Hollywood City, Lantana Anchorage, Peck Lake Anchorage to Ft. Pierce Marina

When we got ready to leave on Monday morning the winds were blowing hard at 20-25. We had already talked through our departure and what I would need to do in order for us to stay off the boat beside us and protect our swim platform from the boat across the fairway. Thank heaven that Jane and Ben showed up to send us off. As we were pulling out of the slip the wind caught the front of the boat and pushed us hard into the wall. If it hadn't been for Ben pushing us back out we would have probably slammed our bow hard into it and done some major damage. Dave quickly changed the plan and decided to back out the fairway rather than try and turn around in the small area. Talk about stressful! We were so grateful for our friends and sad to leave them at the same time! Thanks again Ben and Jane!

We were going to take on fuel and pump out but the winds were so strong we decided to skip that and move on. We knew that we would be more protected once we got behind the tall buildings facing the ocean. We ended up having to go through 19 bridges- 9 of which we needed to wait for openings. Most are timed to open on either the hour or half-hour, or quarter and quarter past hours. Some bridges that we thought we needed to have opened we were able to sneak under and only one did our AIS antenna hit! No damage though as it is like a whip and bounces right back. We covered 41 miles that day in just over 7 hours. We were exhausted and happy to put the anchor down in Lantana, FL right beside a fun looking restaurant The Key Lime House. We were too tired to put down the dinghy so we grilled out and went to bed early. 

We were underway at 7:40 the next day and went through 13 bridges and waited for 2 openings. We were traveling with a sport fishing boat- Why Knott. I felt so bad for him because he obviously is one of those boats that are used to going fast out on the ocean but we assumed he was traveling the ICW because the winds continue to howl out there! We had many slow Manatee Zones but it wasn't as stressful as Monday had been. We pulled into a beautiful anchorage that already had 5 sailboats there. Active Captain said to treat the approach like a wine glass- travel down the stem of the glass and you should have at least 5' of water depth. Then when you reach a certain point it opens up and you can anchor pretty much anywhere. We had trouble setting the anchor for the first time since starting the Loop and had to pull it back in and find a different spot. Second time it went down and stuck. After having a cold beverage we put the dinghy down and went over to the beach. Hobe Sound is another Florida State Preserve and is absolutely beautiful. When we first got in the anchorage there were a lot of day visitors parked along the edge. But they all cleared out by the time we got over there. We had the beach to ourselves. At first, I would avoid the water but then decided to take off my shoes and just enjoy it! It was so warm and it felt so wonderful just walking along. There was no way we would swim as the surf was still very rough and the rip current warning was still in effect. But we really didn't mind as it was so pleasant to just be back at the beach! The water was as warm as I always remembered Sunset Beach being! It was one of my favorite anchorages ever!

Today (Wednesday) we left early again and came into Ft. Pierce. We wanted extra time to explore the area and clean up the boat. We had a great lunch at their restaurant/Tiki Bar on site and then walked the town. There really isn't that much here but we hit a nice Farmer's Market and I was able to restock the fresh vegetables. 

Well that's it for awhile- I had to take advantage of this wonderful wi-fi source that is directly behind our boat to catch up on all the blogs!

 Another cool looking Florida bridge

 Beach walkin!

 We think this is a fast ferry to the islands

 I think we have found where the top .1% hang out. 

 Saint Lucie Nuclear plant. I think Brunswick in NC is the last one left on our trip.

 Deciding whether to ask for a bridge opening requires a bit of math and decision making. The posted height for a bridge is at the " Low Steel" on the bridge. That is usually at the outside of the bridge. Most bridges are built with an arc. That sets up the bridge height in the center to be 3 to5 feet higher than the advertised low steel level.There are height boards in the water that let you know, based on actual tide what the low steel level is. Fryedaze needs 22 feet. So If low steel is 18 feet and the center arc of the bridge is another 4 feet we can go for it. It this picture we had 3 inches to spare.

The laws of Tonnage ruled the day in this instance . We went around this big boy.

Peck Lake webcam. Fryedaze in the lower right.

