No 10: Lake Worth, Stuart and Fort Pierce.

 👉Lake Worth, Stuart and Fort Pierce

Lake Worth is the first place we anchored at in January 2014 after leaving Fort Pierce. It looked quite different to when we were last there. A lot more mooring balls with semi-permanent live-aboard boats.

Lake Worth is also part of the ICW and is at least 1 km wide. There is a marina for super big and

wealthy yachts and power boats. In fact, there was one boat called Bravo Eugenia that sparkled at night. It was huge and quite beautiful!

FYI:   I, of course, googled to find out some more information about it – here is a link.

BRAVO EUGENIA Yacht • Jerry Jones $225M Superyacht • Oceanco • 2019 (superyachtfan.com)

After we left Lake Worth on Saturday morning, we heard the captain of the Bravo Eugenia say that they were leaving Lake Worth and heading south.

Our time in Lake Worth was lovely and relaxing. There was not much to do as there isn’t a decent dinghy dock although we did tie up at the West Palm Beach yacht club – which was nothing fancy at all. We went exploring but didn’t find much except a corner grocery shop and KFC with some shady characters around. We were still struggling to find decent Wi-Fi so we decided we would buy a burner phone for our time in States, but we didn’t want to be tied down with any mobile phone company. Fast forward…. We found a HUGE Walmart in Stuart which had phones for sale, so at this current moment, we are all sorted... Phew!!!

While at Lake Worth, there was another yacht anchored close by called ‘Tumble Weed’. We later met the owner and explained to him that we almost changed Passages name to ‘Tumble Weed’. This is due to Mel’s connections with Namibia and a very good and special family friend from my days growing up in Zimbabwe, Uncle Trev. When I let Uncle Trev know that I had meet Mel who came from Namibia, he would always refer to Mel as Tumble Weed. We obviously didn’t change her name….. that is largely since there was an Australian boat already called Tumble Weed. In fact, there was a Tumble Weed,2 and 3 registered in Australia too. In Australia, only one boat can be registered under one name whereas in the USA, it is per State hence there being several boats with the same name. It all depends on the State they are registered in.

When we left Lake Worth for Stuart on Saturday morning around 7.00 am, we should have guessed that it would have been busy leaving the entrance, being the start of the weekend. It was like morning rush hour as every size of boat possible was heading out to sea. My goodness, as we were sailing north to Stuart, the amount of fishing boats out and about was incredible. At least 200 boats of different sizes.

We had to time our arrival at Stuart for high tide, as Stuart is known for its shallow depths. At times, we had less than 20cms below our keel. Quite nerve wracking for Mel. I wasn’t looking at the depth instrument just checking the route and the channel markers.

Anyway, the reason for going to Stuart as mentioned previously, was to have the whisker pole installed onto the mast. We had arranged for this to happen while at the Miami Boat show, back in February. The whisker pole keeps the genoa sail in full mode so allowing us to sail more efficiently. Before the whisker pole, as the wind changed, either direction or intensity, the genoa sail would ‘luff’ – flap, spilling lots of wind.

By lunch time, we had anchored in Manatee Pocket in amongst a few rust buckets, permanent live aboards and Island Packet yachts. My goodness, we had never seen so many Island Packets in such a small anchoring area before. We later learned that Mack Sails, the company we were dealing with for the Whisker pole, was affiliated to another business, Mack Yacht Services, which is run by one of the ‘Mack’ brothers, Colin. He has become extremely well known in the States and further afield for working on Island Packets. It is quite a long and involved story with a bit of social media ‘politics‘ involved, but basically now Colin only works on Island Packets.

No sooner had we dropped anchor and were preparing to have lunch and relax for the afternoon, when the crew from one of the Island Packets anchored in Manatee Pocket, Petrel - Mark and Valeri from Connecticut came to introduce themselves. They were on an IP420 and were planning on leaving Manatee Pocket the following morning after having quite a bit of work done on their boat. They filled us in on the ins and outs of Manatee Pocket – for example, the Poop boat, that comes round to the boats that have requested a pump-out, every Tuesday. It is a free service.

