WindStar Blog Star Date 1 February 2010

WindStar Blog Star Date 1 February 2010


It is a very rainy day in Ft. Flauderdale, Fl but it is 68 degrees, and it is about time I update the blog. So here goes.

Patti, Carl and Lucy arrived in Jacksonville, FL (JAX) on 7 January to reconnect with WindStar and begin moving south to our eventual destination for most of the winter...Key West. Upon arrival on the boat the next day we discovered that over the time we were gone we had visitors aboard..Probably mice or rats. Patti and I spent several days cleaning and preparing the boat to travel. We also endured some of the coldest temperatures Northern Florida had seen in years, with nearly a two week period of freezing temperatures. We finally moved aboard on January 11 and planned to depart the next day. We would be traveling with two other boats, Express Mail (Mike, Diane, Skipper the dog) form Pelican Island, NJ and Volare (Deno and Teresa) from Peachtree  City, GA.

12 Jan 2010- Finally we left our marina at 0730 to head for St Augustine. As we approached the Florida East Coast RR Bridge in downtown JAX we discovered it was closed till 4PM for maintenance and we could not get under it without it rising. So we went back to the marina and returned in the afternoon to get under it and spent the night tied up at the free dock at the Landings in downtown JAX.

13 Jan 2010- JAX to St Augustine from 0640 to 1600, 56 statute miles(SM) in 8 hours 20 minutes, an average speed of 6.7 MPH. Nice day but cold. Lucy who never likes to leave to comfort of the cabin actually joined us in the enclosed cockpit for the entire day. We walked around town and spent a quiet night on board at the town marina. Cold!

14 Jan 2010-St Augustine to New Smyrna Beach form 0730 to 1615, 68 SM. 8MPH average. We three boats tied up to the free town docks for the night and shared cocktails and Patti’s Mexican chicken dinner that cooked all day in the crock pot, the Mexican chicken dish we swear just continues to grow. Friends of Mike and Diane joined us from town. We fed 8 people and still had left overs. Still very cold!

15 Jan 2010- New Smyrna Beach to Coco Village from 0807 to 1510, 7.4 average MPH and a max speed of 9.3 MPH on a downhill section of the ICW. We all anchored out that night and went in to town via dinghies for pizza. We parted company with Express Mail and Volare as we stayed on another day at a marina as friends from Orlando came over on the 16th to visit. We had a great time as we explored the town, one of the world’s best hardware stores is there (S. F. Travis Hardware An old fashioned hardware store including electrical and plumbing supplies. If they don't have it, you don't need it) and ate oysters, finished that Mexican chicken, and had great German food at Heidelberg in Coco Beach. We did not see Jeannie or her Master.

17 Jan 2010- Coco Village to Vero Beach from 0745 to 1530. Saw thousands of dead fish in this area as a result of the cold cooling the water. Very windy with winds up to 31 knots on the nose most of the day. Tied up to a mooring with another boat. Volare had gone on to get to Key West but Express Mail was there. We joined them at a friend’s home for a great chicken dinner. We stayed another day at Vero while Express Mail headed to Ft Lauderdale.

19 Jan 2010- Vero Beach to a real nice anchorage in Hobe Sound at channel marker Green 43 just north of Jupiter Inlet. Spent a nice night at anchor. 50SM in 7 hours and 10 minutes. Average speed 7 MPH.Did not want to take a chance of having to go under several bridges and having to anchor in Lake Worth in the dark.

20 Jan 2010-Hobe Sound to Lake Boca anchorage. 48 SM in 8 hours and 30 minutes at a slow 5.7 MPH due to having 18 bridges open for us.Lake Boca photos below.

21 January –Lake Boca to Las Olas Marina in Ft Lauderdale. 16 SM in 3 and half hours. Only 8 bridges.Met friends again for dinner.

22 January to 1 February- Ft Lauderdale. Express Mail has been here with us most of the time.We are enjoying their company as well as visiting with friends that live here . We have gone to the beach (2 block walk), ridden our bikes, taken walks along the beach with Lucy (she likes to see the people), gone to a trawler boat show (no not yet), art show, dinners out with friends and shopping. Plan to move on next Monday after the Super Bowl which has this area buzzing.

The next picture show Express Mail and us, WindStar.  We look like the smallest boat on this dock.  Sun Chaser on the end is huge - it's crew is always working - but no one other than crew is visible.