November 30
The hydraulic guy came aboard to look at the steering system, for an assessment of the needed repairs. The pump had to be removed and taken into a specialist. In Fort Lauderdale, the weather is incredible = scorching hot! Diane and I de-salted the foul weather gear with fresh water. Diane sewed another fender cover and then we scheduled a pick-up from the rental car agency at 2pm. They rented us a Nissan Versa, a very lightweight car... compared to Ms. Frizzle [my solid Volvo back at home.] We went to a store called Sailorman... well stocked with old items. We found a 2008 yachtsman guide to the Bahamas for $10, better than the 1996 one! Then we went to a gigantic West Marine store... I found some really good finds. Foul weather pants, shirts and flip flops... many things were on sale. We also went to the grocery store named Publix! Then we had an ongoing fight with the "no-see-ums", also known as Sand flies which are such a nuisance. Especially next to the large mangrove. Spotted a few night crawlers... cockroaches, while watching our episode of House. I hate them very much, but I only see them in the evening... we've been dusting boric acid around the boat to kill them off. Hope it starts to work. Beside the few bugs, the weather is spectacular and the marina staff are friendly folks!
Tuesday
Twelve Years Ago
November 29
Another uneventful night watch... the only thing I encountered during my three hour shift was a tug boat pulling a barge. Since the moon was lighting up the water, from a distance it looked like the barge had military tanks on it... however I discovered that it was probably large tractor trucks. I got up at 9am and was briefed on all the commotion that occurred earlier this morning... a plane crashed and the coast guard were searching for survivors. I could see the orange zodiacs bouncing around near the coastline. Reminded me of my days working for the Guard back in Canada, how much I miss cruising at 40 knots. It was almost 10am and we were beginning to enter the channel into Ft. Lauderdale. It was like one BIG deja vu.
April 30, 1997... Aboard sailing vessel Ballotin, we crossed the Gulf Stream from Bimini Island, in the Bahamas over to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. We stayed at the Royale Palm Yacht Basin Marina... in the Dania Canal. Only 12 years later, I'm returning to the same port! I noticed some nice and improved cruise ships... docked in Port Everglades. We pulled into the the Dania Canal and noticed the depths starting to drop quickly. We tried contacting the Royale Palm Yacht Basin and then spotted a marina named Harbour Towne Marina... shouted to the dock master and pulled into their fuel dock. This might be our home for the next week... until the steering fluid pump and sail grommets are all fixed. The facilities are excellent... free breakfast, WiFi, showers and laundry! Later in the afternoon we went for a short walk to visit the marina I had stayed over a decade ago. I remembered it like it was yesterday. We had endured a tornado rip... and rented a gray car. Still can't believe I'm in the state of Florida.
Another uneventful night watch... the only thing I encountered during my three hour shift was a tug boat pulling a barge. Since the moon was lighting up the water, from a distance it looked like the barge had military tanks on it... however I discovered that it was probably large tractor trucks. I got up at 9am and was briefed on all the commotion that occurred earlier this morning... a plane crashed and the coast guard were searching for survivors. I could see the orange zodiacs bouncing around near the coastline. Reminded me of my days working for the Guard back in Canada, how much I miss cruising at 40 knots. It was almost 10am and we were beginning to enter the channel into Ft. Lauderdale. It was like one BIG deja vu.
April 30, 1997... Aboard sailing vessel Ballotin, we crossed the Gulf Stream from Bimini Island, in the Bahamas over to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. We stayed at the Royale Palm Yacht Basin Marina... in the Dania Canal. Only 12 years later, I'm returning to the same port! I noticed some nice and improved cruise ships... docked in Port Everglades. We pulled into the the Dania Canal and noticed the depths starting to drop quickly. We tried contacting the Royale Palm Yacht Basin and then spotted a marina named Harbour Towne Marina... shouted to the dock master and pulled into their fuel dock. This might be our home for the next week... until the steering fluid pump and sail grommets are all fixed. The facilities are excellent... free breakfast, WiFi, showers and laundry! Later in the afternoon we went for a short walk to visit the marina I had stayed over a decade ago. I remembered it like it was yesterday. We had endured a tornado rip... and rented a gray car. Still can't believe I'm in the state of Florida.
Joana Times Two
November 28
Big breakfast! Organized the boat for another overnight sailing hop to the area of West Palm Beach, Lake Worth area. As I mentioned before, we met another sailing vessel from Canada named JOANA, registered in Quebec. Marie and Cathy sailed on the Picton Castle Ship for many years and now they owned a mini steel ship of their own. They had many questions for Wade about everything! We invited them aboard for a tour of the home built masterpiece... they really enjoyed some of the design features. Handed them a boat card and by 11am we asked if they could assist us in our departure. The crew from Joana gave us a little push, and off we went. I drove the boat out of the canal and noticed one of the casino cruise boats calling us on ch. 16. They wanted to insure that we knew they were leaving the dock, too. All was fine... we were making good speed and we passed them. Once we got on the Atlantic, the winds were light and we decided to pull out the jib and not even bother with the main sail. The sun was burning hot... I had to go below to put my shorts on. The sail was beautiful... generating lots of solar energy, but not much wind power. Wade noticed that the steering fluid pump is leaking every 5 minutes... and the company is located in Ft. Lauderdale. The plans have changed... pushing further south to the Port Everglades area... instead of Lake Worth. Our expected arrival should be near 12pm on Sunday. My shift is between midnight and 3am!!
Big breakfast! Organized the boat for another overnight sailing hop to the area of West Palm Beach, Lake Worth area. As I mentioned before, we met another sailing vessel from Canada named JOANA, registered in Quebec. Marie and Cathy sailed on the Picton Castle Ship for many years and now they owned a mini steel ship of their own. They had many questions for Wade about everything! We invited them aboard for a tour of the home built masterpiece... they really enjoyed some of the design features. Handed them a boat card and by 11am we asked if they could assist us in our departure. The crew from Joana gave us a little push, and off we went. I drove the boat out of the canal and noticed one of the casino cruise boats calling us on ch. 16. They wanted to insure that we knew they were leaving the dock, too. All was fine... we were making good speed and we passed them. Once we got on the Atlantic, the winds were light and we decided to pull out the jib and not even bother with the main sail. The sun was burning hot... I had to go below to put my shorts on. The sail was beautiful... generating lots of solar energy, but not much wind power. Wade noticed that the steering fluid pump is leaking every 5 minutes... and the company is located in Ft. Lauderdale. The plans have changed... pushing further south to the Port Everglades area... instead of Lake Worth. Our expected arrival should be near 12pm on Sunday. My shift is between midnight and 3am!!