We were still experiencing a few issues with our outboard motor for the dinghy. It was quite frustrating as the dinghy is our lifeline to land. After spending another couple hundred dollars to have the fuel pump’s diaphragms replace, the engine stopped in the middle of the channel when we were going to meet up with some friends and we had to row the rest of the way. Mel ended up spending several hours trying to get to the bottom of why the engine was still not working after it was supposedly repaired. It turned out that the ‘technician’ hadn’t fitted the choke correctly and it was left in the ‘on’ position, flooding the engine. The engine is now working well. Hoorah!!!!

The whisker pole.

Being at anchor in Manatee Pocket was quite stressful as we could not make any water while there; the water was brackish so we would fill up our 5-gallon water container, almost every time we went on shore at the local marina.

Early Monday morning, 22 May, Mel and I went to Mack Yacht Services – Colin’s Office/workshop/boatyard. It was down one of the river outlets of Manatee Pocket. There were at least 10 Island Packets along the riverbanks or on the hard at Colin’s boatyard – more information later about what transpired after visiting the boatyard and how it is impacting our plans.

This wasn’t where the whisker pole was being attached – we had to go to the Mack Sails workshop and office which was about a 2 -3 km walk. When we arrived at Mack Sails to find out when the whisker pole was going to be attached, we were a little disappointed as we were pushed back by another week. Anyway, the whisker pole was put onto Passages, a week later, on Tuesday 30 May 2023. In the meantime, we were able to fix a few other bits and pieces on the boat, like the small fans we have in the main living area, kitchen, and bedroom.

We also took the opportunity to have Mack Sails look at the stay sail which had ripped when we were sailing up the Florida Keys, to Boot Key. Unfortunately, it is not repairable as the material has deteriorated, so Mel is busy getting quotes for a new stay sail and genoa.

While in Manatee Pocket, we met a wonderful couple who were also anchored close by and are on an IP38, Johanna and Ronald and their little dog, Henry, on the boat ‘London Calling’. They have stayed in Stuart and anchored in Manatee Pocket on a few occasions having work down on their IP by Colin.

Every day for the next week, until we left Stuart on Thursday 1 June, we would meet up with Johanna and Ronald either on our boat or theirs for drinks, or we would go to the Twisted Tuna or Fish House for a drink. (This is where we would fill up our 5-gallon water container).

One morning, Johanna decided to be independent, and take their dinghy to the local park so Henry, the dog could go for a quick run around. A big part of moving onto a boat is losing one’s independence. In the past, I have tried to drive the dinghy so if I feel like going ashore on my own, I can. Well, this time round the dinghy hasn’t been reliable so I have been reluctant to have a go by myself.

Anyway…. London Calling’s motor is electric and reliant on a small foldable solar panel. Johanna asked if I wanted to join her, which I did and off we went to the park. It was lovely to be walking around in amongst the trees and the squirrels. The squirrels were cheeky little things, coming up really close to Henry the dog, teasing him to have a go at chasing them.

When it came time to head back to the boats and our husbands/partners, the engine wouldn’t start. We tried several things as we were both determined to be independent and to solve the problem of the engine not starting. Well after about 20 -25 minutes, we reluctantly phoned Mel to ask him to collect Ronald on his boat and to come and rescue us. Both Johanna and I were quite deflated as whenever one tries to be independent, like we are on land, something seems to go wrong. Oh well such is life on a boat!

While in Stuart, we visited a huge Walmart, bought our mobile phone for the USA, and stocked up on a few groceries for the rest of our stay and journey onwards to Fort Pierce.

During our stay in Manatee Pocket, we saw and heard of some sad stories:  I know I have mentioned in a previous post about how anchoring spaces are reducing and more and more of these areas are either becoming mooring fields, attached to a marina or a city council. It usually costs between $25 – $35 a day for a mooring ball. In many cases, included in the price is access to a dinghy dock, showers, laundry and a few other facilities that yachties require, like a bus into town, etc. All well and good, however what is happening in the USA is many people can no longer afford to rent a house, so it is cheaper for them to live on a boat. As we have found in a few anchorages, there are live-aboards and their boats in many cases, are rust buckets. While in Manatee Pocket, there was a rust bucket, that didn’t swing on it’s anchor like other boats, so when there was a huge thunderstorm (and we had a few while we were anchored), we became quite close to it. In fact, one night, we hardly slept as we were watching how close we were to it. Our anchor held well, but we had to keep a watch, as if the anchor dragged, which we were sure it wouldn’t as it was deep down in thick, gooey mud, we would need to react very quickly, to prevent ourselves from colliding into it. We re-anchored at least three times and the third time we were just sticking into the channel when the wind was blowing in a SE.

