March 24, 2012 - Stuart, Florida

Next morning, we headed up the Intracoastal to the St. Lucie River, and turned inland. This is the route to cross the Okeechobee Waterway; we weren’t going that far, just 10 miles up to Harbor Ridge Yacht and Country Club, another of the Florida Council clubs.

This is a most elegant club, on 885 acres, with docks, golf course, tennis and fitness center, pool, 45,000 square foot riverfront clubhouse, a 26-acre bald eagle preserve and miles of nature trails…..

where we went for a walk,

and enjoyed the orchids growing in the trees.

Even the elegant ladies locker room has a water view.

March 23, 2012 - Hobe Sound, Florida

Today takes us through the city of Boca Raton, with its iconic pink hotel tower.

Boynton Beach’s Two Georges Restaurant, right on the Intracoastal, brings back fond memories of dining there with Jerry’s dad, who lived nearby.

Palm Beach is a crowded harbor, with the Boat Show in process.

Here’s the home of railroad magnate Henry Flagler, now a museum. He built the railroad all the way to Key West, completed 100 years ago.

This is a new way to travel, towing a small craft which houses the pumps to power this airborne ride.

At the popular picnic spot Peanut Island, you can pack your own lunch or try this floating gourmet restaurant.

We had heard on the radio that Flagler Bridge was the scene of an accident; we were surprised to see this sailboat, just towed by the Coast Guard, with its buckled mast – apparently, it had run into the 17 foot-high bridge!

Folks were getting an early start on the weekend, staked out on this sandbar.

Jupiter Inlet was crowded with boats of all sizes and dredging equipment. We made our anchorage in Hobe Sound, a quiet, wide spot in the Intracoastal.

March 22, 2012 - Boca Raton, Florida

On our trip from Fort Lauderdale to Boca Raton, the banks are lined with mansions. Is America great or what?

Here’s the way to do it: while your multi-million dollar mansion (waterfront on both Atlantic and Intracoastal sides of the narrow isthmus) is under construction, keep an eye on progress while living aboard your 130-foot, multi-million dollar yacht at your private dock!

In Boca Raton, we stopped for the night at Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club. With something for everyone, the Club has a golf course, yacht basin (with some huge boats), tennis courts, Olympic pool, and state-of-the-art health club.

We chatted with the dockmaster, Zack, then made use of the pool for laps and reading in the afternoon, before having dinner in the clubhouse.

March 20-21, 2012 - Ft. Lauderdale, Fl

Onward north, we passed downtown Miami, with its crowded skyline and busy Miami River.

The bustle of the city was in marked contrast to our quiet time in Marathon.

The local artwork exemplified the character of the area: this fellow was perpetually blowing down the sunset in the courtyard of an exclusive high-rise.

Janet, this one’s for you! We had enjoyed cocktails here years ago; Gloria and Emilio Estephan own the establishment.

We passed through another large port, Port Everglades, at Fort Lauderdale. Here, the really big ocean-going ships berth to load and unload cargo.

Sometimes, the cargo is pleasure yachts, driven onto a partially submerged freighter and secured aboard. Then the freighter is re-floated for transport, often across the Atlantic to Europe, the Mediterranean or South America.

Few places on earth offer such an incredible concentration of marine facilities and such a population of pleasure boats as Fort Lauderdale. The area boasts an estimated 25,000 resident and 10,000 annual transient boats - and some very large boats indeed!

Our berth for the night was Lauderdale Yacht Club. Friend Bob Hommel, past Commodore of Detroit Yacht Club, joined us for dinner at the Club, after kindly taking us to Publix. Bob winters in Fort Lauderdale.

Monarch felt right a home here, with kids sailing Optos right off our bow, just like the Detroit Yacht Club.

The next morning, the Intracoastal Waterway was lined with mansions and impressive yachts.

Our stop for the night was Coral Ridge Yacht Club.

We walked to a nearby high-end shopping mall, then relaxed by the beautiful pool with an up-close view of the Intracoastal Waterway traffic.

March 18-19, 2012 - Miami, Florida

Today took us the short hop (0.77 miles) to the Key Biscayne Yacht Club. We nestled in next to a beautiful 70 ft. ketch. The Yacht Club is small and classic Florida style, but a new pool and gazebo has been added, just opening two weeks ago.

The pool was is full use on this Sunday afternoon, with the gazebo chef cooking up calamari, cracked conch, chicken sandwiches, hamburgers, and all manner of picnic fare.

After a refreshing swim, we came for a late dinner, disappointed they ran out of conch and calamari.

The next day, we made the short trip across Biscayne Bay to Coral Reef Yacht Club. The clubhouse reminded us of the style of the Fisher Mansion on the Detroit River.

The town here is Coconut Grove, a trendy suburb of Miami, an easy walk from the dock.

We dined in the evening at Chart House, a classic seafood restaurant right on the channel. Calamari, mussels and firecracker shrimp made up for last night!

March 17, 2012 - Key Biscayne

Away we go! After six weeks of cruising the west coast of Florida, then six weeks at our “home club”, Marathon Yacht Club, we are off on our second Great Loop, headed north along the Florida Coast.

We had a wonderful time with old and new friends at Marathon Yacht Club in the middle Florida Keys. As has been the case before in our lives, a yacht club has become our neighborhood, with many new and old friends to share time with.

One wonderful surprise was receiving honorable mention for the number of Florida Council Yacht Clubs we had visited in 2011, complete with a FCYC Yachtsman of the Year pennant, which Jerry hoisted proudly on our halyard.

We had a warm stay at MYC, both weather and many visiting friends, and a warm send-off the morning we departed. Life is better on the water! We cruised the inside ICW, north along the Keys, as the east wind has been strong for days. The area is extremely shallow, with shoals visible very near our path.

Our first stop for the night was Barnes Sound, with a quiet anchorage in a natural area – no lights, just the stars, and songbirds to wake us in the morning. Then north up Jewfish Creek into Card Sound, and on to Biscayne Bay, just off Miami. On a sunny calm St. Patrick’s Day Saturday, what a wild place!

As we anchored, we were surrounded by hundreds of boats enjoying the weather and the water. It reminded us of the phenomenon in Lake St. Clair, Michigan, called “Jobbie Nooner” when hundred of boaters gather for an afternoon of revelry at anchor.

Here at Key Biscayne, many boats were rafted-up together, with a fleet of interesting hydrofoil dinghies racing among the anchored boats. By sunset, the fleet had diminished to about eight boats on the hook for the night in an increasingly quiet anchorage.

The Miami skyline reminded us we were back in civilization.