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| Date |
Day |
Miles |
Hrs. |
Speed |
Arrival
Port |
Comments |
Departed |
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Hollywood, FL |
Departure Port |
4/10/05 |
| 4/10/05 |
Sun |
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Ft. Lauderdale, FL |
Tight departure out of Harbor Islands Marina, hopefully never to return. Too boxed in. Easy ICW cruise, bridges cooperating fully. Tough docking at Lauderdale Marina fuel dock due to cross current and traffic. Snugged in, fueled up and then shocked with the overnight fees of $3.00/ft. Major misunderstanding. Oh, well, boating isn't supposed to be cheap. Nice, expensive dinner at 15th Street Fisheries and early to bed. |
4/11/05 |
| 4/11/05 |
Mon |
51.5 |
10 |
5.2 |
South Bimini, Bahamas |
Pre-dawn departure, 17th Street bridge opened on demand and we're off. Winds were a mild 15 knots out of the East but the seas were 3 to 6 feet so the cruise was bumpy. Weather was clear and nice. Everything cooperated until 2 hours from our destination when the port engine began losing rpm's. It bucked, snorted and died a few times while trying to dock but managed to get it started again and docked smoothly. Big slips at Bimini Sands Marina so the situation couldn't have been better. Snugged in, puppies walked and all's well. Pleasant conch and lobster dinner with Gloria at the Petite Conch. |
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| 4/12/05 |
Tue |
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Nice long walk to the south end and the Bimini Beach Club. Looks like it's seen better days. The marina was empty but the resort was clean and well staffed. Had a beverage and some conch fritters, enjoyed the lovely view and water. Katreena took the pups to the nearby beach for some frolicking while the captain got some sun at the pool. I then donned snorkel gear to check out the propulsion gear. (Replaced a bad cutlass bearing just before departure on Port side). New bearing is holding up fine but Starboard bearing will need replacing soon. Cooked some fine steaks for dinner and had a pleasant evening. |
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| 4/13/05 |
Wed |
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Walked the pups to the north end of the island. Not much to see but got our first glimpse of North Bimini. Left Honey aboard; her age is giving her some breathing problems. She's had a couple of tough days. Lunch and dinner aboard, some great shrimp and veggies. Another lazy day. Winds starting to pick up so a front is about to pass. |
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| 4/14/05 |
Thu |
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Strong west winds throughout the night and morning, with a few threatening clouds. Kat and I took the $2 ferry to North Bimini and explored. Town has seen better days but the large Bimini Bay development on the north end may indicate a revival. Not much luck trying to get cell coverage or Internet access at Batelco. One thing or another. Nice lunch on the veranda at the Bimini Big Game Club. Cheeseburgers in paradise aboard that night. |
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| 4/15/05 |
Fri |
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Made a solo run to North Bimini to check Internet. Still no luck at Batelco but the Tourism Office let me check with their machines. As predicted, a norther stirred things up. Might be a quiet weekend due to the tenousness of the Stream. Laundry day, Scrabble night. |
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| 4/16/05 |
Sat |
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Happy 16th Birthday, Honey! She's been having her ups and downs this trip. Hanging in there, though. |
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| 4/17/05 |
Sun |
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More laziness, with a few boat chores thrown in. And the puppies had a blast on the lovely beach outside Bimini Sands. |
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| 4/18/05 |
Mon |
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Final prep for departure. Weather forecast looks good with the northerlies supposed to die down tonight. |
4/19/05 |
| 4/19/05 |
Tue |
53 |
8 |
6.6 |
Ft. Lauderdale, FL |
The day started out nice enough, but… We departed at first light and seas were reasonably fair (3 to 5 feet) with the wind out of the east as forecast. Up with the sails. Attempted to sail without diesels but after an hour or so it became apparent that some more oomph was needed. The combo netted 7 to 10 knots, so we're cruising right along. But the bad news...our beloved Honey passed away en route back to Florida. She's now playing in doggie heaven with Shadow. Docked comfortably at Las Olas City Docks for two nights. |
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| 4/20/05 |
Wed |
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Errand day. Picked up the car from Harbor Islands and moved it to Lake Park Marina, checking out LM's new digs while at it. Had a pleasant dinner at Pusser's on Lauderdale Beach. |
4/21/05 |
| 4/21/05 |
Thu |
47 |
8.3 |
5.7 |
Lake Park, FL |
Easy departure from LOM and under the 17th Street Bridge out to the Atlantic. Fairly pleasant cruise north. Nice weather and very little boat traffic. However, the port engine is still being fussy and losing power. Got much busier as we entered Lake Worth Inlet. Doug was waiting at Lake Park Marina to help with line handling. Easy docking maneuver, with LM and crew safe and sound in their new home. The crew and pups spent the evening at Doug and Deb's, with a nice dinner at Jupiter Ale House. |
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| 4/22/05 |
Fri |
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Left Katreena to visit with Deb while the captain ran various errands. Back aboard that evening for a final night aboard. |
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| 4/23/05 |
Sat |
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Back to Georgia for the crew of Laughing Moon. |
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Lake Park, FL |
Departure Port |
5/16/05 |
| 5/16/05 |
Mon |
21.5 |
4.5 |
4.8 |
Peck Lake, FL |
Beautiful weather, smooth departure. Seven bridges to open so timing will dictate arrival. Parker opened promptly; PGA changed to hour and half hour; Donald Ross opened on demand; Indiantown on hour and half hour; final 3 were on demand. There were a few boats anchored in the middle of the deeper part so we hooked LM up a hundred yards off the ICW. Made a quick beach run to check it out. Very nice, and the pups enjoyed a walk ashore. |
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| 5/17/05 |
Tue |
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Again, nice weather. We spent a good deal of the day on the beach. Doug and Deb cruised Honey Moon (Regal 29' express cruiser) up and rafted off for a nice dinner aboard. LM's hook held us both quite nicely. |
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| 5/18/05 |
Wed |
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The Garcias departed early to return to work. We broke out the kayaks and did several miles and explored some eerie mangrove canals. The water was so shallow in the first that we could feel large fish (rays, sharks?) occasionally striking the bottoms of the kayaks. |
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| 5/19/05 |
Thu |
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We pushed "rubber moon" north up the ICW and toured Manatee Pocket. Got lunch to go at Pirate's Loft and cruised on back. |
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| 5/20/05 |
Fri |
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More beach time with the pups. Doug and Deb returned with HM and once again rafted off. A bit of beach time followed by a nice Deb-cooked dinner. |
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| 5/21/05 |
Sat |
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More relaxing beach time with the gang and the pups. We got cleaned up and presentable, and went in their "go fast" boat up to Stuart. Cocktails at Fins and dinner at Bare Bones. |
5/22/05 |
| 5/22/05 |
Sun |
21.5 |
4.5 |
4.8 |
Lake Park, FL |
The party's over. We all headed back. Busy, crazy ICW with all the little power boats. Just missed the Indiantown Bridge opening so had a half hour of holding still in traffic. Safely back in Lake Park Marina. |
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