Back to the Upper Keys and Trying the new dinghy motor March28-30, 2021

 Sunday, March 28, 2021. Day 112. Our Extra Day in Luxury.

I swam laps for 45 minutes; and I loved this pool. We spent most of the day getting the boat up to speed and doing errands.

I had planned a real treat: dinner at Billy's Stone Crabs in Hollywood. We had hoped to get there before 4 o’clock and sit outside, but the task became a little bit overwhelming and we didn’t get there until later. We took a Lyft both ways but, even though it was Sunday, the place was mobbed. The wait staff and bar tenders were not prepared for the crowds (and neither was I). They assumed that because South Beach was closed (spring breakers had wrecked havoc and the mayor took action), the tourists had flocked north. We did find two seats at the end of the bar sitting near no one. The stone crabs were delicious, the food was abundant, and the bartender was very accommodating. Towards the end of the meal several people crowded into the bar without masks and were unacceptably close to us. I was anxious to leave.

We wanted to walk on the beach boardwalk in Hollywood but it was packed with people; again without masks and nobody was socially distancing. We called our Lyft and went back to the boat. Unfortunately, it was a stressful experience, overall; I was not happy....but, the crabs were delish. Worth a revisit when, if ever, I feel safe again, dining inside.

Monday, March 29, 2021. Day 113.

I was up early and again, got to swim laps. I will miss this pool for sure. Even Roland took a quick swim and then we got the boat ready and left the dock saying goodbye to Williams Island at 10:20am, with the high tide. Again we went to Lake Maule, to stow the lines and the fenders. We went south the way we had arrived, through Sunny Isles, and prepared to go through the many bridges that required opening for Magic Moments.

I steered quite a bit, as we went south.

Again it was fun going south passed the area I had lived in for eight years, and I even knew the names of the bridges, which gave us a jump on calling the tenders on the radio (local knowledge is always helpful,,,,,lol).

The traffic was fairly heavy, and there were times when waiting for a bridge opening was tight; I’m happy that we avoided collisions.

Near Miami we passed the Gene Machine, an amazing 55 meter yacht owned by Jonathan Rothberg (high speed gene sequencing scientist and entrepreneur, hence the name of the vessel). The tender and the toy barge made an incredible vision. Google “Gene Machine “ and read the article: 14 passengers and 16 crew, and a newly installed lab for his daughter's research. It was breathtaking.

At 3:30 we approached Elliot Key, where we had been anchored when the water tank failed. Our plan was to test our new dinghy motor and maybe, if the wind lets up a bit, try our paddle boards.

The water was incredibly clear, the anchor grabbed nicely, and the wind was only 4-8 knots. We got the dinghy down (our fifth try), and, it went pretty well, especially considering that we had a 60 pound engine attached for the first time.

It was a new engine and required some patience and some care to get it started (also about 12 pulls on the cord). We hope that after a couple of uses, it would get easier.

We took the dinghy engine for its initial exercise in accordance with the detailed manual instructions as to the speed, to break it in. We dinghied to the Biscayne National Park on Elliott Key. I’m not sure there was anybody else there. We took a short walk around and I steered and ran the engine on the way back to the boat.

Tuesday, March 30, 2021. Day 114.

It was a beautiful, sunny morning, but way windier than we had hoped. As a result, the paddle boards were out; very disappointing. The day was spent working out the new dinghy engine which meant we got to scoot around the Upper Keys. We moved Magic Moments from Elliot Key to Key Biscayne in the afternoon.

The dinghy ride around the smaller coves off of Key Biscayne was fun. The boats and homes that are not visible even from the bay, were charming, and it was fun to zip around with our new, speedy by comparison to the electric engine, gas motor.

We raised the dinghy with the motor attached for the first time; and it went rather well. Not with standing what we were told, it’s highly unlikely we will ever be able to raise and lower the dinghy in 15 minutes, or with just one person. Maybe if we had a hydraulic hoist......

Key Biscayne is beautiful and the views of Miami and “the Beach”, are spectacular. But, we were ready to start the return trip North.

Lap of luxury March 25 - 28, 2021

 Thursday, March 25, 2021. Day 109 .

