Final Post For 2013

 Susan and I drove to Ft. Lauderdale and spent the day with our friends, Don and Rosemarie. They have lived in Ft. Lauderdale for over 30 years after moving from Denver.  They were wonderful hosts.  We had a terrific bike tour of Ft. Lauderdale.  It is a great way to see a city that has over 300 miles of canals.

Peter flew into Ft. Lauderdale as Susan flew to Savannah for a girls' trip to explore the city and catch up with college roommates.

Pete and I drove to Chez Gilbert where the boat was docked.  Our first order of business

was breakfast at the local Waffle House.

We then sailed from Key Largo south to Shell Key where we dropped the anchor for the night after a delightful 6 hour's sail.  Enjoyed a swim in turquoise waters. 

After navigating for a good part of the day, Pete grilled steaks on the poop deck.

The next day, the crew of the mighty Gratitude sailed another 6 hours to Vaca Key and the beautiful

Marathon Marina and Boat Yard.  Hot weather and high humidity dictated a swim.

We launched our dinghy, the not-so-mighty Attitude.  It was a fun ride in Boot Key Harbour to yet another tiki bar for lunch.  When we arrived, we realized we had both forgotten shoes.  So back to the mother ship for shoes.  'Castaways' has 32 beers on tap, good food, and a solid, colorful local following.  They offer a shuttle service via golf cart to the surrounding trailer park.

Pete's water taxi service is top rate!  

Susan returned to Ft. Lauderdale after 3 days of frolicking in Savannah with college roommates. 

She picked up Jamie at the airport and, after a quick stop at Wendy's, drove down to Marathon.  We had a wonderful 65th birthday dinner for an old guy from Colorado.

Black and white kitty helps staff with clean up after dinner.

The next morning we sailed three hours south to Bahia Honda Key.

Bahia Honda has a state park with beautiful white beaches.  While you many people think there are an endless choice of white sand beaches in the keys, such is not the case.  Most shoreline is mangrove swamp, a habitat for birds, iguanas and lots of other critters.

In the background is the old railroad bridge that Henry Flagler built around 1910.  The railroad went all the way to Key West but was wiped out during the hurricane of '37.  In the 1950s it was converted to a highway using the old rails as guard rails.  Most bridges have been replaced with modern bridges, but remnants of the old railroad bridges are in evidence all up and down the keys.

We reluctantly let Peter and Jamie head for home in NYC.  Susan and I rented a small condo in Marathon for a week that we would use as command center to sort, wash, and organize gear for the next season.  It turned out to be an air-conditioned oasis after 90 degree days of boat chores.  While the Grat has a very efficient heater, it does not have a/c.

The Chiki Tiki is a good place for a lunch break. Or happy hour.  While exploring for tiki bars in our dinghy, we roamed around the many moorings in Boot Key Harbour.  Much to our delight, we came upon the sailboat Anam Cara and friends Franci and Mike from Chicago.  We first met them two years ago in Norfolk and later in Oriental, NC.  We had lost contact so it wonderful to reconnect and spend some time with them and other sailors over drinks and pot-luck dinners.

View of entrance to Boot Key Harbour from the Chiki.

We had our first invited four-legged visitor aboard Gratitude courtesy of cruising friends from Arizona.  They warned us that the very friendly Sami (short for Samantha) was like a slinky.  We were very relieved that the visit did not end with an impromptu swimming lesson for Sami the Friendly Ferret.

After decommissioning Gratitude for the season, we pulled her out of the water in Marathon, a sad day.  

 After a meandering journey of over 3,000 nautical miles from Summerside, PEI, Canada over the last 6 years, it was time to once again put her up on the hard for another season.

We will miss the keys until Gratitude is splashed again in January.

Thanks to all who have followed the adventures of the 
Mighty Gratitude.

We left Coconut Grove and headed southeast across Biscayne Bay to anchor for the night.  Halfway across the bay, we encountered a massive thunderstorm so we dropped anchor and hunkered down for an hour or so and headed back to Coconut.  The next day we had a lovely sail to a beautiful anchorage in Biscayne Bay.  The water there is wonderfully clear and great for swimming.  The lights of Miami on the horizon make for a fun backdrop.

Our next stop was at Gilbert's Resort and Marina on Key Largo.  If you ever watched the movie, Airplane,  you know the disco scene in the tropical dive bar.  This could have been filmed at Gilbert's Tiki Bar with no stand-ins needed.  It is a 1950's era joint that is a must stop for anyone transiting the keys.

All the Cool Cats hang out at Gilbert's.

Fortunately, most of the patrons were fairly well behaved with one notable exception.  After consuming a couple of beers and 90% of his burger basket, one gentleman complained that his burger was overcooked. He refused to pay and, as the bartenders, waitresses, and security guy were conferring, he slipped off to his derelict sailboat (no mast) and shoved off the dock.  As the above Gilbert's employees were assembled on the dock shaking their fists at the guy, he calmly dropped anchor about 40 yards off the dock.