April 16 No Name Anchorage to Hollywood, FL

As we mentioned in the last blog we knew that we were in for a lot of bridges (14 and 3 that required openings on DAY 1) but no one told us how many No Wake Zones, Slow Manatee Zones, fishing - boats and crazy boaters we would encounter (thank heavens we got an early start!) But the views were spectacular- from the architecture of the city buildings, coming up to all the cruise ships in Miami Harbor in the Government Cut, the huge opulent houses and boats that were bigger than our MD house! I wouldn't have traded it for anything- but I think it was a little stressful on Dave (just like NYC harbor)!

We finally made it to the City of Hollywood Municipal Marina. We were so happy to see JamminJane's Grand Banks on the dock right down from us! We had been warned that the approach to this marina was tricky and we should stay as close to the t-head as we could. Dave brought her in very slowly and just took his time coming down the fairway. The only slip that was available was at the very end against the wall. We backed into the slip so it would make it easier to leave on Monday. As we were getting lines tied we saw Jane and Ben coming down in front on their dinghy with their dog Crockett. I was so happy to see them! We invited them over to have a frozen drink with us when they got settled. Happily they brought the dog- I miss so much having a dog on board. They were heading to lunch afterwards so we decided to walk over to the beach after we got everything settled.

The bridge over to the beach is the one we had just come under on the ICW. It is really a unique bridge design as are many of the bridges in Florida. There was lots of traffic and people and it was fun and just a wee bit scary trying to cross A1A over to the beach. Once there the ocean was beautiful and very, very rough. We had been experiencing 18-20 mile per hour winds all day and they were expected to be higher for the next four days. There were a few swimmers in the water- but not many. We enjoyed people watching and staring at the beautiful water!

We ordered a pizza and settled in for the evening as we were once again expecting rain. We finally had t.v. after not having anything since March 1st and were happy just watching and relaxing!

The next day after cleaning up the boat- the storm had brought a lot of palm and tree dirt on to the boat, we decided to walk the 7 blocks to catch the local trolley. It was really pleasant going through the neighborhoods and seeing all the beautiful homes. We caught the trolley with every intention of getting out in the "historical" area but when we went through the town there really wasn't a lot to see so we stayed on and got out at the beginning of the boardwalk. We walked and walked and walked! But it was really fun and I got to see a lot of "different" kinds of people! The boardwalk was packed for a Sunday. No one was allowed to swim because of the high surf and rip tide warnings. We heard lots of loud Latino music playing, people dancing, eating and just generally having a great time. We even saw a venue that you can learn to surf (see the video!)

We ended up at 5 o'clock Somewhere- another Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville. We enjoyed a live band playing and watching all the boats coming up and down the ICW- until we saw an older Hatteras come by with a lot of scantily clad girls on the front! I no sooner said that the girls are the only thing the boat had going for it when they lost control of the boat and either the engines shut down or they lost steering. They were drifting backwards in the current directly into two paddleboarders- one of which had a dog on it! I kept looking away I couldn't stand watching. Somehow they were able to get the boat into the anchorage right in front of our marina where they through down the anchor. It seemed like it took an hour rather than just minutes but it was like watching a trainwreck! We relaxed afterwards with another orange crush (Dave) and club soda (me) and more music! After walking back over the bridge to the boat we went over to Jane and Ben's boat for appetizers and drinks. It was great to have to time talk about our travels and plans for the next couple of weeks- we hadn't seen them since having lunch at Burdines. They would be unable to leave the next day with us as they were waiting for their props to be put back on their boat. Ben thought they would be able to leave on Wednesday and we should catch up with them in Titusville over the weekend!

 One of many bridges we would have to time going north through this area. The bridges have specific schedules for openings and you have to time your arrivals to meet them.

Colorful Miami buildings. 

 Lets take a cruise where all the food is prepared by someone else and we don't have to worry about docking.

 A fitting dog for a $10 million plus estate.

 Bridge at Hollywood Fl. Florida has beautiful bridges. They are improving some bridges and are keeping withe the awesome styling on the new ones.

\

 Surfin on the Hollywood boardwalk. The music was poundin!

