The Bahamas

We are in the Bahamas, horray!  We spent 5 nights in Fort Lauderdale at the Las Olas Marina which is right next to Las Olas Blvd.  The marina is very nice and there were some mighty big boats docked there.  It is amazing how many big boats are in Lauderdale and how small my boat looks.  There were 4 other Looper boats in the marina waiting to cross to the Bahamas ("Something Special", "Algonquin", "Passport" and "Brandy IV").  We got in contact with a couple we boated with in Lake Erie and they picked us up for dinner one night.  Roy and Sue are a great couple and a lot of fun.  It was great to reconnect with them over a perfect night of wine, good food and good company.  

Sid from "Something Special" and I went on a long dingy ride one day down the New River.  Unfortunately Sid was stopped by the water police for going too fast in a no wake zone.  Getting a ticket was a bummer but Sid didn't let it stop him from having a good time cruising around the big boats.  We even stopped along the river and went into town to have lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.  

All of the boaters talked each day about the weather and what day would be good for the crossing.  We all agreed that Thursday would be the best so we got ready and waited for Thursday morning.  "Brandy IV" left at 5:30 and "Passport" left at 5:45.  The rest of us were just about to leave when "Brandy IV" called and said they were coming back because it was rough.  Passport called and we said we were going to give it a go and he said he would wait for us in the Atlantic.  Going out of the Port Everglades Inlet was very rough but it got a little better once we were in the Ocean.  Even though I agree that it was by far the best day to travel, it was rough the whole way and not very much fun.  We ran at about 12MPH and arrived at West End about 3:00 P.M. after 8 hours on the water.  We all got docked, cleared customs and checked in with the dockmaster.  Once we got settled "Sweet Pea" came in from Stuart.  It was great to see them again and we all had happy hour together.  A local fisherman came into the marina and was selling fresh lobster caught that day.  Sid invited us over to cook our lobster on his grill.  Neither of us had ever cooked lobster so we winged it and it was great.  

We decided that we would leave the next day and head for Great Sale Cay for an anchorage.  The marina was pretty empty when we got there but it filled up quite quickly with many sailboats and power boats and they all had the same idea to leave the next day.  We waited until all of the sailboats were out of the harbor and then we left about 9:15.  The wind was brisk and the sailboats were moving pretty good so it took some time for us to pass them.  We got to Great Sale Cay around 3:30 and anchored on the North side of the island because the wind was out of the South.  As soon as we anchored, Kathy on "Algonquin" called on the radio and said drinks on the beach in 15 minutes.  We got in our dinghy's and went to the beach for a nice get together.  We went back to the boat and had a good dinner and then settled in for the night on the hook.  Ginny and I don't really like to anchor so we didn't sleep very well but the boat did not move even though there were strong winds all night.  We got up early and left by 6:15 heading for Green Turtle Cay.  The wind was blowing very strong all day and it was a little rocky.  We had not make docking reservations by phone because we don't have phone service so I was a little nervous about getting into the marina.  Kathy from "Algonquin" had sent the marina an email when we were at West End and it turned out the they received it  so we were good to go (Thanks Kathy).  We got docked about 12:30 P.M.  The marina staff at the Green Turtle Club were fantastic.  They were on the radio the whole time and kept us informed about the docks and how to get in.  We will probably be here at least 5 days because of the winds (up to gale force for a short time today) so we will get to see all of Green Turtle.

Las Olas Marina in Lauderdale

Many large boats

One of the many bridges in Lauderdale

I don't know the story behind this but it was cute.

The boats are so large they need to be towed in the New River

Cruise Ship docking while we were leaving Lauderdale

Leaving Port Everglades

West End, Bahamas from the water

Nice beach at West End

Docked at last

Cooking lobster on the grill

After

Leaving West End

Kathy on "Algonquin"

One of the many islands in the Bahama Bank

Pretty blue water

Follow the leader

The anchorage at Great Sale Cay

White Harbor in Green Turtle Cay

Green Turtle Club and Marina

On to Lauderdale and then the Bahamas

Well we completed our stay in the Keys and we are now in Fort Lauderdale waiting to cross to the Bahamas. The Keys are great and the marina we stayed at was very nice but it was time to move. We had a car for two weeks and made very good use of it to get around. I guess I should say I used the car to get around because Ginny bought a bike. We went to West Marine where they had a folding bike on sale. It is a pretty nice bike and Ginny has used it a lot.

We went to Miami three times, twice to pick up and drop off Stephanie at the airport and once to go to the Miami Boat Show. As you can imagine, the boat show is huge. We spent the whole day at the convention center where they had a few boats but mostly vendors of boating equipment. We didn't make it to either of the other two venues where the boats were but we had a great time and only spent a few dollars.

We met a lot of nice people at Plantation Key Marina who are very knowledgeable about the Bahamas and other places that we are going to visit. We had planned to stay in Islamorada until Sunday because we wanted to go to the nautical flea market being held at Founders Park. After looking at the upcoming weather we decided to leave on Friday so we could get to Fort Lauderdale before the windy front came through.

