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SP Cruiser Catspaw offshore South Beach, Miami

We utilized a brief weather window to go offshore from Fort Lauderdale to Miami, with a forecast of small craft advisories and worsening as the week progressed. We felt we could take nearly anything for the short 26 mile ocean leg to get into Biscayne Bay and be in more protected waters for the move on south. So, out the inlet we went with 15 knots blowing in and the tide still flowing in near high tide. Inlets can be very rough if you have the wind (in this case E at 15) blowing against an OUT flowing tide. Wind against current can be a dangerous situation, as the waves come up very steep and very close.

Harness on to go forward onto the deck

Our exit to sea was manageable and once offshore, we added the full jib and staysail to the reefed main for a BEAUTIFUL beam reach to the Miami inlet. With departing Ft. Lauderdale at 1 hr before high tide, we arrived at the Miami inlet with the tide flowing OUT into the wind. Lucky for us, the winds were only 10-15 knots, plus Government Cut runs a bit south of east so the waves were manageable going into this inlet.

South Beach Miami arriving from sea

It is so exciting to arrive Miami from sea, passing Hollywood, North Miami, and Miami Beach and then through the inlet leaving South Beach to starboard. Fisherman’s Passage goes south of Dodge Island, past the massive shipping cranes for the Port of Miami. This channel runs right up to the city, joining the ICW once again and going north or south depending on the destination. We are heading south for Marathon, so we entered Biscayne Bay with dolphins and sandy beaches and palm trees where we dropped anchor just south of the causeway bridge at Virginia Island. Our lead boat and buddy boat SP Cruiser Catspaw, Carey and Bobbi, had us over for a cocktail party. We enjoyed the company of another buddy boat, Long Gone, with Stuart and Chuck. Life is fantastic off a sandy beach in 75 degree Dec. 12th weather. Next Stop….Boca Chita, once a private island, now a park….

Fisherman’s Channel passes the shipping terminal

Massive cranes for offloading container ships. Notice the dinghy running in the channel

Team Island Spirit motoring past the Port of Miami….very exciting

Notice the ICW waterway channel marker to turn north or south along the city

Miami and the colorful city framed by our USA flag

SP Cruiser Catspaw, Carey and Bobbi anchored in Biscayne Bay South of Virgina Key

Island Spirit at sunset, our first of many in the Florida Keys

Miami city lights reflect off the rain soaked decks

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20 opening bridges today…also called “lift” or “bascule” bridges

The Intra-Coastal Waterway from Lake Worth to Fort Lauderdale passes through 20 opening bridges in only 47 miles!  We found it difficult to concentrate on navigating today, because we were distracted by the beautiful homes of North Palm Beach, Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale.

The waterway here has multitudes of man-made canals that lead into the mainland, perpendicular to the waterway. This design creates peninsulas that then create one end lot or several end lots where the most impressive homes are built. Another benefit of this design is that it creates perfect boat slips on the inside of the canal for docking 100′ yachts. The view of many of these homes was partially blocked by the yachts, which in some cases are larger than the homes. It was interesting to see the mix of older houses and the lots where old homes have been torn down in favor of newer models. Most of these mansions must be second homes, as we rarely saw anyone outside on this pleasant Sunday afternoon. We found it very interesting and entertaining looking at all these beautiful homes and it made this section of the ICW very enjoyable, even with all the bridges.  Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale are addresses of the rich and famous and it was fun to pass through the area.

Here are some house photos of the area…

Palm Beach high rises

A modest ICW home near Palm Beach, Fl with the 45′ powerboat

The end lot with a canal on the right side with a yacht out of the photo

Perfect example of fully using the view of these end lots

Multiple lots taking the entire end with canals on BOTH sides! That is ONE HOME!

Sunday afternoon boat traffic at the bridges, Catspaw in the lead

Coming home from a Sunday afternoon cruise on the boat…an 85 footer at least!

The small 45 footer docked at the front yard, end lot with canal sides

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North Palm Beach condos and yachts line Lake Worth, FL.

Departing Vero Beach, FL, is a challenging aspect of cruising because Vero has everything a boater needs….BUT…we did press on and move down to the Lake Worth anchorage. Anyone who has driven a car to Florida recalls passing the PGA Boulevard exit. Well, that same PGA exit turns into the PGA Bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway at the Lake Worth anchorage.

This lake could hold at least 100 boats at anchor and provides a dinghy dock a few short blocks from a Publix grocery store. This lends itself to boaters who are waiting for a weather window to cross over to the Bahamas, only about 75 miles east of the inlet. Our plan this first trip south is to fully explore the Keys and the West Coast of Florida before heading over to the Bahamas in March and April. So, we dropped anchor in Lake Worth with a different perspective, we just needed a place to sleep and relax after the 64 mile run with SP Cruiser, Catspaw, Carey and Bobbi. This is the furthest south we have been on Island Spirit, so it was great to have experienced cruisers in the lead.