April 15 Tarpon Basin to No Name Anchorage

We got an early start from Tarpon Basin to catch the tide and to try and get in a very popular anchorage in Key Biscayne- No Name Anchorage. Today was much more relaxed than the trip to Tarpon Basin as we had more water under the keel, a working depth sounder and the beautiful clear waters of Key Biscayne Bay! We saw our 13th Nuclear Power Plant- Turkey Point where fellow Loopers Gary and Georgette Stein are completing an outage before beginning their Great Loop. 

Just outside Miami city limits- we saw a full sailboat regatta and race. We are used to larger sailboat races on the Chesapeake and see these small boats for kids camps and training. There sure were a lot of them! It was so exciting seeing the Miami skyline for the first time! It was the same feeling as when we saw Baltimore, New York City, Chicago, Mobile and other cities from the water for the first time. It never gets old!

We were a little worried as we made our turn towards the No Name Anchorage at Bill Baggs State Park because we could see lots of tall sailboat masts. We weren't sure there would be enough room for us! But as we went into the basin, one of the larger sailboats was leaving and we were able to go further in closer to the wall. We don't draft as much as the larger boats and that allows us to go where the sailboats usually can't. We quickly put down the dinghy to go exploring in the State Park. There is an honor system that if you are staying the night in the anchorage you put $20 in an envelope. It was kind of hot and humid and there were dark clouds forming near Miami, so we wanted to see as much of the park as we could before the predicted storm. 

We walked down a really cool path that was surrounded by tall palm and banyan trees. The foliage was beautiful. There were lots of people fishing along the walls and walking or biking through the park. We went to the Lighthouse but was unable to go up into it as there are two daily tours and we missed both. We just enjoyed walking around the grounds looking at the Lightkeepers house and information about the Underground Railroad and the key role this area played in getting slaves out of America to the islands. We cut our walk short as the wind really started to pickup and the sky was getting dark. On the way back we saw what we thought was our Looper friend Joe's boat- Firebird go bye. 

Coming back to the anchorage it was indeed Joe. It was good to see his AGLCA flag flying! He had contacted us to see if we want to cruise outside with him but we had already made the decision to go up the Gulf and left the day before him. We stopped in our dinghy to talk and invited him over for dinner. I was grilling a very simple meal but he was happy to share it with us and compare stories about our travels. As I was grilling, a big 65' party boat filled with 8 guys tried to drop their anchor right beside us. They saw the look on my face and me shaking my head as they attempted four times to put their anchor down. One time I told them that if they swung on anchor at all they would be in to our swim platform. He assured me it would be fine but a little time later they moved further away from us- after Dave got one of our big orange fender balls and put it on the corner of our boat! Our evening ended abruptly as the predicted storm came up quickly and Joe barely had time to row back over to his boat which was parked very close to ours. In the meantime, the big party boat was unable to hold ground so they finally decided to leave right in the middle of the storm- THANK HEAVENS! The thunder and lightening was intense, and while the winds weren't terrible they were bad enough to cause three sailboats to get caught together with their anchors. What a scary sight all three of them swinging in this small area. Finally one of the sailboats got their anchor free and moved (the next day we saw they went and tied off on the wall) but the other two were still tethered together. Not sure how long they took to get loose as we left early the next morning for our long day of bridges!

We had been warned that going up the AICW (Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway) would require us going under many different bridges that required opening because of our mast height. We wanted to get started early so all the crazy boaters wouldn't be out in force yet (yes we were warned about them as well). But going right through the city was an experience we just didn't want to miss and it would be worth the extra effort and aggravation! It was so worth it and we were so very glad we chose to go this way! I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed the sights!

Beautiful Key Biscayne Bay

Some of the cool trees and foliage on the path to the Lighthouse

FRYEDAZE on anchor at No Name Anchorage

As you can see, it was quite a full anchorage and this was before the two party boats came in!

We saw these resourceful raccoons breaking into the garbage cans in broad daylight. I was worried because in MD if you see them out and about in the daylight it could indicate rabies. Not down here they are used to getting human food so they don't need to just forage at night.

Sailboat races outside Miami

This is the last of the water houses in Stiltsville. We saw 6 of them still standing- amazing that they survived Hurricane Andrew

Plakard about Stiltsville

Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant- #13 of the Great Loop!

Our first view of Miami!