While
we are still keeping notes and log books and expense charts
regularly, the days seems to be blurring into weeks and so on. It's
a good thing we are writing things down, even just for our own
sanity. The hustle and bustle of our first six months was so packed
with adventure we couldn't help but share things with you as often as
possible. Since returning from the Abaco Islands in March the pace
has definitely slowed down. We've been working on finding a happy
medium between hustle bustle and bored silly. We haven't been bored,
but the possibility does exist I guess. Living aboard is not just
fun and games all the time ya know. We have chores and maintenance,
and we still haven't run out of self inflicted home improvement
projects. :0) We also want to keep discovering all those places we
read about.
So,
we left Stuart FL April 9 and SAILED to Lake Worth. With a plan for
just a few days there we of course got busy and ended up staying
almost a week. Jim snorkeled under the boat to scrub off the slim
and growth while I scoured and scrubbed from the water line to the
rail. The water there was very clear which made it so much easier to
see the results of our work. This effort has to be repeated at least
monthly to keep the scum off and to keep the boat moving quickly
through the water. Mission accomplished. In between dives we
explored Peanut Island and found that to be quite nice. We snorkeled
there and even observed a manatee from an observation bridge. We
included some pics from Peanut Island as well as the sites right
around the island. You may find an interesting business endeavor,
too.
Our
next stop was an anchorage in the ICW near Delray Beach, and then on
to Ft. Lauderdale. Lake Sylvia is a popular anchorage there,
especially for all the local boaters in the weekends. See pics of
AQUAJET. It was the craziest, funniest thing we've seen in a long
time. This self contained water propulsion system was hilarious! We
stayed two nights in Ft. Lauderdale before headed further south to
Miami. We SAILED again believe it our not, from inlet to inlet. It
was glorious. We anchored in “marine stadium” for a night and
observed the local crew boats practicing. The young adults were
working very hard. The younger students, not so much. Fun to watch
though. The second night we moved to Dinner Key/Coconut Grove just
to revisit the scene of the original crime (read on). On Thursday
morning (4/19) we sailed in Biscayne Bay, tacking back and forth with
no apparent forward progress. Oh well, for once we didn't care! It didn't
matter where we went or when we got there. Finally!! SAILING!!!!
We arrived at Pumpkin Key about 330p and settled in.
Now, whether it
was just complete exhaustion or if it was the actual calm conditions there, it
was the best night sleep we've both had in a long time. The wind was
calm, the water was flat, and there were no strange noises floating
in through the open hatches. We woke up to the sound of snorts coming
from a pod of porpoise playing around the boat. “Now that's what
I'm talking about!”
The
Pumpkin Key anchorage, and the day before in Miami, mark the moment
of our dream having come full circle (the scene of the original
crime). For those of you that did not know this, Jim and I chartered
a sailboat from Moorings for our honeymoon trip in 2000. We flew to
Miami and remembered Pumpkin Key as a favorite stop on that trip.
The sailing/cruising bug gave us both full blown infections! We've
been working towards getting back here (Pumpkin) ever since. It's
real now. We're really doing this. And we're loving it!!
OK,
enough of that. We're moving through the Florida keys now headed for
Key West and Margaritaville and the Dry Tortuga by the end of the
week (if the thunderstorms subside). Don't forget to check out the
latest batch of pics. We're over 700 now. Might need a back up and/or
another camera card soon!
JLM
S/V
Y-Knot 3
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