On one of the boats close-by, lived an elder couple who were forced to put on a generator several times during the day and night. The wife is sick with cancer and asthma, and they are hoping to get to the Bahamas, soon. Their boat doesn’t look as if it will be able to survive the up-and-coming hurricane season. It is so sad! In fact, while we have been in the USA, we have noticed how many places have been adversely affected by Covid. Even lovely Fort Pierce looks run down in many sections and the people who are homeless – there are many more than when we were last in this part of the world. Yet the wealth of some people…..enough said.

We headed for Fort Pierce up the ICW – the Intra-Coastal Water way. I wanted to see what the ICW was

all about although Mel doesn’t enjoy travelling along the ICW as you are motoring and it is like connecting the dots, from one green and red channel marker to the next. I did enjoy seeing the ‘countryside’ along the banks of the ICW.

The history of the ICW is quite fascinating as it is a water way that runs from Massachusetts in the north, right down the east coast of the USA to the Gulf of Mexico. It is 4.800km long and basically one does not need to go out into the open sea/Atlantic Ocean to travel down the east coast of the USA.

Here is some information about the ICW: Thanks to Wikipedia: Intracoastal Waterway - Wikipedia

It took us about 4 hours to travel up to Fort Pierce, where we had arranged for a slip in the Fort Pierce City Marina. This is quite a significant place for me and Passages, as this was the place where I was first introduced to her in December 2013. We were keen to see if any of the lovely people we had met 10 years previously were still around, but sadly no. One such character – Frank, who was a retired New York City police Officer and was serving when 9/11 happened, and his wife Annie, were living aboard their motor boat, passed away a few years back and nobody is sure what/where Annie is. Their boat is still around, in fact diagonally opposite us, as when Frank passed away, Annie sold it to the couple who are currently living on it at present.

While we were in Fort Pierce, we enjoyed the Saturday Farmers Market, went for a bike ride to Aldi and around and down some of the side streets of Fort Pierce. On one such occasion, we saw a sign that said, ‘Peacock Crossing’. Upon investigating a little further, we came across a whole field of Peacocks of all different ages. It was quite fascinating to see the males, strutting their stuff.

Well, our plans for this year have had to change and quite drastically. Our plan was to complete all the upgrades on Passages and then sail south down to Curacao. However, we have realised that she needs a lot more work than what we originally thought, so we have decided to find a boatyard out of the main hurricane belt and continue having all the necessary work done on Passages. We will be sailing up north to the Florida/Georgia border to St Marys Boatyard, where Passages will be for a while, while we travel to Cape Town and spend some time back on our land base home – Perth.

Here is what still needs to be done on Passages:

The windvane: Mel is not totally happy with the positioning of the windvane and would like to make an adjustment. This adjustment requires some fibreglass work, so we are waiting until Passages is back in the boatyard. The lovely washing machine we bought for Passages, requires some fibreglass work as well, to make it stable on the boat.

The HUGE issue we have are the chain plates: While in Stuart and at Colin’s place with all the Island Packets, it became apparent that we need to have the chain plates replaced. This is MAJOR work – 6 weeks of work and I will not mention the amount of money. HOWEVER, they are an essential part of the boat as without secure and stable chain plates which hold up the mast, we would not be able to sail Passages.

SO, while the chain plates are being done in December 2023, later this year, the mast will have to come down, so the wiring for the new radar and wind instruments, will be added. At the same time, we will have the new stay sail and genoa made.

At Colin’s boatyard, there are storage containers where we can place everything that is on Passages, in a safe environment. Mel and I are busy working out different scenarios where we can go. We could organise an Airbnb as Johanna and Ronald did when they were in a similar situation to us, having to live off and away from the boat for over 6 weeks. I will have plenty of time to make the new hatch covers and some rope bags while Passages is having the work done on her.

I will not write any more long detailed posts of our journey up to St Marys, but I will make a short video to share with you once we are about to leave Passages.

