5/25/10 – Little River, South Carolina

While at breakfast we got an early morning phone call from Rod who was already at the Wilmington prop shop with our shaft. The verdict was that they could straighten it this time, but if it gets hit again, we will have to spring for a brand new shaft. The good news also was that they would have it ready in a few hours, if Rod would stick around and wait for it, which he was willing to do. Things were now going our way! George went down to the boatyard and worked on some other small repairs and cleaning on the bottom of the boat since “Reflection” was out of the water.


When Rod arrived in the late morning, both he and George managed to get the now straight shaft back into the boat without nearly the effort it took to get it out – this was great! The last piece of the puzzle now fell into place when the boatyard said that they could launch us again tomorrow afternoon, so we could be on our way again on Thursday morning. We are eager to get moving, so that we can see our godson, Chris and his new bride, Lindsey, in Wrightsville, North Carolina since we couldn’t make it to their wedding on 5/1, and also to get home to see Pat’s mom, who is still in the Healthcare Center at Harrogate.

Our plan now is to arrive in Seawood Harbor sometime between 6/8 and 6/12. In the evening we went to “Captain Poo’s” Bar and Grill which is on Anchor Marina’s property. Wow, was this place hopping! It reminded us of the dances we used to go to in our 60s high school years, but now everyone here was in their 60s and up! The music was great, everyone was singing and dancing, and it was 35 cent wing and taco night! We had a great time and lots of laughs as we ate and people – watched! Afterwards, as we returned to the hotel, we had several calls from friends, and Pat phoned her brother to wish him a “Happy 36th Anniversary” as a priest. Then we (actually Pat) finished off the evening with the results show of “Dancing with the Stars”. What a terrific night!

5/24/10 – Little River, South Carolina

We got a call from Anchor Marina early this morning telling us that we could come right into their travel lift at 8:45 a.m. With lines ready we pulled out of Myrtle Beach Yacht Club at 8:20 a.m. and were lifted out of the water and blocked up on jack-stands by 9:15 a.m. in a very quick and efficient manner. One of the marina workers then drove us and our luggage over to the hotel where we were checked into our room immediately. While Pat stayed at the hotel, George returned to the boat to work with Rod on removing the shaft. This turned out to be a momentous job which took a number of hours, as this piece of metal was not only over 14 feet long, but very heavy. It was obviously bent, and the verdict from the local prop shop was that it would have to be taken to a larger shop in Wilmington, North Carolina for repair, if possible, or have a new one fashioned. Rod had to get a trailer to move it, and he will drive it to Wilmington early tomorrow morning for the verdict as to whether it can be straightened. George was exhausted when he got back to the hotel, and we opted to have pizza delivered to our room, rather than going out for dinner, but Pat was happy as she got to watch the ”Dancing with the Stars” dance finals!

5/23/10 – Little River, South Carolina

This was a quiet day aboard with George preparing the boat to move tomorrow, and Pat cleaning and packing up clothes, important papers, and other essentials so that we can get off the boat while it is out of the water and move to a hotel room. Luckily, there is a Hampton Inn very close to the boatyard, but the only issue is that we are not sure how long this repair process will take, so we don’t really know how long we will be there. We are not missing any great weather on the water, as there have been more thunderstorms this afternoon, and more are forecast for tonight and tomorrow with another coastal low coming in from the Bahamas and potentially working its way up the coast with strong northeast winds this week. Since we know that God always watches over us and our vessel, could it be that we are not meant to be in the Cape Hatteras area during this time? All we do know is that everything happens for a reason and works for the good, so we expect a good outcome from this whole experience.

5/22/10 – Little River, South Carolina

Back under the boat.

Linda graciously drove Pat to the supermarket this morning, and we waited for Rod’s return with the fixed prop and for him to make the transfer of the spare ones onto the shafts. Things moved slowly, so George and Linda, who were waiting to see the completion of the job, finally had to leave so that they could get to their hotel in Richmond, Virginia at a reasonable time. We had a very enjoyable week with them, and have possibly tweaked their interest in “trawler” cruising themselves.

A few hours later, Rod finally completed the prop transfer job, and it was time to start up the engines to see how things sounded. Ugggh! – now we had our 3rd Trip Surprise! We still had a major vibration on the starboard side, which could only mean that the shaft was bent! We were not happy campers at this point!

