Daytona Beach

August 14, 2010

We continue north up the ICW today and are accompanied by several groups of dolphins.  Some dolphins wanted to play in our wake and followed us for several miles.  A couple of shots.  They did a lot of jumping but it was hard to catch them in mid-air.

At times, they seemed to turn on their side and look up at you.

They followed us for miles and when one group left, another would show up.

We had never stayed at Daytona, but had a great time at the Halifax Harbor Marina, convenient to historic downtown Daytona.

Upon leaving Daytona, we passed what appeared to be an authentic steam boat.

 And a family of snowy egrets...

West Palm Beach

August 8, 2010

We pull away from the docks at Fort Lauderdale and head out the Port Everglades Inlet for an outside run up the Florida coast to West Palm Beach.  While it remains clear over the ocean, we watch several thunderclouds build over the mainland.  Just as we enter the Fort Worth Inlet, a major storm cloud hovers just south of the inlet and in the general direction of the Palm Harbor Marina, our destination about 3 miles away.  Since we must wait for a bridge to open, we call the marina to find out the conditions there.  They say it is currently clear and to come on. 

When I pull the transmissions out of gear to stop for the bridge, the starboard shifter cable snaps.  Since it is still in gear, I can only turn off the engine.  I let the bridge know that we are having a problem and they agree to hold the bridge open until we can get ourselves straight and through the opening.

I call the marina and let them know we will be coming in on one engine.  Since we need fuel anyway, we decide to tie up on the face dock.  As we approach the dock, the sky opens up with a drenching downpour.
After the rain passes, we fuel up and manuever the boat over to a slip, still using one engine.

Even though it's a Sunday, I am able to contact a local mechanic recommended by the marina and he agrees to come over Monday morning and help replace the cable. 

Here's a shot of Shane and I working down in the engine room.

Shane is a diver, so we talk about the local spots, and is pretty knowledgeable about cables.  We learn that the starboard shifter cable runs from the bridge to the engine and is 28 feet in length.  Shane picks one up locally and as we pull out the old cable we have attached a wire that is pulled into it's place.  Then we attached the new cable to the wire and pull it from the bridge down to the engine room.  Total time about 3 hours.  The new cable works great and is noticeably smoother than the port side cable (it's currently working fine but probably needs replacement as well).

John and Nancy Crites fly down on Tuesday, the 10th to join us for the trip north.

W spend 4 days in West Palm Beach, reprovision the pantry,  ride the free downtown trolley and eat some great food (the mexican/southwestern fare at Rico's Tacos was excellent).

Since the weather was again nice and the ocean calm, on August 12 we take the outside route up the florida coast to Fort Pierce Inlet.  We meet a yacht going south out in the ocean.

We continue up the ICW and pick up a mooring at Vero Beach for the night.  Since we want to go through the Haulover Canal to see the manatees that live there, we have decided to continue up through the ICW.

Return to the New World

August 2, 2010

Time to return to the US.  Marine forecast is for light winds from the southeast and seas less than 2 feet. We leave Port Lucaya about 10 a.m., reach the sea buoy and make a turn towards the west.  The plotter shows about 80 nautical miles to Fort Lauderdale.  We usually return to West Palm Beach, but have chosen Fort Lauderdale where the icemaker can be repaired by Raritan.

The seas are calm and we see very light boat traffic.

Coming into Port Everglades, we can immediately tell that we are back to civilization - cruise ships,

and battle ships....

 We stay at the Hall of Fame Marina (adjacent to the International Swimming Hall of Fame)  and  across the street from the beach.  A view of the beach on a Saturday afternoon.  Looking north...

Looking south....

The  beach was beautiful and clean, but quite a change from the deserted beaches we had become accustomed to in the Bahamas.

We stayed in Fort Lauderdale for a week, fixed some things on the boat and received a replacement ice maker from Raritan.  Katy at a beachside restaurant...

Freeport

We approach the Grand Lucayan Waterway from Dover Sound on the north side of Grand Bahama Island.  Although the chart shows several markers leading to the waterway, none are to be seen - not unusual in the Bahamas.  Finally we get close enough to pick up the waterway entrance.

The tide is rising and a little over midway.  The entrance channel shows 4.5 feet until we reach the canal where we see 12 feet.  The waterway was the largest engineering feat ever attempted in the Bahamas.  The 1960's era dream of opening the heartland of Grand Bahama for development, as well as provide a direct route to the Abacos, cost $26 million. 

Unfortunately the development stalled and is limited to about a dozen houses and an abandoned hotel.  However the canal does serve as an excellent short cut to the Abacos (assuming you can handle the shallow north entrance channel) and the south entrance is about 5 miles east of Bell Channel - the entrance to Port Lucaya.

Port Lucaya is the island's tourist epicenter - shopping, restaurants, entertainment, resorts and gaming.  It's a crazy, fun place to spend a few days and we dock right in front of the marketplace.

Our neighbor....  They kept coming over to borrow stuff.

Every beach needs a walkup Bahama Mama stand.

We enjoy a great meal at China Beach.

We spend three days in Freeport, enjoy some great meals and entertainment.  However, it's time to head back to the New World.