Some of our favorite things...

 In the past many of you have asked us to post more pictures.  Below are a few of our favorite ones that have never made it into the blog.  We hope you enjoy them.  Let us know which ones you like.

Fort Lauderdale LDS Temple

Sailing past downtown Miami, Florida

Sunset in Florida Keys

Manatee visiting "Little Lara"

Dinghy Dock Tarpon Basin, Florida

"Little Lara" and the Big Boys

Boca Chita Key, Florida

View from Boca Chita Key Lighthouse

Sunset Boca Chita Key, Florida (c)

Sunset Boca Chita, Florida (c)

And, finally, below is a video of us taking the dinghy through the mangroves in the Florida Keys.  Fair winds.

More on Anchoring

It is interesting that sailing and anchoring have so many parallels to life. For instance, if we don't pay attention to our charts while sailing we might go aground... potentially with disastrous results. In life if we wander aimlessly without regard to civil laws and/or the commandments of God, we will find ourselves in disastrous circumstances. 

Different types of anchors

While sailing if we follow our charted course, and pay close attention to the advice of wise people who have traveled these waters before us, we have peace of mind and confidence we will arrive safely at our destination.  Similarly in life we will have peace of mind and confidence as we heed the word of God and his prophets, as well as church leaders, and trusted family and friends.

Imagine the size of the Queen Mary's anchor!

We have had only a couple of instances while anchoring where the anchor didn't stay where we dropped it.  The first time was years ago when we were new to sailing and clueless about the need to put out enough “scope”. There needs to be enough line and chain between the boat and the anchor to ensure that the boat is pulling on the anchor at a narrow angle, which makes it dig in deeper rather than pull out.  Since we didn't put out enough line, the anchor didn't have a chance to dig in properly.

Anchor Scope

In retrospect it was pretty comical watching the boat pick the anchor up off the bottom each time a wave lifted the bow and we drifted wherever the wind and waves pushed us along.  Luckily we were on the boat at the time. We figured out pretty fast that it is important to put out a length of rode (rope) and chain that was at least five times the depth of the water in calm weather and more when there are significant wind or waves. 

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Another time the anchor didn't hold was years ago when we were in the Bahamas. We had left the boat at anchor and gone ashore only to come back hours later to find our that our boat had moved!  Thankfully the anchor had dug back in as it dragged across the bottom.  We came to understand that anchors don't set well in thick sea grass or in thin sand over smooth rock.

Now each time we drop our anchor we take the time to make sure it is firmly set with good holding and we back down hard so the flukes dig in.  As we think about anchoring and how this applies in our lives, it is apparent if we aren't careful to make sure we are anchored to gospel truths, we can be blown onto the rocks of deception.  If we are firm in our testimony of Christ, the storms of tests and trials in our lives may still blow but we can be at peace knowing that we will not be in spiritual danger.

Safely at anchor at the end of the day

We hope your life's anchor holds fast and is deeply set ensuring you are safe and secure to weather life's storms.  Fair winds.

Florida Anchoring Strategies

We thought some of you may be wondering how we decide where to put into port and where to anchor.  Since we are committed to attending church services on Sundays, we look online to see where local congregations are located, then find a nearby marina in our guidebook. We usually go into the marina on Saturday so we can fuel up, go grocery shopping, do laundry and see a little of the town.  It works out nicely that we can find the telephone number online for the local Bishop and the nearby congregation.  Thankfully we have been able to find rides to church every Sunday or we walk, if it is not too far. We love being able to meet new people and we are so appreciative they are gracious enough to give us a rides.  Currently, we are in Fort Lauderdale, Florida still waiting for a decent weather window so we can cross to the Bahamas.