Originally we were going to anchor the first night in Biscayne Bay and then run to Lauderdale, but we decided to stay in a marina which turned out quite well because Sid and Evelyn from "Something Special" were there. We stayed at Dinner Key Marina which is in the Northwest corner of Key Biscayne. Fort Lauderdale is only about 30 miles away but we wanted to get in early and we knew that it would be slow going on the Intracoastal so we left at 7:30. Even though it was a weekend, the ride was very easy and we didn't have to wait long for any of the bridges. There were only two bridges that we needed to have opened and they were fairly close together. Boat traffic was not an issue until we got to the Port Everglades inlet in Fort Lauderdale and then it seemed liked everyone who every owned a boat was moving around. We made it to the marina shortly before the wind picked up and we are now tied securely waiting for the wind to stop and we can cross to the Bahamas. I don't expect to be able to cross until at least next Friday or Saturday. I think we are going to cross with at least three other boats -maybe four. Two of the boats are here at the marina and one of the others is coming tomorrow so we will all be ready.

We went to a sandbar one day with Sid, Evelyn, Beth (taking the picture) and Dean.

Leaving Plantation Harbor Marina

Gilbert's Restaurant in Jewfish Creek

Miami from a distance

Dinner Key which is near Coconut Grove

Leaving Dinner Key Marina

Downtown Miami on our way to Lauderdale

Cruise ships lined up in Goverment Cut

"Something Special" and "Alquonquin" behind us on the Intracoastal

Fort Lauderdale also has its share of cruise ships

They start the kids young in Ft. Lauderdale.

Did I mention it is Spring Break in Fort Lauderdale

From Marathon to Islamorada

Our last few days in Marathon were busy. We went to the Dolphin Research Center on Grassy Key with Marc and Michele. It was a very nice place and a great way to spend a few hours watching dolphins and listening to the trainers give talks. They have programs where kids can stand in the water and shake hands with the dolphins and adults can swim with the dolphins. We had a nice lunch at the bar next door and then returned to the boat to see another wonderful sunset.

We were going to leave Marathon on the first of February but the weather was a little snotty so Roy said we could stay another night. We were glad we did because I got to play golf with the guys and there was a Looper potluck at Marathon Marina on Wednesday night. My team lost in golf but the potluck was great. There were about 50 people and a ton of food which of course was gone by the end of the night. We met some Loopers that we had not seen in a while and many others that we just met. All of the food was great but there were two things that stood out for me. Someone made jalapeno bread which was quite spicy but great and there was a delicious cherry crumb cake.

The next day was Thursday and we had to say goodbye to Marathon. We were ready to leave but it was sad to say goodbye to the people we shared a dock with for almost a month. We said goodbye to Marc and Michele and headed out of the harbor, under the bridge and East along the Intracoastal to Plantation Yacht Harbor Marina in Islamorada. There were a lot of crab pots but Ginny did a great job of not hitting any and staying in the channel which was very narrow and shallow at times. The depth finder alarm was buzzing the last hour of the trip and we were stirring the sandy bottom but we didn't touch. The marina is very nice and is part of a large community park called Founders Park. They have an Olympic size pool, a private beach, dog park, two baseball diamonds, several soccer fields and a lot of walking trails. The park is not really close to anything so you either have to have a bike or a car. Of course I chose a car. We rented a car from Enterprise for a couple of weeks and it has been so nice to be mobile again.

The weather has been a little windy and rainy but we are still having a good time. We did take the dinghy out one day to a place called Toilet Bowl Pass. It is a cut in the water that is lined on both sides with toilet lids on stakes. They are all decorated and from all parts of the country. I am not sure of the origin but it was a fun trip. We are also right next to the Snake River which is a crossover between the Atlantic and the Gulf with some very nice homes and a restaurant that has a dinghy dock. There are other Loopers here so we tend to do a nightly happy hour to catch up on the days important activities.

Wednesday we received a random call from a friend of our daughters who said he was in Islamora and was getting married the next day - could we come to his reception. I checked my busy calendar and was able to squeeze him in. His name is Sam and his new wife is Cristina. Cristina is a marketing director for a clothing store and they were here for a photo shoot for the catalog and Web site. Sam and Cristina decided on Monday to get married on Thursday by a judge and have their reception at their hotel. Cristina's mom was there but nobody from Sam's family so Ginny and I were really happy to represented his home town. The next day our daughter Stephanie arrived for a long weekend. She flew into Miami so we picked her up at the airport and will take her back on Monday for the flight back. She looks great and we are so happy to have her here with us for a few days. Sam and Cristina were still in town for one more night so we met them for drinks and gossiped about their friends.

The next day we went shopping and then had a wonderful dinner at the Green Turtle Inn. Green Turtle Inn is at mile marker 81 and if you are near there and want a great dinner (not cheap), go there. There is a branch of Bass Pro called the World Wide Sportsman at mile marker 81. It is a large Bass Pro kind of store and they have a replica of Ernest Hemingway's boat called the "Pilar" inside the store. We are going to be here until February 27th when we will begin our trip to the Bahamas. I hope to go to the Miami boat show on Friday with some of the guys here so that should be a lot of fun and I am sure we will be checking out some other good restaurants along the way.

Dolphin Research Center

One of Flippers relatives

Begging for fish

They can really jump high

One of our last sunsets in Marathon

Quite a spread at the pot luck

The other half of the table

All packed up and ready to leave Marathon

Michele and Marc waving goodbye

Rocco's bar and grill at the marina

Heading under the 7 Mile Bridge again

A nice old Trumpy named Tireless docked across from us at Islamorada

Our view onto the Gulf

Anything to attract tourists

Toilet Bowl Pass

My favorite

The lighthouse marking to the entrance to the harbor

Cristina and Sam on their wedding day

Doesn't she look great?

The "Pilar" inside the store