Up early so I could get to the ladies room at the boaters' lounge (there was only one bathroom for the women and it as a bit of a walk). Because there was no water on the boat, I was dependent on the public facilities.

I ran 3 miles around the marina and walked another half mile. After breakfast I went back to do another couple of loads of laundry.

The repairman called this morning and said he would, in fact, be there today (Yay!), but not until the afternoon. This was really great. It delayed our plans to go to the supermarket to get food for Passover, but getting the hot water tank in and operating was the most important thing.

I spent the afternoon by the pool (the facilities at the Williams Island Marina club were absolutely lovely), and brought lunch from the bar at the club to Roland, who was on the boat helping Dave the repairman. I was totally enjoying this time in the lap of luxury, while doing Roland and Dave the favor of staying out of their way.

Talking to the waiter and waitress at the pool bar, I learned that all of Williams Island is a membership club. As a transient boater, I was a “guest”, and could pay with my credit card (they added a small fee - that was the case also with the a Island Grille where we had dinner the night before). It was a beautiful afternoon and I enjoyed the opportunity to be sitting outside by the pool relaxing and doing almost nothing. And, I was thrilled that Roland and Dave completed the work on the hot water heater. Magic Moments was back in operation again.

Friday, March 26, 2021. Day 110.

   

It was warm and lovely. I woke up early and swam laps for 40 minutes to the pool. There was nobody else there; it was just delightful.

Roland had assembled our folding bikes, while I was swimming laps, so that we could go to the supermarket and do some other errands. Aventura has every store one can think of within a reasonable distance. I was familiar with the shopping area because I had passed by Aventura for years when I lived part time in Bay Harbor Islands, which is fairly close by. 

 We cycled to a supermarket, and I was pleased that would be able to put together a reasonable facsimile to a Seder. Bryna was coming to join us Saturday evening for the first night of Passover; our first dining-in guest on the boat since we left on December 6, 2020.

Saturday, March 27, 2021. Day 111.



Williams Island is quite beautiful. It is dense with high-rises, although they appear to be barely 1/4 occupied. It is our understanding that many of the units are owned by central and south Americans, Mexicans and Russians. A place for some folks, apparently, to keep their resources. Many of the boats at the marina are also owned by Hispanics and Russians.

Saturday morning we walked to West Marine, about a mile or two, to pick up our new dinghy motor and some equipment that we needed for this gas outboard. The motor weighed 59 pounds so it would not be possible for us to carry it back to the boat. Fortunately one of the employees at West Marine said he would drive it over and drop it off during his lunch hour. That was terrific, and Captain Roland remunerated him generously. We are really hoping that the outboard makes using the dinghy a joy.

Williams Island is lovely, the pool was terrific, the weather was wonderful, and I was enjoying my “vacation” in Aventura. After a few more trips to a different supermarket on the bikes, Roland and I spent most of the rest of day preparing our Seder dinner, cooking and preparing the Seder plate, and setting the table.

Bryna arrived before 5pm, with our yacht club membership and my replacement credit card that we had arranged for her to bring us from Philadelphia, and we took a brief tour of the island. She had to leave by 8:30pm because South Beach had a curfew until April 12 , due to the mobs and lawless behavior of tourists during spring break.

I think the hit of the Seder dinner was the brisket that Roland made in the Instapot.

Sunday, March 28, 2021. Day 112.

The original plan was to leave today to go back to the upper Keys. I went swimming for about 45 minutes (I love swimming laps in this incredibly great pool that I have all to myself in the morning). Roland wanted to stay another day, so we lucked out and they agreed that we could extend our visit, one more day.

Water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink March 23-24, 2021

 Tuesday, March 23, 2021. Day 107.

So, after our absolutely wonderful paddle board ride, when we returned to the boat, and heard the water pump running, and realized that our hot water heater was leaking all of the fresh water, and there was no turn off valve, our only choice was to turn off the fresh water on the boat.

This was not a happy day. Here we were in the Upper Keys, no marina and no water. This was a major problem; this was serious; and this was not fun!

Captain Roland went to work immediately: calling, texting, and emailing, to find a replacement water heater, identical to our current, 14 year old unit to enhance the chances that the install would be relatively simple and would work on Magic Moments, and a repair person to install it, all near Aventura, where we hoped the marina where we had reservations would allow the repair, and let us arrive a few days early. This was a major undertaking and a logistical nightmare.

