The Banks and Frazer's Hog ...

 

 

We left Bimini and motored over to Cat Cay for lunch.  From there we began the journey across the Banks.  We let the wind and sails carry us along until sunset where we opted to just drop the hook where we were in the middle of a vast desert of shallow water.  

 

About 2 am our pleasantness ended.  The winds had settled and the tides shifted and suddenly Tropical Breeze was being hit by waves broadside.  It happens and when it does the boat jerks about and is generally uncomfortable.  We'll take more wind any day to avoid the rocking the absence of wind causes.  

 

With our choices limited to stay and let the motion continue or move on, we opted to hoist the anchor and continue the trek across the Banks.  We motored and motored and motored (and a little sailing when the wind shifted south enough) until we finally reached Chub Cay.  We hid behind neighboring Mama Rhoda Rock for the evening for a pleasant nights rest.

 

But yet another wind shift was expected - and not in the direction which would enable us to get to Nassau.  So instead we motored up towards the shallows of Frazer's Hog Cay and found a place right near a beach to drop the hook.  We would hang out for the day in hopes of a wind shift that would take us to Nassau.

 

The Admiral

  

Arrival Bimini ....

We departed No Name Harbor as the sun was setting, hoisted the sails and began the trek to Bimini.  The weather was beautiful with southerly winds 10-15 knots, rolling seas, a near full moon and 70 degrees all evening. 

We made quick work of the crossing arriving well ahead of sunrise.  Given the darkness we anchored off Turtle Rocks and caught some zzzzz's before entering Alicetown for Cusoms and Immigration clearance. 

We are currently tied up at Bimini Big Game Club but will be departing shortly to begin the trek across the banks.  Once on the banks fishing gear will come out and we will hope to catch a snapper for supper.   The southerly winds are expected to continue for several days so we look forward to a great journey to Nassau.

The Admiral

Strange Sightings Part 2 ...

 

 

So we started with the floating Fiat 500 - in a nice canary yellow.  From there the group swapped out cars and decided to give this red Fiat Abarth a test drive or should we say dive.  Yes, this version is a submersible.  From the looks of things it is still very much in test phase - but coming to a dealership near you - after a bit more testing.

 

As for me, I think I'll hold out for the Trifecta version which is able to travel by land, sea and air.  Its air capability will enable it to transform into a helicopter.  The Fiat team promised the Trifecta would be available in 2015. 

 

The Admiral

 

PS - Don't miss Strange Sightings Part 1 below.

 



Strange Sightings Part 1 ....

 

 



 

 

We left the Marine Stadium anchorage and headed a few miles south to Coconut Grove, a Miami suburb and home to the Dinner Key Mooring Field.  This would be our last opportunity to do laundry, grocery shop and get a great meal out before our departure so we opted to take full advantage.

 

On our stroll through town we sighted many unusual things.  The artsy community had lots of interesting shops including the first condom store we had ever seen.  After reviewing the stores website I can confirm that the merchandise is everything you'd expect - condoms, toys, lingerie and much more.  Also, as expected, the condom store was flanked by a piercing store on one side and a tattoo parlor a few stores down.  For enquiring minds the cigar shop was a block away.

 

Back at the marina we happened to find some strange stuff going on at the launch ramp.  Some people, not sure if they were from Fiat or not, were launching a Fiat 500.   Yep... a car.  But this wasn't just any car this was a floating car.  And while you may not want to believe the photos we can promise that, yes, the car exited the launch ramp and drove around the mooring basin.  If that wasn't enough they had a second car with its own unique abilities...but you will need to wait for part 2 of this adventure for the footage.

 

Back on land, another boater recommended we try Lokal for a great burger.  The burger decision was tough but we opted for the Fidy Fidy.  It is a burger of 1/2 organic ground beef and 1/2 bacon topped with monterey jack cheese and onion marmalade.  It is served with a 1/2 order of sweet potato fries and a 1/2 order of french fries.  Definitely tasty and whatsmore no guilt since the beef was organic. (Yeah, and at Dairy Queen we get our calcium requirement for the day =)

 

So much for justifying our diet....  

 

The Admiral

 

 

Scenes from Miami...

 

Traveling by water always seems to offer something new.  For us something new would be arriving in Miami's commercial/cruise ship port of Government Cut.  We'd been through the waters north of the cut previously as well as spent a limited time south in Biscayne Bay, but never had we actually arrived in Miami via the Government Cut inlet. 

I expected it to be large and intimidating.  I expected it to rival Norfolk.  I would be wrong.  Sure it was expansive but it had much less commercial traffic than I expected and since it was not a port of call for the Navy, no Navy ships were present.  There were, however, several cruise ships in port.  All lined up and awaiting their next departure.

We cruised along bypassing the cruise ships and eventually arrived at an anchorage known as Marine Stadium.  The anchorage was actually a bay dredged deeper in the 1960's and a stadium for seating of 60,000 built on its south side.  The intention was for the stadium to feature boat races and while it was successful for many years, it was condemned following Hurricane Andrew.  While the stadium is now quite the eyesore, the views of downtown remain quite spectacular.

The Admiral

Ft. Lauderdale....

Ft. Lauderdale = Big Boats Yachts

Need we say more?

The Admiral

P.S.  The bridge pictured is 56 feet tall.

Lake Sylvia....

 

Sitting on the hook awaiting weather can be a bit of a bore.  So we found ourselves surfing the web.  One of the websites we've discovered that is always fun to check out is realtor.com.  We sometimes use this to see what type of neighborhood we find oursrelves anchored in.

In the case of Lake Sylvia, we found ourselves in a pretty posh place.  We will start with the house behind us....currently available for a mere $5.8 million (refer to photo 1).  In front of us was a bit more exclusive residence.  The almost 23,000 square foot mansion could be yours for only $17.5 million (refer to photo 2). 

While I'm sure both are as lovely on the inside as on the outside, we think we will stick with Tropical Breeze.  After all, when we get tired of one location we just haul up the anchor and move on.

The Admiral