December in the Biscayne Bay

Susan and I returned to Ft. Lauderdale the first week in December.  On Monday Dec 3 we took off for Miami, leaving Port Everglades in the morning in breezy conditions, with winds around 20-25 kts and gusts to 30, with squalls all around us but mostly astern. 



"We're not getting wet.  Are they?"

 

We entered Fisherman's Channel around noon, passed downtown Miami picking up the ICW to go under the Rickenbacker Bridge and headed south towards No Name Harbor at the southern end of Key Biscayne.

 



Fisherman's Channel

Passing the mouth of the Miami River

One of the strangest communities you'll ever encounter is "Stiltsville," just south of Miami.

Stiltsville
 

These 7 houses on stilts were built in the 1930's and 40's as private clubs, and were frequented by "well connected Miamians who came to drink, relax and kick back." Today they are preserved by the Stiltsville Trust and the Parks Service.

Passing around the southwest side of Key Biscayne leads to No Name Harbor. You can anchor inside or outside the harbor.  We chose to anchor outside, and dinghy in. 

No Name Harbor

Florida Lighthouse

Sunset off No Name Harbor

Next day, we continued south through the dredged cut through Featherbed Bank, then turned east to our next stop, Elliott Key.  Unfortunately, since hurricane Sandy, the harbor has been closed. So we anchored a half-mile north, off Coon Point.

All alone anchored off Elliott Key

Exploring Elliott Key

Elliott Key helped us learn about anchoring in shallow water with a draft of 6 1/2 feet.  We figured our keel was pretty close to the sandy bottom that night, so we decided to play it safe and leave the anchorage before low tide which was at 0830.  At 0700 we weighed anchor and started slowly motoring out.  It wasn't more than a minute that we buried the keel in the sand!  That gave me an excuse to get out the fins, mask and snorkel and scrape barnacles off the prop, and to have a nice, long breakfast.   At 1050 we noticed the boat had started to free itself on the rising tide, so once again we began the slow motor to deeper water.   Later that week we learned that, unbenounced to us, our margin of error for shallow water as measured by the depth sounder had changed the month before, when the boat's electronics were tuned.  Instead of reading depth from the transducer to the bottom, it now reads from the boat's waterline!  In essence the depth tolerance we got used to since May had changed!  Better now than on Little Bahama Bank!

Next stop was Dinner Key and Coconut Grove.  The city run mooring field is well run and convenient, and Coconut Grove is a fun place to explore and dine in. 

Dinner Key mooring field

 

Miami night skyline

 

Caution: Shallow water!

 



Crew team out on the bay





On Thursday we decided to get back to Ft. Lauderdale ahead of potential weather and finish the tour of downtown Miami and South Beach using the other mode of transportation--the rental car!  Before leaving we cleaned and polished Pratique and flew back to CT for yet another prolonged work stint! 

 

more later!

November 2012: Pratique to Florida

Predicted Path of Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy hit Connecticut pretty hard, but Pratique was in Little Creek, Norfolk VA where Sandy's effect was far less devastating.  When we returned on Halloween Night, all was quiet and Pratique was just fine.  Howdy Bailey of Howdy Bailey Yacht Services kept an eye on her during the storm--Thanks, Howdy!  So shortly after midnight Steve, Hank, and I cast off the dock lines and began the short leg from Little Creek out the mouth of the Chesapeake and into the Atlantic.

November 1, breezing down the NC coast

Steve says, "Bring it on!"

Hank on watch

The reason we left Norfolk on November 1 is that for insurance reasons, sailing south of Norfolk in "hurricane season" is forbidden. So most people start the southern journey after November 1.  Fortunately we already had Pratique staged to go south from Norfolk, so she was out of Sandy's bullseye of one and two days earlier. 

The reason we left after midnight was to round the potentially dangerous Cape Hatteras in daylight.  That strategy proved correct, as Hatteras posed no issues.  However, Cape Fear the next day was a different story.  The wind and waves picked up, and was on our nose for what seemed like an eternity.  In the pic below I superimposed the water temperature color data upon the nautical chart off North Carolina.  That gives the best representation of where the Gulf Stream is.  You can see the Gulf Stream just east of our course (the warm water) around Frying Pan Shoals off Cape Fear.  We need to stay in the colder, blue colored water because further offshore the GS would be against us.  The sketched arrow shows the wind on our nose, and the waves off Frying Pan in the hash-marked area were downright nasty!

After we rounded the shoals we decided to take a break so we headed north for some shelter in the Cape Fear River.   Just to starboard when entering the inlet we discovered a true oasis--Bald Head Island Marina.  Here are some photos from their website:

And here we are the next morning after a good meat lasagna dinner and a great night's sleep!

Pratique, and the Bald Head Island Ferry next to us

Tied up to the fuel dock

Following a restful night at the dock and a good breakfast, at 1100 hrs we headed out of Bald Head Marina only to find that the autopilot was malfunctioning! After a bit of trouble shooting and some phone calls, it became clear that especially since it was a weekend, it was not going to be an easy fix. So at 1600 we again departed, making a straight line course for Jacksonville FL. I figured we could hand steer since the weather was forecast to be pretty good for the next few days. So that is what we did!

 

Back in the saddle!



The highlights of this leg were the dolphins following the boat, and the couple of "small tunas" we caught along the way. I think they were Little tunny--not very tasty!