After many calls and emails, he located the unit we needed, not too far from Fort Lauderdale, a repair person, not too far from Fort Lauderdale, and confirmed that the marina in Aventura (not too far from Fort Lauderdale), would allow the work and allow us to arrive Wednesday. It was a minor miracle that he got all of this together in a couple of hours and got everybody to agree to a Thursday install. Of course this was going to be extraordinarily costly but at that point Time was of the Essence and reliability, and skill were the key points. Not the time to shop for a bargain, and.....not DIY.

Fortunately, I had to leave the entire mess in Roland's hands (he really works better alone in a situation like this), and normally, I have a few thoughts and opinions, but we lucked out; I had my own crisis starting a 3pm. I had an enormously stressful and time sensitive issue to handle involving one of my angel funds. Because I was busy with those issues, I had no time nor bandwidth to “contribute” to the water heater situation solution, and Captain Roland was free to make his miracle work.

OK; we had the miracle, we had a plan, so now we had to execute. We turned on the freshwater pump for short periods of time to fill up a bucket for washing some dishes, and for collecting some drinking water, and some water for us to wash (no showers), and to flush the head. The bilge pump took care of the water leaking out of the heating tank as we filled the containers.

We went to bed early, trying not to stress.

Wednesday, March 24, 2021. Day 108.

We were up at 6:30am, with the sun. Neither of us slept well; I was up from 1am to 2am or longer and tossed and turned and stressed about the water and no water. We brought up the dinghy (only the fourth or fifth time and we were actually getting better). We tried not to use too many dishes or utensils. It was a beautiful day and we pulled up the anchor and started for Aventura. It was a sunny, calm, beautiful day (perfect for the beach- too bad, we were on a mission). The views approaching Miami, the city and “the Beach”, as the natives say, were very cool.

 I love, love, love, Miami Beach architecture and the views were fabulous. At 11:05am, we arrived at the Venetian Causeway Bridge which opens on the half hour so we had to idle for 25 minutes; ugh!

Hopefully, at five knots, we would make all the bridges without waiting. We snacked on kind bars to avoid dishes and utensils, and we drank water, sparingly.

The next couple of bridges went well and we were making good time. The West 79th St., Bridge tender, held the Bridge open for two extra minutes so that we could get by. We were very grateful.

As we approach the Broad Causeway Bridge, connecting Miami to Bay Harbor Islands, it was old home week for me. I had lived there as as snowbird for eight years and it was great to see the island and the building from the bay. I got a real kick out of going by. I called Allen, who has lived in the building for decades, and he came out on his balcony and waved as we passed. I hadn’t seen him for many years and he said that this is the first time he knew anybody going by on a boat. It was a kick for him too.

We passed Haulover Cut, and the Haulover sandbar, where dozens of boats were anchored on the sandbar and families were playing in the water. I had lived there for 8 years and never saw or knew about this area. It was astounding to see folks spending the day in waist high water as if it were a beach.

As we passed Sunny Isles and approached Aventura, we went down a narrow canal into Lake Maule, where we idled to set up the docking lines, and the fenders, vertical on the port, and horizontal on starboard. It was a narrow entry to a narrow slip, and Captain Roland was attempting his first stern in docking. He wanted to make it as easy as possible for the repair people to be able to get the water heater aboard, and felt that the stern at the dock was mandatory.

It was not an easy docking; it took him three tries (this is not really unusual), to line up the boat for his first stern docking.

My job was to watch the sides and make sure that he was coming in straight and guide him if he needed to go more to port or more to starboard. Unfortunately, I was so distracted by the port and starboard issue, that I failed to pay as much attention to the swim platform which is a foot or so longer than our stern and 3 feet below the rail, and not easily visible when on the deck. As a result we had a bit more forceful “contact”, shall we say, with the pilings, than we should have had. I don’t think it did permanent damage but it did make us look like we didn’t know what we were doing, and will require repair. Fortunately for the Captain, the dockhands were there and saw that it was I who didn’t know what she was doing, and that it wasn’t the Captain's fault. The dockhand also pushed the boat away as much as possible to soften the “contact” and thereby, to minimize the damage.

