Florida, Bahamas, and Beyond

I love the local names of the bodies of water here in the Keys... Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, Tarpon Basin, and so forth. We departed from the Caribbean Club anchorage @ 1000 and motored our way to just off of the Upper Keys Sailing Club once again setting anchor by 1130. I expected to see more boat traffic, but we were only passed by one jet ski and crossed one motor yacht on our way. Spotting a Blue Heron was the highlight of the short trip. If you look close, you'll spot a rig. The hull is submerged. After work and boat chores, we dinghy'd into the Bayside Grille & Sunset Bar to met a long time friend that lives here in Key Largo. A cold beer and Mahi Tacos satisfied our happy hour appetites. The evening passed by too quickly. We said our goodbyes at last light and headed back to Imagine. The sailing club is hosting a small boat youth regatta this weekend. We may stick around here for a few nights.

Our night anchored at Gilbert's was uneventful. We arose early and motored away with no wind at 0800. We dropped anchor in less than an hour in seven feet of water across from the Caribbean Club. An interesting read is here https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean_Club In the afternoon, we dinghy'd in for a beverage. Back on Imagine, chicken and broccoli on the BBQ was the order for the dinner. Last night's sunset. It was another glorious night asleep aboard. Full sunshine powered our solar panels, and the house bank was back to 100% by midday. After wrapping up my work day, I was able to complete a couple small projects. We decided not to go ashore this evening. Tonight was ribeye steak with roasted potatoes and fresh salad. It's a ribeye, trust me. As I sit here in the cockpit, I can hear Wonderful Tonight (Eric Clapton) being sung at another tiki bar nearby. Otherwise it's very silent and calm here at anchor. I think we may just get used to and embrace the boati...

Just south of the Rickenbacker Causeway, a view of the Miami skyline. January 27th We had a partly cloudy night sky but clear enough to view the parade of planets. We were able to spot Venus, Mars, and Saturn. Awakening to a beautiful morning with light air and the promise of sunshine started our first morning. Imagine was the only boat on anchor as we prepared to head south. Unfortunately, we discovered that the 120A alternator was only generating 5-10 amps. We ended up motoring and motor sailing for the day. Between that and our solar panels, the house bank was fully charged by midday. Somewhere on Biscayne Bay 😎 We dropped anchor across from Gilbert's Resort on Jewfish Creek in Key Largo. We cleared the aft port cabin for engine access. The engine was too hot to do anything at the time, so we dinghy'd to Gilbert's for a cheeseburger in paradise. Back at Imagine, I began troubleshooting the power problem. With spares for both, I first had to determine whether the alterna...

Saturday, January 25th. We've spent the past few days watching the weather and provisioning Imagine. Brenda says it's as if we're moving away. The refrigerator is barren. The pantry is unrecognizable. Closets have space again. Moving onto a boat is hard work. Right now I'm kicked back at the condo on the sofa, enjoying a snack with a nice glass of Cabernet.  We're finally slipping lines tomorrow morning! Sunday, January 26th. We were both awake at 0500. Final items bagged. Arrived at the dock shortly after 0800. By hook & crook, we motored away in time to make the 0915 14th Street bridge. Traversing the Inlet was no issue. A fresh NE breeze pushed us toward Miami at 6-7 kts. Crossing the Port Everglades channel, we were intercepted by the USN. An exclusion zone is in place. The submarine was pretty cool to watch.  We had to motor east three miles then proceed south well past the Dania Pier. Fortunately the breeze held and we finally continued our way under heads...

Our sailing plans all began in Spain as we walked the Camino de Santiago back in April/May. We have settled on the following loose itinerary: Biscayne Bay, FL Keys, Dry Tortugas, FL West Coast to Tampa & St. Pete, Marathon, Miami, FL East Coast to Indiatlantic, then to the Abacos for the June 22-28 regatta. After the Bahamas, we are eyeing either Luperon in the Dominican Republic or Rio Dulce in Guatemala. We have lots of choices. It'll depend on which way the bind blows, so to speak. Getting ready to depart has been a long process consisting of projects, maintenance, upgrades, and repairs. It's taken a considerable amount of sweat equity and money. Our first project began in June with replacing the original Fico traveler and adding a rigid boom vang from Garhauer. While waiting for the both to arrive, we turned our attention to the deck and mast winches. The original Barient 25's were long overdue for service. Both cabin top winches were dismantled, cleaned, greased, a...