The Long Trek Home (Wed, Thur, & Fri; April 4, 5 & 6)

We left Fort Lauderdale late Wednesday morning to begin the trip back to the mitten. It took us three days to get back. We stopped south of Macon, Georgia the first night and stayed at a really nice Comfort Suites. They had their own happy hour with beer, wine, and snacks. We also had a huge room with a fridge and microwave. Unfortunately, we didn't have any leftovers from dinner so we weren't able to use those amenities. Our second night's stop was in Valdosta. It was here that we had a lovely mexican dinner and we found out Kentucky has 9.4% sales tax.

 Fortunately, the trip went pretty smoothly; we didn't have any truck or trailer problems. We were also able to avert most traffic jams, even through Atlanta. However, we did run out of money on the way back. We're on a budget now and saving up for our next adventure.

Home safe,
Lauren & Scott

Relaxing in Ft. Lauderdale (Monday & Tuesday; April 2 & 3)

We spent the next two days in complete relaxation. It was the perfect way to finish our adventure.

On Monday, Scott and I rode bikes around Fort Lauderdale and down A1A to check out boats and the beach. We read outside by the pool in a beautiful outdoor living room area. Then we went for a boat ride with George. We cruised up to the inlet and then out into the ocean. Scott saw the old tugs that he used to work on. We saw a beautiful Hylas 70 and continued to stalk it as it went for a test sail (it was for sale). We swung back by the house to pick up Mary Ann for lunch; she had a tennis tournament, which she won! After lunch we did more canal cruising to check out the river walk along the ICW.

For dinner we went to a trendy place called Cafe Martorano. http://www.cafemartorano.com/ We met the owner Steve, who looked like he was the bouncer! But WOW, could this guy cook! We had delicious appetizers, we tried his famous meatball and fried fresh mozzarella. And our dinners were wonderful as well.

On Tuesday, Scott and I had a very relaxing morning reading by the pool again. For lunch, George took us out on the boat up to Southport raw bar. In the afternoon, Scott and I walked to Las Olas for ice cream and then went for a swim.

We took the boat to Blue Moon Fish Co. and had another really nice dinner. We also had a wonderful chocolate soufflé for dessert. The boat ride was about 40 minutes. The temperature set up the perfect night to cruise around under the city lights.

We went to bed pretty relaxed wishing we could stay for another week.

Loving Florida life,
Lauren & Scott

Our Last Days Living Aboard a Boat (Fri, Sat, & Sun; March 30, 31, & April 1st)

We spent about three days getting the boat packed up. It honestly took a full day to mentally prepare ourselves that the trip was actually over and that we had to go back to Michigan. Yes, I'm counting this as one of the three days. Scott also went to retrieve the truck and trailer while I lounged on the beach. It was so nice to have the truck back and the freedom of being able to get around on shore when we were actually staying in a marina. Taxi prices seemed steep in the keys, they charge over $2.50 a mile, but maybe we aren't used to cab fares (or maybe we are just cheap). We were able to go out to dinner in Marathon. We crossed the 7 mile bridge at sunset on the way back to see some pretty beautiful views. We were also able to get new books, we had left some of them behind in the truck because we thought they were too heavy (we also thought it would be a lot easier to access the truck while we were cruising; we were wrong, it was expensive to do just that).

The other two days went by pretty quickly packing the boat up. We took down the sails and packed them up first. My phone died and never came back to life. We tried to catch lobster again but they were all too small. And we bought steaks to grill anyway. Unfortunately, we did not see our manatee friends. However, we were able to see a pretty cool bird that was hanging around us while we made lunch on shore.

 Finally, on the last day we folded her up, put her on the trailer, and dropped the rig. I swear the weather waited for us to take the boat apart. It was a complete scorcher; it had to have been the hottest day yet! Very light breeze and we were on the blacktop all day carting items to and from the truck and boat.

From Bahia Honda State Park, we drove far too long but safely arrived in Fort Lauderdale. Scott's Uncle George and Aunt Mary Ann were wonderful to us the moment we pulled in. We took showers, did our laundry, and had a really nice dinner.

