Living it up with the rich and famous in Fort Lauderdale

Ok, so we aren't really living it up with the aforementioned, but we are neighbors.  We were in Fort Lauderdale back in February when we were looking for a boat, but this place is so much different when experinced from the water.  There is just so much wealth here it's crazy and it makes on forget we are in a recession.  There is mega yacht after mega yacht, and many even parked in front of their multi-million dollar mansions.  This really is not a place for cheap cruisers like us.  You can't really anchor, if you find a spot there is a 24 hour limit and then they kick you out.  I don't really blame them, if I had a $20M mansion I wouldn't want some riff raff anchored in front of my house for months on end.  So you need to get in a marina, which for our small boat is probably in the neighborhood of $200 night or more.  Luckily there is a tiny little mooring field that is run by the city.  So we can stay here for the bargain rate of $30/day.  It's a great spot for watching all the activity around and to my luck the swimming hall of fame and olympic pool is across the river so I get some laps in everyday.  The beautiful beach is about a 5 minute walk.  I think we will stay another day.

Living it up with the rich and famous in Fort Lauderdale

Ok, so we aren't really living it up with the aforementioned, but we are neighbors.  We were in Fort Lauderdale back in February when we were looking for a boat, but this place is so much different when experinced from the water.  There is just so much wealth here it's crazy and it makes on forget we are in a recession.  There is mega yacht after mega yacht, and many even parked in front of their multi-million dollar mansions.  This really is not a place for cheap cruisers like us.  You can't really anchor, if you find a spot there is a 24 hour limit and then they kick you out.  I don't really blame them, if I had a $20M mansion I wouldn't want some riff raff anchored in front of my house for months on end.  So you need to get in a marina, which for our small boat is probably in the neighborhood of $200 night or more.  Luckily there is a tiny little mooring field that is run by the city.  So we can stay here for the bargain rate of $30/day.  It's a great spot for watching all the activity around and to my luck the swimming hall of fame and olympic pool is across the river so I get some laps in everyday.  The beautiful beach is about a 5 minute walk.  I think we will stay another day.

Warm weather at last!

We are now in Ft Lauderdale, Florida and the weather is very nice for a change.  Temperatures today were near 80 degrees and the water is maybe 72 degrees.   On our way down from Boca Raton we sailed a few miles off shore and fished with out any catching, but Kathy wanted to go for a swim.  I stopped the boat and Kathy went for a swim in the perfect blue waters while I stayed aboard and attended to the boat.

We bought a new fishing pole today in the hopes that our fishing will improve with a pole.  Currently, our "old" fishing reel is bolted to the stern rail sans any pole.  Having recently lost a big Tuna very near the boat because the line chafed (because we didn't have a pole to guide the line) we decided to spend a boat buck and a half for a used rod and reel.  A boat buck is $100 for the uninitiated.

We plan on more day here in Lauderdale before heading to Miami for a week or so where we will take out 100 ton US Coast Guard written exams.

Trip stats CT to FL

Journey from Mystic, Connecticut  to Ft Pierce Florida.

Days total: 22

Days in ICW: 11

Days at sea: 8

Lay days: 3

Distance:  1300nm (1500mi or 2100km)

Maximum speed: 14.8 knots (17mph or 27kph) boat surfing.

Maximum wind: 32 knots (37mph or 59kph)

Water use: 200gal mostly used on hot showers.

Assault on St Augustine

St Augustine's striking waterfront fort Castillo de San Marcos was originally constructed to defend Florida against pirates hunting the Spanish treasure fleets traveling along the Gulf Stream. To this day it is still a formidable opponent to those attempting to gain access to the city of St Augustine. In our case via dinghy. Being a bit cheap we were unwilling to pay $10.60 to tie our dinghy up at the nearby marina just to take an evening stroll through town so planned an assault on the forts sea wall. We almost got more than we bargained for after landing on a small beach and realizing the wall was nearly too tall to scale. I feel for the soldiers who would have been ordered to attack this fortress over the many years it saw service under the Spanish, British and ultimately Americans.

St Augustine is a beautiful city and claims to be the oldest city in America. Regardless of the claim it certainly is a charming city with amazing continuity of architectural design. Flaggler college is located near the city center and it's building are marvelous.

An early morning photo of Fort Castillo de San Marcos



St Augustine Light House



City Hall



Flagler College

Cumberland Island National Seashore visit

Today we had a nice, albeight cold hike around Cumberland Island.