On Monday morning, Nov 5 we decided we'd head in to Amelia Island, and make a few phone calls to see if there was a chance to get the autopilot looked at, but that was not meant to be. Knowing that our final destination was Ft. Lauderdale, the headquarters of Outbound Yachts, I gave Phil another call to see what he thought. He and I were both aware of a low forming off the Florida coast. When Phil also learned that I'd be losing Steve, who was going to have to fly home from Jacksonville (remember I said earlier that work too often gets in the way of these adventures), he happily volunteered to help with the final leg.  He'd meet us the next day in Port Canaveral. So we decided to have a nice lunch on Amelia Island, then say good-bye to Steve and head back out to sea, headed for Canaveral.




Tuesday morning sunrise!

Entering Port Canaveral



Phil joins us for the final leg to Ft. Lauderdale

Approaching Ft. Lauderdale

The Port Everglades Webcam captures Pratique's grand entrance!

At around noon on Wednesday, we docked Pratique behind Gina's house on the Intracoastal, in Hollywood. 

Monica and Phil Lambert

Tom and Irma Brinkley

"Dockmaster" Gina, Irma, and Hank

New neighbors!

The obligatory airing of the foulies!

Next blog:    Susan and I return in December to sail to Miami and cruise Biscayne Bay . . . . 

October 2012--Time to Begin the Push South

A few more photos of the Annapolis Boat Show, then it's time to head south.



Tom Brinkley shows Pratique

End of Show!

One thing that gets in the way of fun is work. Before, after and even during the show we commuted back up to CT to and from work. When the Annapolis show ended Susan and I had a week to cruise the Chesapeake, from Annapolis to Norfolk VA.  A week does not do the Chesapeake justice, but we did have a great time in St. Michaels, Solomons Island, and in a quiet anchorage up Dymer Creek off Fleets Bay, VA



Anchored in Dymer Creek, VA



Anybody home??

Another great sunset!

Next stop, Norfolk




Bow right up to the restaurant at Vinings Landing, Little Creek

 

Howard the Duck greets Pratique at Vinings Landing!



Time once again for us to leave Pratique safe and sound in Little Creek.   In two short weeks, I'd be returning with my cousin Hank and good friend Steve, to start the journey south to Florida.  Little did we know that a girl named Sandy would try to stop us!

The Fall 2012 Boat Shows

 

In mid-September, Pratique made her way down the Bay to the Newport Boat Show.  Outbound Yachts used her as their 2012 featured boat both in Newport and in Annapolis. 

 

Which brings us to why we chose Outbound.  For us the Outbound 46 was the perfect boat.  We wanted a real bluewater cruiser that was well equipped, sailed safely and well, and was both comfortable and attractive.  The boat had a proven track record and was fairly priced.  Then we met the local representatives, Josh Hodgson of Anchor Yachts, and later  Skip Pond and Phil Lambert, the builder of Outbound. They instantly make prospective owners comfortable that their experience will be uniquely tailored to their needs and desires.  Their relaxed but attentive personalities are well suited for the task! 




 Skip and Josh with Susan at the helm

One of the great things about building a "semi-custom" yacht is that there is room not just for making personal choices, but also for considering sensible design changes.  Within a month of making "old fashioned" copies, cuts, and pastes with scissors and tape, and after a few email and phone calls, the new Outbound 46 "Aft head with Separate Shower" was launched.  The beauty of this design is that it allows for a full head with separate shower that leads directly to the aft work room which is now on the starboard side.  Simultaneously it opens up the salon--lots of light and open space!
 

We also opted for the centerline queen-sized master cabin, with lots of additional storage rather than with a second head. This still allows for a nice functional vanity sink and medicine cabinet in the space where the second head would have gone. I think this is an ideal layout for a cruising couple. And the yard does a great job with the teak!

Come to think of it, instead of me giving the tour, why not let Phil Lambert of Outbound Yachts show you around Pratique:

 

 

We opted for the double headstay rig with Genoa and Solant both on roller-furlers, and a traditional fully battened main. TheVectran sails are made by Hood.   Here's Phil's guided tour of the deck, cockpit and the rig:

 

You can get a higher res version of these clips by visiting http://www.outboundyachts.com

When the Newport show was over, it was time to begin planning the trip south to the Annapolis show.  Simultaneously it became clear that after the show we would need to have decided whether we were going to  (a) Sail north back to RI and put the boat on the hard until Spring, 2013, or (b) Turn to starboard and get the boat to Norfolk then on to Florida for a winter in the water, with the option to "visit" and cruise the Biscayne Bay and then the Bahamas for a week or two, then in late April deliver her back to RI for Spring, 2013.   Guess which one we decided upon?

So with those long term plans in mind, we provisioned for the trip from RI to Annapolis.  Although I have had a few passages under my belt over the last few years (Bermuda to Newport, Connecticut to Florida, and of course Pratique's delivery trip from Norfolk to RI), this was to be Susan's first.  Thankfully, Skip Pond joined us for what turned out to be a very enjoyable  run from RI to Annapolis.  Skip wrote an article about that trip, to appear in a future issue of BLUE WATER SAILING magazine, so when it is out I will link it here.  For now, a few pics from the trip:




Approaching the Whitestone Bridge

 

Getting too close to the UN, the "nice young man with the machine gun" warns us to stay away.

 

Brooklyn Bridge, Freedom Tower going up in the background

Two-way traffic in New York Bay



We are a bit chilled . . . .

. . . .but not Skip!
 



Thru the C & D Canal




We crash a Wedding Show in Chesapeake City!

Let's try out the cheesy Photo Booth!




Lots of free samples!

We still made it to Annapolis in time for the show!