Departure for Bahamas today

[Québec 1]

Coming into 7 mile bridge to marathon:


Docked at a marina the day after a big rain around between Key Largo and Marathon:

Q1

[ralphk]

Bertrand:

Your line

"The shoot out at South Dade Marina 2 days ago was the culminating point and last deciding factor for a quick trip home."

caught my attention.
We launched at Tarpon Springs on March 7th and meandered down the west coast to Ft. Myers.
There were 4-5 ft. waves forecast most days, with predominately northwest winds.
The greatest adrenaline moment came for us shooting out of the ICW at John's Pass near Clearwater with probably 4 ft. waves in the deep water.
What this Great Lakes sailor did not appreciate was the surf created in the marked channel as water is funneled, from the shallow, sandy approaches.

I have to take full responsibility as captain of our little vessel.

It was too late to put the companionway cover in place, and we crashed the surfed with a wave breaking over the dodger!
The good news was that the Mac hit it nice and square - I never felt any loss of control.
The bad news was that the companionway cover, that was only held down on by the dodger window, and was promptly ripped away.
I had one fleeting thought of trying to retrieve it, but in hindsight made the very good decision to continue on, square to the breakers.

We found a retired handyman a few days later and he cut a temporary plywood replacement.
The other bad news was that, my navigation netbook computer and Blackberry got soaked, never to perform again.

The corollary to the breakers at the Pass story, is the return 15 miles south. We entered back into the ICW at Passe a Grill, west of St. Pete's.
I rigged up a makeshift companionway protection with a very flimsy pair of boards that we use to enclose an air conditioner. Of course there is cutout for the air condition about 16 inches square. A similar wave over our stern would have put us in real jeapardy of flooding the cabin
We hit the pass with 1/2 keel, lot's of throttle and a whopping dose of adrenaline.
The Mac surfed like laser, sometimes for 25, 30, 35 seconds. Although not timed by GPS, I'm convinced that Hakuna Matata exceeded 25 knots.

The St. Petersburg Yacht Club at Passe a Grille was an ideal stopping point. There were repairs to be performed, communications to be restored and many many quarters spent at the clothes dryers.

I'm still uploading photos and will share later in the week.
Ralph k.
Hakuna Matata.

[DaveB]

Been a long cold, windy winter in SW. Florida.
March 19 trip with 21 boats with WCTSS on Cayo Costa.

http://s182.photobucket.com/albums/x25/dbarni/

Bertrand:
Dave

Your line

"The shoot out at South Dade Marina 2 days ago was the culminating point and last deciding factor for a quick trip home."

caught my attention.
We launched at Tarpon Springs on March 7th and meandered down the west coast to Ft. Myers.
There were 4-5 ft. waves forecast most days, with predominately northwest winds.
The greatest adrenaline moment came for us shooting out of the ICW at John's Pass near Clearwater with probably 4 ft. waves in the deep water.
What this Great Lakes sailor did not appreciate was the surf created in the marked channel as water is funneled, from the shallow, sandy approaches.

I have to take full responsibility as captain of our little vessel.

It was too late to put the companionway cover in place, and we crashed the surfed with a wave breaking over the dodger!
The good news was that the Mac hit it nice and square - I never felt any loss of control.
The bad news was that the companionway cover, that was only held down on by the dodger window, and was promptly ripped away.
I had one fleeting thought of trying to retrieve it, but in hindsight made the very good decision to continue on, square to the breakers.

We found a retired handyman a few days later and he cut a temporary plywood replacement.
The other bad news was that, my navigation netbook computer and Blackberry got soaked, never to perform again.

The corollary to the breakers at the Pass story, is the return 15 miles south. We entered back into the ICW at Passe a Grill, west of St. Pete's.
I rigged up a makeshift companionway protection with a very flimsy pair of boards that we use to enclose an air conditioner. Of course there is cutout for the air condition about 16 inches square. A similar wave over our stern would have put us in real jeapardy of flooding the cabin
We hit the pass with 1/2 keel, lot's of throttle and a whopping dose of adrenaline.
The Mac surfed like laser, sometimes for 25, 30, 35 seconds. Although not timed by GPS, I'm convinced that Hakuna Matata exceeded 25 knots.