"Little Lara" at anchor in Fort Lauderdale

With respect to anchoring, which we do most of the time, where and how we anchor depends a lot on the weather.  After listening to the weather forecast on the marine radio or viewing it over the

Online Weather Report

internet, we consult our marine charts to find an appropriate anchorage that provides adequate protection from both winds and the waves.  We want to ensure we do not end up on a "lee shore", which means that the wind would blow “Little Lara” towards the shore rather than away from it.  So we keep a very close watch on the weather forecast which includes wind direction and speed, as well as wave height, direction and period (how close together the waves are together).  Another thing we check the charts for is the sea floor: sand, mud, rock, coral, grass, etc. Our anchor holds very well in sand and mud, but not as well in other types of bottoms.  Once we decide where to anchor, we must decide which anchor to use, whether to use an anchor bridle, and whether to use one or two anchors. Typically, we use the "Delta"  anchor.  It is our primary anchor and has served us well in all types of weather, and in sand and mud.  When the weather becomes more severe we use an anchor bridle which is two anchor lines attached to one anchor.  This setup keeps "Little Lara" from swinging from side to side.  We have yet to set two anchors, but "Little Lara" is equipped to do so if the need ever arises.  We would use this setup if there was extremely strong winds or currents.

Delta Anchor

The reason anchoring is on our mind is because recently  we have been in some very unsettled weather.  We anchored in what should have been some great locations only to have the wind clocked around to come from a new direction. This past week we were up most of one dark and stormy night making sure the anchor did not drag, like our neighbors to windward, who dragged and had to reset their anchor twice!  Fortunately, we have on board a GPS with an anchor alarm that alerts us if  “Little Lara” moves beyond a predetermine number of feet from where we originally set the anchor.

Ugh, gotta love those quiet, secluded Fort Lauderdale beaches!

We are disappointed the weather has not been more settled to allow us to cross over to the Bahamas.  With cold fronts coming through every couple of days, the wind and the waves have stirred up the gulf stream to what has been described as a “rip current 30 miles wide”.  So it's nothing we want to mess with … so we may not be leaving for now.  “Plan B” is to head slowly south towards the Florida Keys, and if a suitable weather window opens up we will head offshore and ride the gulf stream north to the islands mon! Otherwise, we will enjoy southern Florida and the Keys.  Looking for fair winds and gentle seas.

Waitin' On Weather

Life in Palm Beach

We were excited to finally reached the eastern side of Florida and promptly were greeted with a cold front. Don't laugh … we actually had temperatures in the mid-60s and rain showers too! We tied up at Riverwatch Marina in Stuart, the closest marina to an LDS chapel.   It was pretty skinny water coming into the marina as it serves primarily power boats. Thus, we had to time our arrival and departure so we were not at low tide. While there, we were able to pick up some groceries and fill our water tanks ... always a good thing. 

We ended up walking about two miles to church on Sunday because we missed our ride, but it was a

"Owl House" In Stuart, Florida

nice walk.  At church we met Ron and Carol who live on their sailboat on a mooring at Sunset Bay Marina. They gave us a ride back to our boat and later had us over for dinner on their boat.  It was great fun trading stories and we enjoyed getting to know them.  We eventually moved “Little Lara”, anchoring near their boat, “Dragon Dance”. Over the next few days they introduced us to other cruisers in the marina who were here getting their boats ready for their next adventure.  The anchorage was near Shepard Park with bathrooms and a place to tie our dinghy, so we could go ashore, and spent our time there exploring the area.  While in Stuart we stocked up for our Bahama trip (what? Another grocery store!),  went to the local museum and browsed the fun shops in the old town. We also got our hair cut short to conserve water in the Bahamas. That's partly the reason … for my part I hate having wet hair when its cold, and short hair dries much faster.

Peggy's New Hair Do

Soon, we were saying our goodbyes to all the friends we made in Stuart and we headed south to Lake

Worth, where there is an easy outlet to the Atlantic Ocean.  The weather forecast originally had a small weather window (a period of time when conditions crossing the gulf stream are less rough … notice I did not say smooth). The trip down the Intracoastal Waterway could have been done in one day except for the nine bridges we had to deal with, six of which were on a restricted opening schedule. Which means, they only open every half hour and one only opened every hour. So we spent a lot of travel time trying to hold the boat in position so as not to get pushed into the bridge by the current before they were ready to open. We anchored one night in a little cove in Hobe Sound, which was beautiful and quiet after all the fishing boats retired for the night. By the time we reached Lake

Shopping in West Palm Beach

Worth our small weather window had closed, so we went to “Plan B” and headed further down the waterway to West Palm Beach (to attend church) and anchored near the municipal day docks.  This worked out great because we could dinghy to the docks and leave the dinghy there while we explored the area.  We found a great farmers market that also had arts and crafts. So after sampling some of the local food, buying some great BBQ hot sauce from Andre, and spending time chatting with two local authors who were selling their books, we caught the local free trolley and checked out City Place.  This is a picturesque area with lots of shops and eateries. And we stumbled onto the movie theater so of course we went.  Later on our date we enjoyed Stromboli at an Italian cafe.  When we got back to the boat it was dark … we had spent the whole day away from “Little Lara” and were glad to see she was still anchored where we had left her.

