WORK, WORK, WORK,,,, AND THEN FUN

January had been our month of working off the 'honey do' lists. As we were travelling down the coast we had kept a list of things we'd like to fix or tend to for when we're stopped for a period of time.We normally carry out a routine clean and check on the Summer Wind. Well we settled onto our slip in Fort Lauderdale and Rudy our landlord joyfully welcomed us back. We wasted very little time to begin our check list

removed Christmas decorations from the Summer Wind
scrubbed and washed down the decks
scrubbed our ICW moustache off
scrubbed and cleaned the entire dinghy
sent our GPS back to the factory for repair
ordered new side vinyls for the bridge and roll up sunshades for the sundeck
repaired our 2 tachometers
replaced the lines off our fenders and returned two in for warranty exchange checked all dock lines for frays including the spares and repaired (cut off fray)
had a mechanic do a 3000 hour maintenance on the main engine, including, injectors, valve adjustments and gaskets, heat exchanger, transmission cooler, flushing and replacing anti-freeze, install new impellers
replaced faulty radiator pressure cap
changed oil and filters on the main engine and generator
replaced two cracked water exhaust hoses on the generator
replaced the pressure switch on the fresh water pump
replaced the check valve on the raw water pump
fixed our temperature gauge on the air conditioning system in the captain's state room , installed a new temperature sensor, then realized it really wasn't faulty (changed it from metric back to standard
had the air conditioning guy look at our main salon system, needed freon
ordered new electrical cables
cleaned the engine and the bilge
cleaned the shower sump

Whew!!!! Are you tired yet? Not everything was complete on our long list, that would just have to wait for our next long stop in February. The month of January had not all been work, we enjoyed a wonderful production of the Phantom of the Opera. There were also many opportunities to catch up with many friends and family for dinner. Thanks to all, Craig & Katherine for helping us to surprise Stuart and Barbara. Thanks Naomi, we had a wonderful afternoon together. Sheila, Way to go Happy 70Th! Harvey& Roz great catching up! Sam and Barbara, thanks for driving down from Naples to come see us


Our friends Mark and Marcia brought their family, Rebecca, Jen, Dustin and Marcia's parents Edith and Marty , for a visit to the Summer Wind. It was Edith's and Marty's 65Th Wedding Anniversary. Happy Anniversary! We had a great visit and now we know where Marcia gets her great sense of humour, right Marty!

It's always wonderful to be able to catch up and spend special time with family and friends, something we don't take for granted and always treasure. Speaking of family, Katie and David, Elle's daughter and boyfriend arrived on January 25Th but all about that on our next posting.

So Long 2009, Hello 2010

For the past week, we've been enjoying our time alone together. On Saturday December 26th, we released our mooring ball and headed for our first stop in Lake Worth. We travelled about 32 miles and dropped a hook about 5 hours later. If you divide the miles by the time, you'll see we were only travelling about six miles/hour. There were a few timed bridges that we had to have open, but it was mostly the 'no wake' areas that slowed us down. In Central/Southern Florida, there are many Manatee zones. Manatees are huge sea cows that are on an endangered species list. They move very slowly and sometimes the water is shallow enough that sometimes we can catch a glimpse of their snout before they head back under the water. However ,we paid attention to most of these slow zones and it was interesting to see that a lot of Manatees live in very upscale neighbour hoods,hmmmm. But like the Captain says there's no rush, we're here to enjoy the journey.That afternoon we dropped a hook in Lake Worth, which is a great anchoring spot. One of the things we enjoy are reading so when we have time alone like this, we snuggle down and enjoy a great book together. It seems the local fisherman or waterski boats don't understand or realize that this was a designated anchorage. We were wondering if we should ask for Manatee zone signs.

Sunday morning we rose with the sun and headed for Del Ray Harbour marina. Russ the dockmaster serenaded us wth a happy rendition of "Summer Wind" as we came into our slip. We tied up and off we went to explore this cute town, we so enjoy. The Captain needed a trim, so we popped into the hair salon and for $13, he looks great! It was an absolutely beautiful day around 75 degrees, and sunny. We browsed the local shops and in the evening we had a lovely dinner at Carabba's.
Early Monday, December 28 we untied the Summer Wind. Our stop today was Lake Sylvia, in Fort Lauderdale. It's a new anchorage for us, so we thought to give it a try. Our trip was fairly uneventful, until we came to our second to last bridge on Atlantic Ave. It's a bridge that was currently going under some construction.The 'traffic' (conversation) on the radio was horrendous, all bridges in Florida use channel 9 and with the beautiful weather, there was non stop chatter. We called to the bridge tender and told him we were the second trawler waiting for his next opening. Well as we started to head for the bridge , the tender warned us it was going down. It was a little hairy, and we were furious because the tender did answer our first call and we had waited patiently with the other boat, there was no reason for him to miss our boat. Well shortly after 1pm we came to our anchorage, as the day wore on the little lake began to fill with many boats. This is a neat anchorage because you are surrounded by multi-million dollar homes and we wonder if they will ever ban anchoring in this little lake.

