Back to Florida we go....

As mentioned in my last bog post, we had no other option than to sail back to Florida to replace our boat batteries, leaving our friends on Hope who would keep heading towards the Exumas (our original plan). We were bummed but if we were going to do it we had to leave immediately to catch a good weather window crossing the Gulf Stream back to Florida. Fortunately there was one early the following day.

With much regret, we left the anchorage in Green Turtle Cay around 7 a.m. on December 2nd and waved goodbye to our friends on Hope. For most of the trip we had calm beautiful seas and just the right amount of wind. Very comfortable. We had both sails up along with one engine running (just to keep us on schedule) for a short while, then we were able to turn off the engine and just sail. Once we got to West End in the Bahamas it was time to point the boat towards Florida. At this juncture the winds were piping up and the seas were getting a bit sloppy. So the ride was not comfortable! We each tried to take our turn at sleeping but it was just too bumpy and loud as the boat smashed through the waves. We were both basically awake the entire night. Closer to Florida we were hit with squalls …bursts of violent winds followed by heavy rain on and off. The boat was consistently sailing in 25 knots of wind at a close haul with 30+ gusts. The waves were 5’ high and coming at us in every direction 2-3 seconds apart. I could not wait to get to Florida and into an anchorage.

We made it to Florida and safely into an anchorage at Sunrise Bay Lake, in Fort Lauderdale, on December 3rd around 2:15 p.m. There was one hiccup after we entered the Intra Coastal Waterway..just as we were close to getting to the Las Olas bridge, our starboard engine quit! Rick quickly got out the air compressor and blew out the fuel line to clear the fuel pickup in the tank. This worked and the engine started up again. This was a huge relief because it is hard to maneuver a catamaran with only one engine when you are going slow in narrow places. You basically turn in circles. We figure being out in the ‘washing machine’ seas as we entered the ICW stirred up some gunk at the bottom of the tanks..clogged the fuel line.

After a nap we made a phone call to Chris to make arrangements to get our batteries replaced. A date was set for December 6th to move the boat to the same residential dock where we had our hard Bimini installed last year. Chris said he and his crew would work all day that day and part of the next day to get all of the necessary work done which he did! We left the dock later that afternoon paying a hefty fee of $300 for just one night on the dock and another hefty fee for the Lithium batteries! But the price of the batteries we knew would be high…the dock fee for one night??!! Crazy expensive. Oh well..at least we got done what we came to Florida for.

Back to the anchorage at Sunrise Bay Lake we went. Anchored and surrounded by only a couple of other boats. Nice and quiet.