Back to the "Real" World (?)

Our self-imposed April 1st deadline for passage to the Abacos came and went with no "weather window", so we have started north again. We hope to get there NEXT year and will start earlier looking for a window. We went from North Miami to Lighthouse Point and spent a delightful night in a free slip, thanks to Pete Boden. The next night we were at anchor in Lake Worth, listening to a bunch of boats which had finally gotten a window to come HOME from the Bahamas. Many of them were bewailing the fact that they had never experienced so much wind in the Bahamas and had been very restricted in their movement all winter there.

Lake Worth

We see all kinds of "take-downs" ($30,000,000 MacMansions being torn down to build $100,000,000 mega-MacMansions) and marinas turning into condominiums with no slip shorter than 70-feet! Dockage, moorings, and anchorage areas are becoming more and more scarce on the entire east coast.

From there, it was on to Peck Lake where we anchored and walked across to the ocean.

The Ocean Across from Peck Lake

When we got back, we discovered that we had been "waked" in our absence and things that hadn't come loose in 7 months of cruising were all over the cabin sole. It strikes us that the great majority of the many "No Wake" zones in the Florida ICW (purportedly to save the manatees) are near VERY expensive mega-mansions and condos. Apparently manatees don't hang around with the poor folks or the boaters who anchor out. So there is a No Wake zone just before Peck Lake anchorage near the condos and one just after for the mansions, but no limit on wake going past the anchorage! "And so it goes." Discretion being the better part of valor, we went on to Manatee Pocket to re-anchor for a very peaceful night.

The next day brought us to a mooring at Vero Beach, where we rented a car and drove to daughter Lyz's for grandson Mikey's first Easter. A. got to go "fishing" (as opposed to "catching") aboard Captain Chris's bass boat on East Lake Toho.

Sunrise on East Lake Toho

The Captain is now back aboard and working on restocking the boat for the arrival of The Admiral, Lyz, husband Chris, and Mikey (10-months old) for a weekend aboard, probably including a tour of part of the ICW. For the first such adventure, we have booked a slip which gives us air conditioning (the forecast is for 90-degrees) and easy access to shore heads, etc.

We'll probably spend a few days here and head north slowly with the only real itinerary being stops in Charleston and Washington, DC. We will also stop in Smithfield, VA for a Camano Rendezvous (and a ham, of course) if our timing is right.

For previous posts, scroll down.

For comments or questions, email us at: Sesame@snet.net

Priorities

Bernie helps us keep our priorities straight.

We're back in North Miami after an abortive staging for a weather window to the Bahamas from Fort Liquordale which fell apart very quickly. There's one more small chance for a crossing near the end of this week when our self-imposed deadline runs out. If we don't get across, we'll start back north at a very leisurely pace, including a stop to visit grandson Mikey (we get to watch him at his daycare center through a webcam when we have a good connection). We also plan to stop at some of our favorite spots on the way north and run up the Potomac for the first time to see the sights and some family and friends.

In the meantime, we are anchored off Oleta State Park and Florida International University with a nice beach, cold showers, and easy dinghy access to all kinds of civilization. We've had a few early evening get-togethers with other trawlers in the harbor and made a number of new friends along the way. Every day (particularly on the weekends) we are invaded by a cascade of plastic kayaks from the rental place up the creek from us. With the strong northerlies we've been having, we wonder whether or not the rental company does an inventory at the end of the day to see how many kayaks (and people) are missing!

We may head back south to No Name Harbor and/or Miami Beach just for a change of scenery before we decide whether we're heading east or north. If the Bahamas don't work out this year, we'll aim for them earlier next year.

We named these guys Simon and Max, after our grandsons. Can you guess which is which?

For comments or questions, write us at: sesame@snet.net

There Be Monsters There

Before we sail off the edge of the earth toward the Bahamas, we thought we'd let you know where we've been. We finally got out of Key West after 5 days. (If you promise not to tell anyone, we'll admit that we really enjoyed our "vacation" on a dock with showers, restaurants, cable tv, and air conditioning.) Actually, it was nice to get back to the "real" world and commune with nature a bit. (Not to suggest that there is anything "unnatural" about Key West, but one begins to think that even the well-timed sunsets are some kind of wierd theatrical performance!)