Now the boat would have to be lifted out of the water for this repair! We contacted Anchor Marina about a mile away which had a travel lift large enough to haul us out, but since this was late Saturday afternoon, nothing could be done until early Monday morning. Rod was willing to continue to work with us, and agreed to meet us at the boatyard after the boat is taken out and will help George take the shaft out for its eventual replacement or repair at that time. The weather this afternoon also deteriorated and we had the first heavy rain and thundershowers we have encountered on our trip north. With the weather matching our mood, we had a quick fried chicken dinner aboard, and licked our wounds!

5/21/10 – Little River, South Carolina

Tram over waterway for golfers

Replacement Props

Offending prop

Waiting for the diver to surface.

Our “Reflection” crew took a relaxed approach to getting started this morning, and First Mate, Pat, was especially moving slowly as she was nursing lots of aches from yesterday’s fall. However, we finally got underway at 9 a.m. for a 27 mile trip to the Myrtle Beach Yacht Club. The journey was very scenic and everything was going along well until we got a call on the radio from a boat from Cinnaminson, New Jersey who wanted to pass us. Boating etiquette dictated that we should slow down and move out of his way slightly and allow him to do so.


However, we forgot that we were in an area known as the “Rock Pile”, a stretch with rock ledges on both sides of the channel. Unfortunately, when we moved over, we bumped a piece of the ledge with our starboard prop – so much for being “Mr. Nice Guys”! After having travelled so many thousands of miles without damage, we were hopeful that “Reflection” would come away from this incident unscathed – but this was not to be the case. When George started up the starboard engine, there was definitely a strong vibration coming from that side. We limped carefully into the marina only a few miles away, and were able to get tied up. We were able to make contact with Rod, a local diver living aboard his boat in the marina, who eventually was able to get the damaged prop off in the water and took it to be repaired at a local prop shop. We decided then to put on the two spare 4 blade props which we had aboard, but as the time was getting late, Rod would have to continue this repair job tomorrow. Since George and Linda were also leaving us tomorrow, we then had a farewell dinner at the marina’s restaurant with hopes that our repair would be quickly completed then.

5/20/10 – Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

George and Linda - on our way to Osprey Marina - Waccamaw River

George walked to the local convenience store to get us some hot dogs for lunch and some additional breakfast items, and after breakfast aboard, we took a cab into town. One of the town council members was our driver and he regaled us with stories and opinions about politics for the entire 10 minute trip. We started out at the Visitors’ Center, and again opted for a narrated tram tour provided by Swamp Fox Tours for an over-view of the town, which is the 3rd oldest city in South Carolina and once rivaled Charleston as South Carolina’s major port. During its boom time of indigo and rice farming, Georgetown developed into a town with truly beautiful architecture, and many of its homes are marked with building plates from the 1700s, 1800s, and 1900s. We truly enjoyed our tour which included a visit to an African Methodist Episcopal Church, stories about General Francis Marion, a revolutionary war hero (aka Swamp Fox) who eluded the British and rescued American prisoners, narratives about the French Huguenots who settled the area as well as those specific to particular homes. Enormous oak trees and palmettos lined the streets, and Pat, in particular fell in love with the town. We will be sure to stop again and tour the revitalized downtown shopping area when we travel south in the Fall.

We returned to the boat at noon, cast off our lines, and headed out to the ICW. We now made our way up the lovely Waccamaw River, which we remembered from our trip two years ago. We were grateful to now see oak trees with Spanish moss along our way and speculated about the rice plantations which existed here years ago. Our destination was Osprey Marina on a sheltered turn-off only 29 miles away. We made great time and pulled into its gas-dock at 3:15 p.m. Even though we had filled up with fuel at Brunswick, Georgia only 6 days ago, George wanted to top off our tanks again, as the Osprey’s prices were also good. While he was doing this, Pat somehow slipped on the steps coming down from the fly-bridge, and fell down hard on the aft-deck on her behind. Though shaken, she immediately applied ice to her neck and tail area, and was well enough to have pizza, cocktails, and to play another game of “Train Dominoes” with everyone.

