Crossing the Gulf Stream

We weighed anchor at 6 AM in the dark and motored out into the North Atlantic, then motor-sailed for almost 8 hours in close-hauled conditions, occasionally heading upwind to improve our sail shape. 

Chiheb did not seem to understand my tactic, complaining we were off track.  But we were making good headway. 

All port tack with a southerly wind

Most of the other sailboats were ahead of us on our port side, and they were all bigger and thus faster. 

First time out of view of land

For the last 40 minutes, we turned off the motor because we could. 

Slowly, we motored into Alicetown, staying clear of the shallows.  Arriving at Big Game Club.  They quoted us $3.75 a foot, but the bill came out to $160. 

I cleared immigration and customs, and then got my fishing license.  The "click to clear" feature was troublesome, especially on the iPad, but it worked.  However, I never received my drone license, despite having paid for it and having the receipt. 

Chiheb really wanted to take a shower, so we did, had supper and walked the town at night.

The next morning, we walked the entire North Bimini, from the marina to the south cut and north to the Hilton resort.  

We picked up a loaf of Coconut bread at Nate's for $10.  I'm not sure if it was expensive, but I fulfilled the ritual. 

Chiheb wanted to go to the New Year's party at the resort, and I wasn't interested.  The Eventbrite site said it was sold out anyway. 

We got back to the Mariana Islands.  I went for a swim and tried to fly my drone, but we were in restricted airspace.  

I noted the bilge pump ran about 8 times and realized I had to tighten the shaft packing again.  Chiheb was at the marina using the final wifi. 

I decided to anchor just north of the marina instead of going further north, and we got stuck in the mud.  A local worker on a wreck came and towed us out, suggesting a place near the shore, but it was tight. 

I had never intended to use less than 50 feet of chain, and Chiheb argued that I had too much scope.  I took my time before agreeing to a smaller scope and used a line to make a snubber with a bowline.  

I still preferred to take my time to change my mind, and I still would have preferred to set the anchor with more scope. 

It was only then that I realized how clear the water was, allowing me to see the whole chain and where the anchor was.  Spectacular!

Chiheb’s arrival

I did many errands in the morning before Chiheb arrived at about 2PM

We met at the metro station.  Had a burger at Burger King, walked around a bit, and went to the boat  

Saturday, we toured downtown Miami.

On Sunday, we did the groceries with San Rito Raou and Chiheb, and filled my spare diesel Jerry Can as well as a fellow boater's using Sanrito's car.  

Chiheb and I swapped out the damaged anchor. 

Boat Work

Put away provisioning 

Cleaned fridge 

Installed newly filled propane tanks 

Installed a new battery 

Empty food nets 

Cleaned the water tank filter screen

Inspected the oil leak on the camshaft manual crank

I slept aboard BELLUM.

The next day, I went to the Apple Store in Brickell to have my iPhone battery replaced.  They were slow at changing the battery, so I went to tour the local urban sprawl. Like the rest of Miami, everything was densely built up.  Reminds me of the movie BRASIL.

Nothing interesting, so I went back to the Apple store and had a demo of the incredible Apple Vision PRO - very impressed, but also expensive.  I bought it.  

I came back home to find Sandro had ordered Pizza from Domino's, which didn't deliver, so we ended up having pork.

Miami - ashore

On Saturday morning, we got up early.  Costco, West Marine, Walmart, and Home Depot were well stocked with groceries. 

I got a haircut by Sandro.

I investigated my Radio station license, which expires March 31, 2025 

I applied for a drone license and paid for DTOPS for CBD, specifically for the Cruising Permit for 2025.

Cancel VOIP for Sylvie and create a new DID transfer for Patrick's cellphone.

Sandro gave me a long-needed haircut.  In Daytona, a barber had offered me a discount to cut my hair!  It was pretty bad.

On Sunday, Sandrito, Raul and I went to deliver the provisions to BELLUM and went out for a quick one-hour sail in Biscayne Bay in light winds.  

We loaded up the boat, anchored and then went to Sandro's friends for a pig roast birthday party.

Christmas Day, I worked on photos and drove Sandrito to work and back

Christmas day plus one - I updated this BLOG

Boat work done in Miami.

Put away provisioning

Cleaned fridge

Installed fresh propane tanks

Installed a new house battery from Costco

Empty food nets 

Cleaned the water tank filter screen

Changed Rocna anchor with Chiheb.  The anchor was bent at Dodge Island Bridge on December 19 and took several attempts to dig in at No Name Harbour.

Boca Raton to Miami

In Lake Boca Raton in the morning, I dived to inspect the shaft drive chain.  The water was clear and salty. 

The drive chain was good, but the anodes were pretty worn.  I had two anodes.  One for fresh, one for salt water.  I guess the freshwater one was pretty much corroded. 

I took off at 10:30.  I got much better at timing the bridges.  But as I got into Miami, I kept missing the bridge timing and wasted lots of time waiting for the next opening.  There was some showing, so I couldn't travel fast.

I arrived in Miami late, tired, and concerned about the Dodge Island bridge.  It says it is 65 feet, but I was very uncomfortable with it.  Maybe it was fatigue and the darkness.  I called Wally, and he strongly suggested I return and anchor between the third and fourth Venetian bridges. 

The next day, I crossed the Dodge bridge again, and the antenna definitely touched the bridge, even though it's supposed to be 67 feet.  My mast is 46 feet. 

I got fuel at Croydon, Marine, and then docked at No Name Harbour.  I tried to make Ramen for lunch, but the propane ran out.  Perfect - I had optimized my propane usage.  The third SodaStream was also almost empty.  Trifecta!   

I tidy up the boat, remove the propane tanks, prepare the battery for changing, and clean up the ship. 

I waited for Sandrito to pick me up.  He had trouble getting there and was trying to walk.  Eventually, he got there.  I re-anchored the boat and came back to the house, where I had a pork supper with Raul, Sandrito, Sandro, and Nelly.  Good reunion.

West Palm to Boca Raton

I grew tired of West Palm and felt pressured to head to Miami to meet up with Sandrito, provision for the Bahamas, and prepare for Chiheb's arrival.

It took me some time to get familiar with the bridge timing.  I followed a Quebec boat, La Die, with a big Quebec flag on the stern.  She was a 29-foot boat with an outboard motor.  After a while, I abandoned it because they could not keep up with the bridge schedule. 

I anchored at Lake Boca Raton about 5:30 - just before sunset.

I dived to inspect the BELLUM bottom.  No alligators.

Peak Lake to West Palm

After waiting out the bad weather in Peak Lake, we finally got to go to West Palm.

It was an easy ride from Peek Lake to West Palm Beach 

I anchored far from the city dock.  Dinghy in to visit the town.  West Palm is a lovely town.  I wandered around and dodged a Florida rain shower that lasted about 45 minutes.  I returned to the wrong dock for the dinghy and determined there were two municipal docks.  The dinghy was at the North dock. 

Saw Wind Gypsie anchored near the Municipal dock.  Dropped in to say hello to Wally.

Went back to Bellum and BBQ something. I forgot what it was.

The next morning, the boat swung, and I was close to another ship, so I decided to move closer to the Municipal dock, near Wally.