Staying at a 5 star hotel,
Lauren & Scott

Back to Bahia Honda! (Thursday, March 29)

While Scott slept in, I finished my book and had a relaxing morning. We finalized our plans to head to Bahia Honda State Park and pull the boat from there. We plan to start packing up some of the boat on Sunday and then finish the job on Monday. We had breakfast at a place down the street called The Stuffed Pig. Of course it looks like a dive because practically all the places down here do but it was actually quite good. On our way back Scott decided to swing by Keys Fisheries so that he could grab some stone crab claws for dinner. He assures me I’ll find something to eat for dinner (Ramen noodles I suppose) and makes his purchase.

For those of you following along in my medical school pursuit, I’ve been waiting on a decision from one last school. I had been told I would hear back by the end of March, so I made a phone call to the University of Toledo to find out what the status was. I learned that I would not be offered an interview and I will get the “rejected but better luck next time” email tomorrow. So plan B is now in full effect. I’ve applied to a Masters program at Wayne State. I plan to retake the MCAT this summer before I start school again in the fall. When I met with an advisor at Wayne State Medical School, they recommended that I take 20 credits in their grad school program before I reapply. So after I’ve completed these recommendations, I plan to reapply to various (most likely more this time) medical schools for the entering class of 2014. It seems so far away but I guess it’s not at all and I don’t have to worry about time getting away from me. Heck, three weeks down here has flown by! Yesterday, I asked Scott if we could stay a little longer until it felt like more time has gone by.

On a lighter note, we had a lovely sail to Bahia Honda. It was really light on the Gulf side for the first few miles. It picked up once we crossed under the 7mile bridge. The trip was about 15 miles. We decided low and slow was not the way to go so we put in extra distance gybing back and forth. There were 3 pretty exciting moments during our sail today. The first was that I think I may have accidentally hit a sea turtle. I heard several bumps against the hull. Scott was down below and I thought maybe it was him sliding the cooler across the floor of the boat, but I wasn’t sure.  I watched the stern to make sure I didn’t catch a crab trap and I saw something on the rudder. I think “crap”, I did run something over. I call Scott up and he’s like what was that noise? He said he wasn’t in the cooler so I definitely hit something in the water. He pulls up the rudder and there’s nothing on it but there is still something dragging from under the boat. Finally we see what it is, it’s a sharksucker fish (the kind that latch onto hosts and get carried all over the ocean). It’s decided to latch on to us. So to explain the noise and how that fish got there, my theory is that I hit a sea turtle and bumped the sharksucker off of the turtle and the fish sucked onto our boat instead of the turtle again. But we’ll never know.

So the second exciting event was when I wasn’t paying attention (again) and I actually did run over a crab pot and snagged it on the rudder. Scott was not pleased and he drove the rest of the way in. What can I say; I’ve got a lot on my mind. And lastly, on our sail to Bahia Honda we saw a pod of four dolphins out in the ocean. I just love that.

We sailed all the way through the old bridge and up to the mooring ball that we planned to hang off of. As we got up to it, we noticed that it said government use only so we decided to head into the marina to ask. Previously, volunteers in the park had told us that if the ball was open anyone was welcome to it, first come first serve. We were slightly wary, not wanted to be slapped with a fine for 2K. In the marina we saw familiar figures under the water, manatees! We’re already so glad we came back to the park. We got settled and decided to stay in the marina. That way we can bring the truck and trailer over here tomorrow and have everything in one place a few days before we need to leave. We do really need the truck seeing as we are out of tuna (thank god) and water. Plus I think Scott is getting sick of cooking on the boat because he said we needed the truck to go out to dinner. I’m absolutely not complaining about this.

We wandered around the beach a bit until we noticed it was low tide. We decided to check our lobster spot again. We walked over to see if they were there. I was able to convince myself AND Scott that a stick under a rock was a lobster. I ran back to the boat to grab gloves and a net so that we could catch dinner. Scott grabbed the stick and it didn’t wriggle at all. This is obviously the point that we realize it’s a stick under a rock. Scott was ready to quit but I wasn’t going to let him off the hook that quickly so I worked hard to find lobster. I found a few in a group and Scott went for them. On his first grab he manages to get one out from under a rock before its thorny whip falls off. Scott launches his hand in the water again to snatch him while the lobster is disoriented. He gets him and tosses him into the net! We’re ecstatic! We don’t see any more that are big enough to eat so we head back to steam this guy. Scott cooks him up and had a lovely fresh lobster tail. He claims it was the best lobster he’s ever eaten.  

