melbourne. The buzz on the VHF radio was that there was construction on the 528 fixed bridge that was reducing the vertical clearance. All fixed bridges on the ICW are "supposed" to have at least 65 feet of vertical clearance at high tide. We were hearing that the clearance could be anywhere from 50 to 56 feet. Kinja's mast is 55 feet with antenna and other stuff on top of that. After hailing every bridge tender plus the US Coast Guard we could still not get a solid answer about the clearance. We got on the internet and found out that a lot of boats with tall masts were opting to go out of the marked channel and under the east section of the bridge -- risky business! There was no way to know what the vertical clearance was under that section of the bridge or what the water depth would be. We had a choice to make -- do we stay in the channel and hope we make it under without breaking the mast or do we opt to go out of the channel?
We studied the bridge through the binoculars for 30 minutes before we made our decision. There was a hand painted sign on the bridge saying there was only 50 feet of vertical clearance. Outside the channel the east side looked like it had more vertical clearance. On top of all of this the wind was blowing at 25 knots and would be pushing us through the bridge so we did not have the option of going slow or stopping as we went under.
We made the call to go out of the channel and under the east side of the bridge. The depth got as shallow as six and a half feet. Kinja draws almost six feet....so it was close. The vertical clearance was fine.
Needless to say we felt extremely lucky and passed the info on to other boaters who were facing the same situation.
So now... a few shots of the different kinds of lift bridges on the ICW. You call them on the radio and they open up for you to pass under.
Bascule Bridges
Harbor at dawn
We studied the bridge through the binoculars for 30 minutes before we made our decision. There was a hand painted sign on the bridge saying there was only 50 feet of vertical clearance. Outside the channel the east side looked like it had more vertical clearance. On top of all of this the wind was blowing at 25 knots and would be pushing us through the bridge so we did not have the option of going slow or stopping as we went under.
We made the call to go out of the channel and under the east side of the bridge. The depth got as shallow as six and a half feet. Kinja draws almost six feet....so it was close. The vertical clearance was fine.
Needless to say we felt extremely lucky and passed the info on to other boaters who were facing the same situation.
So now... a few shots of the different kinds of lift bridges on the ICW. You call them on the radio and they open up for you to pass under.
Bascule Bridges
Swing Bridge
Harbor at dawn
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
We really enjoyed historic St. Augustine -- but we are still fighting 30-40 knot winds as we leave port. But, the weather does seem to be getting better and better each day.
We had one setback cruising from St. Augustine to New Smyrna Beach --- severe shoaling! We ran aground late in the afternoon and had no choice but to wait for the tide to rise and lift us off the shoal. But even then, we would have to find our way thought the shallow channel. As we waited patiently, a 65 foot power yacht entered the channel and passed us by. Suddenly, the yacht came to an abrupt stop. We thought they had run aground like we had. But, as they backed up, two deck hands rushed onto their deck with lines in hand and signaled to us that and were preparing to toss us a line and pull us off the shoal. What a great and welcome surprise for us!
They maneuvered the yacht with precision and threw us the line. We tied it to the bow of Kinja and signaled we were all set. With not much effort, they pulled us clear of the shoal. We scrambled to cast the line off and before we knew it they were powering up and heading down the channel. So, we powered up and followed them through the narrow channel into deeper water. We did not even have time to really thank them as they disappeared into the horizon. There sure are nice people out there...and we have met our share of them.
Sorry... no pictures of this as it all happened so quickly!
But we do have Sue's a quote of the day....
" Only two sailors, in my experience never ran aground. One never left port and the other was an atrocious liar! ---- Dan Bamford
We had one setback cruising from St. Augustine to New Smyrna Beach --- severe shoaling! We ran aground late in the afternoon and had no choice but to wait for the tide to rise and lift us off the shoal. But even then, we would have to find our way thought the shallow channel. As we waited patiently, a 65 foot power yacht entered the channel and passed us by. Suddenly, the yacht came to an abrupt stop. We thought they had run aground like we had. But, as they backed up, two deck hands rushed onto their deck with lines in hand and signaled to us that and were preparing to toss us a line and pull us off the shoal. What a great and welcome surprise for us!
They maneuvered the yacht with precision and threw us the line. We tied it to the bow of Kinja and signaled we were all set. With not much effort, they pulled us clear of the shoal. We scrambled to cast the line off and before we knew it they were powering up and heading down the channel. So, we powered up and followed them through the narrow channel into deeper water. We did not even have time to really thank them as they disappeared into the horizon. There sure are nice people out there...and we have met our share of them.
Sorry... no pictures of this as it all happened so quickly!
But we do have Sue's a quote of the day....
" Only two sailors, in my experience never ran aground. One never left port and the other was an atrocious liar! ---- Dan Bamford
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Catching up with old friends
One of our favorite things to do is going out to eat and St. Augustine has many fun, unique restaurants with Spanish and Cuban influences.....tapas, live music and vino!!! Our favorite restaurant is The Tasting Room which we got to enjoy with our dear friends Mirte and RV Lee. Our friendship goes back 25+ years. The Lee's were kind enough to put us up for a few nights at their beautiful St. John's River front home outside of Jacksonville. We spent many hours reminiscing about old times and planning new adventurers for the near future. What a great time we had with lots of laughs!
LeeWay at dock
How the heck to you cross the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas ?
Charlie
LeeWay at dock
How the heck to you cross the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas ?
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