5/19/10 – Georgetown, South Carolina

Georgetown, S. C.

In the background is a 600 year old Oak Tree

Our destination of Georgetown Landing Marina was a 67 mile trip, so we started out at 7 a.m. We made our way past Isle of Palms, Goat Island, and through many miles of the Cape Romain Wildlife Refuge. It was finally through this area that we finally broke out the fly-swatters and bug spray, and at one point we even went down below to operate the boat from the lower station. We arrived around 2 p.m., rested, had cocktails, and then had dinner at the restaurant on the marina grounds. The food was great, and we had a lovely view of the Waterway. This marina is really a hub for tournament fishing boats, and the sight of all their rods in the air made a lovely evening sight at sunset. Again the current ran swiftly here, and we were glad that the wind died down, so we did not bounce too much during the inevitable opposing wind and tide.

5/18/10 – Charleston, South Carolina

Scenes of Charleston

Oldest theater in the U. S.

George and Linda at the Old Exchange

George and Pat - same place

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After spending some time this morning taking care of business items and making phone calls, we were all ready to take the marina’s 11 a.m. shuttle bus into town. Since this was George and Linda’s first visit to Charleston, we suggested that we take another narrated carriage-ride to give them an over-view of the historic district. This turned out to be a good idea, and afterwards we headed to the market area with its several buildings of merchandise stands. We then had lunch at an Irish Pub, walked around a bit more, and then took the shuttle back to the marina. We bought a few breakfast items at the marina store, and then headed out to our boat which was quite a distance from the entrance. After cocktails we decided to have an easy spaghetti and meatball dinner on board, followed by a game of “Train Dominoes”.

5/17/10 – Charleston, South Carolina

We began our 69 mile trip at 7 a.m. and again made our way through miles and miles of marshland with Indian names for rivers, creeks, islands, and cut-offs like: Ashepoo, Coosaw, Toogoodoo, Stono, Wadmalaw and Wappoo. We continued to see many dolphins who played in our wake and often dove underneath our bow. So far, they have proved elusive to George T. and his cameras, as they seem to hide as soon as he picks one up. It started to drizzle as we approached Charleston and the wind was blowing in the upper teens, however, Captain George was able to bring us safely into the dock at Charleston City Marina with the assistance of his capable crew and a quick-moving dockhand. Though again we had a swift running current here, the wind eventually died down, and we had a pleasant evening with a pork chop dinner aboard.

5/16/10 – Beaufort, South Carolina

Angel Tree

Scenes of Beaufort

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“Reflection” was on her way to the Port Royal Landing Marina near Beaufort at 8 a.m. George and Linda got a chance to get their sea-legs on this 44 mile journey through the “Low Country”. George is an amateur photographer, so both of his cameras were always at the “ready”. The course wound through many twists and turns as we made our way through miles and miles of marshland past Hilton Head Island and eventually Parris Island. Finally, we arrived at the marina around 1 p.m., but after we were tied up we experienced a lot of the bouncing that opposing wind and tide can create. At any rate, we got off the boat, borrowed the marina’s courtesy car, and drove into Beaufort. We found the Visitors’ Center, and then drove down to the riverfront to board a carriage-ride tour around this lovely town which boasts that it is the second oldest city in South Carolina. The architecture of many of the homes dates back to the 1700s, as it was largely saved from the destruction of the Civil War. They are also very proud of the many movies that were filmed here including “Forrest Gump”. After our tour we headed to the small outdoor restaurant at the marina for an early dinner, and enjoyed the rest of the evening relaxing aboard.

5/15/10 – Savannah, Georgia

By 6:40 a.m. we had untied our lines and were headed down the Brunswick River to St. Simon’s Inlet. Our trip out to the ocean was calmer than yesterday’s and the waves seemed a little smaller and more on our stern, which made the motion easier. This was good, since we had 50 miles to travel to Wassaw Inlet.


