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| Date |
Day |
Miles |
Hrs. |
Speed |
Arrival
Port |
Comments |
Departed |
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Marathon, FL |
Departure Port |
8/15/02 |
| 8/15/02 |
Thu |
49 |
10.0 |
4.9 |
Rodriguez Key, FL |
Bumpy sail/cruise outside. Expected
less lobster traps to dodge and was wrong. Weather began clearing
up when we approached anchorage. Tucked into North side of Rodriguez
Key. Pleasant anchorage off Key Largo. Nice sunset. |
8/16/02 |
| 8/16/02 |
Fri |
45 |
8.0 |
5.6 |
No Name Harbor, Key Biscayne, FL |
Not sure if LM could squeeze into opening
but there was plenty of room. Nice anchorage, not many boats. Nice
weather. |
8/17/02 |
| 8/17/02 |
Sat |
37 |
6.0 |
6.2 |
Ft. Lauderdale, FL |
Pleasant sail north to Las Olas Marina.
No problems and tucked in safe and sound. |
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| 8/18/02 |
Sun |
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Chillin' out. |
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| 8/19/02 |
Mon |
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Celebrated Katreena's birthday a day
early. Happy Birthday, Sweetie! |
8/20/02 |
| 8/20/02 |
Tue |
5 |
1.3 |
3.8 |
|
Katreena headed north with the pups
and I headed out for Lauderdale Marine Center. Bridges and weather
cooperated fine and LM is once again on the hard. |
9/11/02 |
| 9/11/02 |
Wed |
5 |
1.3 |
3.8 |
|
Long, expensive trip in the yard. In
addtion to the usual bottom work, LM needed shafts turned, engines
raised
for alignment, one new shaft tube, new couplings, and rudders rebuilt.
Ouch! Splashed and out of there. Back to Las Olas Marina. |
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| 9/12/02 |
Thu |
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Rich Beers installs a new refrigeration
system. Goodbye Frigoboat. |
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| 9/13/02 |
Fri |
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Final cleaning and prep for cruise
south. |
9/14/02 |
| 9/14/02 |
Sat |
66 |
11.0 |
6.0 |
Key Largo, Florida Keys |
Nice day but seas much more ferocious
than forecast. To add to the troubles, Otto (autopilot) failed.
Had to handle the entire trip manually. By the end of the day I
was tired and sunburned. Nice anchorage just south of the Jewfish
Creek bridge in Blackwater Sound. |
9/15/02 |
| 9/15/02 |
Sun |
63 |
9.7 |
6.5 |
Marathon, Florida Keys |
Another long day cruising by hand.
Not enough of an old salt to enjoy this. Tucked into Marathon Marina
with the help of Doug and Donna Felling catching lines. |
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Marathon, Florida Keys |
Departure Port. |
11/26/02 |
| 11/26/02 |
Tue |
44 |
6.9 |
6.4 |
Key West, Florida Keys |
Tied up alongside at Key West Hilton.
Beautiful day, easy sail (except for dodging a departing cruise
ship). Doug, Deb and Marina joined us at dinnertime for the voyage
west. |
11/27/02 |
| 11/27/02 |
Wed |
63 |
10.0 |
6.3 |
Dry Tortugas, Florida |
Cold,
but pretty day. Easy cruise with wind and seas to our backs.
Doug was quite the fisherman. Caught
a nice size Kingfish, a Little Tunny and a Spanish Mackerel. Old
channel between DT and Bush Key closed up naturally so followed
the new marks around to the anchorage. Pretty crowded so tucked
in near the southern shallows. Set down good and solid. Marina
was happy to be shuttled to a beach for "tinkies". Nice
steak dinner aboard. |
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| 11/28/02 |
Thu |
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Cold
weather, cold water. Doug took a saltwater bath but came up all
goose bumps. Dinghy ride to the
old fort for a self-guided tour. Fort was great and interesting.
Sea and seaplane shuttles hauled a lot of tourists (many of great
proportions) but it was not intrusive. Cooked a traditional turkey
Thanksgiving dinner aboard. Mmmm. Boat owners were invited to a "lantern
tour" of the fort that night so we joined in. Mike, the ranger,
was dressed in 1862 Union garb and the tour was very nice. Cold,
but nice. |
11/29/02 |
| 11/29/02 |
Fri |
52 |
9.0 |
5.8 |
Woman Key, Florida Keys |
Chilly, bumpy cruise. Weather turned
extreme (though clear) with 6 to 8 foot seas plowing into the bow
and 30 knot gusts out of the NE. Deb stayed below, nursing seasickness.
Doug fished. Found a nice spot in the lee of Woman Key with only
a couple of neighbors (one a cat). Beautiful sunset. |
11/30/02 |
| 11/30/02 |
Sat |
38 |
6.0 |
6.3 |
Newfound Harbour, Florida Keys |
Doug, Marina and I dinghied around
Woman Key in search of fish. Pretty island, no fish. Final dog
walk ashore and on to Key West. Hilton marina was full, day was
pleasant so we cruised on to Newfound Harbour. Checked availability
at Little Palm Island but they wanted $7/ft. per night! Quiet anchorage
but long trek to relieve Marina. |
12/1/02 |
| 12/1/02 |
Sun |
20 |
3.2 |
6.3 |
Marathon, Florida Keys |
Back to Marathon Marina for the night.
Drove Doug and Deb back to Key West for their truck. They headed
back for home today. |
12/2/02 |
| 12/2/02 |
Mon |
73 |
11.3 |
6.5 |
Pumpkin Key, Florida Keys |
Katreena headed north with Shadow and
Coco. Honey and Callie departed with me aboard LM. Nice inside
cruise. Dropped the hook off Pumpkin Key an hour past sunset. Light
was almost gone. Dead calm night. A pair of rafting sailboats were
a quarter mile off. |
12/3/02 |
| 12/3/02 |
Tue |
57 |
9.0 |
6.3 |
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida |
Called around looking for a slip outside
the 17th street bridge. Marina Inn wanted $3.50/ft and Royal Palm
couldn't handle the beam. Back to Las Olas Marina. Fortunately
the slip was outside the Las Olas Bridge. |
12/4/02 |
| 12/4/02 |
Wed |
49 |
9.0 |
5.4 |
West Palm Beach, Florida |
Winds made de-docking a singlehander
challenge, but all's well. Made the 7:00am 17th street opening
but encountered terrible seas. Tossed and turned, scaring the pups.
Planned on anchoring but found a reasonable slip at Old Cove Marina
($50/night). Tricky, high pier but successful. Pleasant quiet night. |
12/5/02 |
| 12/5/02 |
Thu |
36 |
5.2 |
7.0 |
Jensen Beach, Florida |
Another tough dock departure. Chose
the inside route for comfort. Bridge tenders were very pleasant.
Openings were easy and only had a long wait at Indian River Bridge
(arrived too soon). Doug awaited me at Nettles Island. Needed his
assist with lines. Very tricky place to put LM, especially with
the high crosswinds. But, once again, all's well that ends well.
Land ho for the pups. |
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| 12/6/02 |
Fri |
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Clean and maintenance day for LM. And
tons of laundry. |
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| 12/7/02 |
Sat |
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Leaving LM for awhile. Bye, Girl. Off
to join in for Deb's 40th and then the land voyage to GA. |
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