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Being out at night on your boat is really nice, you can see the stars so clearly and making crossings  in open water at night is very peaceful.  One item I was lacking to make night travel safer and easier was a remote spotlight.  The most popular brand is ACR and thats why i went with this one.  Voyager Marine Electronics in Ft. Lauderdale has been great to work with, Dave and Rick both took great care to see what I requested of them was done correctly.  I changed out one of my GPS’s to a more modern c140 that works with my E90,  once rick got into my flybridge wiring he saw a lot of wiring problems so he straightened up all the wires in there and got everything hooked up, this took a couple days but was well worth it and important to have done.  The ACR  spotlight control pad is mounted close and out of the way and will really be great for locating aids to navigation at night.  Cable marine had to make the mounting wedge so the spotlight could be mounted flush to my slanted brow.  As soon as my flybridge enclosure is finished and my new bench seat is installed ill be on my way again, I know this has been a long layover in Ft. Lauderdale

Dave made me a mounting block out of solid teak, after he got the angels correct he sealed it with West System epoxy and sent to the painter so they could match it to the boat

Doing the mounting wedge in solid white might have looked funny so Dave had the painters Richard and Brandon from Yacht Styles incorporate my black stripe into the piece for a clean factory look, hard to believe it started from a solid piece of teak

Sheri from Cable Marine sanded and revarnished my faded name boards.  On the exterior of a boat having wood is a lot of work  I am happy that i have very few wood things on the outside of mine, although wood looks great sanding and varnishing is a never ending process you have to keep up with

This is a discharge pump Cable Marine also installed for me, it allows me to empty my holding tank while offshore where its legal to do so.  not the coolest thing to talk about but for live aboard boaters its very nice to have

Pura Vida has two turbocharged 3208T Caterpillar Marine engines, these engines use raw water to cool a radiator called a “heat exchanger” in the marine world.  Every 5 or so years on a salt water boat you need to service the raw water components, my engines power twin disk transmissions that have a gear oil cooler that uses raw water to cool the transmission fluid.  My gear oil coolers were showing signs of age and a little water seepage around the sensors I knew it was time to re stack them.  Cable Marine removed these gave them a acid bath, inspected them and rebuilt them with new gaskets and reinstalled on my transmissions.  You can see the housing in the photos below, its thick brass and the cooling bundles are aluminum with brass fittings.  the brass housing has zincs at both ends that help protect the metals, the way we counteract galvanic corrosion is to add a third metal into the circuit, one that is quicker than the other two to give up its electrons. This piece of metal is called a sacrificial anode, and most often it is zinc. In fact, most boaters refer to sacrificial anodes simply as zincs.

Anything metal on the boat that is in contact with the salt water has  Zinc installed, like propeller shafts, trim tabs, rudders, and engine cooling components

old zinc vs. new

Gear Oil Coolers reinstalled 

Me and my sister Clotilde decided to leave Hollywood Sunday morning and take the Pura Vida up the New River to Cable Marine.  Beautiful homes on both sides of the river and lots of yachts.   I’ve never been up this way but I’ve always been told be careful of the currant and other boats, its narrow with boats tied to both sides of the river. The water is plenty deep, 20’+ in some areas. My height only required two 4′ railroad bridges to be open and thanks to my waterway guide I learned they stay open when not in use so this makes it easier.  All the other bridges were 19′ so my 18′ high boat squeaked under them fine.  Going upstream you have more control because of the water moving along your hull and rudders even at the slowest speeds you can keep your steerage. I try to give the down bound boats right of way because going up I can keep the boat perfectly still and still be in Controle.  Going with the flow your rudder is only working with water flowing against it so you have to keep power on it on the rivers. This short trip took us over 2 hours because we were at idle speed the whole time.

The river is entirely within Broward County and is composed from the junction of three main canals which originate in the Everglades, splitting off from the Miami Canal. They are the North New River Canal, which flows on the north side of State Road 84 / Interstate 595; the South New River Canal, which flows on the north side of Griffin Road and the south side of Orange Drive; and a canal which flows south of Sunrise Boulevard.

We arrived safely at Cable Marine, his working slips are covered and .70c a foot per day which is a great deal. I’m going to have some canvas work done here and a few other Maintnance items I want to get done

Key Largo to Hollywood was a incredible ride, “Thanks Dad” helped me cast my lines off and both boats were back on the ICW headed north by 9am.  This route took us through Key Largo through a couple really clear sounds into Biscayne Bay.  Biscayne Bay is a 25 mile long body of water that is 7-10′ deep, sand bottom with occasional grassy areas just as clear as Florida Bay.  I was happy to see this water be so clear with such a big city at the north end of the bay.  As Miami appeared in the distance it was really cool to see it grow closer and closer.  To the east of the ICW channel in Biscayne Bay there are a group of houses known as Stiltsville built on pilings in the shallow water shoal areas that separate the atlantic from Biscayne Bay.  These houses looked super cool through the binoculars, and some of them looked like they were falling apart.  These structures were used in a few Movies and also used as a stash spot for alcohol during prohibition.  i wasn’t able to get a good enough picture with my camera so here is one from the net.