From the Bridge at Bahia Honda

So off we went to New Found Harbor and Bahia Honda to decompress before spending a few more days at Boot Key Harbor in Marathon.

They have sunsets at Bahia Honda too!

Then back to Marathon where we stocked up the larder to head north. We stopped at Lignumvitae Key State Park and learned a lot about the natural flora of Southern Florida before the massive dredging and filling operations which created acres and acres of land where there had been none and miles and miles of canals where there had been very shallow water or land before. EVERYONE has "waterfront property" in South Florida. If you don't, you just dig a 4 foot deep hole in your back yard (If you HAVE a back yard) and it fills right up with water. In many places along the Intracoastal Waterway, we can see easily across the land to the ocean from our flybridge which is about 10 feet above the water.

We drove through No Name Harbor and discovered it was pretty crowded, so we headed on to the Venetian Islands off Miami Beach where we had spent some time two years ago. We anchored off what the tour boats say was :

"One of Al Capone's two island homes -- the other was Alcatraz."

Miami Beach is a great spot: Quiet anchorage amidst phenomenal wealth (an empty building lot on manmade land goes for $6,000,000), easy access to all kinds of civilization by dinghy (including a steel cable alongside a canal across from a Publix Market to chain your dinghy to), a gourmet market called "Epicure" (the better cuts of meat and the seafood do not show prices -- if you have to ask, you can't afford it!), and all kinds of window shopping, to say nothing about the "eye candy" at South Beach during Spring Break! Rather than challenge Miami Beach's legally questionable 7-day anchoring limit, we headed north to an anchorage across from Bakers Haulover Inlet at Oleta State Park in North Miami. Again, easy dinghy access to civilization, but a very quiet anchorage surrounded by mangrove swamps. Also a nice swimming beach.

We were now listening to weather forecasts religiously, looking for a "window" in which to sail off the edge to the Abacos. We headed up to Fort Lauderdale, from which we hope to depart soon, with some friends (the Cummings on DUETTO), for West End. (We're looking for very little wind and NO wind from the north at all since it creates nasty seas in the northerly- flowing Gulf Stream.)

After studying the flora at Lignumvitae, we examined the fauna at Fort Lauderdale

God willin' and the creeks don't rise, our next post will be from the Abacos!

Questions or comments? Email us at: sesame@snet.net

Key Wierd and Environs

Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, FL

From Everglades City, we went to Little Shark River and anchored for the night. The next day, we were off to Boot Key Harbor where we spent a little over three weeks at anchor. We rigged up our new folding bikes for the first time and, after some mild trials and tribulations, used them to galavant all over the island for shopping, sightseeing, etc. Since the Keys are only about 4-feet above sea level, there are no hills for the old folks to navigate. Judy did manage to bend a front wheel and skin her knee in a minor accident, but all was put together again in a couple of days. We also managed to drown our own 5kW generator in salt water and had to have it replaced at the Marathon Boat Yard. ("BOAT" = "Bring On Another Thousand".) We refound a number of old friends in Marathon and made quite a few new ones.

Before growing roots into the bottom of the harbor, we had the bottom cleaned by Dave the Diver and made a quick (4.5 hour) trip to Key West in order to: 1) Clear out the engine which has been used at idle for a long time to charge the batteries and, 2) To get there fast in a somewhat lumpy sea.

SESAME at A&B Marina, Key West

We took a slip for three days, right in the middle of Old Town. We can walk to the sunset shows at Mallory Square and everything else in town. We've checked out the Mel Fisher Museum where there are artifacts from both old Spanish treasure ships and a slave ship. We went to the art museum which has a wonderful display of Impressionist painters' works reproduced in 3-dimensions so that real people can become part of them.