As we approached we had to keep our eyes out for the markers which were placed far apart and would help us make our way through the shoals on each side of the inlet. Happily we were able to spot most of them, and we made our way in safely. Now we headed up the very busy Wilmington River towards the Savannah Yacht Club. There were many vessels of all types out on the river including lots of sailboats of various classes obviously involved in Saturday racing regattas. We kept out of everybody’s way and pulled in at 2 p.m. as George had predicted. We immediately phoned George and Linda, who were headed down from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in a rental car they had picked up after dropping off their own car at the Myrtle Beach Yacht Club earlier in the day, to tell them that we had arrived. They said that they wouldn’t get to us until about 4 p.m., so that gave us time to shower, dress, and straighten up. We then called Andrew and Claire Zeigler, who had made the arrangements for us to dock here, and invited them to come aboard for cocktails and munchies at 6 p.m.

After George and Linda arrived with their luggage, George returned the rental car to the airport, and Linda unpacked. Because of heavy traffic, we finally all convened on our aft deck at 6:30 p.m. It was so great to see all these friends, and we ended up trading sailboat stories and going over some of our adventures on the “Loop”. We ended up going to one of the Yacht Club’s lovely dining rooms for dinner, and we could see that Andrew and Claire were well-known club members by all the people they knew and the wonderful attention we got from the staff at dinner. The food, atmosphere, and camaraderie were wonderful, and Andrew was a more-than-gracious host by treating us to dinner. We would like to repay the Zeiglers’ hospitality to us when we return to the Keys next winter, and we hope that they will join us there for a visit. It was a truly wonderful evening!

5/14/10 – Brunswick, Georgia

Lighthouse at St. Simon's Inlet

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“Reflection” left the dock before 7 a.m. and within 2 miles we had crossed the border into Georgia and then headed out the St. Mary’s River Inlet. The wind was out of the southeast and we were headed into an incoming tide, so George pumped up the engines as we headed out, but when Pat started getting splashed by spray up on the fly-bridge, he decided to back off a little. As we eventually made our turn north we were taking the waves on our stern quarter, making for more motion than we would prefer, but at least the trip to St. Simon’s Inlet was only 22 miles away. Conditions improved as we headed in past Jekyll Island and up the Brunswick River. George planned to fill up with fuel at Ocean Petroleum in Brunswick, as they had very good fuel prices, but unfortunately we had to wait at idle in the river for almost an hour while two other vessels before us filled up. We finally got in and made our purchase of almost 200 gallons, and then headed a little further up the river to Brunswick Landing Marina. The dockmistress and her agile female assistant got us tied up quickly around 1:30 p.m. Pat then cleaned the inside of the boat while George sprayed off the salt from our ocean trip on the outside, and then he caught a cab to go to the grocery store, while Pat did another load of wash. Our friends, George and Linda Telschow are coming aboard tomorrow, and we wanted everything to be in place for their arrival. With all our tasks completed, we walked across one of the town plazas to a lovely restaurant, “The 4th of May”, for a dinner of local southern dishes. We retired early, as we have a big travel day tomorrow!

5/13/10 – Fernandina Beach, Florida

Inland waterway cruise ship

Our next boat

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George again carefully played the wind and the current as we backed away from the dock and headed out under the Bridge of Lions to our last stop in Florida, Fernandina Beach, a distance of 62 miles. The scenery now began to change as we headed north with much more marshland starting to appear. We eventually crossed the St. John’s River near Jacksonville and spotted the first large commercial ship we had seen since Miami. When we arrived at Fernandina Harbor Marina we were again greeted by a capable dock hand who quickly caught our lines in this area of big tidal ranges and fast-running current. The marina was busy with lots of vessels of all sizes tied up including a coastal cruise ship, and a private vessel even larger than the cruise ship! We dodged the tourists who were apparently coming back from a shore excursion as we made our way up the steep ramp to the laundry facilities so Pat could do the wash. George also talked with some sailors who had just come down the ICW from Georgia. They said that we should go offshore, if possible, as the May flies were out in force in the marshes, making the journey very uncomfortable. Thus, we decided that going out into the Atlantic tomorrow would be the preferable route.