From here the ICW takes you into the city of Miami, followed by Aventura, Hallandale and then the city of Hollywood which is in Broward County.  Going through all these narrow ICW channels through the City is really neat, the slow speed zones are nice but only 1/2 of the boaters seem to know how to read the signs and follow the rules of the road.  There are lots of bridges over here, out of the 10 i went under this day only 2 needed to open for me.  During the day these bridges open on a schedule usually 15 and 45 min past the hour and at night they open on signal, so follow your waterway guide to figure the bridge schedules out.  Its really easy to navigate down here.  By 4pm I was docked at Loggerhead Marina in Hollywood.  It is a nice safe facility, it has over 180 slips and is in the back of a gated community called Harbor Islands.  Im under the impression that some famous people live in this area because coming back to the marina you have to stop at a security check.  its a pretty good bike ride to the beach and you have to go over a bridge, but there are stores and food a little over a mile away.

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I fueled up with 113 gallons of diesel fuel and checked out of my slip in Duck Key, by 9:30 i was leaving the channel of Duck Key headed to Hawks Channel.  So far doing this trip i feel like i have dodged probably hundreds of crab trap buoys, even at night.  For some reason 3 miles out of Duck Key in broad daylight I saw one in my direct path and tried to avoid it, I’ve done this many times before and never got one but this time was different.  I don’t know if the trap had to much extra line on it or if the 113 gallons of diesel Jinxed me but my 24″ 4 blade starboard prop looped the crab trap line and we were combined at that moment.  I dropped the anchor and got my GoPro, taped it to my boat hook and put it under the boat.  When I reviewed the video it made me feel sick to see rope wrapped around my Pura Vidas propeller.  My cruising friends Jon and Sue from Pensacola were leaving Marathon today headed north just like me, I called them and they were headed back to help me with the fouled prop.  I was nervous about getting in the water by myself so i got my Brownie under water breathing apparatus hooked up so we could dive down for as long as we needed to un tangle the line.  Before my friends on “Thanks Dad” could get there i saw another cruiser headed north “leap of faith ” from Palm Beach FL I hailed them on 16 and they offered to come stand by while I try to get the line un done.  These people happened to be divers and the wife had not been able to dive the whole week they were down in the keys so she jumped right in and got the line off for me!  What awesome people 🙂  Luckily it wasn’t wrapped hard and we were able to un tangle it without cutting anything.  I will find these boaters one day and give them a big thank you, this saved John from having to jump in with me lol, I was so relieved when this was over.  Since “Thanks Dad” came back for support we cruised together for the rest of the day until we got to Gilbert’s in Key Largo.

This was going to be a beautiful ride, low wind around 5mph I would be going from Hawks Channel crossing back to the Gulf side using Channel 5.  This takes you right through Florida Bay which is a shallow bay with super clear water, surrounded by mangrove islands and beautiful flora and fauna.  I wouldn’t take a boat with anything more than a 5.0′ draft through here Both Pura Vida and Thanks Dad have a 4′ draft so although the water was “skinny” the channel is well marked and it was like looking into a fish tank almost the whole day.  You can see a abandoned crab trap in one of the pictures and how clear the water is.  This is all part of the everglades national park and they have strict federal regulations to help keep this place pristine.  This route zig zags a lot but is beautiful and I hope everyone gets to see it!

Finally we arrived at Gilbert’s, our slips were in front of a old hotel our boats blocked the views from the rooms but thats how it is laid out so oh well.  Sue and John treated me to another meal my debt is growing deeper and deeper to them, i am so lucky to have such great friends on the water.  Key Largo the name comes from the Spanish Cayo Largo, or “long key”.  It is the first island of the Florida Keys and the originating point of the Overseas Highway to Key West.  The bridge right where we stayed the night is the first and last bridge you will go over when going to the Florida Keys

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Sue and I Louie on deck of “Thanks Dad”

Yesterday morning my sister Clotilde and I departed Marathon Yacht Club at 9:50 AM the wind finally shifted out of the east and made leaving the Yacht Club possible.  Duck Key’s inlet is on the Atlantic side so leaving Marathon YC we back tracked to the 7mile bridge where I crossed back to the Atlantic side.  The 15mph east winds had Hawks Channel pretty sloppy but the Hatteras knew its course and cut through the 3 and 4′ waves like a hot knife through butter.  We trolled for about 14 miles today, no hits but still a beautiful place to be, Clotilde was great crew for the move.  We traveled north from about 1 mile offshore, We reached Duck Key inlet about 12:30, as soon as we were behind there breakwater the water calmed down.  You follow a channel around the east side of the island beautiful homes to your Port and the Atlantic to your Starboard, you are protected by a rock jetty.  Once you get to the North East side of the island where the Marina is the wind dies down from all the land and docking is easy, this marina is very protected from all wind vectors, and all wakes.

