November 28 & 29, 2007 - Marathon, FL

Wednesday, November 28th, found us up and moving with the sunrise. We were planning to reach Marathon, Florida, which is located about 50 miles east of Key West. It was a run of almost 100 nautical miles (120 statute or 'regular' miles for you landlubbers, or 9-10 hours) and we wanted to make sure we arrived before sunset. Early starts have the additional benefit of beautiful sunrises.





South of Key Biscayne, there are numerous fishing shacks. They sit out on the reefs, miles from nowhere. Marty is thinking one of these might be the answer if the day ever comes when we decide to give up the cruising life.









Good News - Bad News: The good news was that we were in the beautiful blue-green waters of the Keys. The bad news was that there were crab and lobster traps EVERYWHERE. We dodged them for most of the day and had to have seen thousands of them. The following seas made it especially challenging, but we managed to miss all of them.






As we entered the western end of Boot Key Harbor at Marathon on Vaca Key, we were greeted by another bridge. Luckily, all we had to do was lower the antennas and we were able to get under without having to have the bridge raised.









Originally, when we came into the harbor, we were just taking a look to see if there was any place to anchor. All of the places to anchor were filled with boats (many of them looked like they have been here for years!). Other areas were dotted with mooring balls. We contacted the Harbormaster and decided to pick up one of the over 220 mooring balls that have been installed by the city of Marathon. There were quite a few moorings open, but when talked to the staff at the Dockmaster's Office the next day, they stated that they are expecting the harbor to be full in a few weeks.

In the Dockmaster's Office area, they had this display of what the mooring are like. They auger a long steel pole into the harbor floor and then attach some significant tackle to that.

One of the key locations in the harbor is the dinghy dock. Even with all of the open mooring sites, there were lots of dinghys at the dock.

The "smorgasboat" or water taxi circulates through the harbor which delivers daily papers, danish and other essentials. Also, for a daily fee you can have it pick you up and deliver you to any location on the harbor. There is also a pump-out boat which will come to your boat at its mooring and pump out your holding tank - this is included in the modest fee for tying up to the mooring ball.

We launched the dinghy from Monarch and took a tour of the area for over three hours. Marty is thinking these double-wide homes look interesting for our next life phase. It seemed like each of them had a dock for a fishing boat and a fish cleaning station. The fishing must be good as we saw quite a few people cleaning their catches as we toured by.

November 27, 2007 - Key Biscayne, FL

As we pulled out of the New River this morning and went through Port Everglades, we were reminded that Monarch has become one of the smaller boats on the waterway.

The number of Mega-yachts in this area is just amazing.

Wouldn't this 150+ foot sailing yacht look impressive at the end of the Main Dock at the DYC.

As we were cruising through Ft. Lauderdale, we saw boats passing by that were brand new, with pulpits, swim platforms and other equipment yet to be installed. After the fourth one, we wondered what was up. Then we came upon this freighter unloading brand new boats from the Far East. Each yacht was being dropped in the water, and a crew was moving them to a location to get them commissioned and ready for their new owners.

Next up was Miami. We motored through downtown. It is most impressive from the water with lots of highrises. We cruised by all of the marina sites that we visit each February for the Miami Boat Show.

This evening, we have arrived in the Florida Keys, and anchored off of Key Biscayne, one of the northernmost keys. We are in a protected anchorage for the east winds that we are experiencing. Not long after we had dropped the anchor, Marty had the thermometer in the water and with a reading in the mid-70's, we had our first swim of the trip. Air temps have been in the 80's and the weather is great. We are appreciating the quiet of this anchorage.

November 25 & 26, 2007 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL

The trip from Boca Raton to Ft. Lauderdale was a quick one. We were in the ICW all the way and glad of it, as it was blowing hard out of the east and the ocean looked pretty rough. Many people were busy over the weekend putting up their Christmas decorations. It really seems strange to us to be getting close to the holidays when it is so warm - in the 80s. That, and the fact we have not been to a mall in months, where we imagine the holiday decorations are rampant!