The St. Petersburg Yacht Club at Passe a Grille was an ideal stopping point. There were repairs to be performed, communications to be restored and many many quarters spent at the clothes dryers.

I'm still uploading photos and will share later in the week.
Ralph k.
Hakuna Matata.

[Highlander]

Thx Dave

Was a short cold winter here not nearly as much snow & none of these terribly severe freezing nights & days was actualy able to work on the boat & some other hardware over the winter , in a bit of a lull here right now the weather is starting to warm up crazy though can be +20C one day & -1C & snowing the next
But you've just inspired me to get my mod butt back in action

Calling for +25C this wk-end

J

[Québec 1]

My trip to the Bahamas which didn’t go past the Keys.

On the way into Florida, as this was an exploratory trip, we stopped at the Indian town marina
http://www.indiantownmarina.com
This is an excellent marina with all the services. The only problem is that it’s full of Canadians. They have it all including an excellent workshop with lots of parts and nice people. We put the boat in the water for fun and the ramp is very nice and easy. Of course people were gathered around when I pulled it out with the Buick…expecting who knows what eh? They have added palm trees around the club house and they have a fresh pot of coffee available for your pleasure..and a volunteer donation, e very morning with the communal milk in the fridge. 5 stars for the Indian town marina which is a half day motor to the sea.

Of course on the way to Hollywood we stopped for a night at the Jacksonville Travelodge for 58 bucks they include breakfast with grits, gravy and biscuits..mmm good! 3 stars but acceptable

When in Hollywood we did the beach, shopping for a graduation dress for my daughter at Macy’s and ate out and drank a lot.
After the admiral and my daughter left on the 11th of March I picked up my new first mate Claude D. who is a aircraft pilot, inventor, former meteorological instructor, former helicopter modification specialist for Boing helicopters in Vietnam and renowned fisherman in northern Canada. The 2th of march we were subjected to a tropical thunderstorm which lasted all day and confined us to the boat with beer, wine and the heater cause as evening fell a chill came on Hollywood Municipal marina. At around 35 bucks a day the
http://www.hollywoodmarina.org/Portals/ ... ddress.jpg
is an excellent spot to stay in downtown Hollywood with all services, friendly staff (ask for Omar) and includes free parking for your car. The marina is well guarded with municipal police cars in evidence 24hrs a day as this is a municipal police marine boat post. The only down side is that there is no parking for trailers unless they are hooked up to the tow vehicle and that costs 1 dollar an hour 24 hours a day. Unwilling to pay the price, I noticed that the police boat trailers were parked in one end of the parking lot and they were not hooked up to a tow vehicle. As you can see I parked my trailer in between the police trailers and hoped I would be ignored by the ticketing officer who came by every morning. I talked up the police boat guys when they were around and the camouflaged trailer with Québec licence plates remained secure and unticketed for 1 week. 5 stars for the Hollywood Municipal marina
(The ramp)
The 13th of march we went to the beach and partied hard into the Hollywood Beach night( I puffed on a 7$ cigar whilse having a hoot watching the karaoke and drinking scotch at the 12 o’clock high pub off the beach.. ) 5 stars for 12 o’clock high cause it was so much fun. We had lobster and fraternized with 3 off duty air force girls(1 of whom was a pilot) and listened to a rock band someplace else but its all so distant now………I can,t remember the names of these places but they were off the beach somewhere in Hollywood

On the 14th we packed up the boat and trailered to South Dade Marina. By that time it became evident that the weather was too changeable for a crossing to the Bahamas. We spent a few days around Key Largo and then proceeded to, weather permitting follow the intercostal south along the Keys. First off I have to mention that dropping the car and trailer off at South Dade Marina is an inexpensive thing to do. It costs 5 dollars a day for car and trailer storage and Bob the owner as well as Raphael the mechanic are very friendly knowledgeable people. On the other hand …there is no fresh water available and the toilets are not hygienically acceptable in any way and it is of run down. Half a star for the South Dade marina because Raphael (the guy who latter shot my car) is such a nice guy and 5$ a day for car and trailer parking is a deal. (if u sleep in your boat on the hard when in transit it’s free)

[kmclemore]

...Raphael (the guy who latter shot my car)....

I'm sorry, but I'm not going to let you dump that one and run... he SHOT YOUR CAR? Please explain.