Tomorrow, both boats will pick up anchor and move on to Fort Lauderdale where we will explore that beautiful city from the anchorage at Lake Sylvia. I must say, this section of the ICW was very interesting and colorful with beautiful homes and large yachts. I am glad we did not miss this by going outside as we had planned.

Here are some photos of this section….with entertaining captions of what locals might say.

Look, we keep our small 80 footer docked behind our winter home…very nice!

We have our own sandy beach, powerboat and Caribbean home resort with palms…ahhhh

Come on, where is YOUR Hinckley Picnic jet boat? Ours is here, behind the home….$500K….check!

Yes, but we have our 58 footer lifted and dry sailed behind our home….Check that!

Wait… we have the corner lot with our 26′ DONZI and a 60 foot mega yacht….SCORE… Our Good Friends Carey and Bobby show us the way south SP Cruiser Catspaw with famous watch cat Tiller and stealthy hidden Heidi cats aboard

Finally, the ninth bridge of the day – the PGA Boulevard Bridge and we are safe in Lake Worth….ahhh GOOGLE MAP of this Location

WOW…that was really an interesting section of the waterway, and I am glad to see our economy doing so well that people do not have to sell these homes. There were very few FOR SALE signs like in other areas up north. Looks like we are reaching the real 1% soon. Just wait until we see what’s next….Fort Lauderdale….

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Quality gear a must…shuffleboard action 🙂

We completed our tasks at Vero Beach and this allowed us to slip the grasp of this wonderful town and marina. We completed…

1. Laundry
2. Groceries
3. Riverside Cafe Happy Hour via dinghy
4. Sonny’s BBQ via the Bus
5. Shuffleboard with Almon and Carey, our Vero Coaches, and 6 other cruisers
6. Cruisers’ Cocktail Party with 40+ cruisers
7. Bike rides around town
8. Walks to the beach and walks down Date Palm Drive
9. Water, Fuel, Pumpout – the big three!
10. Mail call – our first batch of forwarded mail since departure, thanks to our terrific house sitter.

Oh, the excitement of being in port! Life takes on a new feel and the options for adventure are vast. Vero Beach Florida is one of those towns we both agree we could move to. This and Wrightsville Beach, NC are the two towns so far that make us feel that way. We don’t ever plan on moving out of our beautiful solar home, but it is fun to look and imagine. Here are a few photos of Vero 2.

Our raft of 3 IPs, Island Spirit 35, Catspaw SP Cruiser & Cutter Loose IP 460

Vero Beach AM sunrise

Carey takes a morning stroll on the crowded beach at Vero

Date Palm Drive, our favorite street right off the marina.

Radeen enjoys a bike ride through the beautiful parks at Vero

The action on the shuffleboard courts, a must visit…

Our Coach, Almon, who is so kind and helpful. He teaches us how to play the game.

The required shuffleboard couple’s photo…this is one for the mantle 🙂

 Yes, life in Vero Beach is wonderful! There are so many services and you don’t need a car due to the free bus. The beach is fantastic, the restaurants delicious, the marina is a dream, and the boaters flock to this location. It is easy to stay here for weeks, and it is very difficult to make yourself press on, but that’s what we did AND we did it in 15-20 knots NE wind with rain….. WHAT? ARE WE NUTS?….yes we are, but the Florida Keys are calling us and that is our next big destination.

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Dancing with DOLPHINS….

 Greeted by Great Blue Herons…

 Perplexed by Pelicans…

 Blanketed by Blue Skies…

 Entertained by Elegant Homes

 Bounded by the Merrill Barbor Bridge…

 Our FLEET of Island Packet Yachts in Vero on mooring #40.

 We check in, and pay $13.90 per night for a mooring ball….what a DEAL…

 Off we go, for our first walk down DATE PALM DRIVE….

Welcome to Vero Beach Florida, a city that knows how to build, manage and run a city marina. The location provides everything so well, that it has been given the name “VELCRO BEACH” because many boaters arrive here and never leave! We too love this location and we look forward to a few days of relaxation before pressing on towards the Florida Keys!

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Welcome to Daytona, Florida where the bridges have mosaic tile work like this! Beautiful

Arriving Daytona Beach is always fun because of the bridge bases tiled with mosaics of manatees and dolphins. Welcome to Florida! We have been here 3 times now and have never been to shore, we always drop anchor, sleep, wake up the next day and move on. Sometime soon we will actually have to stop in Daytona and spend some time exploring.

One exciting aspect to today was passing over 999 NM, that is 999 nautical miles from Rock Hall, MD where we departed Oct 22. Moving a boat 1,000 miles takes some effort and most of all, TIME. We travel at 6 knots, which is 6.6 MPH or at a fast jogging / running speed. So, imagine jogging from Maryland to Florida. You need to run 8 hours a day for about 20 days to do that. It takes time and time is what we have. Lucky us, we count our blessings every day!

There it is…999 NM nautical miles from Rock Hall, MD! This needs to be added to our 1,560 nm summer up to Maine and back.