"Little Lara" Anchored in West Palm Beach

The wind is supposed to veer back to the north next week due to another cold front.  All the weather forecasters say 'Don't cross the gulf stream (which flows from south to north) if there is any northerly wind because the waves get exponentially higher.  I am fine waiting here for another weather window. Jay however is getting antsy and wants to go to “Plan C” and head for the Florida Keys.

Hopefully our next blog will be from the Bahamas!  Pray that we have fair winds and calm seas.

"Hey Stop, There's a Grocery Store!"

Preparing to Leave Fort Myers

We left Fort Myers on December 29, 2015 for the east coast of Florida. Our destination, Lake Worth.  We had two options, we could sail down the west coast to Key West and then north up the east coast, or we could cut across the state sailing through the Okeechobee Waterway.  The difference between these two options is 356 miles versus 154 miles.  Thus, we chose the shorter of the two routes.

Okeechobee Waterway

The Okeechobee Waterway is similar to the Intracoastal Waterway.  It is a man-made waterway stretching across Florida from Fort Myers on the west coast to Stuart on the east coast of Florida. The waterway runs through Lake Okeechobee and consists of the Caloosahatchee River to the west of the lake and the St. Lucie Canal to the east of the lake.  The two rivers have always drained the lake and supported small boat passage, but after the diking of the lake in 1910 and the disastrous flooding in the late 1920s, this natural waterway system was overhauled by the Corps of Engineers and opened in 1937 as a first-rate commercial waterway. To do this the Corps built five locks to lift boats from sea level to lake level, which averages 12 feet, then back to sea level again. The locks are relatively new, well-managed, and quite easy to get through. Under “normal” conditions, they operate essentially on demand during daylight hours seven days a week, though a wait to allow several boats to go through together is not unusual. We had a short wait at all but one of the five locks. Each lock we passed through had lines suspended from the top rail, which we held on to as the Lock Master closed one gate and open the gate at the opposite end of the lock.

Our route along the lake's south rim
Note: The red arrow depicts "Little Lara"

Upon leaving Fort Myers we arrived at the Franklin Lock and passed through without difficulty – “a piece of cake.”  At, the next lock, the Ortona Lock, “Little Lara” was raised eight feet to lake level.  The currents passing through the lock were so strong we found it difficult to hold onto the lines while keeping “Little Lara” off the lock walls.  We did make it through without any scrapes, bangs or bruises.  The next two locks (Moore Haven and  Port Mayaca) proved to be easy in and out passages. When we arrived at the St Lucie Lock, the Lock Master informed us we would be dropping 14 feet to sea level.  We had visions of the current in the Ortona Lock, only worse.  The Lock Master was kind to us opening the gates slowly so we felt almost no current. Most of the time, as we passed through the locks we were the only boat locking through. It was almost overwhelming to find ourselves being slowly raised or lowered inside these huge caverns.

Exiting the Ortona Lock

Ariel View of Ortona Lock

Other than the locks, there was only one other obstacle along our route.  Before leaving Lake Okeechobee we had to pass under a railroad lift bridge at Port Mayaca with a maximum clearance of 49 feet at lake level — if the lake is higher, the clearance is less and vice versa.  “Little Lara's” mast height is 40 feet, so we were not too worried but honestly it looked as if we would hit the bridge.

Port Mayaca Railroad Lift Bridge

We spent New Years Eve on the south rim of Lake Okeechobee anchored in South Bay.  We were all alone.  It was just us, the moon, the stars, and the wildlife.  We celebrated with barbecue pork roast, baked potatoes, salad, cherry pie, and sparkling white grape juice.  We wish you could have been there with us.  It was awesome.

We will leave for the Bahamas as soon as there is a favorable weather window.  Peggy has already begun stocking up on provisions.  Every time we pass a grocery store we stop to see what they have.  All of “Little Lara's” lockers and cabinets are now full of canned fruit, vegetables and meats and yet we buy more.  I keep reminding Peggy that the Bahamians also eat!  We shall see.  Until next time, Happy New Year and Fair Winds.

