2008 Cruising

1/16 to 1/31/2008

This is our log for 2008; the 2007 East Coast and other voyages are now in Prior Voyages.

We plan to post and update at least weekly. We move the older portions of the log to secondary pages accessible at the bottom of the page. Join our voyage!

Updated on 02/06/2008

1/16/08 - Another sunny day... sounds like a broken record, I know. Can't help it, it's just the way it happens. Beautifully boring. Don and Suzy Moore of Silver Girl had admired Ariel's companionway door and wondered where they could get one. My man Miles steered them to me. 1/18/08 - Sunny, warm, breezy - doesn't get much nicer here. Set up the hardware for the new dodger on Fourth Watch. The dodger and filler panel will complete their project giving them shelter from the sun and wind and great forward visibility. They had to put their dodger down the whole trip so they could see. Paula is excited about the prospects of being able to have vision and protection. We watched a manatee feed about 50 yards from the boat yesterday. Kept Buddy, Ruth and all occupied for hours. Later a water louse (jet ski) hit the daymark about 1/8 mile from us at full tilt. Actually it is quite a feat to hit one of these in that they are an 8' diameter post with a triangular sign affixed. Anyway, we heard this loud crash followed by cries for help. His buddy came back, fished him out of the water and hauled him to the police station - nearby. He came back later for the jet ski. Darwin rules. 1/19/08 - Another great day. I worked for a while on the screen door for Silver Girl, just about finished it. I also got most of the pieces cut for the top of Fourth Watch's dodger. Want to get that done during the next week. We're bobbing around in the wake of all kinds of boats ranging in price form $25,000 to $25 million. Interesting to watch. Tomorrow we're joining Miles & Laureen to cheer on the Packers. Yah, we got the tickets to the warm seats. 1/20/07 - NOT a beautiful day! A cold front (69 degrees) moved down from the north with 20 knot winds and rain showers. I spent the morning sewing and the afternoon reading and reworking our web site. Lots of journals found new places. If you get lost, take comfort - so did I. However, it just seemed logical to get our prior voyages all in one log... at least to me anyway. We joined Miles & Laureen on Ariel for beans, brats and the playoffs. It was a little weird as we had strong winds howling through the rigging which made us feel like we were in the stadium until you stuck your head outside and realized it was in the low 70's. It was a disappointing finish to a great Packer season - yet one needs to remember it was a dream season! Unfortunately I doubt the Giants can beat the Patriots so the Super Bowl will be about the half time show. Heard they are trying to re-book Janet Jackson. 1/21/08 - Cloudy and windy yet at daybreak. The wind is now from the east - making the Dinner Key anchorage at Coconut Grove too rough to go to. Tomorrow we're up against the 7 day ordinance and will likely have to plead weather. I thought we'd had been out of here 2 days ago. I was able to sew most of the day. Got a couple of things done including some modifications on our dinghy anti-spray bro (bro in the Seinfeld sense of the word). The device has worked well during early trials - preventing the spray off the bow from blowing over the tubes and into the boat. 1/22/08 - Windy and cloudy with occasional showers - still under the influence (of that cold front). I finished a door for Silver Girl and mounted the to[ pf the dodger on Fourth Watch between showers. Productive day! We were rafted off Fourth Watch most of the day so I could go back and forth. Paula made a great pizza and invited us to dinner. Very nice treat! Then they broke away and anchored a short distance off us. With winds hitting the 30's last night we both wanted a little space again tonight. This front has been persistent. The temperatures aren't bad, mid-70's, but the winds are from the NE to East and that has us pinned in Miami Beach. We'd planned on being in Key West by now. 1/23/08 - Wind and rain most of the night, however dawn revealed only scattered clouds with a little breeze. Looks like a good day to move toward Coconut Grove. I worked on 4th Watch's dodger for a couple of hours. Then as the sky darkened we decided to run for Coconut Grove, Dinner Key anchorage. It poured. Good test of our new bimini and mid-panel. Worked great! Bob and Paula were thrilled with the protection of their new bimini and the portion of the dodger that was finished. The wind was light, perfect for anchoring last night. I grilled a couple of marinated chicken fillets while Ruth got corn and mashed potatoes ready. MMMMMM! 1/24/08 - Woke this morning to find we couldn't see anyone. Whoa - ship eating monsters? Nope, just a heavy layer of fog. First fog I've seen this far south. Apparently they don't do it often, but when they do, they do it well. Worked on Fourth Watch until 3pm, then we all went into town. Ruth and I sought West Marine where we had an alternator voltage regulator waiting... a smart one that should take better care of our batteries... where is the power company when you need them? Then we went to Ruth's favorite Yuppie market, Fresh Market where everything is packaged and presented for the consummate consumer. It's fun to walk the aisle and see the offerings. We got off cheap, some wine, bananas and dried vegetables. Could have dropped a fortune but didn't. 1/25/07 - Surprise this morning - Buddy was sitting on the nav station chewing on things. Ruth didn't get his door shut right last night and he escaped to explore. Fortunately he didn't eat computer or the poinsettia (deadly - the poinsettia would poison him and I'd wring his neck if he chewed through the computer cables). He chewed on Ruth's glasses... justice? Windy day today, another cold front passing through. It's been like a parade. We tried to raft off 4th Watch to finish their dodger but the wind was too strong for one anchor. We blew off twice. Have to finish the job another day. I've posted a couple of photos of AA's new bimini - much better visibility from the helm and much lighter inside thanks to the little crescent window above the smaller filler panel - big improvement! Ariel is staying at South Beach until we head south, meeting us along the way. Probably see them at Rodriguez Key. I need to pick up a package from a gentleman tomorrow morning and then we head south. Hey, we're cruisers again! We spent the evening visiting on Carpe Vita. Cal is a working photographer and Marty owns a spa. They are looking for a place to store their catamaran for a couple of weeks while they do some business. 