We got into the slip, notwithstanding, although tying up was a little bit of a challenge. One of the dockhands (masked), with permission, boarded the boat and went to the bow and helped the Captain tie the lines to the pilings. Again, this was our first (and maybe our last), stern in docking, and I think, considering the circumstances, Captain Roland did a fabulous job.

In the slip we connected to the marina's water. Captain Roland was able to wash off the boat, and I collected the laundry to go to the boaters' lounge where I was told there was a beautiful, free laundromat, and a wonderful bathroom and shower. After 36 hours sans water, I was delighted to hear and hoped it was true.

They were right, instead of doing 4-6 loads of laundry, I did only two or three; the machines were huge. There was one minor problem: the washers and dryers were stacked and the dryer was so high that, not only could I not reach the buttons, I could not even see them! Fortunately, there were several young crew members in the boaters' lounge and one of them gave me a hand.

I had a lovely shower and washed my hair, and was really pleased that this problem occurred over two weeks after our second vaccine, so that using the boaters' lounge (even masked), did not feel like a major risk.

After my shower, I went for a walk and checked out the restaurant near our slip, and made a reservation for the first available time for an outside table, on the terrace at the Island Grille. We had a great dinner and even had leftovers to take back to the boat.

It was a great evening. We were safe, we had the boaters' lounge, water, washers and dryers, a shower, and a bathroom. The only disappointment to the evening was the email from the repair people that they would not be there on Thursday (tomorrow), but they would come on Friday. Captain Roland was not happy with this. He was concerned that they might cancel again; however, he had a back up plan, already.

Finally, The Keys. March 17-23, 2021

 Wednesday, March 17, 2021. Day 101

Elizabeth and Brian dinghied over to Magic Moments for a masked, socially distanced, opened doors, visit and tour of the boat. It was great fun to connect in person after texting since the Fall. Roland and Brian discussed all kinds of things about boating in general, and about Grateful, Magic Moments, and Roland's sailboat, Kodacrome. Elizabeth and I just enjoyed the social contact. Hopefully there will be less wind tomorrow and we will be able to lower our dinghy and visit Grateful.

Although it was a beautiful, sunny day, the winds were 10-16 knots, and we were still learning how to lower the dinghy. The water was cool and the winds a bit much, so no swimming, no dinghy rides, no paddle boarding, and no snorkeling. I took the opportunity to handle a lot of my paperwork and obligations that were piling up.

Thursday, March 18, 2021. Day 102.

The wind was a lot less when we got up that morning ( Yay!), so we lowered the dinghy (double Yay!). It took us only 10 to 15 minutes (we were getting better - triple Yay!). It was only the fourth time and Magnolia had told us that it would take about 10 times to get to be an expert. We arranged a noon visit with Brian and Elizabeth on, and took our dinghy over to Grateful for a quick tour to see all the work that Brian had done for the past two years to get Grateful ready for this adventure. Grateful was really beautiful; he had done an amazing job!

We then dinghied to the Marriott Resort on Key Largo. I had asked permission to use their dinghy dock to see the Resort and have lunch. Brian followed us into the dock (it was a little tricky). We asked Brian to wait until we were half way there before he started over as our electric motor was so unbelievably slow (next to our dinghy, Brian's looked like a jet ski!). 

 We had a great celebratory lunch at Guss's Grille in honor of our two week weeks past our second vaccine (hopefully pretty safe now), and in celebration of Brian‘s birthday in a couple of days. We ate and we drank and even had leftovers to take home. It was a wonderful lunch and celebration.

After lunch we went for a walk on Key Largo hoping to visit the park but it was a little too far and a little too hot. Elisabeth and Brian stopped at the health food store for a cold drink and to relax and we went to West Marine to pick up a few things that we needed (on a boat you always need something). On our dinghy ride back to the boat, we stopped by Bluejay from Annapolis Maryland, a sailboat anchored nearby. He had an electric motor and we had hoped he had some words of wisdom as we were still struggling with our electric motor. He was in a hurry to leave; we wished him calm waters and good winds.

Friday, March 19, 2021. Day 103.