Before bed I decided it was time to make the final bug net (for the forward hatch). Lovely that it only took me the entire trip. I quickly made it and then went to bed.

Happy at Bahia Honda,

Lauren & Scott

50 Nautical Miles before Lunch (Wednesday, March 28)

 Last night was a windy one and we were up multiple times to check that the anchor was sticking. We left bright and early (0830) while the breeze was ripe. Scott guesstimated that it was blowing around 15-20 on our port quarter. I guessed that it was 12. We put up just the main for a short time to determine how strong the wind actually was, I was wrong. It was really flat throughout the ICW so it was actually really hard to accurately judge what it was blowing (my justification for being wrong). We put up the little jib and took off at 11s for a while. When the cuts became less narrow we unfurled the screacher.

We had an absolutely amazing 50NM sail. We were hauling! Scott had the boat going 14 consistently for nearly an hour. And the coolest thing was that it was so smooth and stable because the water was so flat. The only problem was that anything less than 14 felt a little sluggish. I guess that’s the thing with going fast though; once you get a taste you only want more. It was basically awesome fun all morning long.

Scott set a new boat record with 15.6 knots (we had previously had a record of 15.5 in the lake this past summer). And even with all of our cruising gear! This is unbelievable to us because the waterline is a couple if inches underwater when we are sitting at the dock. According to Corsair Marine, Inc. maximum weight on the boat is 1000lbs; gear, persons, and motor. I undoubtedly know that there is more than 1000lbs on this boat right now. I can’t even fathom how fast this boat would go without the extra weight.

I spent a little bit of time down below making lunch. While I was in the cabin, Scott was working away to get the boat on a plane. It was during this time period that I noticed something revolting. Our centerboard trunk spews water. It appears that the volume of water spewing is directly proportional to the speed at which we are going. This is truly unfortunate for me as my bed cushions lie directly on top of the centerboard trunk and are now saturated in salt water. And as you know with saltwater, saturated clothing items, fabrics, cushions, etc. the salt leaves a damp feeling behind. It’s delightful to sleep on as it never truly dries. The other bad news is that during a gybe we started losing ball bearings from our traveler car again.

We arrived at Marathon Yacht Club in time for lunch. We put the boat away and walked down the street to Keys Fisheries. We both ordered fresh seafood. Additionally, I ordered a slice of key lime pie. It’s been an experiment of mine to basically sample it at every restaurant. Keys Fisheries actually claimed that theirs was the best and albeit, theirs was indeed the best I’ve had thus far (Scott agrees).

After lunch we sat around the boat for a little bit. Scott had me running out of the bathroom after he said he spotted 3 foot lizards. In my mind, I imagined 3 foot geckos…really they were 3 foot iguanas. Our communication skills could use some work sometimes. After chasing the Iguanas around the dock, we overheard someone in the harbor talking about West Marine so we decided we would pop in there as well. We haven’t been as outgoing at Marathon Yacht Club with meeting people so we walked there; it wasn’t far. On our way, we saw a turtle hospital and decided to stop in to check it out. It was a little pricey so we looked around the lobby and left. But in the lobby, there were shells of all the different turtles in the area and I was able to find the type I keep seeing. Have I mentioned that I’ve seen sea turtles? I think I keep forgetting to…but I’ve seen 3 of them thus far, Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles. We made our way to West Marine and replaced the regulator valve (we lost ours on our day from hell sailing up the coast), purchased some ball bearings, and sail tape. On our way back we decide to make two more stops; chocolate stop and we want to stop in and see Boot Key Harbor.

We swung by Tom Thumb for my treats and continued to Boot Key Harbor Marina. Boot Key Harbor was a completely different type of community. The whole harbor is filled with boats tied to mooring balls. You could get mail for your boat at the Marina and they have a massive book swap area, which I always like looking around in. Scott said that there are pump out boats that sidle up to you while you’re on the mooring ball and pump your holding tank out. And there are little docks for those with dinghies to come to shore and tie up to. The harbor was pretty cool to see but I’m not sure it would be that much fun for us to be in such close proximity to our neighbors when we spend most of our time outside of the cabin.