Cumberland Island National Seashore preserves most of Cumberland Island in Georgia, the largest of Georgia's Golden Barrier Sea Isles. The seashore features magnificent and unspoiled beaches and dunes, marshes, and freshwater lakes.  The island abounds with wildlife including about 200 feral horses, Alligators, wild dear, Armadillos and even a few bald eagles.  In addition to the natural features, the seashore includes some historic properties, such as Dungeness Ruins, once the magnificant site of the Carnegie estate along with the first African Baptist Church where John F Kennedy JR was married.  

We had a strong cold front move through yesterday which made for a rocky anchorage and the onslaught of cold weather.  Ughh!  I thought we left winter behind us!  Today it's about 20 degrees cooler than it has been the last few days.   So we bundled up on our hike today and are now looking at the charts for the next place to head to south of here, continuing to find that endless summer that keeps eluding us.

 



A view of the ruins from the backyard



The former grand entrance to the Carnegie estate, Dungeness



Beautiful diverse landcape from marshlands to windblown sand dunes

Cumberland Island National Seashore

Arrival down south

We finally made it to warm weather!  We left Beaufort, NC on Monday morning and sailed nonstop to Southern Georgia.  We anchored last night up the St. Mary's river across from the beautiful little town of St.  Mary's (30°45′23″N 81°34′17″W).  The river is on the border of Georgia and Florida, so depending on which way the boat is swinging we could be in either state.  We had an exhausting passage and after we dropped anchor we took showers, went into town for dinner (we sat in a bar and watched CNN, pretty exciting), then were in bed by 7:30pm for some much needed rest.  

We finally were able to do some warm water fishing along the way and on Tuesday we caught a nice big fish on the line but the line broke just as we were trying to pull it in.  I think it was a tuna.  Really too bad, we haven't caught anything good since we left the south pacific.  

St. Mary's is a quant little town which is the second oldest Spanish colonization in the U.S.  The streets are wide and lined with big oaks covered with Spanish moss.   There are sidewalks everywhere.  We've been having a pretty lazy day so far but plan to go walk some of those sidewalks pretty soon.

Oriental Sunrise

Anchored in Oriental, NC

After a full day sailing and motoring down the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway) we've stopped in Oriental for the night.  We have some cruiser friends we met in the South Pacific Carol & Steve of Red Sky who have a property here in Oriental so it was fun to see it in person after last viewing it in Australia via Google Earth.

The Intracoastal Waterway is a 4,800-km (3,000-mile) waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Some lengths consist of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are man-made canals.

The waterway runs for most of the length of the Eastern Seaboard, from its unofficial northern terminus at the Manasquan River in New Jersey, where it connects with the Atlantic Ocean at the Manasquan Inlet, to Brownsville, Texas.



ICW Swing Bridge opens on demand for boats transiting the Alligator River



Beautiful fall colors make the Dismal Swamp portion of the ICW a real delight.



Our friends, Dave and Judy, aboard s/v Echo lead the way out of the Dismal Swamp.

Dismal Swamp transit

Yes, we just intentionally sailed through the Dismal Swamp. And yes, the Dismal Swamp is really a swamp that covers tens of thousands of acres and is complete with slithering reptiles, bugs and craggy trees. The journey began with a lock that raised us 8 feet above sea level and deposited us in the Dismal Swamp Canal a man made canal over 200 years old making it one of the oldest in America. Originally, built for commerce today the canal is used primarily by recreational boaters who seek to avoid sailing around Cape Hatters with it's vicious seas and unpredictable weather.

We were luck enough to enjoy the beauty of fall in New England and vivid colors of fall… and get out before seeing snow. In last few days we’ve traveled through the coastal waters of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virgina and North Carolina. Again, we are experiencing the changing fall colors as we move further South and are slowly passing up Jack Frost as we race for the warmer climes of the Caribbean.

Arrived to the ICW

Yesterday afternoon, We made it to the Intercoastal Waterway, just south of Norfolk, VA.  Just in time since there is huge storm brewing outside and we were racing to beat it.  It's 35+ knot winds out there and we are very happy to be calmly sitting inside what is locally know as "The Ditch".  We decided to take The Great Dismal Swamp Canal route.  We just came through the locks late yesterday and tied up the boat to the docks.  We were in bed by 7pm, feeling extremely exhausted after our mulitday open ocean passage.

We are rejuvenated this morning and ready to enjoy the beautiful sights of the swamp.  We hope to see some alligators today!