After a vigorous morning workout on the back deck and navy shower, at 1:30pm, we left the anchorage in front of the Marriott Key Largo, wishing Brian and Elizabeth good luck. A front was coming through and Captain Roland wanted to move to the north west corner of Blackwater Sound, approximately 3 miles away, which had a new view and better protection from the changing wind direction. In addition, there were no jet skiers zipping all over the place creating wakes and rocking the boat. Bonus: it was quiet, too.

It was it was still too windy for the paddle boards, so we went for a brief dinghy ride. As we approached the mangroves, four or more dolphins began to follow us in the dinghy; they love to play. We were so close to them in the water; very cool! The dinghy was holding air; Roland's valve replacement and repair around the valve was successful. The electric engine is small, light and quiet, and no gas is required, just plug in the battery to charge it. But, the range is limited and the speed, extremely slow. We hope to use the electric engine the rest of this year but may consider a gas engine for the Bahamas, next winter.

Saturday, March 20, 2021. First day of Spring. Day 104.

Last night was windy, about 20 knots, and the boat was rocking and rolling at anchor. We decided to move to Thursday Cove, which was east of last night's anchorage. We were still unable to find a slip in a marina in any of the upper Keys. We did find one that would work for Brian, (Grateful is narrower than Magic Moments), which he arranged for a couple of days.

Really windy (again), so no paddle boarding (again). We went for a brief dinghy ride. Although we were skirting the mangroves, we didn’t see a lot of birds nor fish. The ride suddenly turned out to be way BRIEFER than we had intended. There was a problem with the motor. Really??!! It suddenly slowed down to a half knot. It was touch and go as to whether we would make it back to the boat, and rowing is not our forte! Frustration with this finicky motor was getting out of hand!

We had been “on the hook” for 8 days, and with the dinghy motor not working, we had a problem; we needed a marina. We were really frustrated with the motor. We had invested too much time and money for it not to be working. I left a detailed message on the phone for the electric motor repair shop (they are closed on the weekends), and then and we went about the job of finding a replacement motor. The wind was unceasing and was clocking around in different directions. Almost every day we moved to a different anchorage to maximize the protection from the wind. We had hoped to find a beach so we could clean the dinghy and a place protected from the wind so we could use the paddle boards. It was not happening. The Keys were not doing anything for us!

After many calls and emails, we got a few days in a marina in Aventura (north of Miami Beach), in the next week, and ordered a gas motor from West Marine in Aventura. We were so done with fighting with the electric motor.

We moved to an anchorage in Little Card Sound.

Sunday, March 21, 2021. Day 105 to Tuesday, March 23, 2021. Day 107.

We again moved our anchorage; this time to Arsenicker Keys. The derivation of the name was quite interesting. It came from the Bahamian nickname for the great blue heron “marsh sneaker”. Finally, we had an opportunity to use the paddle boards and we paddled around Arsenicker Keys. It was great fun, very peaceful, the water was clear; the views terrific. Finally! It was a beautiful paddle and both our boards worked out very well. We enjoyed the quiet the peace and the beauty.

At 1:17pm, we anchored after returning to a previous anchorage. We turned off the motor and heard the water pump going, Captain Roland checked everything and the results were not good. Apparently our hot water heater was leaking, and, there was no shut off valve. Talk about not good!

We had no choice but to shut off the freshwater pump. Now we had no water to drink, no water to wash the dishes nor to shower, and no water to prepare food. And here we were in the Keys with no marina slip available. Our visit to the Keys did not turn out to be the joy we had anticipated. And we had one really serious problem!

Finally, The Keys. March 14-15, 2021

 Sunday March 14, 2021 Day 98.

The offshore passage began peacefully. We entered the ocean at 9pm. It was dark, there was no moonlight, the moon was just a sliver, but lights from the shore (just 3 miles away) were visible.

Roland was on watch until 1:30am. I was on watch from 1:30am to 4:30am. I had to awaken Captain Roland at approximately 3:30am, to change the route, as there was a freighter anchored a little too close to our planned route. Traveling off shore at night is done on auto pilot, and the Captain had to adjust the route to avoid coming too close to the anchored freighter, which was about an hour away. Captain Roland adjusted the auto pilot and went back to sleep. I went back to my watch and my audio book.