Judy as a Van Gogh Model

Many people tried to convince us to take our own boat to the Dry Tortugas, but, discretion being the better part of valor, Allen took the high speed catamaran while Judy explored Duvall Street with her credit card.

Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas

It worked out well because the trip out was quite lumpy and a number of passengers got mal de mer. The Admiral would not have enjoyed the trip!

So we are now into our 4th day of our 3 day stay at Key West, waiting for a "weather window" to head back toward Marathon. It is now gusting to about 40 out of the northwest, so we're here for a while. We're hoping to be in the Miami area around the 1st of March to "stage" for a passage across the Gulf Stream to West End, Bahamas and a month or so in the Abacos.

Please send any questions or comments to us at: sesame@snet.net and check the link to our photo albums.

Our Mascot, Bernie, is Prepared for Anything!

Judy and Allen Ames

Aboard SESAME

Florida's West Coast

Mikey's First Christmas

After a relatively quiet Christmas with daughter Lyz and her family, we headed north along the West Coast from Fort Myers.

We found ourselves in Sarasota for New Year's weekend and spent some great time with Judy's cousin Jeanne, who works in real estate there. We took the boat up to Longboat Key where Jean treated us to lunch at a delightful dockside restaurant. We passed the Ringlings' modest winter home on the way.


We headed south at a leisurely pace, stopping at a couple of anchorages on the barrier islands. There are a number of state parks, accessible by water only, where you can anchor or dinghy to a dock or beach on the inside and walk to the beach on the Gulf side. Cayo Costa was paticularly nice.


We were on a mooring in Fort Myers Beach for a few days, waiting for some fair weather for the trip further south, which is "outside" in the Gulf for most of the way. It's a great place with all the conveniences, a beautiful beach and a 25-cent "trollee" which will take you anywhere. They have a huge fishing fleet and high speed ferries to Key West. We caught up with John and Diane Cummings there, who were in the process of selling his father's house in Bonita Beach before continuing their cruise on their PDQ powercat.

We stayed on the dock at the Everglades City Rod and Gun Club for a couple of days so that we could take an airboat through the Everglades. Actually, the airboat ride is about 90 per-cent thrill ride and 10 per-cent "educational", but we got to to see some of the backcountry we wouldn't have otherwise. We even got too see some alligators "in the wild", although we suspect that they are fed illegally so that they will stick their noses up when the tour boats come through!

After an overnight stop at Little Shark River, we headed down to Marathon and Boot Key Harbor, where we expect to stay at anchor for 2 - 3 weeks with maybe a side trip to Key West and a couple of other spots. Then north in late February or early March to the Miami area to "stage" for a fair weather crossing to the Abacos in the Bahamas.



Bernie, our mascot, continues to watch out for us. So far, we've had no major problems and think life is pretty darned good for a couple of old folks!

[In case you can't see it, the name on the side of this dinghy is "Row vs. Wade".]

Merry Christmas!

Sesame decked out for Christmas in Hancock Creek, North Ft Myers

We spent about a week on a mooring in Vero Beach, taking the free bus into town almost every day and shopping until we dropped. Then we went around and anchored in Manatee Pocket, handy to a West Marine, to take care of some minor problems with our deck wash and VHF radio. From Manatee, we headed into the North Fork of the St. Lucie River to Kitching Cove and a spot at the dock at the Tarpon Bay Yacht Club, courtesy of some old Nonsuch friends, Karl and Libby Johnson. We also shared a pizza with Peggie Dravis who lives in the same condo.

From Port St. Lucie, we headed past Stuart, and anchored in a small ditch just east of Lake Okechobee. We saw a couple of alligators swimming by, but they both disappeared as we pulled out the camera. The next day, we had a somewhat bumpy ride across the lake in a following breeze and scattered showers. We ended up anchored all alone in a pretty little canal, just east of the Ortona Lock, called "Lollipop" by the locals. The Admiral spent much of this time with a major project -- knitting grandson Michael his Christmas stocking.