More Food?

Celebrating Christmas in the Sunshine State

Merry Christmas

Beach at Cayo Coasta State Park

Trail in Cayo Cosata State Park

Upon leaving Bradenton, Florida we figured we had four days to travel 120 miles to reach Fort Myers in time to celebrate Christmas. At five miles an hour it would take us – well you can do the math. Plus, Peggy had her heart set on stopping at Cayo Coasta Island Sate Park, anchoring in Pelican Bay. With nine miles of beautiful beaches and acres of pine forests, oak-palm hammocks and mangrove swamps, this barrier island park is often referred to as Florida Gulf Coast paradise. Cayo Costa Island is accessible only by boat or ferry. It is possible to see manatees and pods of dolphins in the waters around the 2,426 acre park, as well as a spectacular assortment of birds and animal life. On the island, you can swim in the surf, enjoy the sandy beaches, hunt for sea shells and picnic in the shade of palm trees. The miles of nature trails that crisscross the island provide us plenty of opportunities for hiking and exploring. With so much to see and do, how could I resist stopping for a day!

Peggy Making Christmas Decorations

"Little Lara" Christmas Wreath

This is the first time in 35 years that we did not have children around to enjoy their excitement of opening presents, plus the warm, humid 80 degree weather made Christmas seem surreal. As the mercury rose to 87 degrees on Christmas Day this was the hottest Christmas ever in Fort Myers, according to the National Weather Service. The long days of motoring gave us plenty of time to get into the Christmas spirit. As we traveled down the Intracoastal Waterway we played Christmas music. In the evenings we watched Christmas movies. And, Peggy made Christmas decorations from a Christmas tree branch she found on the dock. We arrived in Fort Myers on Christmas Eve. After getting “Little Lara” settled into a slip we called family to let them know we were safe and to catch up on the holiday happenings in their homes.

We celebrated Christmas with just the two of us...quiet but very nice.  And later attended a dinner theater production of "It's a Wonderful Life".  The play was wonderful and the food was excellent!  

Downtown Fort Myers, Florida
Note the Palm Trees

Fort Myers is a gateway to the Southwest Florida region and a major tourist destination within Florida. The city is named after Colonel Abraham Myers. Fort Myers was one of the first forts built along the Caloosahatchee River as a base of operations against the Seminole Indians during the American Indian Wars. During the Seminole Wars, Fort Myers was a strategic location for its visibility and access to Atlantic waterways. After the Wars, Confederate blockade runners and cattle ranchers called Fort Myers home. These settlers prospered through trading with Seminole Indians and Union Soldiers. On February 21, 1866, Manuel A. Gonzalez and his five-year-old son, Manuel S. Gonzalez, became the first permanent settlers of Fort Myers. Gonzales had shipped supplies and carried mail during the war and settled his family near the abandoned Fort Myers to begin the town's first trading post. Gonzalez traded tobacco, beads, and gunpowder, and sold otter, bobcat, and gator hide, to the neighboring Seminole Indians. On August 12, 1885, the small town of Fort Myers—all 349 residents—was incorporated. By that time, it was the second largest town on Florida’s Gulf Coast south of Cedar Key.

Edison's Labratory

Ford's Model T Car

In 1885, inventor Thomas Alva Edison was cruising Florida’s
west coast and stopped to visit Fort Myers. He soon bought 13 acres along the Caloosahatchee River in town, and built a home and laboratory, "Seminole Lodge", as a winter retreat. After the Lodge was completed in 1886, Edison and his wife, Mina, spent many winters at their home in Fort Myers. It was in Fort Myers, Florida that Edison would do the majority of his research and planting of his exotic plants and trees. After testing 17,000 plant samples, Edison eventually discovered a rubber source in the plant Goldenrod (Solidago leavenworthii). Through Edison's efforts, the royal palms lining Riverside Avenue were imported and planted, and would become the reason for Fort Myers's "City of Palms" nickname. In 1916, automobile magnate Henry Ford purchased the home next door to Edison's which he called "the Mangoes". Ford, along with Harvey Firestone and Thomas Edison, were generally considered the three leaders in American industry at the time, and often worked and vacationed together.