I passed the time on watch at night by listening to audio books (as suggested by my sailor sister, Gail), scanning the dark, checking the instruments, and pondering lots of random thoughts.

At 4:30am, I awaken the Captain for his two hour shift. I slept till 6:30am, and then was on watch for an hour while the captain slept.

Dawn over the ocean was stunning: the sun was gleaming through the clouds when I got up at 8:30am. We were seven minutes from entering Miami Harbor. Quite a sight: Dodge Island, with huge cargo ships and huge boat fenders. Everything was immense and I felt like a Lilliputian.

 The water was clear blue, the clouds, fluffy white, the sun, gleaming, and the skyline of Miami with its high-rise buildings, many colorful, was fascinating.

As we passed under the William M. Powell Bridge, we were officially entering the Keys. Yay! Finally! As we cruised south, we watched a Coast Guard training exercise on a small boat and a hovering helicopter, practicing lifting people for rescue. Suddenly, our radio crackled with a stern warning to stay further away from the training boat; the Coast Guard needed more space, which of course, we immediately gave them.

We anchored for a couple of hours to rest and to have something to eat. And then, at 12:30pm, we left for a 2 1/2 hour cruise to Elliot Key, where we arrived at 3pm. I steered most of the way from the flybridge. (open cockpit at the top of the boat). It was beautiful and sunny and comfortable. 

 The aqua colored water was stunning, and the views of Miami, Miami Beach, Coconut Grove, and Homestead were astounding. We had a lovely celebratory dinner in honor of our successful overnight ocean passage.

Tuesday, March 16, 2021. Day 100. (One Hundred!).

The wind picked up dramatically in the morning when we awakened and we were rocking and rolling all over the place. We were so happy that we had seized on the small weather window for the ocean passage, as this wind would have made it impossible for me.

Unfortunately, the heavy wind meant that there would be no dinghy and no SUP (yet again!). Hopefully, when we got further south to Key Largo, our anchorage would be more sheltered and we would be able to lower the dinghy that is stored at the top of the boat, and would be able to use the paddle boards. Also, in Key Largo, we were hoping to meet up with Brian, Dina's friend, who had left from Delaware on the ICW, in October, on the sailboat that he had been working on for two years.

Magic Moments was covered with salt from the ocean passage and because we were at anchor, it was impossible for us to wash it off. We needed to save our freshwater for drinking, food preparation, showers and washing dishes, until we secured a slip at a marina and had access to additional fresh water. So far, we had not been successful at finding any available slips in the Keys, nor in Miami. Luckily, it rained that night and a lot of the salt was washed off.

Our anchorage at Elliot Key protected us pretty much from the serious wind, but it was not looking like there would be calm days ahead. At 11:50am, we left the Elliott Key anchorage, cruising towards Key Largo hoping that due to the smaller fetch, things would not be so rocky. We did try steering from the flybridge but after a while it got way too windy.

There were some very narrow channel areas on this passage and although the visual was water everywhere, the charts made it clear that there was only a very narrow channel in which we could motor. It was weird to keep the boat in a narrow path when all we could see was water, and if we strayed from the channel, we risked running aground. At about 3:15pm, we reached Key Largo and looked for a good place to anchor, one with a sandy bottom, and close to shore for greater protection from the wind.

As we entered the area to anchor, we saw Brian's and Elizabeth's sailboat, “Grateful,” but the dinghy was gone so we knew that they were ashore. We texted them to let them know we had arrived and we could arrange a rendezvous. It felt amazing that we were able to connect.

Our anchorage was beautiful and we had ended up right in front of the Marriott Resort where, a number of years ago, with my daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter, we were scuba certified. We had taken weeks of classes in a YMCA in Montgomery County but declined the dive part of the test in November in a quarry. 

Instead, we all flew to Miami and drove to Key Largo for the test during my granddaughter's winter school break. It took no convincing at all for me to support that alternative. We stayed at the Marriott Resort for almost a week; it was great. Now facing the Resort from Magic Moments, it felt like old home week!

We sincerely hoped that the wind dies down so that tomorrow we could lower the dinghy, visit Brian and Elizabeth, and go ashore......and, maybe even use the paddle boards!