we are in Miami

Today is Jan 21 and the weather is in the 80's and sunny and windy and we are sitting in Miami, near the Ventian Causeway, a series of island with expensive houses on them. we ended up staying in Vero Beach for New Years . we were all set to leave on 1/4 when we had a problem with the holding tank, so back to the mooring we went. Then winter came to Florida and we had a week plus of cold weather. during the day it would be 40-50 and 30 at night with wind chill one night 21. The lowest was 28 at night, so we decided to stay on the mooring rather than risk anchoring somewhere. We enjoyed Vero Beach, we saw some friends who used to live at NEB with us (Jean and Frank Nappa), we saw Dave's cousin and wife and had dinner one night at the yacht club with new friends. Vero Beach was very convient for shopping. We left 1/13 and anchored for 2 nights at Jensen Beach by the bridge. Along the ICW there are many anchorages near the 65' bridges that cross it. We went to a street fair the second night we were there. There are also parks near the bridges so it makes it easy to take Packet ashore. We arrived in Lake Worth on 1/16. I needed to be in a marina for a couple of nights, needed to do laundry and have a shower. Plus we were meeting friends who would sail with us to Miami. We left Lake Worth on Monday 1/18 (this is also a place people stay waiting for weather to go over to the Bahamas) and arrived in Fort Lauderdale. We anchored in a small lake surrounded by beautiful houses. We ran aground going in and another Island Packet owner helped us off. We arrived in Miami in Tuesday, 1/19, had dinner with our crew and his parents, saw South Beach by car at night. Yesterday we took the dinghy up to a canal where you can access the city. You just tie your dinghy along the wall , walk across the street on one side to a grocery store and on the other side is the famous Lincoln St and Collins St where all the clubs, hotels, shops and restuarants are. Today we had to move the boat because the wind shifted and we didn't like where we were anchored. We will be leaving tomorrow or Sat for Key Biscayne Bay and should be in Marathon next week. Hope all is well with everyone .

Vero for Christmas

Well, we got a little messed up by the weather, so we spent two days in Melbourne, FL. While there I tried to hunt down my cousin that lives in Melbourne Beach in the winter. No luck as I had misplaced his phone, not published, and his email address. We moved on to Vero Beach, but I did search the we b and get a phone number for my cousin and after messages and tag we finally were able to get together in Vero Beach for dinner and food shopping for us. It was very nice to renew a friendship with lost relatives. Vero beach is also referred to as Velcro Beach by cruisers because of its cruiser friendliness. Free buses run to the stores and malls for provisioning and entertainment. Cafes with happy hours and a reasonably priced mooring field.
Some cruisers started a pot luck for Christmas day and 66 boats signed up to bring food and attend. A good time was had by all. We will be here through Monday at least as we are waiting for a UPS delivery. We hope you all had a merry Christmas and wish you the Happiest and healthiest 2009.

We have been in Florida since 11/30

We arrived at Fernandina Beach on November 30 and stayed until Dec 3. We met our friends Sandy and Jack Noble there and spent some time with them. We actually stayed an extra day due to the weather forecast of tornadoes and 60 mile a hour winds, neither of which happened. We enjoyed Fernandina Beach, it has lots of little shops on a very pretty main street. Another friend had a car, so off we went (three cruising women) to the grocery and liquor store. On Thursday, Dec 3 we arrived at a marina called Palm Cove. I had called the marina to check on the depth of the water because the cruising guide said it was only 6 feet(we need 5 feet) and they assured me the marina had been dredged and it was 7 feet. Well in we went, our depth sounder showing 4, 3, 2 feet. I think our boat was on the bottom that night, but nothing happened to it. We met another couple on a power boat and had dinner with them at the restaurant next to the marina, a very good meal. It was worth the shallow water for the meal. The next day we arrived at Camachee Cove Yacht Harbor, just north of St. Augustine, FL. This was a first class marina and actually my old employer writes the insurance for the boat yard associated with it. We stayed 2 days, the last day being very cold and foggy and rainy, felt like we were in Maine in the summer. We had the heat on at night. We left Sunday, Dec.6 and arrived in Daytona where we have been ever since. We spent a couple of nights off the boat at Helen and Ray Lanza's beautiful house in Deland. It was so nice to sleep in a king size bed, shower in a beautiful bathroom, watch tv and visit with good friends. I did laundry and more laundry, got a hair cut, Packet had a bath, we went to the movies, out to dinner. Dave and I went back to the boat on Wednesday and spent two days doing chores on the boat. On Friday Helen and Ray came for dinner and then on Sunday friends of theirs picked us up and took us back to Deland for a Christmas open house at the Lanza's. What wonderful friends we are so lucky to have. We were going to leave today, Dec. 14, but we woke up to pea soup fog(fog was so thick we could not see the end of the row of docks from our boat) and Barb was not feeling quite right(MS really is a pain in the butt at times) so we stayed. We will be going tomorrow and will go to Titusville (near the space shuttle area) and then on to Melbourne and finally to Vero Beach where we will spend the week before Christmas. Our plan is to be in Vero Beach from 12/18 until 12/27. Once we get there I will write again. Oh yes, it is finally warm, the last 3 days have been in the high 70's to 80 plus!!!

