TIM PATTI RILEY BIG ADVENTURE: March 2018

March 9, 2018

We are at Fort Pierce City Marina. Arrived yesterday. More on that later.

We did one more dingy run while in Marathon. Riley stayed home. While running to our first stop, I got to see a fever of stingrays, a man-of-war (beautiful) & dolphins. Once again very skinny water.

We left March 1. Headed for an anchorage in Tarpon Basin after fueling at Keys Fishery. The captain always checks for the best fuel prices in the area & that was it. It was sunny 82 with winds at 10 out of the NE. In other words, nice day. Once again, CRAB POTS. I can not believe there are any crabs left in the water!!! Think that was the most ever. Not to mention very skinny water. We did see dolphins. Riley refused to look. When we got to Tarpon Basin, there had to be 30 boats at anchor. Good place right? Not for us. We ran aground😟. Finally got moving & decided not to try again. Kept moving to find a dock. When the captain noticed his steering was gone. We were in a narrow channel with the current pushing us. Not good. He thought maybe the fluid was low again. Of course the fluid was in the engine room. He went down to retrieve it while I kept us off to the side of the channel & not aground again. Fluid was not the answer. Now what? I spotted a tow boat & said, "guess we call". That's what we have insurance for. Right?? The captain called. By the time the person on the other end asked their 50 questions, we had steering. Cancel tow. I spotted a place with plenty of open dock. My solution, pull up, dock it & then worry about whether we could stay. That is what we did. We were able to stay the night. Captain figured out, the auto pilot was on, which renders the steering wheel useless. We also had a shimmy after grounding when trying to get up on plane. That also stopped. Skinny water? Anyway, the place we stayed: Anchorage Resort & Yacht Club, Key Largo. We were docked just before Jew Fish Bridge. When the current was running out, it was the perfect place to shrimp. Unfortunately we did not have a net, but the locals were hauling them in.

Next stop, Dinner Key, Miami. We stayed 3 days on a mooring ball. Got to try out my new hook. It did not work as expected for various reasons. Number 1, user error. Number 2, either not long enough or user to short or a combination. Anyway, went back to my old way of hooking the ball & we were settled, or so I thought. As the winds picked up so did the noise of the line chaffing on the eye of the ball. Not only was it annoying, but I was worried the line would break. Not good for sleeping! I started looking around at the other boats. Some were tied like ours & some were different. Um, what is the best way?? Isn't google a wonderful thing? Ours was not the best. It was dark & very windy, but we (I think we, at least I was) determined to fix it. So flashlight in hand on the bow, set up the lines, & Tim took the dinghy out to the ball to do some rearranging there. It worked like a charm. No more noise & way more secure. Sleep was easier that night.

Dinner Key is in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami. It is a historic district with a small state park, so walking was good & restaurants were plentiful. Oh the sites you"ll see. I just wish I had one of those "hidden in my lapel" cameras, because I didn't think it was polite to take pictures of strangers. It seems this is a place people still dress to go out. No sweats & tennis shoes. Also, it seems they have taken the skin cancer warnings seriously. Almost no one was tan. Not sure how one stays so pale with so much skin exposed.

Before relating this next tidbit, for anyone that does not know, I am a "rule follower". If the sign says "Do Not Walk On The Grass", I don't. Makes Tim crazy. Anyway, the restrooms at Dinner Key had a sign. "Restrooms Closed for cleaning 3-4 & 9-10." I happened to stop at 3:15, so I went into the office & asked if there was another restroom somewhere. The five people behind the desk & the one on my side of the desk said "you need a key" & tried to give me one. I said "no, I have a key". They said "is it not working?" & tried to take me to the restroom to help me in. "No", I said, "It's the time. It's closed for cleaning". Dead silence, while they all stared at me like I had 3 heads. Finally, one of them said "you're not from Miami, are you? Just go use the restroom."

Next stop, Las Olas, Fort Lauderdale. Another mooring ball & a chance to redeem myself with the new hook. No luck. User error was corrected, but I had not grown & hook was no longer. To add the that, the eye was not floating but below the water. No go. Had to use my old hook & old method. Never fear, I am determined that new hook will someday work for me. The mooring field was near a park & just before a bridge. We were about 3 feet from the wall at the park.

Arrived Fort Lauderdale at spring break time. It was packed.

While taking a walk with Riley on the sidewalk along the beach, he attracted the attention of the mounted police, who by the way were on the sidewalk. They questioned whether "that dog" was under control. MY dog not under control, really??? All I ever hear from strangers is what a well behaved dog he is. Tim said yes & kept walking. He knows my mouth can sometimes get me in trouble.

Next stop Lantana for one night. The marina we stayed at had no amenities & the price per foot did not reflect that. We stayed there as a last resort. No one else had space, still windy & we were tired.

The plan was to leave early & head to an anchorage at Manatee Pocket. It was a slow ride on the ICW, but at least we lost only 30 min waiting for a bridge to open. Lots of bridges, but luckily we can get under most of them. The weather gods were smiling on us. Thunderstorms were predicted, but somehow we managed to run between the bands of storms & eventually out run them. As we got near Manatee Pocket, the captain asked "How far to Fort Pierce?". We had reservations at Fort Pierce for the next night. After some speedy calculations, I determined Fort Pierce could be reached no later than 5PM. Sunset was around 6:30. A call was made & yes Fort Pierce could take us a day early. We pushed on & docked at Fort Pierce with sunlight to spare.

Once again, unseasonably cool weather. Last 2 mornings have been in the 40's.⛄

Now for random observations😀

Given the different languages heard in Marathon, it must be popular with Europeans.
Dragon flies are everywhere in Miami.
English is the second language in Miami.
Running the intercoastal, we got to see how the 1% lives.
Being part of the 1% does not guarantee good taste!
The dock at Fort Pierce is populated with pigeons. Where have all the egrets gone???