After an early start, we arrived in Stuart where we picked up a rental car. Then we headed for Indiantown to drop my car off and make arrangements with the marina to keep the boat there for several months. With those arrangement made, we drove to Islamorada.
The Duddon Pilot was waiting for us. Safe and Sound. We spent the next few days provisioning the boat and preparing for our departure. A quick visit to the hairdresser and my long locks were replaced with a short pixie cut in preparation for my date with Chemo treatment!
March 23: The weather was perfect for our departure from Islamorada. We were sad to leave as we really enjoyed this location but it was time to move on. Our destination is No Name harbor (yes that really is its name!) which is just south of Miami in Biscayne Bay. The waters around here are very shallow so we have to pay attention and make sure we stay in the channel.
Marina & Restaurant en route
We arrived in No Name harbor around 3:00 p.m. The harbor was not crowded and we anchored without difficulty. The harbor is part of a State Park and the fee is $20 based on the honor system. To spare the Captain from lowering the dinghy and putting ashore to pay the fee, the stalwart Admiral offered to swim ashore to complete the task. Armed with $20 and a pen secured in a watertight zip lock bag, the Admiral took off on the perilous swim to shore. Mission accomplished, we settled down for the night. All was well until midnight when a rowdy bunch of boaters arrived. They proceeded to party until 4:00 a.m. Needless to say, we did not get much sleep.
March 24: We could not wait to leave the next day and did so as soon as it was light. We contemplated making a lot of noise and sounding our horn to wake the inconsiderate party animals but decided it would be unfair to the other well behaved boaters.
The weather cooperated again for another beautiful day as we headed across Biscayne Bay towards downtown Miami.
All was quiet early in the morning as we passed through Miami Waterfront.
We passed six cruise ships as we negotiated our way through Miami harbor.
We are now in the Intercoastal Waterway-known as the ICW. This will be our route for the next few days.
Here the ICW is lined with high rise apartment style buildings in the densely populated areas around Miami.
Our main challenge on this part of the ICW is the number of bridges that cross the channel. The one in the distance here is high enough for us to pass under but we encountered dozens that were too low. Most of the bridges have scheduled openings which is fine if one can make it to the bridge in time. Unfortunately, we were not able to make all the openings in time and had some long waits until the next scheduled opening.
Further up the ICW, the banks are lined with some pretty fancy homes. A little out of our price range!
Some of the fancy pads also have their small runabout boats parked out front.
The other challenge on this part of the ICW is the number of small recreational boats that ply the waters. Unfortunately, we were traversing this section of the ICW on a beautiful Saturday which meant that everyone and their dog that owns a boat was out on the water. Some of these boaters are not too conversant with the rules of the road or too polite-it requires one to be alert to avoid some of them.
Approaching Fort Lauderdale, we encountered the third hazard on this section of the ICW: Cruise boats. They definitely have the right of way on the water but as you can see there are a lot of small boats zipping in and out!
This is a photograph of our GPS as we passed through Fort Lauderdale. Each of the red images depicts the Automatic Identification Signal (AIS) of a large boat in the harbor. Quite a collection!
These are the type of boats depicted on our GPS above.
This was the largest one that we saw. We decided to pass on buying one as it would require a full time live aboard crew and that would cramp our style!
Another collection of small cottages along the ICW in the vicinity of Fort Lauderdale.
March 25: We still had a number of low bridges to deal with during the next leg of the trip and some rain as well. However, the weather cleared up in the late afternoon and we enjoyed a beautiful sunset and quiet anchorage.
March 26: The last leg of our trip to Indiantown! The landscape has changed with no high rise buildings and fewer homes along the ICW.
A few abandoned boats did not present much of a hazard.
The ICS is dotted with signs warning boaters to slow down for Manatees.
This is one we saw along the way. Manatees are not scared off by the noise of boat engines and can be hurt by approaching boats going at high speeds. They are very docile and friendly creatures. We finally reached the St. Lucie River and turned off to enter the Okeechobee Canal. A short distance up the Canal we passed under the last bridge and entered the Indiantown Marina.
March 27 & 28: The next couple of days were spent preparing the boat to be hauled. I cannot believe the amount of stuff we were able to pack into my car. Not room for another thing! It was sad to see the Duddon Pilot being hauled and transported to its new location on land. Soon it was time to say goodbye and head to Vero Beach to stay with our friends Joan & Reggie again.
March 29-April 1: Fortunately, our friends talked us into staying an extra day in Vero Beach which we really needed after an exhausting week. We thoroughly enjoyed the rest and were able to set off the trip home relaxed and able to enjoy the trip home.
