Wednesday, March 30 - We hoped to leave today to begin cruising north to Ft. Pierce where our new boat is waiting for us, but the weather did not cooperate. The life of a Looper - continually changing plans! We will close the purchase of the new boat at the end of April. Still working on a name, but it looks like Tug LeeLoo may be in the running. That way we get to keep a little bit of our first LeeLoo with us!
Pictures Of Our New 37 ft. Nordic Tug!
When we arrived at Marina Bay Marina earlier this month, our trip on the New River was quite an experience. Twists and turns and more turns on a very narrow river. Just before we arrived at the marina, we had to go under the I-95 Bridge and a railroad bridge. As we approached the bridges, it was difficult to see where to go. We took a dinghy ride on the river a few days ago so we could get a up close and personal experience with the bridges. This way when we leave tomorrow we will know exactly where to go.
Approaching the I-95 Bridge on the New River
Under The I-95 Bridge - The Railroad Bridge Is Just Ahead
The Railroad Bridge - When Trains Run, The Bridge Comes Down And Boats Have To Wait For It To Be Raised.
Almost Under The Railroad Bridge - In The Up Position
We have enjoyed our stay at Marina Bay Marina. The facilities are great - clean bathrooms, a beautifully landscaped pool and hot tub and a restaurant on site. The foliage here is also beautiful and very well cared for. But, it is time to move on to more adventures (and our new boat)!
Beautiful!
Wednesday, March 23 - We have had a busy two weeks! We rented a car and drove back to Illinois to catch up on doctor and dentist visits. We stayed with our son Paul and his family. While we were there, we had dinner with several friends from Reefpoint Marina. It was good seeing everybody again. Our hope was to get in and out of Illinois with no snow and we were successful!
Carey and Thor (Paul and Kristina's Family Pet)
On the way back to Florida, we spent the night in suburban Atlanta with Carey's sister and father. It was a quick visit, but a good one.
Instead of driving all the way back to Ft. Lauderdale, we spent the night in Ft. Pierce in order to see several boats in Ft. Pierce and in nearby Stuart the following day. The boat we really wanted to see was a 2005 37 ft. Nordic Tug (this is pretty much a scaled up version of LeeLoo, which is a 32 ft. Nordic Tug). To reality check the style of boat, we also looked at a couple of ocean-capable boats, a Selene 43 and a Krogan 39. These boats were more expensive than and, in some ways, not in as good of condition as the 37 ft. Nordic Tug.
So . . . after a few minutes of soul searching, we decided to make an offer on the 37 ft. Nordic Tug! The boat is in really good shape and has everything we would want in a boat, including a stern thruster in addition to a bow thruster. After two rounds of offers and counter offers, we were shocked (and pleased) when our offer was accepted! The survey and sea trial are scheduled for April 4 and closing is scheduled for April 28. We plan to move LeeLoo to Ft. Pierce next week and we will stay there until closing. Ft. Pierce is about 100 miles north of Ft. Lauderdale, a 2 day cruise. Ultimately, we will move LeeLoo to New Bern, North Carolina which is where our yacht broker (United Yacht Sales) is located. We will continue on the Loop on our new 37!
Our New 37 ft. Nordic Tug - Any Suggestions For A Name?
After closing we will own 2 boats! If anyone would like to buy a 32 ft. Nordic Tug in great condition, let us know! We will make you a deal you can't refuse! By the way, Nancy says this is our last new boat!
Sunset Over LeeLoo In Marina Bay Resort
Wednesday, March 2 - Our destination today was Marina Bay Resort, which is about 5 miles up the New River. The New River departs the ICW adjacent to downtown Ft Lauderdale. It travels through downtown Ft Lauderdale (there is a nice river walk) and then it goes off to the south towards the airport. We said our goodbyes to Ralph and Linda on Mazel Tug as they departed about 9:00 a.m.
Because today's trip was short (only 20 miles) and because we wanted to wait for slack water (no current) on the New River, we did not leave until 12:30 p.m. The New River is very narrow and there are monstrously large yachts tied up on both sides of the river. There is little maneuvering room to be had should you find yourself bow to bow with a yacht coming down river. Anticipating these challenges, we lowered all of our antennas and also the bimini to reduce our air draft as much as possible. This way we could pass under all of the bridges and not have to wait for the brides to open. It was also beneficial to be traveling on a weekday as there were fewer boats on the river. Even with this advance planning, we were forced to dodge a large tour boat coming down the river. It is funny (not!), they think they own the river!
