Marathon, Florida for the Holidays

Christmas and New Years have come and gone and we have spent them here in sunny Florida!  Our good friends, Dean and Katie, are here in Boot Key Harbor and have been absolutely wonderful showing us all the places to go, what to do, car rides to stores, dinner on their boat, sharing freezer space, and good times spent with each other!  Our very good friends from Michigan, Tony and Michelle, spent a week here in Marathon and we all spent many good times together during their stay.  On New Year’s Eve, our 20^th wedding anniversary, both couples surprised us with a nautical anniversary cake which we shared with everyone at the New Year’s Eve party at Dockside Tropical Café.  We don’t know where two weeks have already gone, but we have been very busy every day.  We are, however, working on an unexpected major project, and are rebuilding our refrigerator box.  We discovered after anchoring for nine days in a row, that we did not have enough power to keep the refrigerator running 24/7.  It turns out that the refrigerator box was not well built nor was it insulated.  We are enjoying live music quite often listening to Eric Stone, Myles Mancuso, and Fiddler Rock, to name a few.  The sunrises and sunsets are beautiful and the weather is perfect.

Marathon, Florida

We have arrived in Marathon, FL on Monday, December 22, 2014 for a much needed rest.  Since we left Michigan in August we have traveled over 2,600 miles.  Just to let everyone know, every day was not a vacation day, we did have issues, but nothing we couldn’t handle.  Silent Dream has gone further in these past few months than she did in the last 3 years in the Great Lakes.  We are in Boot Key Harbor and will be here about a month to catch up on cleaning, boat maintenance, and relaxation.   Merry Christmas to all our family and friends!  We miss you all very much!

Key Largo, Florida

We left Coconut Grove, FL Sunday, December 21, 2014 headed for Key Largo.  This means that we will be out in the Atlantic Ocean as our draft is too shallow to follow the inside route of the Florida Keys.  We passed Stiltsville which are homes that were built on the water for living and for fishing and sports groups.  There are only seven left and are still used.  We anchored next to Rodriguez Key near Key Largo for the night for our early departure in the morning to Marathon.  The sunset was absolutely beautiful!  This is the last time we will see our new friends for a while, Shawn and Leanne, who became our boat buddies down the ICW.  They are headed home for the holidays and we made them promise to come back to the Florida Keys soon. 

ICW Farewell Party - Coconut Grove, FL

The last trip of the ICW Sail Rally to Coconut Grove for the Farewell Party!  We all stayed at Dinner Key Marina with 582 slips and 225 moorings and is the largest marina in Florida.  The Farewell Party celebrated completion of the ICW in less than 7 weeks by 20 boats.  We have made so many lifelong memories that will be told many times over.  The friendships that were created during these 7 weeks were one of a kind that will remain forever.  Congratulations and a big thank you to our leaders – Wally, Mark, and Tom – we couldn’t have made it with as much fun and knowledge without you.  A big thank you to Peter Nielsen, Editor-In-Chief, of Sail Magazine for making this all happen and for celebrating with us at the finish!

ICW - Miami, Florida

The trip from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami had our heads spinning as we tried to look at the homes, buildings, yachts, and everything in between.  We reminisced as we passed by the two marinas where they have the Miami Boat Show which we attended in 2012 with our good friends, Doug and Jean.  There is a great anchorage in Miami called Marine Stadium and it even has its own tiny private island with a beach!  It is official, Silent Dream has completed the ENTIRE ICW from beginning to end without going outside to the Atlantic to escape the low tides or the many bridges – ALL 1098 MILES!

ICW - Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale, FL on Tuesday, December 16, 2014 after anchoring in Peck Lake and Lantana the previous two nights.  Peck Lake was a quiet anchorage in the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge.  We had a short walk to the ocean and it was sunny and beautiful. This part of the ICW in Florida has many opening bridges that open at a certain time or you must request them to be opened.  Over the course of three days we will have experienced 38 opening bridges, however, the scenery, wildlife, homes and yachts are worth the trip. The anchorage in Lantana was right near the Old Key Lime House where we met the other sailors in the Rally for Happy Hour.  When we arrived at the Lake Sylvia Anchorage in Ft. Lauderdale, it was very crowded, but we managed to find a spot.  The Ft. Lauderdale beach is beautiful and you wouldn’t believe the number of yachts and each one is bigger than the last.