So, until next time – enjoy whatever you are doing. Keep safe, Be Kind and Be Happy.

Bye for now.

Mel and Caryn

No 9: Our journey up the Florida coast.

👉👀Our Journey up the Florida coast 

One of the many challenges about sailing is choosing the correct weather window to sail. Our intention is always to sail. After all, we are a sailing vessel and not a motorboat. However, in this part of the world, the prevailing winds are easterlies. There are the occasional SE winds, and on the rare occasion a westerly but more often E, NE winds.

We were heading due east to Marathon. Yes, I know we could have tacked about a million times but then it would have taken us double or even three times longer to travel the 38 N miles to Marathon, so we put the motor on, and motor-sailed to our next destination. It is not our favourite thing to do as it is far more peaceful listening to the sound of the swishing of the water than the noise of the engine. A plus side is we have hot water readily available after motoring, instead of turning on the water heater which we very seldom needed to do when we were in the Caribbean as it is far more refreshing having a cold shower.

Our journey to Marathon was not very comfortable as the swells were much higher than anticipated and directly head on, but we arrived at Boot Key, Marathon just after 5.30pm. Unfortunately, despite all the hard work Mel had put into ‘fixing’ the windlass, it was still problematic, so we had to drop and raise the anchor, manually. Oh no, not another thing for Mel to ponder, problem solve and fix.

Boot Key, Marathon is located at the start of the Seven Mile Bridge. We had decided to spend two nights anchored at Boot Key as we enjoy just being anchored somewhere and spending time on the boat relaxing. There is an extremely common and well-known sailing saying: ‘Sailing is maintenance in exotic places/ in paradise’. We spent the day fixing things as, while we were motor-sailing to Boot Key, we decided to put the small stay sail up – well that managed to rip and the line to the sail had worn down to a thread. Mel and I started laughing as we couldn’t believe that now something else needed to be fixed or repaired. Anyway, we always see the positive - at least it happened now and not in the middle of the Caribbean or Pacific Ocean. We are heading to Stuart, Florida to have the whisker pole added to the mast and the company that will be doing that for us, also fixes sails.

On Tuesday 9 May, we headed off to Key Largo, Rodriguez Key but once again had to motor sail although this time the seas were flat and calm so travelling the 45N Miles was a piece of cake and we arrived there just after 3.30pm. Mel enjoyed having a swim while checking on the anchor, plus checking that everything on the underside of the boat was looking good.

While sailing along the Keys, like in the Bahamas, one must get used to the shallow depths. At times, we could have only 2 metres of water below our keel, and we knew that in some areas we would have to time our journey just right, preferably at high tide to ensure we didn’t touch the bottom.

We spent a relaxing night at Rodriguez Key, Key Largo before heading up the inner channel, the Hawk channel (part of the ICW – (Intra-Coastal Waterways) to ‘No Name Harbor’, Miami. It felt like we had

completed a full circle of the Caribbean as way back almost 9 ½ years ago, we had anchored at ‘No Name Harbor’ before setting out on our journey to the Bahamas, which would eventually lead us onto the Caribbean. My goodness has a lot happened and changed since then. When I think back to that time, I remember how nervous and clueless I was about sailing. Although there are times I feel the same way, but know that I have learnt a tremendous amount. I still have a LOT more to learn.

Once again, we motor-sailed to ‘No Name Harbor’ and enjoyed a lovely evening watching the skyline of Miami.

By 7.00am the following morning, we had lifted the anchor and headed to Fort Lauderdale, where we had arranged to stay at a marina for a few days, while we completed a few chores on Passages, namely putting the new and additional solar panel on her and our new navigational instruments.

I know this is a matter of one’s perspective but since I live on a sail boat, naturally I feel a bit sad about the whole situation….. let me explain.

There are some amazing marinas in and around Florida but many now are becoming far too expensive for the average middle class yachtie. In some cities, like Fort Lauderdale there are hardly any places for yachts to anchor. When we were last in Fort Lauderdale in January 2014, we anchored at a place called Lake Sylvia. It was completely protected from every direction of the wind and there was easy access to the many facilities, marine shops and groceries stores in and around downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Apparently, you can no longer anchor there although we did hear that mooring balls might be placed there at $35 a day.  The locals in their huge mansions are tired of seeing boats anchored outside their multimillion-dollar mansions while sipping away at their morning coffee, or daily martinis. What is happening; and we noticed this in Key West too, where many of the marinas are now associated with a well-known up-market hotel chain. Yes, the facilities are great – but they were good anyway before the hotel group came along and the price of the marinas have skyrocketed. At one time we paid $1 per foot, now we could pay up to $7.50 per foot.

