Tying up at St. Lucie South State Park, we were pleasantly surprised by the manicured camp grounds and extensive RV park. There were 8 boat slips and we were elated to snag one of the coveted spots for the next few days. Over the last few months Duane has racked his brain over what could possibly go wrong on our trip in the Bahamas and ordered spare parts and backup spare parts which were shipped to Bob and Stephanie’s home. Once we were situated, Bob and Stephanie drove all the packages over to the boat in addition to two cases of wine which I had ordered as my “spare parts” contribution. There had to be about twenty packages, big and small, which they had been gathering for us over the last few weeks. We were truly grateful for them going out of their way to accommodate our packages and for the convenient “door to door” service. That night the four of us had a delicious dinner at Shrimper’s on the water and they filled us in on all the happenings since we left home. We also made plans for them to pick us up in the morning to go to Walmart so we could fill up our newly purchased freezer and stock up on two months worth of goods to sustain us as we anchored throughout the Bahamian islands.
Walmart was a success and not as torturous as I envisioned. The next stop…Total Wine…was what dreams are made of. Aisle after aisle of tastings and samples while we perused through endless choices of rum and vodka as well as hundreds of varieties of craft beers could have occupied me for hours. Carefully selecting what we could feasibly store on the boat without having to resort to hiding bottles under my pillow, we emerged from the store more than satisfied. Bob and Stephanie were amazing and drove us everywhere we needed to go so we were able to easily provision for the journey ahead of us.
Our friends, Jeff and Darlene, who we met way back in Charlevoix, MI and then visited us in Grand Haven, had trailered their boat all the way to St. Lucie and were planning to travel with us for a week before we left for the Bahamas and they continued on to the Keys for a short vacation. The night they arrived we had them, Bob and Stephanie over to the boat for drinks and had lots of laughs as the sun set and the gentleman in the RV next to the docks serenaded the park with a rendition of Taps on his bagpipes. This brought back pleasant memories of traveling to Mackinac Island which now seemed a lifetime ago.
Darlene made lasagna the next night which we devoured as we discussed our planned route and possible stops the next few days once we traversed through the lock and started traveling on to the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). A wind and wave advisory had been issued in the area for the next two days so we decided to reserve our slips for another 48 hours and not move on until the conditions were more favorable. Bob and Stephanie invited the four of us as well as their neighbors, Chris and Miley, over their beautiful home for dinner the following day. After a day of shopping in more marine stores than I cared to, having a relaxing evening and a delicious home cooked meal was definitely what I needed.
Waiting out the weather another day, we made sure the boat was ready to move on, and then went to Happy Hour at the Dolphin Bar. Very apropos as Dar and Jeff’s boat was named the Nauti Dolphin. After a few drinks we made our way to the Boathouse to meet Bob and Stephanie to say farewell, thank them again and enjoy some fresh fish.
The winds did not calm as predicted so we sat tight one more day. As Darlene was getting things on their boat secured, I decided to go shopping with the boys for a few last minute items. Big mistake! Duane had us out for five hours traipsing in and out of each and every store on the strip and I never did get the carpet sweeper I had set out to purchase that day. Oh well…hopefully the sun is shining in the Bahamas so I can keep the dust buster charged.
A week passed by in the blink of an eye and we were in and out of the St. Lucie lock in the morning just as quick. Bob and Stephanie ended up taking their recently purchased golf cart through the neighborhood to the beach and waved to us passing by going toward the Intracoastal. We were headed to West Palm Beach and go-fast boats waked us every step of the way. Passing Peanut Island, we radioed Nauti Dolphin who travel much faster than us and agreed upon anchoring in Clematis.
After securing the anchor, Jeff swung by and we hopped on their boat so we could go to town. Tying up at the day docks, we walked over to ER Bradley’s to listen to the band, have some tacos and a few cocktails. Just by coincidence, Duane’s tenant, John, who is renting his boat slip in CT with his girlfriend, Jenna, was in town on business and stopped by to hang out. Heading back to the anchorage, we all collaborated and thought it was a great idea to raft up together for the night.
The next day started off with confusion which carried on throughout the day. First off, the anchor buoy somehow got wrapped around the prop and, unable to dislodge it, Duane had to dive under the boat and wrangle it off. All the while, Jeff positioned his boat to keep us clear of drifting aimlessly toward anyone else. After an hour, a wet Captain in tow, we were on our way. All throughout the day we waited for bridge after bridge to open while dodging coconuts and being rocked by the inconsiderate boaters racing off to God knows where. We still hadn’t decided on an anchorage in Fort Lauderdale as we had conflicting reviews on the two options we had researched. Since Nauti Dolphin did not have the height we did, they were far ahead of us after we both fueled up and planned to scope out both areas before we arrived. Trying to beat the next bridge, we neglected to get a pump out which put us in a little predicament as the green light was flashing warning us the tank was just about full. After scooting under the Atlantic Avenue bridge, it was getting dark, so we anchored in the first anchorage located in Sunrise Bay among the multi million dollar mansions. Nauti Dolphin, however, had made it to the second anchorage and settled in for the night.
We woke up early to a beautiful sunrise ready to tackle another day. As Duane drove, I had all the books out and was googling marinas we could stop at for water and a pump out, as well as a place to stop for the night in Miami. Hollywood Marina was very accommodating and assisted us in the pump out and let us top off our water tanks. With that task completed, we motored on checking in with Jeff and Darlene as they left their anchorage and followed us. A few hours later we decided to get a slip at the Bill Bird Marina in Haulover in North Miami. Reasonably priced, I would be able to get all our laundry clean before we crossed the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas. Jeff and Darlene had gifted us with a Thermacell lantern which was fast becoming a valuable asset to ward off the numerous mosquitoes that swarmed the waters at dusk.
The next few days we enjoyed fresh fish purchased from the local fisherman on the docks, went to town to have cocktails at the beach bar and even stumbled upon another Total Wine. One evening we had a delectable meal of blackened swordfish accompanied by Creme Brûlée expertly whipped up by Darlene in the instant pot.
We had been looking at the weather forecasts and getting some valued predictions from Marv and Chris Parker, and, though it wasn’t going to be ideal, Duane felt that we should peak our head out on Monday, January 27th, and attempt to cross the Gulf Stream over to Bimini, Bahamas. The final afternoon at the marina, we all boarded Bella Donna and decided to party like locals on the sandbar outside the harbor. It was a spectacular day for people watching as the sun shined and each boat tried to one up each other with outrageous antics and loud club music. It was like being in a Miami nightclub at two in the morning.
The next morning we bid farewell to our great friends and buddy boat, Nauti Dolphin, who we had an exceptional time with the last 10 days, and set out of the harbor to test the waters. The Haulover Inlet is very temperamental and sometimes difficult to cross. The inlet even has an Instagram account which broadcasts mishap after mishap of boats trying to traverse under the bridge into the open waters. Luckily for us, the wind was barely 10 knots and there was only a slight chop on the water. As we went further and further, the swells increased but the Captain was confident that this was a very doable crossing and we pushed on. In 57 miles we will be in the Bahamas!
