12.29.08 island near St Lucie Inlet

Here’s an example of some of the wakes we have to deal with at times.  Diane took this picture of us as we went thru the bridge and past the lighthouse near Jupiter Inlet. I spent most of the day snapping pictures of the passing sailboats. I love the “liveaboard” look most of them have. We are anchored behind an island near St Lucie Inlet. There are several boats here as well as kayaks….and campers.  and ended the day with a beautiful sunset. You can see the sandbar between us and the ICW channel. There were a couple of boats beached on it and the kids tossed balls while the parents sat in beach chairs in the water. Dolphins cruised thru several times.

12.28.08 Palm Beach

We had another beautiful sunrise. We were in a small man made lake with homes all around us. We are getting pretty unique in our spots to take Raisin ashore. She’s getting good at being set ashore from the dingy …taking care of business and getting back to the boat. I keep a leash on her and I dont have to go ashore….so parks and vacant lots with high seawalls will work. But we much prefer beaches.

Most of the cruising was pretty good. Not too many fast boats out until mid day. Lake Worth Inlet was pretty busy. I love sailboats.

We anchored in Palm Beach. The water was very rough. Lots of wakes from passing boats and some wind….it calmed down after dark and the slight rocking put us right to sleep.

12.27.08 cove near Del Ray beach

We found an early anchorage so we could get off the water early. Good traveling until mid day. Saw a couple of unusual homes. and I guess a man’s home is his castle.I like the kayaking partner the first kayak has..

12.26.08 rough day on the water.

It was a bit windy and choppy as we headed toward Miami. Our plans have changed again. We’ve decided to head back towards Jacksonville…..from there we will decide whether we are going to head S on the St Johns River or continue N towards Savannah.

The rough part of the day was being on the ICW in a fairly narrow channel with a bunch of idiots.  And I am being very polite when I simply refer to them as idiots. Slow small boats dont get a very good ride with boats flying by on either side going both ways. I thought everyone went shopping on Black Friday!!!

We are anchored in Lake Santa Barbara…just off the ICW…it’s 1 am (27th) and there are still a bunch of boats out cruising….lots of loud music and laughter….and a few extra wakes to rock you to sleep. We need to find a better anchorage before noon and sit for the weekend. Once the hangovers have worn off they’ll all be back out here again.

12.25.08 Merry Christmas

Jim and I were up early and did a load of laundry and topped off the water tank….we are ready to go cruising in the morning.

It turned out to be a beautiful day. Many boats in the anchorage…. Diane cooked a delicious Christmas dinner aboard the River Nomad and we ate aboard our boat. After a short nap we checked out the Iguanas again…sure am going to miss those guys…another hike on the island…and a movie to finish out the day. Merry Christmas everyone.

12.24.08

A hike around the Bill Baggs St Park gave us a good bit of exercise. We picked up a few coconuts and Jim is working hard at getting one open. Sure is a lot of stuff under the husk. The one in his L hand started out the same size as the one in his R. Not many boats in the harbor today.

There will be a few more tomorrow. Most of the ones anchored outside will be coming in for the day. They are planning Christmas dinner at one of the pavillions.

12.23.08

We managed to con Jim into another walk into town. We found the ACE Hardware but they didnt have any butane for our stove. The alcohol stove has been doing a good job but the butane is hotter. Then we found the bike store. Jim and I are looking for folding bikes. The owner said he could order them and they’d be here tomorrow…well..maybe not till Fri because of the holiday…to me that meant we’d be sitting here till next week so we passed on them. Maybe we can find a couple of used ones. Then a quick stop at the Winn-Dixie..Larry needed a few items but we didnt need anything…still ended up with 2 bags each.

After lunch we took the dingy and went Iguana hunting. I think we found the 4 footer. He sat on these Mangrove roots and posed for us. They really have some beautiful color. I didnt get all his tail in this picture.

Not too many boats in here and 4 or 5 large sailboats anchored outside the entrance. I think the restaurant is closed until after Christmas so it should be pretty peaceful for a couple of days. We’ll spend Christmas here and then decide whether we are going N or S.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!! We pray the New Year will bring good health and prosperity to all. God Bless

12.22.08 pretty windy so still at No Name

We walked Raisin and filled another 8 jugs for the fresh water tank. We thought we might be heading S but the weather report is listing a small craft warning this afternoon…and not having a good anchorage to head for we decided to hang out here.

Our batteries needed a good charge so the 4 of us took Slow Motion for a ride into the bay for a couple of hours. By the time we were heading back the waves were starting to kick up pretty good and we were happy with our decision not to leave.