1/26/08 - Okay, the "eat crow window"... Miles said it wouldn't work. When it did he acknowledged he'd have to shop for humble pie. I suggested that the meat section in Publix Supermarket had a nice selection of crow. We woke to winds continuing to blow from the north. I got up and noted that Fourth Watch was missing! Finally found them in a slip in the marina. During the night a powerboat with a guy and two gals had nearly hit them - coming so close that it cut the anchor snubber and wound their anchor chain into the powerboats propeller. They had to call out a diver to free the two boats. The anchor chain was cut and the power boat towed away. That left Bob & Paula with only their secondary anchor so they moved to a slip. Scary, if the boat had been 5' to the left it would have gone right through their forward berth where they were sleeping. don't know what was going through the head of the powerboat driver... Fourth Watch was in the midst of 20 anchored vessels and had her anchor light on. Little alcohol involved? Paula said the person responsible for the boat, a young gal, was drunk and went into the powerboat's cabin to sleep while the salvage company tried to get the boats apart. Took most of the day to get things sorted out, they had to buy a new anchor and chain. $1,500 later Fourth Watch has a new anchor and chain rode. Tomorrow morning we head out early trying to catch up with Ariel in a couple of days. 1/27/08 - Got up at 6:30 o'dark in preparation for a 7:30 departure. We joined Fourth Watch at the marina exit and headed to Stilts Ville and on to Rodriquez Key, 50 nm, a 10 hour run for Fourth Watch. The wind gods knew we were heading south by west and obligingly put the wind on our nose for the day. Spent the day burning diesel, making some Arab happy. The wind came up and we could motor-sail which made us happy. Rain the first half of the day cleared to a pleasant afternoon. Talked to Miles, they had a smooth night at Rodriquez and were on their way to Sombrero Marina in Boot Key (Marathon). By 3pm we were anchored off the south side of Rodriquez. 1/28/08 - 7:30, sun's shining, 20 knot winds out of the north... it's a little cool. In a jacket and shorts I raise the anchor, we're headed for Marathon. What a sleigh ride... with the wind behind us we ran 8-9 knots over the bottom. Had to put two reefs in the main and furl half the genoa to slow down enough for Fourth Watch to keep up motor sailing at 7-8 knots. By 2:30 we were at the bridge to Boot Key Harbor, Marathon requesting an opening. The bridge tender responded "welcome back Another Adventure... we' were wondering if you'd be back. A few minutes later we were on a mooring in the NE end of the harbor. Ariel was about a block away in a slip and Jack and Sue, Passages, were a couple of slips from them. After a couple of hours of sewing we went into Sombrero for burgers and to listen to Eric Stone. Eric was a little disappointing as he was singing some kind of rock totally different from his normal Buffet repertoire... just didn't sit right. We had fun catching up with crews from boats we've met up and down the coast. It is a relatively small community of boats that makes the annual pilgrimage... like a flock of endangered snow birds. 1/29/08 - Beautiful day! Pretty much finished up the dodger for Fourth Watch... just a few snaps to put in tomorrow. Filled my project bag for AA at West Marine - zincs, switches, macerator for the forward head, wash down pump... lots of stuff to install. Tomorrow we all head for Bahia Honda, enroute to Key West... looking for Papa Matt. 1/30/08 - Off at 10am, a late start for a short trip to Bahia Honda. I'd e-mailed our insurance agent yesterday and got a reply this morning. Our boat insurance expires February 1st. Seems that the carrier sends an invoice by snail mail 14 days before the policy expires. With mail service and vacations we haven't seen the renewal yet. Tomorrow we are over-nighting the check for 2008. Close call! If we hadn't e-mailed them asking about status we'd have lost our coverage. Don't accept electronic transfers or credit cards... need a piece of paper. What century do they live in? Our flotilla of 3 is snuggly fit between two bridges in Bahia Honda after motoring for a couple of hours from Marathon. It's like being in a playpen per Miles. That said, the holding sucks. We dove all 3 anchors... Fourth Watch has the best purchase. Ariel and AA are holding on by their fingernails in a bottom as hard as concrete. It will be an interesting night. Tomorrow we head to Key West - weather looks great. Been watching the weather in WI. Can't tell you how much we miss the snow, cold and winds... okay, I lie a little.  Buddy has been sitting on my shoulder editing as I write.  He agrees... Barry lies. 1/31/08 - 2am, I'm sitting anchor watch as the bottom in Bahia Honda is like concrete. Our delta and Ariel's spade barely nicked the bottom when we set them. It's hard to sleep when the wind comes up and the tide is reversing. I suspect Miles is awake too. Bob found the only soft spot in the cut and sank his new delta to it's shank, firmly securing Fourth Watch. Talking to Miles in the morning he'd turned in and slept well, figuring with a bridge on each side he wasn't going far. We headed off to Key West at 7:50, arriving at 1pm after a 5 hour motor sail with 10-15 knots of wind behind us. Ariel was able to sail a good portion of the trek, keeping up with AA and Fourth Watch motor sailing. We were pushing to get to a post office to overnight the insurance premium on the boat. We figured it was coming due as we'd first written the policy February 20th last year so we called our agent. Surprise, it was due the first and we'd not received the notice recently mailed to WI. The agent explained our carrier only provided 14 day notice and would only accept cash or a check - no credit card, no transfer of funds, no e-mail notification. Scary! Now it's on our calendar for mid-January. Another Adventure and Fourth Watch are anchored west of Fleming Key, the naval facility. Ariel has a slip in Galleon Marina a couple of piers from where we kept the old AA while she was in charter here. It's a great location about 3 blocks from Duval and within 6 blocks of about any tourist attraction. Tomorrow we go sight seeing just like the real tourists.

