The Hard Way

Buenos dias from South Beach!  We are currently floating around south Florida as we wait for perfect conditions to cross over to the Bahamas.  We approached Governor's Cut, the entrance into our desired anchorage in Miami, around 5 pm last Saturday evening.  Always cautious when entering a new area, we hovered off shore for a few minutes to re-check the charts before venturing in.  That's when we noticed that a red, white and blue portion of the city was moving slowly towards us out the channel.  Behind it a steel gray and white condominium with smokestacks moved into view.  What on earth?  We held back to consider our options, then realized that these massive structures were in fact cruise ships setting off on their weekly voyages.  One hour and seven cruise ships later, we entered the cut and made our way into the anchorage off Belle Island.

Prior to our day trip south to Miami, Let's Dance was subjected to almost two weeks of rigorous preparations at the hands of a slew of technicians and mechanics in Palm Beach Gardens.  First, she was hauled out of her watery home by a 100 ton lift crane and placed "on the hard."  (That's boat speak for on land.)  Then her bottom was scraped and painted -- now a debonair black to replace her prior sporty aqua -- her sides buffed and compounded, her railings polished and her zincs refreshed.  Zincs are interesting -- basically the nautical equivalent of the canary in the coal mine.  They are made of, well, zinc, and they are attached to underwater metal fittings that would otherwise be easily corroded by sea water.  The zincs are sacrificed to save the fittings and are replaced as they are eaten away by the sea.  A win-win for all but the zincs!

While we wait for winds and currents to align properly for "the crossing", we've taken advantage of some of the local color.  We took the Love Me Tender, also newly rigged with working nav lights for night travel, to a nearby marina. There was a manatee close in to the dock, just lolling about looking cute.  After a wonderful lunch at Joe's Stone Crab restaurant, we headed back to the dock to find a school of tarpon in the manatee's place.  Not nearly as fetching, but equally intriguing this close to shore.

Captain Bill and I are ready for the next adventure and feel confident that our equipment is top notch and up to the task.  I mentioned last summer that AIS was our new best friend, but I've re-thought that -- AIS Class B transciever now tops that list.  Now we send out a signal and anyone within 10 miles of Let's Dance can see us on their radar and know exactly who we are and where we're going.  Can they tell we're dancing?  For now it's salsa, but will soon turn to reggae...... Let's Dance  Carol and Bill

A Shore Thing

Greetings and Happy New Year from Daufuskie Island, SC!  Captain Bill and I are preparing for the next step of our Let’s Dance journey - - this time south to the Bahamas!  October found us back on land after a five month odyssey that we’ll never forget.  Fall was a blur of holidays and celebrations with family and friends, all too short, but welcome nevertheless.

 Since the first of the year, we’ve been as fiendishly busy as elves with a deadline to provision the boat for the upcoming jaunt.  While we understand that the Bahamas are not a retail wasteland, we want to have as many of the basics covered before leaving Florida as possible.  You’ve never seen so many lists – inventories of parts, filters, canned goods, fuses, spices, ink cartridges and even toilet paper.  (The previous owner left many, many rolls of TP onboard, and while we didn’t count at the beginning of last summer’s voyage to Maine and back, we discovered upon our return that we had 39 rolls left!)

After numerous trips with supplies, Let’s Dance was finally prepped and ready to head south.  First Officer Rick Cohen and newly enlisted Medical Officer Dr. Bernie Mansheim joined Captain Bill for the non-stop run to West Palm Beach last week.  Forty-eight hours of smooth as glass seas led to eight hours of continuous pounding by 5 to 6 foot waves.  Some rockin’ and rollin’ for sure, but Captain and crew were all smiles upon their arrival in port.  I stayed behind to wrap up loose ends here and will join Bill next week.

Now comes the fun part – a volley of routine maintenance to get Let’s Dance in prime form – new paint for her bottom, snappy covers for the Love Me Tender and forward hatches, and yet more provisions bought and stowed.  Then it’s off we go to parts south.  Our plan takes us across 60 miles of Atlantic Ocean to Bimini, then south to the Exumas.  From there we will work our way north to the Abacos and then back to the US – perhaps to Florida or directly to South Carolina.  We’ll go with the flow…

We’re excited about exploring new venues – Bill has SCUBA gear on board and I have a raft and girly pink snorkel to watch from the ocean surface.  Sun block, hats, fishing rods, blender – we’re good to go.  So ‘til then….

Let’s Dance…Carol & Bill