2015 - 6/2 to 6/15 - Summerland Key to Ft. Lauderdale

It was sunny & hot - high 80's - the wind was up a bit. Decided to wait another day to leave.
Out of the blue I got a call about the Livingston tender. His name was Ralf & was the caretaker for 2 homes on an island between Picnic Island & Ramrod Key. He came to BLUE MAX via his skiff. Wayne took him to the cottage to see it. Yahoo! he wanted it. Karen sent him the title & off he went.
NOW we can leave & we did on 6/2 - Anchor up at 9:30am...passed the 7-mile bridge about noon (believe it or not, many people ask how long the 7-mile bridge is - not kidding). It was overcast when we left Summerland but raining like hell in Marathon which made for confusing seas as we passed by in the ocean. It was raining as we passed under the Channel 5 bridge. All of a sudden, we lost all AC power - but then it came back on ? WTF? So we decided to anchor near Windley Key to figure out what was going on with the power but couldn't as it was now working ??
6/3  Anchor up @ 9am. Dark clouds & rain surrounded us but not a drop on us.  Passed Key Largo at 11:45. Making good time.

Under the 'new' Jew Fish bridge into South Biscayne Bay.

Jew Fish creek bridge

One of the 7 homes left - That's Biscayne Bay lighthouse in the background

 We arrived in 'Stiltsville' about 5 & worked our way out into the ocean again. 
"Seeming to float above Biscayne Bay's shallow seagrass beds, Stiltsville has a colorful history that dates back to the 1930s, when "Crawfish Eddie Walker" built the first shack on stilts above the water. Over the years more buildings were constructed, and the area took on an aura of mystery. Accessible only by water, the area was the place to see and be seen when visiting the winter resorts on nearby Miami Beach. Stories of illegal alcohol and gambling led to several police raids on the Bikini Club and Quarterdeck Club. At its peak in 1960, there were 27 structures on the flats, but hurricanes, fires and the ravages of being in such an exposed place made every building relatively short-lived". (interesting read on the internet)

Chart to get through Stiltsville

We could have continued on the ICW (inside route) but too many bridges & one was broken and locked in the down position.

Miami skyline

At 7:30 we passed Miami out in the ocean the passed under the Baker/Haulover bridge back into the ICW. We anchored on the west side of Beer Can Island, as locals call it, officially known as Sandspur Island. This has been a favorite anchorage of ours every time we're on the East coast of FL.  
6/4  Anchor up at 0700 & back out under the Baker/Haulover bridge and arrived in Lauderdale cut about 0900.
The New River has a swift current & is difficult to maneuver waiting for three bridges & get into a dock with a single engine. We meandered around until the slack tide then went up the river about 10:30 straight to our slip at Cooley's landing. 

3rd Ave. bridge - the first of three that have to open for us

Matt, the best Dock master, met us to help tie up the boat. 
Friday, 6/5 - It was overcast - a nice change from the blaring sun. Kathryn & her dog, Trixie, arrived for the weekend. We decided to eat 'in' & had pasta & Italian sausage. Kathryn insisted on sleeping on a blanket on the fly bridge...go figure?
6/6 - Sun - high 80's.  5:30 - Laural arrived from Jacksonville on Amtrak - she's cruising with us to the Bahamas. After a brief rest & a drink, we took a short stroll from the marina to a new restaurant called The Chimney. They serve Latin food in a small, quaint, remodeled, 1924 cottage with a prominent brick fireplace in the middle of the room. Eat inside or on the porch. Food & service was excellent.
6/7 - First Sunday, Jazz Brunch along the River Walk. Years ago, when we first experienced this monthly event, I was  excited to have brunch (I LOVE brunch)...but it wasn't brunch, just great music. We had to start the day off with a bang so we got Bloody Marys at the Briny.

At the Briny

Lots of people with blankets, chairs, coolers, food, drink & many, many dogs - all listening to music along the river. It was very hot but a wonderful day.

We played a few games of dominoes that night.
6/8 - Using Kathryn's car, Laurel & I went grocery & liquor shopping. What a fun day - yea, right! Putting everything away is the hard part. I keep a 'storage' list of everything that gets stowed in the three bins under the floor in the forward cabin - a challenge to remember to keep it current.

Sadly, we had to say good-bye to Kathryn & Trixie that afternoon. We'll miss them terribly.

OK, vacation's over. Laurel & I had our work cut out for us - pressure clean the fly bridge & sun screen curtains & deep clean the inside of the boat. Laurel is flexible enough to get to places I can't so she scrunched up on top of the lower helm station to clean windows, moldy frames & anything else she could reach. 

Who ever invented the mini blind must have been a torture specialist. Since we couldn't raise the blinds because they are screwed in, (a Wayne thing) we had to carefully put our hand between the slats to clean the inside of the window. Everything seemed to sparkle.
We finally got together with old friends, Bob & Stephanie who live in Miami. We met them by circumstance way back in 2001 at the Berry Island Club on Chub Cay.

circa 2001 - Stephanie & me @ the Berry Island Club

 

Circa 2001 - Bob & Stephanie

 

W&W; Stephanie, Bob & Laurel - 2015 @ The Chimney

The Berry Island Club is on the Eastern shore of Frazer’s Hog Cay – on the Eastward extension of Chub Cay. A captivating clubhouse with the kind of bar you dream about finding in the islands. It has a small, intimate restaurant, fantastic food and great hosts. Most 'restaurants' in the Bahamas require you to call ahead on the VHF to reserve dinner. Wayne called on the VHF to make dinner reservations. Good thing we did as all 14 seats were reserved after our call...except they overbooked by two. Bob & Stephanie turned out to be our table-mates... we've been friends since. 
6/12 - It was hot-no breeze...Laurel & I walked across the 7th Ave. bridge to Publix on Andrews Ave. Very neat store with a parking garage on the top floor. We sorta bought more than what was on our list & we had to take a taxi home. Wayne was working on the inverter again. I'd been asking him to call OutBack for help - but he didn't.  So, we still have issues with our AC power. Several months ago Wayne disconnected one of the inverters he thought wasn't needed & turned it into a (very expensive) battery charger. I suggested he switch the inverters & see if that would work to fix the issue.
Saturday, 6/13 - We left Cooley's Landing about 7:30am on the slack tide. We mulled around waiting for the fuel barge that was scheduled to be on the river at 8. It arrived at 10. Topped off the tanks at 220.8 Gal @ $2.90/Gal. then anchored in Lake Sylvia. You never know what you'll see in Lake Sylvia... 

Boyz & their toyz

Since Wayne was unable to fix the inverter, we stayed anchored for the weekend so he could call the company on Monday. They tried hard to figure out the problem but finally admitted they didn't know what was wrong & suggested he switch the inverters. Voila! it worked. I am NOT going to say 'I told you so' but...
Tuesday, 6/16 - A gorgeous morning - sun just coming up. Anchor up in Lake Sylvia @ 0730 - out the Port Everglades cut & into the ocean. We put the stabilizer booms out - just in case - but didn't need to use the 'birds'.
              Next Stop...WEST END, GRAND BAHAMAS