Report From Onboard Jenny
Da...@schramm-family.net
KI6...@winlink.org
====================================================Thursday, February 10, 2011 6:21:01 PM
Location: Rodriguez Island
Latitude is 25 degrees 3.384 minutes north.
Longitude is 80 degrees 26.954 minutes west.
This weather observation was taken on Thursday, February 10, 2011 6:13:39 PM local time.
Observation location: Rodriguez Key, FL.
Latitude is 25 degrees 3.407 minutes north.
Longitude is 80 degrees 26.958 minutes west.
The air temperature is 77, and water temperature is 66 degrees fahrenheit.
The forecast is Clear.
The current weather is dry.
The sky is overcast (more than 90% clouds).
The wind is 5 knots from the west.
The visibility is 4 nautical miles.
The wave height is 0 feet with 0 foot swells.
The barometer is 1016 millibars and steady.
We got up at 06:30 this morning. Melinda was first out of bed, anxious to get going. She got the bedroom and breakfast put together while I brought Jenny to life. We ran the genset so the engine load would be low when I fired JD up. The anchorage was utterly quiet and calm as we dropped the mooring ball around 07:00.
Outside the wind was rising out of the SW and we were in 2-3 ft wind waves on the beam as we turned East. It was expected but Melinda was not happy. It takes some getting used to, steaming along with 10 feet of water under Jenny's keel. I can tell she is nervous, but now trusts me with this East Coast norm. I asked Melinda to focus on spotting crab pots as we picked our way through them heading East. By noon, the wind waves had died down to 1-2 feet and life was good. Neither of us had any seasickness and Melinda was feeling more comfortable.
We arrived on the north side of Rodriguez Island around 14:00. By then we were in a one-foot chop. The island is pretty large and we found a very nice anchorage on he north side. Jenny dropped her hook with six-feet under her keel in crystal clear water. It's very peaceful and calm here now. We're setting up for another movie tonight. I am glad this passage was nice and easy. Melinda is slowly building confidence and loosing her fear.
Tomorrow should be an easy, calm 50 miles into No Name harbor near Miami. Then it will be intercoastal up to Daytona over several day hops. Life is good!
KI6...@winlink.org
====================================================
Location: At anchor outside No Name Harbor
Latitude is 25 degrees 40.401 minutes north.
Longitude is 80 degrees 9.797 minutes west.
Current passage average speed = 0.00, distance = 0.00, duration = 0.00 days 0.00 hours 0.00 minutes.
This weather observation was taken on Friday, February 11, 2011 2:27:50 PM local time.
Observation location: Outside No Name Harbor.
Latitude is 25 degrees 40.4 minutes north.
Longitude is 80 degrees 9.796 minutes west.
The air temperature is 76, and water temperature is 65 degrees fahrenheit.
The forecast is Windy.
The current weather is dry.
The sky is overcast (more than 90% clouds).
The wind is 5 knots from the northwest.
The visibility is 8 nautical miles.
The wave height is 0 feet with 0 foot swells.
The barometer is 1020 millibars and falling.
We released Jenny from the bottom at Rodriguez Key around 07:00 and had a very nice smooth ride into Miami today. One thing that has surprised me is how clear the water has been. From Rodriguez in it has been crystal clear. Even here by No Name harbor we can still easily see the bottom in 20 ft of water. It is far more clear than anywhere west of Rodriguez until you get to Ft. Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas.
A small front passed through around 02:00 last night and I woke up as the Jenny turned into the shifted wind. But the wind only came up for about 30 minutes and then all was quiet again. Melinda snuggled in for security when we got back to bed and all was well. the S/V Easy Out was just ahead of us all the way here and is now anchored in front of us. It was nice to follow a boat that has been here before. The way in from the SW side is an unmarked channel and I preferred not to try it alone. But it was easy and the anchorage is good.
We did not go into No-Name on the advice of S/V Easy out who told us that the small harbor gets real busy on the weekends and there is a fair amount of drinking and party activities. Outside is just fine.