5/12/10 – St. Augustine, Florida

Bridge of Lions

Museum

Street in old city

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We left the dock at 6:40 a.m. for our 53 mile trip to St. Augustine. The weather continued to be the same – sunny and beautiful, and outside of our being very careful near several spots that were shoaling near the closed Matanzas Inlet, the trip was smooth. We arrived at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina around 1 p.m., and George had to very carefully bring the boat into the dock, because the current rips through here, and he also had to play the wind which was now blowing from the southeast in the teens. He did a beautiful job while the dock hand very efficiently caught our lines from Pat. Our system of throwing our light lines and then replacing them later with our heavy ones continued to work. We headed to the “A1A Alehouse” for dinner, and sat at the bar again like we did two years ago. While reminiscing about that night, George asked the bar-maid if she would be willing to play a joke on his cousin, Ed, who was with us then. She said, “Sure!”, and we placed a call to Ed at his home in New Hampshire, so she could pretend to be one of the patrons who remembered Ed from that evening. We’re not sure if Ed appreciated the joke, but we sure did, and had a bunch of laughs as he stuttered his way through a very short conversation with our accomplice! We walked around town and had drippy, but excellent, ice cream cones before returning to the boat a few hours later.

5/11 /10 – Daytona Beach, Florida

Harbour Ridge Yacht Club

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We had a lovely ride north again with very light boat traffic, unlike our inaugural trip up the ICW two years ago. Daytona was very busy with vessels of all sizes riding around at that time, but today we almost had the Waterway to ourselves. The winds continued to be out of the southeast, and the temperatures were in the low 80s. Our destination was our last yacht club in Florida – the Halifax River Yacht Club. It turned out to be a beautiful large facility, and we were welcomed by the dockmaster and his assistant at our slip. George then got a personal tour of the club and we were given an extensive booklet about the HYRC and the surrounding area. We could have had dinner at their lounge or dining room, but we opted to have a quiet dinner aboard as this was a “Dancing with the Stars” results show night, a T.V. favorite of Pat’s.

5/10/10 – Titusville, Florida

Though we have travelled this area of the Waterway before, when we delivered our boat from Florida to our home two years ago, some parts look familiar, and some don’t. At that time we had crew aboard with us, and were doing a much faster pace of 100 miles a day, so some of it went by in a blur. This time we are stopping and “smelling the roses” by travelling only half as far each day.


We arrived at Titusville Municipal Marina around 12:30 p.m., and when George went into the Dockmaster’s office, the personnel there tried to convince him to stay for a few more days, since the last NASA Space Shuttle launch is scheduled for this Friday. They are planning a Dock Party for that event, and told him that when a shuttle goes off, the whole marina shakes! Unfortunately, our schedule right now does not coincide with NASA’s and we have already committed to being in Georgia by Friday. We can’t be everywhere! When George returned to the boat, we wrote out mail, paid bills, worked on the blog, and enjoyed a pizza delivery with Pat’s current favorite show, “Dancing with the Stars”! – some things are just like being at home!

5/9/10 – Indian Harbour Beach, Florida

As we made ready to leave the dock this morning at 9 a.m., we were delighted to have Linda and Gus come here to see us off! Hopefully we will see them at home this summer, and we even talked about having a Bristol Sailing Club reunion in the Florida Keys next winter! This was another beautiful day on the water, and despite the strong winds blowing out of the southeast, there were lots of boats with families beached at the many islands which dot the Waterway. They must have been celebrating Mother’s Day!


Pat called her own mother, who seemed to be improving slightly, and had enjoyed receiving her flowers and cards. At 2:30 p.m. we pulled into stunning Eau Gallie Yacht Club with its vibrant blue-roofed white buildings, and it was really bustling. There were many families having Sunday Brunch, swimming in the pool, and enjoying their boats. Pat was feeling a little under the weather with allergy symptoms, so we had a pork chop dinner aboard cooked by Chef/Captain George and after watching movies on T.V., we retired early.

5/8/10 – Vero Beach, Florida

"Reflection" at The Moorings Yacht Club

Linda, Nancy, and Gus.

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Bo and Cyndi helped us cast off our lines from their dock at 7 a.m. with promises to visit us at our home this summer. We had a lovely ride north on this lovely, sunny day and arrived at The Moorings Yacht Club around 1 p.m. We were the only boat there at the dock which was located right next to the pool and club area. Again, this was a stunning location and the dock boys who took our lines even brought us ice water and lemons on a tray after we were tied up!

