Life on Lailia

Lake Boca Raton to New River Downtown Docks (docks)

February 16, 2022

Last night was tough: lots of high wind gusts pushed Lailia all night long.  That random rolling plus the squeaks of the line securing our tender to the stern made it very difficult for me to sleep.  We needed to haul our anchor and head further south.

For the first time on this trip we had something wrapped around the chain.  I was able to cut it off with scissors when we pulled it up – it was a combination of plastic, fishing line, some hooks, lures, and weed.  Side note: I ran this through Google images to see if I could learn what the plastic thingy is.  Google’s best guess is some modern art thing.

The Miami Boat Show starts today so finding slips is really difficult. As we motored we kept calling marinas and finding they were at capacity – until we called New River Downtown Docks who actually had space for us.

So, after going under nine bridges (waiting for them to open) in 17 miles, we turned west off the ICW and motored up the New River

They call this space the tunnel which fits- it deep and narrow, with boats lining the sides.  As we waited for one of the bridges on the tunnel to open, the strong current moved us near a boat and I had to reach out and push us off. It was my Wonder Woman moment.

We are tied to the sea wall and have an electric hook up and water. The River Walk has a lot of restaurants with happy hours and outdoor seating. After being onboard since Saturday it’s so good to walk around.

We plan to be here for at least another night as we wait for the weather to improve. We are really protected from the wind here. We are, once again, close to both a bridge and trains

Lake Boca Raton (anchor)

February 15, 2022

Such a windy and cloudy day. There’s no place to land the dinghy so we just stayed on Lailia. We’re looking at possible anchorages south of here in hopes we can go ashore.

The wind has been pretty steady today and the gusts are moving us all over, but our anchor is holding.

Not being able to go ashore is difficult – we want to stretch our legs, get rid of some trash, and hit a grocery store.

Lake Boca Raton (anchored)

February 14, 2022

Last night was cool and windy.  Rather that low 70s from Saturday night, the temps dropped into the mid-50s.  This is perfect sleeping weather.

This wind means that Lailia seems to be in constant motion around her anchor.   It’s not very rolly but we swing in an arc. The video shows how much we move on about a minute. (John says this is a yawner video. I…don’t disagree.)

John let more chain out to increase the scope due to the high winds, just as a precaution and too ease my mind. I don’t actually fully know what that means but he assures me that it will somehow help keep Lailia from dragging her anchor.

Today was a work day: I had three separate Zoom meetings and John did some preventative maintenance by cleaning the raw water strainer. The raw water strainer helps keep the engine from overheating but it can clogged by all the stuff in the water.  In order to access it, John had to remove the ladder and the counter area under it.  Because Lailia makes us work to keep her healthy, John had to do this work on his hands and knees.

John working

This was yet another uneventful day – that’s not a bad thing, actually.

Lake Boca Raton (anchored)

February 13, 2022

When we first started this journey it was so cold that we often slept under three blankets. In the mornings we would have to fire up our propane heaters and start heating water for our tea. Last night we slept on top of the blankets – warmer than usual because we had to close our hatches and most of our portlights due to forecasted rain.

As suspected, the weather kept this anchorage uncrowded this morning. We pretty much had all of the weathers throughout the day, from cloudy to rainy and finally some sunshine.

Today was a lazy day: we read a lot, made some plans, and now John is watching the Super Bowl using the tv antenna and our generator. Although there was a small craft advisory we are in a really sheltered area and aren’t feeling wind or waves of any size.

We do move, though, due to some wind and the currents. Sometimes it’s disorienting to see the landscape outside of our portlights change as we move. It’s also difficult to get a frame of reference to determine if we are dragging out anchor. John is confident that everything is fine – he also indulged me by checking the GPS and laying out more chain. I comfort myself by remembering that we have good insurance.

Although the anchorage are s fairly empty tonight a huge yacht has anchored nearby with about 20 people and a huge television screen on it. I could not convince John to take the dinghy over to hang out with them 🙂

There may be a good weather window for us to head to the Bahamas at the end of this week. Since the Gulf Stream flows north we have to wait for the wind to NOT come from the north, otherwise the wind and water will be fighting each other and we’ll have super-rough ocean conditions. It’s no fun if we have to fight robust waves.

West Palm Beach to Lake Boca Raton (anchor)

February 12, 2022

One of our propane tanks was empty this morning, so John went to get it filled while I did a quick stroll to grab bagels and check out the green market. There’s some great produce in this area. I found even more cool murals.

I started this journey totally enchanted with moveable bridges. That charm is…wearing thin. Today we travelled just over 25.5 miles and had to deal with 10 bridges. Eight of those bridges were restricted – they open at specific times when necessary. Two were on demand. No matter what, our forward movement is impacted.

I am also tired of very large boats with their very large wakes. This part of the ICW seems to be about conspicuous consumption. The wakes from these yachts rock Lailia.

Lake Boca Raton is a really wide spot on the ICW. On a beautiful Saturday (like today) it’s filled with all kinds of partying people on boats. There’s music blaring, people in the water, boats rafted up on each other.. as the day progresses the day-boaters start heading out. But until they do, it’s a huge outdoor party.

It makes me feel old and uncool, lol. We just played our own music and ate cheese.

This is actually a pretty protected anchorage which is great because very *snotty* weather is on its way. The winds are going to pick up and change direction a few times in the next few days. It’s doubtful that many day-boaters will be here tomorrow. We’ll be here with the other folks cruising the ICW. If it’s as protected as we think it is, we’ll probably ride out the yuck here.