We enjoyed our visit to the Edison/Ford winter estate with its museum and laboratory.  It was interesting learning about all the wonderful inventions that we take for granted every day. 

"Little Lara" Decorated in Christmas Lights

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, wish you a Happy New Year and pray your coming weeks and months will be filled with joy and happiness. Until next time, fair winds.

It's All Greek to Me

After being blessed with a calm crossing of the Gulf of Mexico to the west coast of Florida, we decided to leave "Little Lara" in Tarpon Springs while we flew to Utah to visit our children and grandchildren for Thanksgiving.  It was quite a shock going from 85 degree sunny weather to snow and temperatures in the teens!  We had to borrow coats, gloves and an electric blanket from our kids! Nevertheless, we had a wonderful visit with our family and were grateful to be able to be there when our grandson was baptized. While there, we celebrated Thanksgiving, six family birthdays and enjoyed an early Christmas!  It was hard to say goodbye to our loved ones, but we reminded ourselves that we would see them again in three months.

After returning to Florida, and warmer weather, we spent time exploring Tarpon Springs. This area has a very strong Greek influence due to a great many sponge divers who immigrated to the area in the late 1800's.  This area now has the largest fleet of sponge diving boats in the world, and as you can imagine, boasts a thriving tourist industry.  We loved walking around town and seeing all the Greek stores, restaurants, bakeries and the sponge factories.  While shopping or eating great Greek food we would be surprised to hear Greek spoken here, even by the children.  And while here we discovered our new favorite dessert -- baklava topped chocolate cheesecake!

Greek Sponge Store 

Special thanks goes to Herb and Rita who gave us rides to the airport, church, the Ward Christmas party and a Stake Christmas concert.  They certainly made us feel at home. We also appreciate the guys at Anclote Harbor Marina who gave us rides to West Marine, the grocery store and even loaned us a truck!

Our other mode of transportation while in Tarpon Springs was the "Jolly Trolley", which we rode to explore the cities of Dunedin and Clearwater.  We happened to be in Dunedin for an arts and craft fair and also a jazz concert.  A great deal of fun and many interesting people.

After leaving Tarpon Springs we headed south, down the Intracoastal Waterway and anchored near Clearwater beach for a quiet night, with the aquarium on one side and the board walk a short distance away, on the other side of the island.  Over the next few days we were lucky in our experiences with the bridge tenders -- we didn't have to wait for the bridges to open, even though they are on a tight, restricted opening schedule.  We just happened to be at each bridge at the right time.

Tampa Bay and the "Sunshine Skyway Bridge"

Desoto Park Ranger

Desoto Park Ranger

After crossing Tampa Bay, we headed up the Manatee River to anchor near DeSoto National Memorial Park.  This was a great place because it was a calm, beautiful anchorage, with a small beach where we could leave the dinghy and explore the park.  As we walked through the nature trails we were surprised to come upon Conquistadors and Indians lurking in the dense woods!  The park's visitor center showed an interesting film about the discovery of this area by Hernando De Soto, and had a great display of artifacts from that time period, as well as a replica fort staffed with park rangers in period clothing. They did an archery and black powder musket demonstration as well as showed us other weaponry and armor.

Indians Running for their Lives

Due to a cold front weather forecast with predicted 20 – 25 mph winds, we moved  "Little Lara" to a different anchorage further up the river off McKay Point. There we had better protection from the wind and waves. 

                   

                                   Those Pesky Pelicans!

What we didn't anticipate was to be dive bombed by a pesky pelican searching for food!  He kept diving for fish so close to "Little Lara" that he splashed the boat, creating waves that rocked us more than the wind!


Twin Dolphin Marina in Bradenton was our next stop on the Manatee River, which turned out to be one of the nicest marinas we have stayed at yet -- also one of the most expensive.  It has nice facilities: floating docks, clean showers, swimming pool, nearby restaurants and even bikes we were able to check out to make a quick run to the grocery store.  While in Bradenton we were able to visit Birdie's (a close, special friend from Redding) sister, Aletha.  It was great spending time with Aletha. We appreciated getting to know her and were grateful for the ride to church and a fantastic meal afterwards.  We meet the best people!  Until next time...fair winds and gentle seas. 

Peggy, Aletha and "Little Lara"