We rested in the afternoon and then got ready to host our friends, Gus and Linda Barberi, and Nancy Husbands who all live at The Moorings complex in the winter months for cocktails aboard the boat. We were all members and officers of the Bristol Sailing Club at one time and have known each other for many years. In fact, Nancy still owns her Bristol sailboat which she returns to every summer in New Jersey. Despite breaking her pelvis in a car accident in March, Nancy is getting around really well, and she and both the Barberis look terrific.

After a tour of “Reflection” and “Happy Hour “aboard, we were hosted for dinner at the Yacht Club, followed by a ride around Vero Beach which appears to be a lovely community in which to live. We were happy to spend some time here with our friends, and they look like living in Florida for the winter months really agrees with them!

5/5 – 5/7/10 – Palm City, Florida

Heading north from Boca Raton.

Watering hole along the waterway.

Lighthouse at Jupiter Inlet

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Today we travelled 72 miles to the home of Bo and Cindy Trossbach, the previous owners of our boat. We left beautiful Royal Palm Yacht Club before 7 a.m. in order to travel through a series of several bridges for their scheduled openings. Again the homes we passed along the way were simply phenomenal. Each home was larger, and more beautiful than the next, and most were already closed up for the season! As we observed the obvious opulence and wealth that many of our fellow Americans have, we realized that it is ridiculous for any one of us to be envious of another. There will always someone who has the bigger boat, the bigger car, the bigger house, etc. However, because we live in this country, we should all be thankful for what each of us has, because we all are truly blessed if we take advantage of our opportunities!

By 4 p.m. we called Cyndi and Bo, the past owners of our boat, to tell them that we were entering their lagoon system. It was very nostalgic for us to bring “Reflection” back to the dock where we first saw her, and to have them see her since we left here on 4/6/08. We were delighted to see them and to see their new boat, “Voyageur”, a beautiful Mainship 34’. Of course, their new boat is in pristine condition, and it was a wonderful sight to see our two boats tied up stern to stern. They came aboard for a tour of the improvements we have made on “Reflection” as well as for cocktails and a Chinese take-out dinner. We spent a wonderful evening with them trading stories about our various travels and our busy lives.

Early morning visitor out our window.

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On Thursday Cyndi left to meet her daughter in Fort Myers, Pat had a phone meeting with her brother and the Health Care Center staff at Harrogate re: her mother. At the age of 94, her Mom’s health condition continues to vacillate, and we all want to monitor her closely. Bo and George did a walk-through on “Reflection”, and even though it has been over 27 months since we bought the boat, George still respects and values Bo’s opinion on various aspects of our vessel. We also had a delightful visit with Jessica, the Trossbachs’ daughter, who came aboard for a visit. All this was followed by a quiet evening aboard.

On Friday, after a few days of suspecting a computer virus, George made some calls to get a tech aboard to check out our computer. We managed a trip to the grocery store, and two wash loads in Cyndi’s laundry before John, from “Fast Tek” arrived at 9:40 a.m. Within minutes he informed us that we need to buy a new computer – ANOTHER SURPRISE! He met George a few hours later at a local “Best Buy” to purchase one and then spent time late in the afternoon transferring all our old info onto the new computer. He arrived back at ‘Reflection’” at 6:30 p.m. and worked with George for an hour getting him acclimated to the new laptop. After he left, we took Bo and Cyndi to the Harbour Ridge Yacht and Country Club for dinner. This club is also in the Florida Yacht Council and is an unbelievable facility. The clubhouse was very grandiose and the grounds imposing, but we had a fabulous dinner with terrific food and wonderful friends at this opulent facility.

5/4/10 – Boca Raton, Florida

Miami skyline.

Looking down the Miami River.

Intracoastal Waterway through Miami.

Waiting for one of many bridges along the way.

"Noordam at" Port Everglades

Some of "Reflection's" bigger friends in Fort Lauderdale

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“Reflection’ left the dock at Coral Reef at 7 a.m. and Captain George again showed his skill in maneuvering her out of a very tight spot with large boats both in front and behind her. She is a very big girl who needs her room, but he handled her beautifully, even in awkward spaces!

We made our way through a number of bridges, and again there were very few vessels around as we passed through Miami. Pat really enjoyed travelling the ICW up to Boca Raton, and we could have made a commercial for “Homes of the Rich and Famous” as we passed multi-million dollar homes and hundreds of apartments and condos along the way.

