Quicksilver Sail Tales: Ninety-Nine Problems but a Bridge Ain't One

We are Done with Bridges. Yeah!! We left St Augustine and continued down the intercostal waterway..it was still too unsettled to travel on the outside (Atlantic). We ancored in Daytona, Titusville, the Indian River, Jenson Beach and Lake Worth each one night then headed through the last leg of 22 bridges to Ft Lauderdale. Its not so bad just a bit tiring. Each bridge has its own special times for opening. In theory, you would be able to make the next bridge...by the way this is when your algebra comes in handy..."if our boat is going 5.8knots and the next bridge is in 6 miles and opens in 45 minutes...will we make the next bridge?" Sometimes we do and sometimes the conversation goes like this with the bridge tender..."Lantana Bridge, Lantana Bridge, this is Quicksilver sailing vessel, southbound; standing by for your next opening " "ok Captain, our next opening is at 1:30, you just missed the 1pm opening " then Jon and I do loop de loops in front of the bridge for 25 minutes. This goes on for 22 bridges, racing to the next opening...maybe we will get an extra push with the current. Oh another fun fact, our water pump switch went....this happened coincidentally the last time we came through Ft Lauderdale six years ago.

We stayed in Ft Lauderdale for two days to spend Thanksgiving with our nephew, Ben. We had a great visit with him but not before we had a brawl with the two pilings( large wooden posts) in our slip...the wind was blowing pretty good(away from the dock..but toward the pilings) and the current was with us...not necessarily a good thing as it pushed right onto front dock-but, thank goodness it was high tide as our bow pulpit and anchor went right on top of these concrete docks.--Oh did I forget to mention that the docks are fixed concrete!?) At one point one piling was between the dingy and our boom. Not fun...lots of four letter words (mostly by me) lots of yelling directions (mostly by me) but we made it without any damage. Well, the teak had to have a quick touch up on the rail. The dingy and boom...perfect...now make a note, again, to take in consideration the current and wind. I forgot to mention there was only one man in marina and no one from docks to help with lines...not like our friends in Fair Haven. Just another reason to anchor out.

We named this 99 problems.....because we thought it was funny if you've ever heard the song..but we feel extremely lucky and blessed that we can call this our life. We certainly aren't bored in our retirement and we are learning all the time. Learning mostly to try to regroup fast and move on quickly from negative and stressful situations.

Just anchored at No Name Harbor in Biscayne Bay. Tonight we will anchor at Rodriguez Key off Key Largo and tomorrow we hope to be in Boot Key in Marathon(one of our favorite places) Love to you and yours...live out loud!

Post note...sometimes it takes a bit longer to put together this blog. We are in a mooring field in Boot Key Harbor in Marathon. As soon as we sat up front to relax...a dolphin came up to say hi! Unbelievable...and today we spotted a manatee (see video below)