Living aboard and living aboard It's interesting what possessions do to people. They pay $7 mil for a lot and build a $10 mil house and believe they now own everything they can see (actually, they should). Any who, the local Miami Beach waterfront property owners got together and decided they didn't like boats in their water. Turns out they couldn't do anything about the ones going by - it's a Federal waterway. But maybe by labeling boats at anchor (those nasty squatters) "live-aboard things", they could prevent anchoring. Well, they got a 7 day ordinance. By their regulations after 7 days you become a "live aboard", joining the ranks of Al Qaeda. You are now a threat to their community and must skedaddle. Fortunately not if in peril of weather, mechanical or medical conditions. The marine police are between a rock and a hard place, but do a fair job of administering the mess they've been handed. Until someone takes this beast to court it will stand - hopefully as fairly administrated. We will have the last laugh - our great grandchildren will anchor in their swimming pools after global warming floods their house! We're here - Coconut Grove, see? Ahh, it's starting to clear Dinner Key anchorage View from helm with new bimini - we love it... we're not sailing into a tunnel anymore. New bimini viewed from bow. Note the crescent clear panel we've named Mile's "crow window"... it's a whole 'nother story. Ariel in Bahia Honda, off US 1 Miles finds low bridge solution Fourth Watch sports new dodger Let's see, cruising or rock climbing Turning in tight quarters Our schedule... It keeps changing... check out our itinerary page to show up in the menu. It's the best way we can let folks know where we are going. If you'd like to receive an e-mail with our daily position on a Maptech chart, let us know and we'll put you on the SkyMate position reporting list. Keep in mind the damn thing comes daily.

Visit earlier portions of our 2008 east coast travels...

Boca Raton to Miami, FL - Jan 1 to 15, 2008