Once in Ft. Lauderdale, we docked on the New River right downtown. This worked out well, as it was reasonably priced and we were able to get some work done on the boat. We have know since we bought the boat that the watermaker needed to have some major service done to it. The company that sold the unit to Monarch's original owner was able work on it right at the dock, and now we are fully operational. While in Ft. Lauderdale, we were able to rendevous with Com. Bob Hommel from the DYC. He was cruising the river in his center console, saw Monarch at the dock and called us. He picked us up at the grocery store, so we would not have to carry our provisions back to the boat, and then had us out for dinner the next night. This trip has allowed us to make new friends and see familiar ones.
Carl Meyers had recommended that we stay on the New River. He liked the boating activity here. BOY was he right. Think Woodward Avenue. One of the most interesting things we saw were big boats being towed on the twisty-turney river. Large boats are not able to navigate under their own power, due to the constricted width and hairpin turns of the river. They would have one tug in front, and then another in the stern pointed the opposing direction to act as a brake - we kept watching for them to bounce off the bridge but it never happened. But Commodore Jerry didn't have a problem on Monarch!!!

Our dock on the New River was along the Riverwalk. The area is paved with bricks and lined with beautiful plantings of palm and tropical trees, shrubs and flowers. We were up each morning walking this path.

With all of the foliage, there were numerous 'critters' (as my Mom used to say) including iguanas. These were on land just off the bow of the boat one morning.

November 24, 2007 - Boca Raton, FL

As we left Lake Worth and the North Palm Beach area, we cruised past the busy Palm Beach harbor. The cruise ship on the right was the boat that the DYC cruised to Nassau following the Florida party in Com. Doug Baker's year.

There was quite a bit of activity with many sportfishing boats and various Coast Guard boats running around.





Travelling through the Palm Beaches you see some of the elegant past of this area, like the Flagler Hotel. This hotel was built by railroad and real estate tycoon, Henry Flagler as he led the way in developing southern Florida.

We again enjoyed looking at the homes along the ICW. Mrty especially liked the statuary in this home's front yard, a cow and a couple of fish!!

In a few of these otherwise upscale areas, there are still trailer parks along the ICW. Many others have been sold and converted into condo and/or housing developments. The ones that remain all looked in great shape and some had marinas within their complex.

Just a brief shower today, with temperatures in the mid-80s. Quite different from what we hear is happening in Michigan!

From Stuart on south, we continue to see the remains of the hurricanes that ravaged this area two years ago. We have seen numerous sunken boats still waiting to be cleared from the waterway.

We are at anchor in Lake Boca Raton. This is a popular weekend anchorage for the area, with many boats rafted up and enjoying the day. For those people familiar with Boca Raton, you may recognize the pink tower of the Boca Raton Club that overlooks the lake.

November 23, 2007 - West Palm Beach, FL

Carl and Nancy Meyers left today to return home to Marco Island. We enjoyed having them with us, though we now have to go on a diet to offset our on-board fine dining. We are looking forward to their return for future cruises aboard Monarch.

As we left Ft. Pierce this morning, we again saw the large sailboat previously seen in St. Augustine. It had its large ballast balls filled with water and hung from its mast, heeling the boat over to clear the 65-foot high bridge. Today, we followed them through one bridge and got to watch this feat up close. It was really something to see. It looked awfully close, but they cleared the bridge. Nearby anchored sailboat crews gave them a standing ovation!


Today's portion of the ICW had us very close to the homes. Being the day after Thanksgiving, the Christmas decorations were up on many of them.











This evening we are anchored on the north end of Lake Worth in the West Palm Beach area. Off our stern is Old Port Cove Yacht Club. Many of the DYC members will remember this as the site of many of the DYC winter parties. The marina docks are lined with many mega-yachts.

November 22, 2007 - Ft. Pierce, FL

As we have travelled the next section of the ICW, we have seen a few boats that are aground. Many of them appear to be abandoned, then we see some like this one that appear to be tended.





















We had numerous porpoises swimming along the boat. They provided great entertainment. Many times we see what looks like a male, female and juvenile and they play in the wake of the boat together. The parents keep the juvenile away from the boat. They jump out of the water, swim upside down and jump over each other. They seem to be enjoying life!










In this section of the ICW in Florida we are seeing areas lined with very large and beautiful homes.

At our dock in Ft. Pierce, we had this pelican enjoying the bow pulpit on Monarch....



















and tonight, we appreciated a beautiful sunset.













We enjoyed a great Thanksgiving dinner tonight. We barbequed a turkey on the grill on the aft deck of the boat, adding stuffing, candied yams, mashed potatoes and gravy, and cranberry jello salad. The pumpkin chiffon pie will be the grand finale to a perfect day.