We are in St. Mary's

We ended up staying in Price Creek for 2 days. One day Packet jumped off the dinghy in hot pursuit of a pelican. When we weighed anchor on the 20th we had part of what looked like a crab trap attached along with lots of mud. We arrived in Steamboat Creek and anchored where the guide told us to, by the octagonal building, but we did not see the boat ramp and floating dock up river, so we took Packet ashore on private property, as the guide did not tell us the ramp and dock were up river and around a bend. We did find that the next morning. We by-passed Charleston, however we did see Alpha Tango( a boat we met at NEB) in the harbor. Maybe we will stop in the spring. On Nov. 21, Sat. we left for Beaufort, SC. We walked to town for ice cream and took the courtesy car for groceries and ate a Luther's. The town is nice, but there are only little shops filled with antiques, art, gifts, not a shop for restocking provisions unless you bike or borrow a car. we had had rain all day, but the late afternoon and evening in Beaufort was nice. 11/22 we arrived at a marina called Isle of Hope outside of Savannah. There we met up with a boat we had been with in Price Creek. this was an easy marina to get into, I did laundry, again nothing nearby, but they had 2 cars you could borrow. 11/23 we left for the Duplin river in Georgia. After we anchored we went in search of the sandy beach described in the guide only to find there was no beach due to high water unless we went out of the river and around the point. so we pulled up to the ferry dock, with signs telling all unauthorized persons not to land. Dave took Packet and spoke to a gentlemen who told us it was ok, the state of Georgia now owns the dock and the research center and we would be welcomed. There is the estate of J.R. Reynolds on the property, but it was quite a hike from the anchorage. We saw dophlins while we were going in and coming out of the river. On 11/24 we stayed at the Jekyll Harbor resort Marina, very nice. did laundry again, had dinner at the pub with Diva the boat we had met in Price Creek. 11/25 we arrived in St. Mary's for Thanksgiving. there were many boats anchored in the river, but we went through them all and anchored up river with plenty of room. Thursday, Thanksgiving about 200 plus cruisers ate dinner at a hotel The local people supply the turkeys and ham and the cruisers bring the side dishes and desserts. It was a lot of fun. There was music in the evening in the town park, but we did not stay for it. We have been here ever since, and hope to leave tomorrow(11/29). We have been resting and enjoying the town and the other cruisers, most who have left today. We will make our way to Daytona either in 3 or 2 days depending. We may stop in Fernandina Beach tomorrow if we can get a mooring. Oh, just so you are not jealous of us being in warm weather, it was in the thirties last night, had the heat on.

message to Sandy on Stillwaters

Hi, we cannot get into your blog sailstillwaters.blogspot.com and I do not have your email, please email us so we can find out how to get to your blog. Thanks. Barbara

Making our way to Georgia

We left Masonboro on Sat. 11/14 and at a very nice marina called St. James Plantation. Again it is a marina in a condo, single family house development. This one had 4 golf courses and 3 fitness centers. It was a little past Southport, NC. We only went a short distance because we wanted to make sure the engine was ok. It is, but now we think the prop needs to be adjusted, which Dave will do when we get to Florida hopefully in warm and clear water. we had no trouble with the Cape Fear river, only saw one freighter and the current and wind were together so we made good time and it was a flat ride. On Sunday 11/15 we arrived in Barefoot Landing, SC. We met a man on the dock who was living and working on his boat and we all went to dinner. The ride from Barefoot Landing to Georgetown was interesting. There are miles and miles of condo and huge homes and small homes with docks and then nothing but trees and grass. We made it through the area called the Rock Pile with little trouble. The water was very high due to high tides and all the rain. It was a little strange to see rocks on the side rather than grass and trees. The ICW was actually cut through this rock or fossiliferous limestone(from the waterway guide info). We stayed in Georgetown for 2 days to celebrate Dave's birthday with a dinner out. I enjoyed Georgetown because I could walk to town from the marina. We are now anchored in Price Creek about 16 miles north of Charleston. It is a creek that goes to the ocean and we are anchored in the middle with grass(marsh grass) on either side, there are no trees, so I am sure it is hot in the summer. It is supposed to be dog friendly, however the beach says no dogs on one side and the other side is a bird sancutary, but it is deserted so we took Packet anyway. tomorrow we will leave for another anchorage past Charleston on our way to Georgia. We may end up at St. Mary's, GA for Thanksgiving depending on the weather and if we stop in Beaufort. It is warm today, sunny, short sleeve and short weather finally. Happy Thanksgiving to all. The next time I write we will be in Florida, yeh!!

Finally leaving Masonboro

We have been in Masonboro since 11/5 and we now have a new turbo in the engine and the weather hopefully will cooperate for us to leave tomorrow. We had to have another mechanic fix the engine because the one from Mack Boring wasn't working out. It wasn't the exhaust but the turbo. The bad weather came in, rain and wind, wind and rain. We did enjoy our day in Wilmington and we met another couple in the marina who left today for the Bahamas. They loaned us their car so for the last few days we were mobile. We all had dinner last night at a restaurant near the marina. We may see them in Florida . So tomorrow we move further south, making it into South Carolina by Sunday. We hope none of you had any damage from the storm that dropped up to 5-8 inches of rain in NC.