The marina we had arranged to go into in Fort Lauderdale, Pier 66, is under construction. A huge Hyattor Hilton hotel is being built so we got a slip at a ‘reduced’ rate because there were no facilities like bathrooms, laundry etc. We had access to water and electricity, without any additional charge, although they did charge us $40 for pump out. (A pump out is emptying the holding tank – the toilet deposits).

We arrived at Fort Lauderdale harbour by mid-morning after a lovely beam-reach sail and I found it

quite nerve wracking. The entrance to the Fort Lauderdale port is quite narrow for traffic that goes through there. There were three container ships waiting to come into the harbour plus there were so many local boats screaming past us in all directions. Boaties – power boats often make a huge wake, which means we are rocking and rolling. They go at one almighty speed, while dear Passages, when her engine is on, tends to go at 5N miles at 2100 revs per minute. She can go faster but then the engine is screaming and of course, there are times when we must go as fast as we can.

Mel notified the harbour master that we would like to enter, who mentioned that we could enter after one of the container ships had gone through, after which  we had 15 minutes before the next container ship would be entering the harbour.

We made it through the entrance then had to radio the Bridge operator on 17^th Street that we would like to go through the bridge when it was opened. The 17^th Street bridge is opened on the hour and half hour. We had to wait for about 15 – 20 minutes at the marker, going round in circles and watching as the huge power boats roared passed us on their way up the river and under 17^th Street bridge.

When it was time for the bridge to open, the Bridge master informed us to get ready and this is when Passages goes as fast as she possibly can. See photos from both perspectives – on the boat and then in a car, waiting for the bridge to close.

As mentioned, previously, we had arranged a slip for Passages at Pier 66. We had to meander our way passed huge and extremely expensive boats trying to find our slip. It was nerve wracking as I have mentioned on several occasions, Passages has a full keel, no power steering and it is not easy manoeuvring her in tight spaces. Thankfully we eventually found our slip and were tied up and connected to shore power within ½ an hour of going through the bridge.

Whenever we have had the opportunity, we have ordered parts and bits and pieces for the boat online and have them sent to the next marina we intend visiting. This time, Mel had arranged for the chart plotter, radar, and new wind instrument to be sent to Pier 66 marina. Thankfully all those items were waiting for us.

Mel spent the next few days putting the new chart plotter into our current navigational pod. We have ordered a new one but that is a whole other frustrating story that I will not bore you with. (Basically as I am typing this in Fort Pierce, Mel is trying to contact the company, who sent the wrong navigational pod to us in Stuart, we sent it back and we have only just received an email to stating that they had sent the new and correct one to us in Stuart, after we had made it quite clear to send it to us here in Fort Pierce Grrr…..).

While in Fort Lauderdale, we organised our new and additional solar panel, which Mel put up, so now we have 1000 Watts of solar power.

We enjoyed our time in Fort Lauderdale sorting out several issues, like a new line/rope for the stay sail and I enjoyed buying a few bits and pieces for the boat, from Walmart.

Our plan is to sail up to Stuart via Lake Worth, where the long-awaited whisker pole will be put on the mast, so after spending 5 days at Pier 66 Marina in amongst the super wealthy boats and yachts, we set sail for Lake Worth.

FYI: one of the power boats at the marina was for sale – over $100 million! We walked alongside one of the boats; the fenders were taller than me!

Once again, we radioed 17^th Street Bridge so we could pass through at the required time.

We had an enjoyable sail up to Lake Worth. More later….

Until next time, enjoy whatever you are doing.

Bye for now.

Mel and Caryn

sv Passages

No 8: Florida, Key West.

👉Key West, Florida

 

It took us quite a while to recover from our awful sail from Havana to Key West. As mentioned in our previous post, we were utterly exhausted from the sail.

