Ft Lauderdale

We had a tremendous day of snorkeling off Turtle Reef on August 4, my birthday. Saw two spotted eagle rays with a wingspan of seven feet glide by us! A couple of curious barracuda, all the usual beautiful reef fish, lobsters hiding under coral shelves, and a new sighting of the rare labster fish. That’s right, Whitefoot jumped ship again, shrugging off her collar and leash, jumped in, and swam a quarter mile to where we were having all the fun without her. So we piled her into the kayak, and hauled her back to the boat. Now, when we expect fun boat action, we put her choke collar on to prevent that from happening again.
Stardust gave me a great birthday present by not having anything break down.
But the next day, the genset gave up again. This time, a stripped pulley. So we sailed to Key Biscayne and anchored in Nixon’s back yard. That takes us into Sunday, no parts departments for the pulley. We moved to Stadium Harbor, just past the Rickenbacker Causeway, with tons of jetskis blasting around. It settled down at nightfall, and we enjoyed a superb dinner at the Rusty Pelican, overlooking downtown Miami, and our own Stardust out on the water.
No luck this morning on the phone with various parts departments, so we upped anchor and headed out the Government Cut. 2 knot outgoing tide, versus an incoming 15 knot wind from the east. Guess who lost? Us! It was horrendous, with huge waves crashing over the bow. When I saw the huge breakers ahead, I should have turned around and waited for better conditions. Now we know just how rough it can be. We made it out, thanks to a great vessel, and made for Ft. Lauderdale with reefed main and jib. No seasickness, due in large part to the electronic wrist bands that Kathy and Rachel wear. What troopers! We entered Port Everglades with a favorable current, and had an easy motor to our present mooring off the Las Olas Bridge. Tomorrow, Dennis Disinger (glider pilot from Seminole-Lake) will loan us his car to get the pulley and other supplies. He is an experienced sailor, and has been generous with phone calls and advice.
This Las Olas mooring is a great spot. We had dinner in the cockpit, and watched the small boats and large yachts come and go under the bridge. The moon is bright, and the weather is good. The water is smooth for a good nights sleep.