November 21, 2007 - Melbourne, FL

As we left New Smyrna, we had to pass through the Haluover Canal and under the lift bridge. While we did not need to have the bridge open, we understand that it will not open when there is a launch at the Kennedy Space Center, which is just to the south of this section of the ICW. Our best guess is that too many people want to view the launches from the bridge....









Tonight finds the crew of Monarch anchored off Melbourne, Florida. We are in a large anchorage with 3 sailboats and another power boat. The anchorage is just south of the causeway from Melbourne to Indiatlantic, FL. There is plenty of space and we have good depth and swing room.





We enjoyed sitting on the flybridge with Carl and Nancy. There was a nice breeze that kept the bugs away.











We enjoyed a beautiful sunset in the anchorage. It seemed like the first time that we had been able to enjoy the western view and see the sunset. The weather has been warming as we move south, and we are feeling like we are in Florida.

November 20, 2007 - New Smyrna, FL

This was a day to cruise the ICW (or the inside route) as we left St. Augustine heading for New Smyrna. Today's run was just under 60 nautical miles. It seemed like the tide was running against us for the whole trip. We noticed the south Florida characteristic of condos lining the land between the ICW and the ocean. The weather was hot and sunny; at lunch time we unfurled the bimini top so we would have shade on the flybridge. When it was cooler, we had rolled it up for the welcomed warmth of the sun.



Once we dropped the anchor, we adjourned to the flybridge for our evening cocktail and the beautiful view. Standing, are our good friends Carl and Nancy Meyers, who joined us at Hilton Head and will be with us through Thanksgiving. We are going to attempt to BBQ half a turkey on our new grill. Stay tuned for the outcome......

November 18 & 19, 2007 - St Augustine, FL

As we left Fernandina Beach, FL, we went to the fuel dock to take on diesel and behind us was the Voyager. For those of you from the DYC, you may remember this was the schooner that Jay Scott owned and from which we held our Fleet Review in 1994. Small world.....

Today was a day of forts. As we left Fernandina Beach, we passed Fort Clinch, complete with cannon, and a preview of things to come - this was going to be a military day.

Just as we passed Fort Clinch, Coast Guard inflatables with bow and stern mounted machine guns curtly informed us that we had to hug the south side of the channel, as they were escorting in a war ship. This proved to be a submarine, and quite a thrilling sight up close.

From today's most modern war ship to vessels of yesterday, we saw them all. This schooner passed by while we were at anchor in St. Augustine.

We anchored off the fort Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine - and the oldest city in North America. The fort kept us at attention, with daytime hourly cannon salutes. For some reason, Monarch has a phobia about this town. Four and half years ago, when we were bringing the boat to Detroit, our transmission failed near here, and we limped in for repairs. Now, we found the raw water pump on the port engine leaking. After Jerry was wedged between the engine and fuel tanks for three hours, we decided to get some professional help this morning. Back into the same marina we stopped at in 2003, and they had us put back together in no time - including fixing a faulty AC unit.

While in Comachee Cove Marina, we felt very safe and secure as this fleet of six US Immigration and Customs boats were docked right behind us. With each boat carrying four 225 horsepower outboards, they made quick work going in and out of the harbor during the day. It was interesting to watch them - all carrying side arms, inflatable life vests and bullet-proof vests.

As we were taking our evening walk, this sailing vessel was leaving the harbor. It had two large weighted yellow bags hung from the top of the mast. At first, we thought it was to heel the boat enough to be able to traverse the the shallow entrance of the harbor, but relalized it was also to get under the 65' clearance of the adjacent bridge.

We watched from the end of the dock, as they used the extra ballast to heel over and allow the top of the mast to clear the bridge. We had heard of this method of bridge clearance, but never before witnessed it. Thank goodness Monarch doesn't have this issue!

November 17, 2007 - Fernandina Beach, FL

Finally Florida! This morning when we woke up in Thunderbolt, GA, the temperature was 38 degrees and there was frost on the docks. Today, we had sunny weather and calm winds and at the first opportunity we headed into the Atlantic, on the big water, heading south. By going out in the ocean, we missed many shallow areas, and having to reduce speed to properly pass slower boats.

We were able to make Fernandina Beach, Florida. This is just south of the Georgia border.


We are anchored in the Bells River, just west of town. It is very quiet with lots of stars out this evening. We are contemplating getting up to see the Leonid Meteor shower later tonight.










This anchorage is very serene and there are few boats around us. We have plenty of swing room and should have a very comfortable, quiet night.