OK…here we go again, let’s run up another 999 NM 🙂

Radeen…1,000 miles….actually this makes 12,000+ miles for her Ocean Sailor Girl, who loves to be on the boat.

Boat house roof at a fishing club / restaurant

Fort Matanzas, built in 1750, Spanish Fort just south of St. Augustine

Beautiful and typical view heading down the ICW

Arriving Daytona, FL, the high rise condos begin to appear

Thank you Daytona for these beautiful bridge base mosaic art pieces

 Next stop….Titusville and Kennedy Space Center….

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Spanish fort, Castillo de San Marcos, a National Park

We spent 3 days in St. Augustine, Fl and really like this town. We could see spending a longer period here next visit and even leaving our boat here as many cruisers do. We enjoyed walking around the fort, strolling across the Bridge of Lions, and exploring the historic streets. Radeen couldn’t resist touring the former Ponce de Leon Hotel again, with Tiffany glass window, amazing tile work and detailed murals. The students of Flagler College eat in the grand dining room, which is beautifully maintained. There are many opportunities for dining within blocks of the marina. Columbia is a lovely Cuban restaurant, owned by the same family for 6 generations.

The mooring field is very nice, except at slack tides when the mooring ball bashes into your bow like a big bass drum and wakes you at night. We tried several processes to shorten the scope but the mooring pennants are too large to come over your bow roller and the pennant is long enough, 9 feet to still allow the ball to hit the bow. There was no way to prevent this that we could work out. Next stop….DAYTONA, FL…

IP37 Still Crazy under palms off the fort, St. Augustine, Fl

The newly restored Bridge of Lions, a great bridge to walk across

Great Blue Heron guards the St, Augustine mooring field

New IP arrives from Denmark! GOOGLE MAP of this location

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Our buddy boat, IP460 Cutter Loose and the Bridge of Lions

We departed Pine Island, raising anchor just after sunrise at 7am, motoring south towards St. Augustine. We enjoyed toast from our homemade bread that we baked last night on anchor. This cruising life is a dream. I know I have said that before, but life returns to a very simple daily routine. We live each day, exploring the towns where we are anchored or moving the boat 30-50 miles to the next town along the waterway. When you move the boat, you are busy driving and navigating as you cannot use the autopilot as you would offshore. On these moving days, it is sometimes stressful due to shallow water or unclear charting, but we stand 1 hour watches and that tends to help.

When in really great towns, like St. Augustine, Fl, we tend to stay for a few days and enjoy the sites, pubs, museums, shopping and yacht services. This is our third visit by boat to St. Augustine and now they have 140 mooring balls for rent at $20.00/night. That is not bad as it cost $10.00/day to dock your dinghy if you are anchored out. The marina includes a very nice bathhouse, laundry, ship’s store and a pumpout boat. Daily adventures are walking the town which is well lit with white Christmas tree lights in all the trees, touring the winery, exploring the fort, Castillo de San Marcos and the Tiffany glass at Flagler College, the former Ponce de Leon Hotel. This luxury hotel built as a stop on Henry Flagler’s railroad, led St. Augustine to become the “Newport of the South.” What great history – we really enjoy this town.

Snowy egret greets us on the dinghy docks, St. Augustine, Fl

The Ponce de Leon Hotel, built by Henry Flagler, now Flagler College

Historic streets in the oldest city in America, beautiful

Radeen reads about the oldest original house in St. Augustine

Typical vista down a street with fort Castillo de San Marco in the background

More exploration and discovery today around St. Augustine, Fl. We find it hard to move on after staying in great towns like this. Our plan is 3 days here, then press on towards Vero Beach Fl. with stops in Daytona, Titusville, Melbourne, then Vero!

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Departing Fernandina, FL, with sunrise over the paper plant

We departed Fernandina raising anchor at 0730 and ran 4 miles down the ICW to Amelia Island Marina where we completed the “big three” service items. #1 Diesel, #2 Water, and #3 Holding Tank. This marina was well protected from the 20-25 knot winds blowing this AM, which were projected to blow all day. The nice aspect to the ICW is that even when the wind is blowing like this, it is still a calm day on the water. The waterway is never rough and the trees protect you as well. On the other hand, the canals are tight and any engine trouble or fuel filter problems would be a real challenge, as there is not much room to anchor. The photos for today show the contrast of industrial Fernandina with the paper plant at sunrise, then the waterway homes with their docks and powerboats, and finally the isolation of Pine Island. There there are no homes, lights, cars or people in view, other than 3 boats anchored with us. Next stop….St. Augustine, the oldest city in America….

Tug boat working the dredge pipes near the channel

St. John,s River homes and their boat docks on the ICW

The Florida waterway is narrow with a nearly constant show of homes to enjoy

End of the day, the anchor is down off Pine Island, Fl…no one is sight See this location on our Google Map here

Bread is baking…dinner on Cutter Loose at 1830…Life is good.

Our homemade bread, ….. thank you Sandy and Jeff on IP380 Xperience Bread Recipe HERE

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