Tuesday morning, we had the anchor lifted shortly by 7:30 am. We were one of the last few to leave. The trip down the ICW was absolutely beautiful, the temperatures however were a little cold. The morning started out at balmy 40 degrees. Travelling down the ICW, is very interesting, because there are multi million dollar homes, unique sky scrapers of glass and brick and steel, and then there are the odd stark trailer park areas at such contrast with the oppulence. As we came through Miami, the skyscrapers were amazing in design and color.Boating society was not to be outdone, there are megayachts that one could consider floating mansions.

Right after Miami we entered Biscayne Bay and the water turned to a beautiful clear aqua color. To our sailing friends you would have loved to be with us as we passed a little sailboat race. We lost count of how many boats but there were over a hundred. Came pretty close and found all sailing dinghys. Great fun.

Entered "No Name Harbor" on Key Biscayne to find about 12 boats anchored down all waiting for the right "window" to cross the Gulf Stream for the Bahamas. "No Name Harbor" is a wonderful protective cove as seen in the very top picture of this post. Spent 2 fantastic days there exploring and walking Bill Baggs State Park and then relaxing to the warmth of the evening sun on the back deck. Even climbed the Lighthouse, what a magnificent view! But Elle was happy to be back on solid ground.

On New Year's Eve we went into the heart of Ft. Lauderdale and tied up on the River Walk next to Las Olas Boulevard. We cleaned up, got dressed and walked into town, enjoying our Dinner on the Boulevard. That night we watched the Ft. Lauderdale ball drop at midnight with about 1500 other people. The keenest part about this New Years eve was we were in short sleeve shirts and no Jackets. Welcome To Paradise!!!!!

This morning we moved up the New River where we write this episode on the dock we will be on for the month of January.
Hope all had a great celebration for ringing in the New Year.

1/1/10

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM PARADISE

Saturday, December 19th, we rose early and untied the lines from the dock in Cocoa Village. It was chilly and windy but we were determined to head further south. We had made plans since July to meet a couple in Vero Beach.
Interesting story. When were in the Erie Canal in July,rising up in one of the locks, we had a brief chat with Robert and Marlene. They had been watching the Summer Wind rise up and we started a conversation. They had told us they winter in Vero Beach and we told them we should be there in the fall. Marlene invited us to visit them and she would cook a great Italian dinner when we were in the south. Cruiser's have boating cards, so we exchanged cards and kept in touch ever since. Well here it is now mid December and we're heading for Vero Beach. We grabbed a mooring and dinghied into the office. Marlene and Robert were there to warmly greet us and pick us up. They took us back to their home and indeed we hit it off wonderfully. Both are a delightfully, youthful ,retired couple whom share the same passion for enjoying life, meeting new people and sweet wonderful music.

Marlene cooked us a fantastic dinner of a fresh salad, chicken, broccoli, and dessert. But the best was her wonderful homemade pizza that she made with a thin crust. While Marlene was busy in the kitchen, Robert entertained us with his piano playing. He is an accomplished pianist and kept the Captain in awe. Later in the evening they taught us a neat card game called Phase 10. Well we hit it off so well, Marlene and Robert graciously invited us to spend another day with them.

Click on the arrow to hear Robert play a bit.

The weather was not the best, so 0n the insistence of Robert and Marlene we stayed another night.
On the second day, we learned our credit card numbers had been stolen from a Walmart. Well two nights turned into four while we waited for our new cards to be delivered. Marlene invited us back again for a wonderful meatball,sausage, and penne dinner. On the third day they came out to the boat by dinghy and spent some time aboard the Summer Wind.We enjoyed a night out at a Chinese buffet. Hey, you can't go wrong with $12 per person and we were stuffed! Each night we had a Phase 10 challenge, and believe it or not we each took turns winning , what great fun! We had a delightful time with Marlene and Robert, thanks so much!!!
Wednesday, December 23rd , we dropped the mooring at Vero Beach and headed down the ICW to Stuart. The weather is finally getting like Florida and has been hovering in the high 70's. Stopped in a nice friendly marina and filled our fuel at $2.74/gal and water tanks. Have to keep the Summer Wind happy!!!!

Here we are now in a brand new marina called Sunset Bay, right in the heart of Stuart and its beautiful. We picked up one of the last moorings of 70, the docks were full and there is a waiting list. Another interesting story, we had met Sue and Mick in Key Largo a few years back. They were prospective trawler buyers and wanted to see the Summer Wind, not that we were selling her. They just wanted to get an idea as to what they would like for their boat. Again, we exchanged email addresses and have been in touch ever since. Sue and Mick are sailors from the UK but now have their own trawler, Jenny in Indian town. They made a side trip to Stuart to reacquaint with us on Christmas Eve. Thanks Sue and Mick!!

Well, it looked like mother nature was going to have more fun with lots of rain. So we decided to spend a few more nights in Stuart. Elle is making her famous Garbanzo bean salad right now as we plan on going to a pot luck dinner today December 25,with about 50 other boaters. The marina was donating the Christmas turkey and ham. Well, it was a great turn out, and we had a great Christmas celebration. As the evening was progressing we were watching the sky go darker, but not because it was late. No, it was a race to get back to the Summer Wind, and we made it just in time before the heavens opened up!

AND THE SKIES OPENED !!! TO BE CONT'D