The wind is supposed to pick up tonight and through tomorrow. So we might stay here on Saturday to take a break. We have 25 channels of TV and Melinda is happy with the prospect of watching some tonight. Our next stop is Ft. Lauderdale, only 25 miles away.
BTW, I have been reading a book called Dirty Havana, written by a Cuban in the years 1994 and 1995 when the Soviet Collapse also stopped their financial support of the Cuban economy. It is a fairly ranchy book, but depicts just how decayed the society and infrastructure became. I have to believe it is not much better today, nearly 20 years later. Having read the book, I no longer have a desire to go there.
Da...@schramm-family.net
KI6...@winlink.org
Location: Lake Worth
Latitude is 26 degrees 50.218 minutes north.
Longitude is 80 degrees 3.223 minutes west.
This weather observation was taken on Tuesday, February 15, 2011 2:10:03 PM local time.
Observation location: Lake Worth.
Latitude is 26 degrees 50.22 minutes north.
Longitude is 80 degrees 3.223 minutes west.
The air temperature is 67, and water temperature is 60 degrees fahrenheit.
The forecast is Sunny.
The current weather is dry.
The sky is clear or a few clouds.
The wind is 7 knots from the north.
The visibility is 10 nautical miles.
The wave height is 0 feet with 0 foot swells.
The barometer is 1026 millibars and steady.
We arrived in downtown Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday afternoon. The way in was a tidal river that was wove its way among mansions with cement docks. Mega Yachts were ahead of us, behind us and on each side of the narrow river. The current was running in. Various sizes of outboard boats filled the gaps. It was a white knuckle trip. The city dock was a wall tie just before the first bascule bridge. The dockmaster was standing in a slot between a sailboat and another trawler. He wanted to park us in the slot. I couldn't see it happening. I began to spin Jenny around in the middle of the chaos and got her bow 3/4 the way around as it glided by the trawler. There was a bigger space behind the trawler and I made the decision. In we went.
Being at a dock for the first time since Ft. Myers was a treat. We went for a walk along the rich shops and restaurants lining the old downtown area, very much like Walnut Creek, Santa Barbara, Pasadena, etc. I counted three Ferarri, one Lambergini, and one Bentley in one block. Wow. But, no free WiFi in the city. Go figure.
The next morning we woke as a 200 foot mega yacht was being towed, one tug ahead and another astern, out. It was the only way they could get it around the bends. After breakfast we cleaned Jenny inside and out, loaded water, pumped out, etc. Then we went a few blocks to the huge Publix and bought vegies and fruits. We also discovered it had free WiFi in their lunch area. We hiked down main street again and made reservations for dinner, a Valentine's Day treat. Then we went back to the Publix with the laptop and caught up on Email.
The folks on Tuffy, the 36 ft. Trawler ahead of us were leaving first thing in the morning like us, and were going outside to the Lake Worth as we were. It promised to be a very nice day on the ocean, so I talked Melinda into it. Going inside meant waiting for 25 bridges to open, and would have taken at least two days. So, we got Jenny ready for an early departure and set the alarm for 06:00. The tidal current was supposed to be slack high tide at 07:00. Melinda stayed up to watch Hawaii Five-O, one of our favorites. I hit the sack.
Jenny and Tuffy were up before dawn, and we were off. We made it down the river without incident, put Jenny's outriggers down in the turning basin, and headed out the Ft. Lauderdale channel. It was a beautiful day on the ocean and reconfirmed my opinion of Oceans v. Seas. I'll take an ocean any day. As we got closer to Lake Worth, we caught a stronger and stronger current. We were flying along at 7.5 knots with JD beating only 1400 RPM. Cool! And we arrived at the Lake Worth channel as it turned to a flood tide! Perfect.
We are at anchor now in Lake Worth, along with about 40 other boats, including a Krogen Whaleback and a Selene 47. Our friends on Tuffy were having such a good ride, they continued on up the ICW. Tomorrow we head up to Stuart, then on up to Indian River by Cape Canaveral. We hope to see a satellite launch on the 23rd, and the shuttle launch on the 24th. Yummy.