Scenes Along The New River
A 120+ Ft. Yacht Being Towed Down The New River. The Larger Yachts Cannot Make The Turns On Their Own. Not Visible Is A Towboat Behind This Yacht. The Back Towboat Controls The Stern Of The Yacht.
We arrived at the Marina Bay Resort around 3:30 p.m. and were tied up shortly thereafter. One interesting fact about the marina is that it is very deep (over 30 feet). Apparently, this marina was once a rock quarry where the rock was used to build the runways at the Ft. Lauderdale International Airport. There is a pool, hot tub, club house (and yes, internet!). We chose this marina because this is where we will leave LeeLoo while we make a trip back to Illinois for a couple of weeks.
Pool At Marina Bay Resort
Lots Of Small Lizards Live Here!
The weather has been great! High 70's-low 80's since we've arrived. Even the humidity is low today. This is a nice place to be. We did hear that the weather in Illinois will be in the 50's while we are there, so we are hoping to get in and out before it gets cold and snows again!
Monday, February 29 - We left Faro Blanco Resort marina on our way to Miami. It was a two day trip covering just over 100 miles. We were traveling with Ralph, Linda and Chewy (the boat dog) on Mazel Tug. It was nice following Mazel Tug because they had been through these waters before.
We decided to take the inside route across Florida Bay rather than Hawk Channel (the outside route); the inside route is more direct although, as we were to find out, the water can be very shallow in places. For about a 5 mile stretch, the depth of the water averaged 5 feet and in a couple of places the depth sounder showed 3.6 feet! Fortunately, we realized that we did not program a transducer offset into our depth sounder so the water was actually 1.5 feet deeper than it was reading. Still, that is shallow water, especially when LeeLoo's draft is 3.5 feet.
Birds Standing On Sticks In 3.5 Feet Water!
Our destination this day was Key Largo. Mazel Tug stayed at Gilbert's Marina and we anchored nearby. After we set the anchor, we took the dinghy to the marina and had dinner with Ralph and Linda at the marina restaurant. It was dark when we headed back to LeeLoo and Carey was heading in the wrong direction (naturally) until Nancy set him straight! It's hard to find a boat in the dark, even with the anchor light on! Fearing that this would be the case, we added a flashing light to LeeLoo's bow to help us find her. We spent a peaceful night at anchor.
Sunset From The Restaurant At Gilbert's Marina. That Is LeeLoo In the Distance.
Tuesday, March 1 - We left Key Largo for Miami, a distance of about 50 miles. Fortunately, the water was deeper in Blackwater and Barnes Sounds and in Biscayne Bay, one less thing to worry about. We passed downtown Miami and the Miami Cruise Ship Terminal on our way north. Since this was a Tuesday, there were no cruise ships in port, but there were a lot of other "smaller" vessels out and about. Our destination was an anchorage north of Miami called Aleto State Park. It was a pretty bay off of the main ICW Channel and there was plenty of water in which to anchor. An adjacent bay is next to Florida International University, so there were lots of students in kayaks and on stand up paddle boards in the bay.
It was an easy day on the water.
Crab Boat On The Bay
Passing Through A Creek Connecting Barnes Sound and Biscayne Bay
Miami In The Distance
Passing Under 2 Bridges On The ICW In Miami
An Ocean Going Tugboat On The ICW - Now That's A Boat!
Saturday, February 27 - We took the Lower Keys Shuttle Bus to Key West for the day. One benefit of being a "senior citizen" is that the bus trip was only $1.50 per person each way. It was only a 45 mile trip but it took over an hour and a half to get there because of all the stops it made. Although it was windy that day, the weather was sunny and warm.
Since we have been to Key West before, we spent our visit walking around our favorite areas and people watching. There were a couple of cruise ships in port, so Key West was very crowded! And, of course, we spent a fair amount of time at the marinas looking at big boats!
One interesting feature of Key West is that there are wild roosters and chickens walking about. The roosters must not know what time it is because they were crowing continuously!
Key West Rooster And Chicken