12.21.08 still at No Name Harbor

An exciting day…It started out with a  beautiful sunrise. Our first job for the day…do a load of wash early in the morning before the 1 washer and dryer were taken…..while I did that Jim filled 8 gallon jugs with fresh water and took them back to the boat. It took 3 trips to fill the fresh water tank. Then we took a 2 mile walk into town for groceries. Of course, we both over-shopped..Jim and I carrying 2 bags apiece (cloth “green” bags). Larry was carrying an insulated bag on his shoulder and had his hands full of plastic bags. The 2 miles back seemed more like 10….but we made it. That took care of the morning. Cruising can be a lot of fun…and a lot of work, but exercise is good.

Jim wanted to work on the alternator so Larry, Diane and I took River Nomad out and anchored in shallow water near the lighthouse. We used the ladder to go in for a swim. A bit later the wind started picking up and wakes from the boats heading home were starting to rock the boat pretty good so we got aboard, that in itself was a tricky maneuver in the rough water. Sure did miss some good chances for “Funniest Home Video.” We pulled up the anchor and headed back. Just outside the entrance there is a spot where many of the large sailboats anchor…so we decided to drop the “hook” and do some more swimming…11ft of beautiful water.  A few minutes after we got back aboard…but before we could get the anchor up…a huge boat went flying by…creating a 7’ wake that hit us broadside. The Nomad rocked a 50 degree heel…a 7’ wave from inside a boat that isnt more than  8ft tall from the waterline…can look mighty big. I know I was looking up at the top as it hit us. No one got hurt but it upset the alcohol stove, tea kettle and microwave…minor damage to the stove but Larry had that up an working before it was needed this morning. A less seaworthy boat than the Nimble Nomad could have been swamped and sunk. Inconsiderate boaters like that are the reason we stayed in No Name Harbor rather than trying to cruise  S on Biscayne Bay over the weekend. Small boats dont have much chance against high dollar monsters who could care less what damage they do. Since no one got hurt and the boat handled herself rather well….it gives us another good story to tell. We ended the day with a good dinner aboard and a movie.

12.20.08 No Name Harbor, Key Biscayne, FL

This is our anchorage. There were more boats here yesterday…about 12 left for either the Bahamas or Bimini. We saw several lining up about 4 am to leave together. We loaded 8 empty water jugs and filled them early this morning while walking Raisin. After the water and the dogs were returned to the boat we hiked out to the lighthouse. These are some of the original parts. Then we climbed the 109 steps to the top. The view from the top. You’ll notice some rough water this side of the boat. That’s reefs just below the surface…you have to watch your charts in this area or run aground. And if you run aground you arnt allowed to use your motor to get off…might create more damage…so you wait till the tide lifts you off or call for help.

This is where the lighthouse keeper lived. It was fairly well thought out. The shed to the rear is the cooking area…connected to the house by a roof. The round thing is a cistern and the water runs in from the roof. It also has an outhouse. Everything you could need.

After we did our hike to the lighthouse and back on the nature trail…we used the dingy to go Iguana hunting.

These were pretty good sized…maybe 2 ft long. We’ll be looking for the 4 footer that lives here. You can tell I like these little guys…had to go back for more pictures.

Here’s a couple of the harbor at sunset. a couple of late arrivals

this group looked ready to party. I think they have another band tonight.

12.19.08 heading to Key Biscayne and No Name Harbor

We stopped in Hollywood FL and decided to anchor for the night. Joe’s Deli has dockside tieups so we picked up some groceries. All the things that look like white posts are for the boats. There are a couple of restaurants as well. There is a nice park with a tall tower for looking over the bay and to the ocean. Another pretty sunrise. Once we left Hollywood we saw pretty much the same thing…bigger boats and bigger buildings. But it was still a nice ride. As we were heading into the Miami area we met another Nimble Nomad.

We didnt get the boats name but it had an interesting rear bimini of green and white stripes. A little while later there were 2 planes flying around. They circled us and buzzed Larry pretty close. Very interesting.We also saw this helicopter land on this pontoon platform. There sure are a lot of tall buildings in Miami…and it’s very pretty from the water.

We finally arrived in No Name Harbor

We are tucked back in the little spot by my finger. There are about 20 boats in here with us….a restaurant…with live music at night….hiking and biking trails….a lighthouse with 109 steps ( I’m doing that tomorrow)…and an outside shower…cold…but a good way to wash down after a swim. We didnt get to see much this afternoon so will explore tomorrow. $15 for overnight anchorage…so we are staying until Monday morning. Biscayne Bay on a weekend isnt for us. Too many BIG boats with even bigger wakes.

June and Bob on Lycka spent most of the winter here last year. (she gave us the ride to town in Indiantown) They got here just a few hours ahead of us.

We have seen some pretty big Iguanas. Some 3 ft. We’ll be looking for them tomorrow. Manatees and dolphins are also known to hang out in here. Sounds like an interesting weekend…