West Palm Beach (docked)

February 11, 2022

Last night we learned that there was enough depth at the free dock for Lailia and, that with an adapter, we could fill our water tank from the standing fire pump.

This morning John took the dinghy from where we were anchored to the dock to see how the current would effect the boat. The boating community is collaborative and kind: another boater loaned us his hose adapter. We moved Lailia to the dock and now have a full tank of water.

Being docked here opened up some great opportunities. We were able to walk to a bagel shop for breakfast – our first breakfast off the boat in a month.

I was able to grab a quick walk during a break in my remote visit, too. Just getting off Lailia and being able to stroll around and bird (and people) watch seems like a gift. John had conversations with other boaters – no doubt it was a gift to him to talk to some other than me!

West Palm Beach is filled with public art. There are so many murals and sculptures.

West Palm Beach (anchor)

February 10, 2022

The sun finally came out and the temps rose to the mid 70s while I was working John took the dinghy to a super-yacht marina to buy marine gas for the generator

West Palm is so different from the other anchorages at which we have stayed. Today we saw a giant yacht have to wait for a barge to pass.

We took the dinghy to the shore to grab drinks and dinner.  This is the first urban adventure we have had since we left Charleston. 

I have one more day of remote work so we’ll be here for another day before we move south. Heavy winds from the north are forecast for early next week, so we’ll be looking for a protected anchorage.

West Palm Beach (anchor)

February 9, 2022

At least the rolly waves have stopped but the morning through the early afternoon were rainy and cool. Without the strong wind gusts this anchorage isn’t so bad, although I miss the scenery of Peck Lake.

John took the dinghy to shore to do laundry, visit the hardware store, and grab some groceries while I was on a remote school visit.

Electricity is another thing I never thought about before this journey; I just plugged my laptop in when I needed it.  Because we’re at anchor, we have to make our electricity either by running our engine or using our gas powered generator.  Zoom meetings seem to suck up battery power, so today I learned how to fire up the generator.

Peck Lake to West Palm Beach (anchor by city docks)

February 8, 2022

We left the serenity of Peck Lake to head further south so I could get somewhere with more consistent cell coverage.  I need to use my hotspot for the next three days to complete a virtual school visit.

We’re at the beginning of bridge row – we traveled about 30 miles today but had to cross under nine bridges.  Five of those bridges were restricted, which means they only open at specific times (usually on the hour and half-hour) when requested.  Three bridges were on request – when hailed by boaters, they open (that makes it sound like a quick process-it’s not).  So for much of the day we were waiting for a bridge to open.

Occasionally there were interesting things to see while we were waiting: an osprey in her nest or Jupiter Lighthouse.  Most of the time it was like sitting in a traffic jam or waiting for a really long train to pass.

It may be the charm of bridge opening is wearing off.

This anchorage is really packed.  The north wind is gusting up to 27mph and it’s really rolly here.  Trying to anchor was really, really difficult.  On a good day, it stresses me out.  Today, well today, it seemed awful.  I worry about a million things; our anchor not setting; another boat coming loose and hitting us; being to close and colliding when our boats are being blown around. I can tell myself that none of these things are likely to happen, but still…

It’s an act of faith every day for me.  I am scared daily but I am trying to work through it.  This afternoon it took some tears, some reading about other scared sailors, the Calm app, and messaging a good friend to get me off the struggle bus. John helped by taking pictures of our GPS coordinates over time to show me we aren’t moving (except for the arc around the anchor).  We have a good anchor and the extra chain that’s out there also keeps us, you guessed it, anchored, with its weight.

As with the majority of the time we have lived on Lailia, we are spending the night near a bridge (actually 2) and we have heard several trains.  I think I would love this place if the wind died down – there’s a free dinghy dock and it’s less than a mile to Publix. There’s a vibrant city here but the chop of the water means the dinghy ride will be bouncy and the north wind means it’s not that warm. At least the cell service is great so my meetings should be smooth.

Our friends are also anchored nearby and also don’t like it. They’re planning to head to another anchorage about 10 miles from here early tomorrow. We may join them after my Zooms tomorrow, if the anchorage is more protected.

Peck Lake (anchorage)

February 7, 2022

When you live on a boat, especially if you’re not in a marina, basic housekeeping requires a different thought process. Today we decided to head to a park about a mile away because they have a trashcan we can use.  This meant lowering the dinghy, climbing down, and taking a ride with our bag of trash. 

There’s very little signage on the water, so we actually went to a different park first.  To throw our trash away at that park would have required a roundtrip walk of a mile on a path through the mangroves with our bag o’trash.  We did get directions to the park with a dock AND a trashcan, though.

When we returned to Lailia, we took time to scrub away some of the mud that’s splashed on her from our anchor chain.  That task required us to use one hand to hold on to the toe rail of the boat and the other to use a magic eraser while we slowly rotated around Lailia in our dinghy. 

Since we were in the cleaning mood we also hauled buckets of seawater up to rinse the anchor chain, anchor locker, and windlass.  We finally removed most of mud from Manatee Pocket.

A few days ago, John figured he could utilize the windlass circuit to run the wash down pump. All the bucket hauling was the impetus for John to get that pump wired in today. I won’t get to pretend I am Cinderella getting water from the well any more, I guess..

We’ll be heading south tomorrow, hopefully to a good anchorage in West Palm Beach where we can get a strong cell signal.  I’ll be participating in another virtual school visit for a few days and need to be able to Zoom.  I figure that if I could Zoom from a tidal creek in GA, I’ll definitely be able to do so from a well-populated area.