We arrived at the beautiful “Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club around 12:30 p.m. The dockmaster got us settled in at our slip which was across from several gorgeous homes, and we spent the rest of the afternoon getting ready to see our friends, Florence Grant, and her daughter and son-in-law, Andrea and Ed Boulbol, along with their daughters, Melissa, and Kaitlyn.

Pat and Florence have known each other for over 30 years, and they not only taught together, but also car-pooled together for about 15 years! They were always close friends, and we often visited her over the Christmas holidays when she first moved to Florida. We have known Ed and Andrea since their dating days at Monmouth University, and we consider all the Grants and the Boulbols our extended family! Our guests arrived at 6 p.m., and after cocktails and munchies aboard, we went to the “Lemon Tree” in Boca for terrific Thai food. As usual, Ed knew the owner personally, so our meal was very special. He is a great host, and we had a wonderful evening catching up with everyone.

5/3/10 – Miami, Florida

Coral Reef Yacht Club

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We left Key Largo at 8 a.m. for our 43 mile trip to Coral Reef Yacht Club in the Coconut Grove area of Miami. The skies were somewhat overcast as we travelled across the sounds and Biscayne Bay, and we were surprised to see how few boats were out on the water. We seem to have the place to ourselves! It was great to see the Miami sky-line as we approached the Yacht Club, and Tony, the Dockmaster, was there to help us tie up. Because we are now members of the Marathon Yacht Club, we have full reciprocal privileges at all the other clubs in the Florida Yacht Council as well some reciprocity at others listed in the American Registry of Yacht Clubs. These may include docking, dining, and access to the bar, pool, golf, and tennis facilities particular to each club.

This club (founded in 1955) was lovely! Unfortunately, the facilities were closed on Mondays, but we were able to dock here with no fee! George spent the afternoon on the phone, but finally we got a verdict from the Westerbeake dealer in Stuart, Florida that our generator was not worth fixing. Though this news was grim, George immediately started making additional inquiries and after doing so, we decided to wait until we get home to get a used or re-built one. The only change we have to make now to our trip itinerary is to travel from marina or yacht club to marina or yacht club until we return – unfortunately, anchoring is out. Pat then got out her books, and by evening we had a revised plan for our journey home.

5/2/10 – Key Largo, Florida

Heading out for a sunset cruise (Key Largo).

The end of the line for the Florida Keys

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Captain George got to practice his boat maneuvering skills this morning as he turned “Reflection” “on a dime” in this very tight spot so that we could leave going forward instead of backing out of the marina. Next, he got to practice his navigation skills as we made our way out the shallow channels without going aground. He did both admirably!

The wind was still blowing out of the northeast as we made our way to Anchorage Resort and Marina, a spot familiar to everyone who has entered the Keys via the Jewfish Creek Bridge, as it is the first marina on the right in Key Largo. Little did we know that this place and Gilbert’s Resort across the creek would be ”hopping” this much on a late Sunday afternoon! Boats of all sizes were coming and going from the docks and Tiki bar, and the music was loud, if nothing else. It was fun, however, to watch everyone enjoying themselves, and we had a pleasant evening aboard as we continued to ponder solutions to our generator issue.

We contacted our friends, Bo and Cyndi, from whom we had bought our boat, and they said that it would be fine for us to bring the boat into their dock on Wednesday, a day earlier than planned, for our visit with them. Bo gave us the phone number of a Westerbeake dealer in the area that might be able to do repairs, and we also hoped to have a fuel truck delivery made at their house for “Reflection”.

5/1/10 – Islamorada, Florida

Dolphins playing in "Reflection's" wake

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We left our winter home in Banana Bay at 10:00 a.m. with air temperatures in the low 80s, water temperatures in the low 90s, under clear skies with winds out of the northeast at a brisk 15 to 20 mph. Though it was hard to leave this lovely place, we do so knowing that we will return next again December.