After our walk we were pretty worn out. The adrenaline from the morning was starting to wear away and we realized how long our day had really become. We had Upper Crust Pizza for dinner. The pizza was decent, but mostly we were hungry.

Sleeping in,

Lauren & Scott

Change of Plans (Tuesday, March 27)

This morning we made quick egg burritos and had a long chat. So our plans have changed slightly. We decided that time does not permit us to head up to Fort Lauderdale by sailboat. We are now planning to head back down to Bahia Honda, where we will pull the boat out at the end of the trip. On our way back home we plan to swing by Fort Lauderdale to visit Scott’s Uncle George and Aunt Mary Ann. Today we plan to take a short sail over to Tarpon Basin and anchor for the night.

We ate at a local raw bar and restaurant for lunch, Steamers. True to form, I ordered a mashed banana, fried cheesecake dessert for my entrée and it was sinful. Scott went the more traditional route and had peel and eat shrimp. During lunch we watched a manatee glide by and a pod of dolphins play around in the Sound. After lunch, we made our way back to the boat. On our way, there was a big white parakeet in a cage sitting in the bed of a pickup truck. We stopped to see if it talked and it sort of did. It babbled convincingly in its own language. We ended up talking to his owner (he was on his boat in the slip next to us) and found out his name was Fred. Fred only says “hello” and “hi Fred” and he didn’t say either to us.

So anyway we set off to Tarpon Basin. We found a nice spot between two sailboats. Later that evening we were joined by two more powerboats. We read our books and settled in for the night.

Checking the anchor,

Lauren & Scott

The Intracoastal Waterway (Monday, March 26)

This morning, on Fiesta Key, we took our time getting up. It had been really windy all through the night and the breeze was still up this morning. We decided to leave late morning so we had breakfast. I had two key lime pie bars (which is a key lime pie slice that is frozen on a stick and then dipped into chocolate) and Scott had one. I knew I was feeling much better than I had the previous few days; I had taken a 3 day sabbatical from the chocolate on the boat, which is not very like me.

This morning as we were getting the boat ready to leave I noticed that Scott is quite partial to bossing me around. You might think that I’m being sensitive because I’m not used to being crew (mind you, I’ve been crew many times), but I’m not. For instance, Scott will be up on the bow with a line in his hand and call me up from the cockpit. I come up to the bow and he asks me to uncleat the line from the deck. We’re talking about the same line that’s in his hand. I can’t make this stuff up! I’m sure he does it because I’m compliant. When I brought it up to him this morning, he laughed because he knew it was true. Anyway, we left Fiesta Key around 1100 and made our way up the Intracoastal waterway (ICW).

We began sailing for a bit as the breeze was up. As it began to die we ended up motor sailing. The ICW through Florida Bay is beautiful! There are all different shades of colors in the water as far as your eyes can see. There was a brief time when the water was so glassy you could see everything that was on the bottom clearly. While Scott drove, I sat in the hammock nets and followed the lines underwater that connected crab pots. We’ve gotten pretty close to mangrove islands, as the channel runs between them. This is what we imagined cruising to be like. It was so relaxing! There was a light breeze and the water was pretty flat. Every now and then we would wave to another boat passing us by. At one point during our motor through a mangrove channel, I lost my bucket hat! We doubled back and I was able to retrieve it before it sank (it’s my mom’s).

Through all of the mangrove cuts, we’ve made it to Anchorage Resort and Marina on Key Largo. We got the boat tied up and put away and then we hit the pool! By the time we were cleaned up and ready for dinner, a pod of dolphins had come into Blackwater Sound (where the marina is off of). We had dinner at my parent’s favorite place in Key Largo, Gus’ Grille. It’s a restaurant at the Key Largo Marriott Resort. Their food is delicious. My mom even treated us (thanks again!). Back at the marina before bed, we ran into a guy trying to catch tarpon from the Sound, just under the bridge. He was going to net shrimp as they swam by! We wished him luck and headed to bed.

Tired and happy,

Lauren & Scott