On the Move Again!

Blue Heaven Rendezvous #19



We are “on the road again” like the song by Willie Nelson or should I say “on the water again” heading further south. We left our friends we met in Stuart and the luxurious Harborage Marina and all it’s amenities (as you can see in our photos) on Sunday, Feb. 1st. Before leaving I finally got to go kayaking with Dorothy and Chick Hundley on Illusion for an afternoon, and Al and I went to the Arts Fest in Old Town Stuart for a look at some great juried art and crafts. Maybe we will stop to visit the old stomping grounds and see friends on the way back. We have no definite plans except to try and be back in to our marina in Rock Hall, Md. by the end of May.


We headed to a not too distant destination, Peck Lake. It is not a lake as we know, but a wider section on the ICW where you can pull over and anchor. What is very nice, is that you can land your dinghy in the small sandy beach and walk the short path across and you are on a wonderful wide white beach on the Atlantic. We had a great walk along the coast and we saw all of four people. However, when we went back to our dinghy, we passed about a dozen people getting off a community pontoon boat which must ferry people across, a nice perk for their community.

We explored in the dinghy a bit, and returned to the boat to prepare to watch the Super Bowl. We got to see most of it. I say that because it kept going in and out due to the way the boat was positioned and the rains coming and going. We actually saw all the important plays that made my former hometown, Steelers, win! The most frustrating time it went out, was in the last three minutes of the game when the Cardinals were coming down the field to make a touch down. It did not return until the Steelers threw and caught the winning touchdown. What a sight to see!

The next day, Feb. 2nd (Ground Hog Day) on the Cruiser’s net on the single side-band radio we heard that the ground hog saw his shadow so there will be six more weeks of winter. So sorry you northerners!

Speaking of Cruiser’s net, today we had the best connection of any day we tried to listen and Al finally was able to check in with our boat name and location and they actually heard him in the Bahamas. We listen many mornings at 8:30am for other boaters we know, and another day we heard our Canadian friends who headed to Mexico when they were crossing over, so you can hear quite a distance.

After Al pumped out the rain water in the dinghy, we headed out for our next destination of Lake Worth. After motoring through seven bridge openings we reached a very lumpy Lake Worth because the wind was blowing 20-24 knots. We anchored at North Lake Worth because Al said the winds were to clock around to the northwest which would make it calmer. After a few hours of those windy conditions, it finally quieted down for the night. We thought we would be spending several days here because of windy conditions, but after analyzing the weather data, we felt that Tuesday would be the best day to go out the inlet into the ocean to get to Fort Lauderdale. Before we went to bed, we put the dinghy on the foredeck so that we would be ready to leave the anchorage by day break.

We were off the anchor by 7:10am and motored to the Lake Worth inlet and headed out. It had been so long since we had the sails up; we forgot to take the cover off the mainsail before we got out there. However, Al just hooked himself onto the boat with jack lines and did what needs to be done to raise the sail. The wind was perfect for a beam reach. It started rather light at 9-14 knots but got gusty and windier as the day went on. Al was glad he was prudent earlier, and had put in a double reef to shorten the mainsail. A good part of the 43 miles we were traveling 6-7 knots which provided a great sail. It was so good to hear the lapping of the waves on the hull of the boat again! And my herb garden liked it too! (I just have to have something to nurture!)

We arrived at Las Olas Municipal Marina in Fort Lauderdale after passing the luxurious homes and boats. Take a close look at the back of this yacht with a helicopter on the back upper deck! Talk about a lot of money. It must be nice!



We plan to stay two nights so that we can visit with Al’s Aunt and cousin. Also, the temperatures are suppose to plummet to the thirties. Aren’t we lucky to be here for a record breaker!




In Fort Lauderdale we went for a long walk up Las Olas Boulevard, but unfortunately for me, and fortunately for Al, it was before all the exclusive stores opened! Later, I walked to the beach which was the happening place. It has a gorgeous beach and waterfront filled with all sorts of restaurants and store





Later in the afternoon Al's Aunt B.J. and cousin Leslie came for a visit and to see our home on the water. They were gracious enough to take us for some groceries and then we went out for dinner. It was great seeing them again.

That evening Al studied about three or four forecasts from various sources to determine whether we should leave to go to Miami tomorrow. We need to go out in the ocean to get to Miami, because our mast is 61 ft. and one of the bridges is only 56 ft. After much studying, he determined tomorrow would be the day to go. After tomorrow the wind is to clock around to the east which will not be good for sailing south in the ocean. It is calling for north winds 15-20 knots with seas 4-6 ft. I guess we will see what seas are like at that height.