The next day found us across from Ft. Myers by ourselves in Hancock Creek for a few days. Allen did some exploring up the miles and miles of canals while Judy concentrated on the stocking. We left the boat in a slip at the Ft. Myers Boat Basin and drove to Kissimmee for Christmas with Lyz, Chris, and Michael.

Our mascot Bernie, guarding the shrine to our grandsons.

A good metaphor for life in general?

Next week we're off to the west coast, perhaps as far north as Sarasota. Then we'll head south to the Keys for a while.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to Everyone!

Blizzards Knock Out Air Transportation Throughout the US

Just as we were about to join the Bushies and declare that the "theory" of Global Warming was nothing more than a radical, hippy, pinko, commie, tree-huggers conspiracy -- we found the sun and the warm. A day after the above headline hit the papers, we anchored off our own private tropical island about 20 miles north of Vero Beach, Florida. Actually, the islands are made from dredging spoils which naturally generate vegetation. This island has palms, pines, flowers, and all kinds of other stuff. At times, it seems that most of the "nature" in Florida is man made.

Up to a few days ago, the trip has been a might chilly, with a number of lay days for cold fronts coming through. Now we seem to have broken through to the tropical paradise we were looking for. Here's what the little island we anchored behind looked like this morning.

Not too shabby, huh?

We left the boat at a marina in Jacksonville for a couple of weeks and went to our daughter and son-in-law's house in Kissimmee to play with our grandson and get ready for a family Thanksgiving which included son Sean's family (who we flew down for a few days) and Allen's brother Jock who is working his way south with his own boat. All the kids spent a day at Universal's Islands of Adventure while Grammie and Poppie stayed home with Michael. A grand time was had by all!

We took care of a broken anchor windlass before we left Jacksonville (neither the mechanic or the skipper knew what fixed it -- it just started working after being taken apart a couple of times). We have done more reorganizations of our little boat than Aetna did in the 20+ years Judy worked there. We got back to the cruising mode by heading down to anchor off St. Augustine for a couple of nights. A tour of the fort, a great lunch ashore, and a few frozen rum drinks at the "oldest lounge (aka: bar) in the country" and we were ready to head a bit further south. We anchored just off the bridge at Cocoa Beach where Allen rediscovered the crab shack and fish market that he had found a couple of years ago. The crabs are identical to the ones in the Chesapeake, but they charge far less. Actually, most of the crabs from the area are "exported" to the Chesapeake where they are sold as Chesapeake Bay blue crabs. Next up, Vero Beach (aka: Velcro Beach because people tend to stick there for a while with their inexpensive moorings and free bus to every kind of shopping imaginable -- plus a lovely ocean beach.) Then across to the west coast from Stuart to Fort Meyers via Lake Okechobee.

Yummm!

The Carolinas

Every once-in-a-while we speed her up to clean out the engine. The engine experts say that the engine likes to run the boat at 10 - 12 knots. Our budget says that WE like to run the boat at 7 - 8 knots. At 7 knots, we get about 4 miles per gallon. At 12 knots we get less than 2. Besides, we get a lot better view along the way at a slower speed, to say nothing of the fact that it is far easier for older minds to navigate the slower the boat goes! Power boating is a new world. Many of the boats who pass us are amazed at our fuel economy. They are all talking about gallons/mile rather than miles/gallon. As former ragbaggers (sailboaters) we were used to using about 3/4 gallon/HOUR and getting nowhere fast.

Another reason that we push her a bit is that the cold weather keeps trying to overtake us. We woke up one morning in Oriental, North Carolina to heavy frost all over and the temperature INSIDE the boat at 39 degrees f. The Admiral didn't even THINK of getting out of her bunk until the skipper had turned on both the reverse-cycle airconditioner (which works off the engine) AND the little propane heater we carry. A few days later at Lady's Island (across from Beaufort, S.C.), we plugged into a dock and turned on the air conditioner to cool us off for a while. Go figure!