My sister had to head back to school this afternoon so before she left we had lunch at the Ocean grill and it was great!  From the slip I can watch the charter fishing fleet come and go all day, the marina store here is like a tom thumb and has a lot of good supplies.  Marina staff is great very helpful and laid back attitudes.  Lots of the employees here are from Jamaica, mon so the atmosphere is always Irie and full of love and respect,  these people live the Island lifestyle that i will always strive for.  I got to meet a nice Jamaican man named Omar he works in the U.S. 6 months a year and then goes back to Montego Bay Jamaica, what is so cool is he used to run the Marina Grill at Baytowne Wharf in Destin FL and i remember him from 2011.  Very small world and what great people we coexist with.

Hawks Cay resort has lots of great Amenities for the guests, they have a Dolphin training area where you can take a class to learn how to be a dolphin trainer and swim with the mammals, 5 awesome heated pools, fire pits, golf green, tennis courts, a 21 and up area with its own pool and Bar.  They also have a Spa, gym,  a salt water lagoon, charter boat fleet that will take you diving or fishing, plenty of water sports and so much more.

If you have any questions about coming into this marina call Ed the dock master at 305.289.2943 he is in charge of the marina and very helpful

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Staying at Marathon Yacht Club has been a great time, the people I have met here I will remember forever.  One thing i learned here is when you are visiting another Yacht Club the club fly’s your yacht club flag while you are visiting, you can see the PYC flag on one of the below pictures,  this sure feels good to see it flying every morning.  Everyone here loves the water so much and its great to be surrounded with like minded people, Marathon Yacht Club is part of the Florida Council of Yacht Clubs the same with PYC Pensacola Yacht Club where i am a member.  Being a member of PYC and PYC being a member of the Council gives me the first night free at any other Yacht Club and the other nights are only 1.75$ a foot. compared to the normal 3$ a foot this is a big savings and i feel very lucky to be part of the Florida Council.  If your going to be cruising a lot i highly recommend joining a yacht club you will save lots of money on slips and it will pay for your membership after your first free night.  This last Sunday i went to a nautical flee market in Islamorada about 50 miles north of Marathon.  Two very nice boaters that were visiting from Virginia on their 36 Monk Trawler Jack and Alois, they offered to split the 75$ cab with me 3 ways and we all went to the show.  It was a good turnout with loads of venders and lots to see and do, the only thing i purchased was a 1/2″ swivel for my Anchor that i have needed to get for quite some time now.  As you are at anchor and your boat slowly rotates with the wind and currant this swivel allows your chain to rotate with the turning of the boat and keeps the anchor firmly planted in the ground.  Otherwise the chain can get looped and turn the anchor upside down and it won’t be holding you anymore.

We decided to take the Keys bus back to Marathon this was only $2.75 a big savings compared to the taxi.  Lots of people from Miami were on this bus riding it to the keys so they could work their jobs at the resorts and businesses down here, the public transportation here is very efficient.  Marathon Yacht Club has been great for getting a few projects done on the boat, their is a West Marine across the street this is good and bad.  Good because you can get your projects done and bad because it burns up all your money lol.

I pulled my Twin Vee out with the Yacht Club lift and applied its new name its now the Twin Vida, which fits well because its a Twin Vee and the dingy to the Pura Vida so i think you get it.  I also had a sign shop here by the name of Signs by Renee make me another name with port of call, so this can be seen by other boaters needing to call me on the VHF.  The problem with my original name is when we installed my dingy on the back it totally covers up the original Pura Vida Pensacola Fl, so to make it legal again i had to make a second name board with 4″ tall letters.  On a federally documented vessel being able to read the name is mandatory.  Marathon Bait and Tackle fixed up my Pen rod and reel, they re spooled it with 60lb test and installed 2 new eyes on the rod.  This will be fun for trolling to my new destinations.  Keys Fisheries is a killer spot to eat here, its probably a 200 yard walk from my marina.  Keys fisheries is where they bring in all the fresh Florida lobster and stone crabs.  you can get stone crab fresh never frozen here and its only 1.70 a claw, most places with stone crab claws on the menu are 40$ + plate.  i can get 10 claws here for under 20$ the Hogfish is also a great meal to.

I left my cozy slip at the Galleon Resort Marina around 10:30am this morning, i had 12mph NE winds.  Today was a good day to run Hawk Channel which is the channel that runs the Atlantic side.  For the most part the protection from the Keys kept the water smooth today i passed Stock Island, Boca Chica Key, Sugarloaf Key, Cudjoe Key, Summerland Key, Pine Key, Ramrod Key, Middle Torch Key, No Name Key, and went under the New seven mile bridge.  The crap traps sure were out in force today.  I noticed the color green is a hard one to see when looking at the water down here, sometimes its so green/blue that its harder to see the green markers than the red.  I docked at Marathon Yacht Club around 4pm the dock master and a fellow looper came to help me get Pura Vida tied up.  So far from what I have seen this evening its a great spot, a little exposed to north winds which we are having tonight around 22mph but all is good and I love the sound of the small waves lapping against the back of the Pura Vida, just reminds you that your floating.  Some marinas are so still you forget that your even on a boat.  When you feel the dock lines tighten from the wind its a reassuring feeling like someone or something has got you, and they got you good, you aren’t going anywhere.  Its got to be close to the feeling of a baby being in his or her mothers arms, my 5/8 dock lines give me security.  I plan to explore marathon through the weekend and i will report back soon as i have some good info and pictures.

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