We thought our time in Havana finding some Wi-Fi connection was frustrating, well trying to find a SMS card for our phones here in the USA was equally as frustrating. Apparently, our phones are not compatible to the networks here. At least in many places there is free Wi- Fi so we can connect to the outside world and most important of all, check the weather.

We stayed in Perry Marina, Stock Island for a few days while we recovered and got sorted, ready for Passages to go up on the hard which Mel had arranged for on Tuesday 25 April. Many of the goodies we had bought while at the Miami Boat show, were waiting for us at the 3D Boatyard so Mel was eager to start work on Passages.

Unfortunately, it is a boatyard, and the bathroom facilities were not great, so we booked into the “Southernmost Inn’ in Key West for the 6 days that Passages would be on the hard. We arranged for a car so Mel would be able to go back and forth to West Marine or ACE Hardware, all the shops that had the necessary supplies and accessories to assist Mel with the work he was planning on doing on Passages.

In the meantime, I enjoyed staying in the coolness of an air-conditioned room, catching up on the blog and computer work.

While we stayed at the Inn, we enjoyed using the swimming pool, the 24/7  coffee and tea machine and especially the cheese, wine, and nibbles between 5 – 7pm every night. We met some interesting people like a lovely couple from Heidelberg in Germany, Katja and Jens who we later met for dinner. There are some wonderful restaurants in Key West, but most places close between 9 – 10.00pm.

 Cheese and Wine time would also coincide with Mel arriving back from the boatyard all hot, sweaty, and desperately in need of a swim. We tried going outside with our cheese, wine, and nibbles, only to be bombarded with iguana’s. There must have been 10 - 12 iguanas at a time and as soon as they heard the crackle of a chip packet being opened, most would make a bee-line for you. I couldn’t cope! Yes, I know they are harmless, but they are so prehistoric looking.

In Key West, both around the town centre and the outskirts, there are hens with their chicks and plenty of roosters walking around. Every morning, we were woken up with not just one rooster but quite a few crowing, ushering the start of a new day. They seem to have right of passage, even when crossing the main US Highway 1.

Back to Passages…. Mel fitted the new feathering prop onto her – it looked good, plus he put in the new depth sounder, GPS, display unit and Bluetooth receiver for the wind instrument, so as planned Passages went back into the water on Monday 1 May, and we went back to Perry Marina on Stock Island. While Passages was on the hard, Mel also had a chance to look at the air con. We haven’t used the air con since the Dominican Republic, April 2014, so we weren’t even sure it would work once we were back in the water. Thankfully it did! We can never use it when we are anchored as it uses far too much power but since we are on shore power at the marina, we took advantage of the situation.

While we were back in the marina, Mel worked on the windvane and fixing our windless (it helps to drop the anchor) and a few other bits and pieces.

The marina is very close to an air force base, so every day we hear fighter jets, swish past – it makes us think of Top Gun and Maverick.

We enjoyed our time in Perry Marina as we had use of a swimming pool and transportation into Key West centre. We took advantage of the ‘free’ transport service and spent a wonderful evening in Key West once again as we knew our days were numbered and we would be sailing up north towards Fort Lauderdale.

Our new prop.

The much-anticipated coronation of King Charles III took place while we were in Perry Marina, however, we could not get any T.V. coverage from the boat. (I am a royalist - I just love the royal family). So, we found the cheapest hotel/motel we could in Key West that advertised having a T.V. in the rooms, and spent the night in the hotel, switching on the T.V. at 3.45am on the Saturday morning. We bought some croissants, jam and cheese along with Mc Vite dark chocolate digestive biscuits from the International/British section of the local supermarket and watched the coronation until it was time for us to vacate the room.

On Sunday 7 May, as the sun was slowly rising, we released our lines from the dock and started our journey up to Fort Lauderdale. Our plan was to stop off at Marathon, which is at the start of the Seven Mile bridge across the Keys, stay a day anchored there to enjoy some time being at an anchorage, then ‘sail’ to Rodriguez Cay, Key Largo, then to No Name Harbor in Biscayne Bay, Miami and finally to Fort Lauderdale to Pier 66 Marina, where our new radio, radar, and chart plotter were waiting for us.

So..., until the next update of our adventure, take care and enjoy whatever you are doing.

Bye for now.

Mel and Caryn

sv Passages