As we left the dock, only the maintenance men, Larry and Tony, were there to see us off, as most of the other boats have already left for northern climes. The water colors were beautiful as we headed up the Gulf side, and we carefully watched our depth-sounder because of the many shallow areas around here. We planned to make this first day out a short one by going only 27 miles, and chose our anchorage to be lovely Matecumbe Bight. We pulled in around 1 p.m., and after lunch, we both took naps.

Around 4:30 p.m. George said that he wanted to start up our generator in order to keep our refrigerator and other appliances powered up for the pleasant evening ahead. THEN WE GOT THE FIRST SURPRISE OF OUR LOOP COMPLETION! – The generator was only putting out 25 volts of A. C. power. Thinking quickly, we started looking for a marina in the nearby area where we could plug into electric for the night, and possibly find generator repairs.

Try to find help on a late Saturday afternoon! We made numerous phone calls, and finally found one marina about 7 miles away to help us. We immediately picked up anchor, and started heading that way, however, the traversing the shallow channels in this area take a lot of local knowledge. The dock assistant gave us one set of directions on the phone, and then when we had realized that we had gone up the wrong channel, when we called back, he was in the process of leaving for the evening, but was willing to give us the marina owner’s phone number so he could give us additional directions.

We now had to drive back a number of miles and the time was getting later and later. The directions and shallow channels were so convoluted that the owner finally came out in his own boat to not only lead us in, but also to sound our way in to very hidden Watermark Marina where it was low tide. We came in very carefully through water depths only an inch or two below our keel into a marina not much wider than our own entrance channel at home in Seawood Harbor. Not only was sunset coming quickly upon us, but also the power connections at this brand new marina had not all been completed, so George and the owner scoured the premises for extra power cords and even jury-rigged an outlet so that we could plug in for the electricity we needed. By about 8 p.m. we were finally settled in and we realized that the odds of finding a generator mechanic on the week-end were less than zero, so we decided to wait until Monday to make our calls, and adjusted our plan of anchoring out tomorrow night to finding a marina slip instead. We have learned to be very flexible!

4/13 - 4/30/10 - Marathon, Florida

Things are getting thin at Banana Bay

and thinner

and thinner.

We are leaving things to the original occupants.

.

We have had a whirlwind 2 1/2 weeks! We began by driving our car home with an overnight rest stop in Savannah, Georgia and another in Richmond, Virginia at the lovely home of George's sister, Pat, and brother-in-law, Al. During our visit we also got to see our 5 year old great- nephew, Charlie, play in a soccer game! It's amazing to see these little guys chase the ball and attempt to make goals. Pat also got to play "dolls" and sing with our darling great-nieces, Allie and Anna, and we enjoyed a pizza dinner with all our Richmond family at the home of their parents, Chris and Angela.

When we got home George undertook the outside tasks of cleaning things up and mulching around our house after a particularly severe winter. Pat spent the time not only visiting her mother at her apartment, but also taking her to several doctors' appointments. We also were able to all have a family dinner together with Pat's brother, Father Tony. Unfortunately, her Mom's leg condition had worsened again recently and in consultation with her doctor, her mother agreed to go back into the Harrogate Healthcare Center where she will be monitored more closely until her condition improves. Our nephew, Ken, and his wife, Nancy, were also able to visit with us as well as some of our terrific neighbors and friends.

After 10 days at home we flew back to Fort Myers, Florida, and then met our next-door neighbors, Ernie and Kay, and former neighbors, Larry and Joyce, for lunch in Naples. Ernie and Kay invited us to stay over-night at their home before driving 3 1/2 hours south to Marathon, and we took them up on their offer. We returned to Banana Bay on Monday afternoon. It was great to see "Reflection" bobbing happily in her slip waiting for us and ready for the continuation of our journey!

We spent the rest of the week doing paper-work, cleaning the boat inside and out, shopping for groceries, planning a tentative itinerary for our "Loop" completion, and contacting some of the friends we will visit along the way, as well as George and Linda who will meet us in Savannah, Georgia and travel with us to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Most of the boats in Banana Bay have already left for other destinations, and the population in Marathon has declined substantially from the numbers who were here this winter. It is now time for us also to leave "Paradise", and both we and "Reflection" are ready to cast off our lines and start the last leg of this tremendous trip which we began on 6/6/09. We will begin the final segment tomorrow, and are looking forward to the adventures yet to come along the way!