We met our friends in Ft. Pierce which is a busy port with a direct outlet to the Atlantic.  We anchored next to our friends and we all went in their dinghy to a nice waterside seafood restaurant.  It was fun to catch up with Bruce and Esther whom we have not seen in 6 year.

We left the boat in Palm Beach Gardens just north of Palm Beach for 5 days while we flew from West Palm to Boston to celebrate Thelma's (Susan's mom) 90th birthday.  It was lots of fun and the party was a great success.  Peter and Jamie drove from NYC to be there in their new Audi convertible.  

The next night we anchored in Boca Lake, which is a very pleasant anchorage in Boca Raton, after a run on the ICW and 14 draw bridges, most of which only open at certain times.  Very well protected and fun to see all of the high rise lights and lovely homes around us.  

After Boca, another day on the ICW and 10 more lift bridges.  Enough of this!  Our next stop was in Ft. Lauderdale where we stopped for a couple of nights at a great marina.  Lauderdale is the busiest waterway we have been on, bar none. Everything from jet skis to mega yachts to fishermen to cruise ships all converge in the center of Ft. Lauderdale, along with partying college kids on spring break.  Over 300 miles of canals form the waterways of Ft. L.  It is truly an exciting place to be boating.  We stayed with our old friends Don and Rosemarie McCoy for 2 nights and had a terrific time between having fun with them and hanging out at the marina.

Pool at the marina - nice!

Lots of families enjoying Spring Break and a few raggedy sailors thrown in the mix.

Our friends Don and Rosemarie after helping us off the dock as we left Ft. Lauderdale.

Yesterday was a 6-hour fun sail about a mile off the coast due south from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami, 10 to 16 knots of wind on our beam.  So nice to turn off the engine.  Came into the Port of Miami inlet (Government Cut) dodging cruise ships and tankers on their way out.  Going in and out of any inlets to and from protected water is absolutely crazy.  You had better hang on with both hands for about 10 minutes or so as you pass through these chasms of giant waves, heavy traffic, and strong currents.  If there is something that has not been secured on the boat, you will immediately find out as it get flung about the cabin.  From Miami we followed the ICW to the Coconut Grove Sailing Club where we picked up a mooring for last night and tonight (Easter Sunday).  They claim to be the friendliest club on Biscayne Bay and they have certainly lived up to that claim.  A very active sailing club without the pretentiousness is always a joy.

Greetings to all.  The mighty Gratitude is off the hard and back in the water.  She fared well in Savannah resulting in no needed repairs.  Just a good cleaning.  We spent a few frosty days in Savannah checking all the systems and provisioning the boat.  Headquartered at a nearby Marriott Courtyard as we combined work with some sightseeing.

By chance, we discovered that the 8th Air Force was started in Savannah and is still headquartered there.  It is of interest because Susan's dad was with the 8th in WWII, stationed in England, and flew B-24s over Germany.  We found records of his duty and his name on a plaque on a memorial wall.  Very moving.


As we prepped to head south, we met a great couple on a 43 foot sailboat also getting ready to go south.  Bjorn is originally from Germany, now a Canadian citizen, and Kat is from Upstate NY and NYC.  We decided to sail together on the 27 hour outside run to St. Augustine, Fl.  This avoids shallow and windy ICW in southern Georgia.

They took this pic of us as we worked our way offshore.  We were very glad to sail with them as it was quite rough (big waves on our beam) and it gets pretty dark and lonely out there in the middle of the night.  Also, our chart plotter/GPS stopped working in the middle of the night.  Maintained visual contact at all times and radio contact on the hour.

 

We stayed several days with Bjorn and Kat and toured St. Augustine.  It is a the oldest city in the United States.  Founded in 1565 by Spain.  Great cafes, shops, historical sights, etc.

                                                       Relaxing with our new pals.


Went down the ICW to Daytona Beach and anchored for the night,  then the next day we continued to Cape Canaveral area.  Now navigating by IPad - yes there is truly an app for everything.  Too bad there wasn't a launch - would have had a bird's eye view from our anchorage.  Now navigating by IPad - yes, there is truly an app for everything.  Only $29.95 for charts of the entire US east coast, full color, touch screen access to current info on hazard, anchorage, marinas, etc.

Stopped for a couple of days at Cocoa Village, then proceeded to Vero Beach (on a mooring) and today re-connected with friends from Canada with whom we had sailed years ago  and will have dinner with them tonight in Ft. Pierce.  Next stop in Palm Beach where we catch a flight to Boston to celebrate Susan's mom's 90th.

                                                          Breezy bird.  Nice legs.