[ralphk]

"Shoot out"
Earlier, I thought that this was a motorsailing term.
.... Perhaps I was mistaken.


Ralph k.
Hakuna Matata

[ralphk]

Weather forecast for Tampa Fl. this weekend 26 C
Toronto, Ontario 23 C


Ralph k.
Hakuna Matata

[Sumner]

........... Half a star for the South Dade marina because Raphael (the guy who latter shot my car) is such a nice guy and 5$ a day for car and trailer parking is a deal.[/color] (if u sleep in your boat on the hard when in transit it’s free)

Nothing like keeping us in suspense,

Sum

[Highlander]

Simple !

PQ Lic. Plate car & trl inthe parking lot , a PQ registered boat slipped at the docks !

So now the local drug lords figure the French Connection is moving in on their Drug Terority
So now bang, bang !! gotta set an example !!

Sorry guy's could not resist

J

[Québec 1]

Shoot out at the South Dade Marina

Over a hundred years ago, as recounted by Bob the owner of South Dade Marina, the Marina was the stop off point for the water necessary to run the steam powered trains which brought produce and the bankroll to residents south of Miami It seems that some adventurous northerners waited for the train to stop and attempted to rob it. As it was, a shoot out occurred and the robbers got away but were eventually found by a posse and stood trial for their crimes.

A hundred years later on a warm Saturday night Le Zephyr manned by 2 hearty northerners arrive at the docks of the South Dade Marina just as the sun was setting. After a big day of motor sailing the boat was securely tied to the dock by a rotting Hunter 25 and a few beers were hoisted, a fast meal was consumed and the tired Canadians put up the bug screens on the forward and aft hatches and settled down for a nights rest .

At around 1:30 am Claude heard noises at the gate of the Marina. Looking out the hatch he advised the captain that there were people dressed in black hoodies with what looked like guns out by where the Buick was parked. The Captain told the first mate Claude to shut up and go to sleep. A few minutes later a series of gunshots rang out and much scuffling and raised voices were heard. Silence returned and everyone except Raphael went back to sleep.

The next morning, the resident mechanic and designated Saturday night guard Raphael (who was once shot down by Cuban antiaircraft guns while trying to rescue his wife and child from Cuba in his Cessna) told us what happened.
It seems a number of youthful villans broke the lock on the marina gates and proceeded to cut the chains on the Kayaks stored by the gates and to the side of the Buick. Raphael heard noises and when he saw the perpetrators he also noticed they were packing iron so he went back got his pistol and shot off a few rounds in the air to scare the thieves away. Unfortunately the thieves started shooting back and Raphael started (taking aim) instead of shooting in the air.

The next morning I went to check my car and lo and behold there was a bullet hole in my car. The bullet as you can see shattered the seal beam and broke the plastic light housing … but the lights still worked……..until the next day…but that’s another story. Having a bit of experience with guns I determined the shot was from a 22 cal bullet so I asked Raphael what kind of gun he used, he answered a 22 cal pistol. When I showed him the hole in my car he was extremely sorry and asked what he could do to remedy the situation.

Seeing as my trailer lights went on the frits between Miami and South Dade and I had lost my drivers side turning signal I asked him to fix my trailer lights. It took Raphael and Claude 4 hours to find the problems and fix them…. and there were multiple problems. All at no charge what so ever. Unfortunately the trailer lights went on the frits again on the last stretch home but that’s another story……
So that’s the story of the shoot out at the South Dade Marina……….

[c130king]

What a story...oh, those crazy Canucks.

The important point is nobody got hurt and you have an interesting story to tell your grandkids someday.

Cheers,
Jim

[dvideohd]

In times of yore - some people viewed 22s as tools of festive expression and one step above water pistols. I am glad those times are mostly gone.

--jr

[dutchwinter]

the craziest part of this story is that a security guard would carry a .22. it has the stopping power to take on a squirrel, or a small bird maybe. just google .22 bounces off head. lol. a pointy stick is more threatening. and using a .22 shot in the air to scare off someone? wouldn't clapping your hands or coughing loudly be equally startling? it takes a bold man to see someone carrying handguns, and to then un-holster your .22 to enter the fray.

[Highlander]

So ya trying to tell us it was not the French Connection But the Cuban Connection Ah the plot thickens so where was ya colt 45 Peacemaker

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthre ... 674&page=3

J