We plan to get off the boat for a week starting the Thursday before Thanksgiving and driving a rental car to daughter Elizabeth's house in Kissimmee, Florida where we'll visit with her, husband Chris, and baby Mikey. We're also flying son Sean and his family down for a few days for a really festive holiday. We have no idea where we'll be since we often have to wait for a "weather window" to avoid proving how macho we are. For instance, we had planned to leave Lady's Island (across from Beaufort, SC) today and proceed past Savannah, but, with a strong northwest wind blowing down Port Royal Sound which we have to transit, we're spending another day at the marina. Weather permitting, we'll do a few long days to get to a decent spot to leave the boat for a week. This means we'll leave Allen's brother Jock behind for a while, but he'll catch up while we're in Kissimmee and join us for the Thanksgiving festivities.

Our mascot, "Bernie", playing with our frost ball.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

Heading South

We're finally on our way south after spending a long time in Chesapeake Bay taking care of various things, including getting trim tabs installed on the boat. Now we can go faster more efficiently and with greater stability, but we still can't afford the fuel to go fast unless we really have to! (The boat is FAR more effficient at 7-8 knots than she is at 12 knots.)



We met up with Allen's brother, Jock at Kent Island, MD and have been travelling with him ever since, including a great visit with friends of his while we anchored off their house at Point No Point. From there we went to Jackson Creek (Deltaville, VA) where we anchored off the Marina after spending top dollar for fuel there. Then off to Hole-in-the-Wall at the entrance to the Dismal Swamp. We spent two nights at the North Carolina Welcome Center free dock half way through the Swamp waiting out some gale force winds in the real world. The next day we went past the free docks (along with the free wine and cheese) at Elizabeth City and anchored in Campbell Creek. We were in Oriental before noon (November 1), filled the fuel tanks (at a MUCH better price than the last fill up), and took a slip for a couple of nights. We've showered, done the laundry, had a great lunch "out", feasted on ice cream cones, and done a little boat shopping at a neat chandlery/hardware store/gift shop/department store. Tomorrow we might break the bikes out and head for the grocery store. We're here for at least two nights while another major northerly blows through. After that, we'll be in "the ditch" for a while so the weather shouldn't be a major factor. (We can ride INDOORS in cold and rainy weather with a heater!)



Our mascot, "Bernie", keeps watch for us along the way. So far, except for some very minor problems, the boat has been great and has performed FAR better than we could hope. She is REALLY superb in foul weather, which we never play with on purpose but find all too often anyway. Sorry we can't come up with a more exciting narrative, but our major goal is to AVOID exciting whenever possible. To this point, we have been quite successful in that goal.

See photos at:
http://community.webshots.com/user/allen_ames

The Saga of Sesame

SESAME is a Camano 31 (#130)

After 60 years of sailing, we have gone to the "dark side" and purchased a Camano 31 trawler. She is only 28 feet on deck (and was called a "Camano 28" for a few years before some clever sales consultant decided to count the swim platform and anchor roller). The boats are also known as Camano Trolls. They are built in the Pacific Northwest. (http://www.camanomarine.com/)

We went down the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) two years ago on our last sailboat, a Nonsuch 30, and are about to head out to do the ICW this fall and winter on the new boat. Tentative plans call for us to spend some time in the Chesapeake Bay on the way down where we'll have a little work done on the boat by the resident Camano guru. We will be in Beaufort, NC around November 1 (the supposed end of the hurricane season according to our insurance company). Then we'll wend our way down the ICW to the canal across Florida at Lake Okeechobee, head up to Sarasota, down to the Keys, back up to the Miami area, across to the Abacos (mid to late March), and then back home. We will not be on any schedule and will spend lots of time at anchor in places we like. We'll also rent a car wherever we are and head to our daughter's house in Kissimmee for a week or so at both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Our son and family will fly down to join us for Thanksgiving. Sean's sons will meet their new Cousin Michael for the first time then.

Max and Simon with
Grammie aboard
Sesame

For more photographs, see our WEBSHOTS page: http://community.webshots.com/user/allen_ames