Waiting for the weather to change in Ft. Lauderdale

We are hanging out here in Fort Lauderdale waiting for the weather to change so we can go to the Bahamas. We don't have much to say and almost no pictures. This is the first post we have written about just about nothing. We aren't actually doing nothing of course.

Weather is a big deal. Kermit checks several website several times a day. We are planning to go to the Bahamas until the end of March. But the weather has not cooperated yet. We need low winds out of the south. Actually it is easier to say in reverse - no winds that have an "N" in it. Nothing out of the north at all because we will be traveling north east. So wind direction and wind speed are the most important factors.


One of the bad days while we are waiting

We plan to go to the West End to enter the Bahamas then go around the Abacos on the east end of the Bahamas. We will be traveling with Evan and Bunny Evans and Tony and Shirley from Headquarters. It will be great to have a traveling partner. Plus Bunny and Evan have made this trip before which will help.

We started waiting for a good weather window on February 12 when we arrived in Fort Lauderdale. We plan to meet the Vellucci's and Lipka's on 3/1 at Treasure Cay. It is funny to think that we started waiting on 2/12 and finally can take off on 2/24. Two weeks! The weather has been windy and even rained a couple of times.

 

 

So we have tough duty hanging out in Fort Lauderdale for a while. We walk around, go to the gym, and work on the boat.

It might look messy to you
but to me it is heaven

We spent our time cleaning and and doing maintenance to make sure the boat is set up right for guests. We cleaned the inside of the boat up and down. I found a new way to organize the front closet so we can hold more stuff and get to it easier. Actually the truth is we needed to clean and reorganize so we could clear off the bed in the front bunk - previously our storage unit.

Kermit changed the oil after 120 hours. He changed the plugs, cap and rotor. I know, he didn't have to change the oil so soon but he did anyway.

Here are the statistics so far:

• 14025 gallons of gas
• 3641 miles
• 400 hours traveled on engines

We were having trouble with the toilet again, this time the one in the back. So Kermit fooled around with it. He bought new hose like he did for the front toilet. But turns out the the had a small guy crawl down below and put in some new vents which solved the problem with the toilet. Then the aft head kicked a fit last night. A plunger did the trick this time but you can never tell. Toilets are so finicky.

We were having problems with the water tank not filling completely so Kermit fooled around with that too. That vent was messed up to so cleaning the vent fixed the problem. Finally we can carry 70 gallons. That will come in handy when we are in the Bahamas and water costs 30 cents a gallon! With full water tank and full fuel plus full larder, we will plug our way off to the Bahamas like a pig.

Ever seen red trim? This is a Lazzara.

This is the cheap side of town.

Kermit cleaned and waxed all the isinglass and stainless. We got the carpet scrubbed. Today we are waxing the boat to make it really shine now.



Rusty likes the grotto. It has fish
and a statue. Perfect.

We are doing all this work at Bahia Mar Marina in Fort Lauderdale. This is a beautiful place. We are absolutely the smallest boat in the marina. We got a great price, probably because we are so cute. The pool is beautiful, although we haven't actually been in the water yet. The gym is wonderful. We visited it almost every day. They even have a grotto so the huge yachts feel special.

We visited Bahia Mar in 2011. This is the permanent headquarters for the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show. That is the biggest show in the US. It is truly awesome. They move out most of the marina boats (not sure where to) and install more docks and tons more boats. It is hard to see the whole show in three days. Without the boat show the marina is pretty quiet. Most of the owners are not around, just the captains and crew and bunches of folks who clean and polish all day long.

We also did some fun things. Rusty got to know most of the marina staff. He knows every possible place he can beg for a dog bone. He went to the vet to get his nails done. I am not sure he will think it was fun. He was pathetic. He saw the vet too just to update his record for the trip to Bahamas. He weighs 84 pounds now!! That means in the last year he lost 20 pounds, or 20% of his body weight.He is now at fighting weight. If he can do it there is no reason why I can't!! Good doggy...

Poor Rusty. He was pathetic.

We visited the Miami Boat Show on Valentine's Day then had dinner at a nice Cuban restaurant with Bill and Eve Gribble. They graciously offered us tickets to the VIP day so the show was not too crowded. The PlasTeak booth was packed all day and with lots of good leads. We had a ton of fun that day and dinner was the topper. The restaurant was beautiful and we just laughed and laughed.

The Miami Boat Show takes place at four different spots. The convention center is where all the displays are plus they have smaller boats on display inside and out. The Marriott over by the ICW has new boats that can be taken out for a ride. We didn't see anything we like there.

The Geico truck at the Miami Boat Show

 

Not many pictures at the boat show but this boat was truly odd
The sides of this boat pull out! Just like an RV.

A veritable wall of boats

The big boats are located on the street right in front of the Hotel Fontainblue on Miami Beach. A gazillion yachts. At one point we were walking on the dock between two walls of yachts and the dock ahead of us appeared to end. I made a comment that the dock must continue around that big building. But it wasn't a building. It was a boat. A five story boat. Who can afford such a thing? Crazy. We have very few pictures of the boat show because it is hard to take a picture that takes in all the immenseness of the boats.

Here are some professional photos off of Google Images. At one point we were looking for the next portion of dock to walk on and stumbled onto a carpeted section. A smarmy young woman asked if she could help and I said we were looking for the walkway. She responded that this was private, for potential purchasers only. I just walked away. Kermit of course had to poke her and said did they have anything in the 40 to 50 foot size. This provoked lots of laughter and sneers. "No sir, we only have boats in the 80 foot and up length. I am sure that would not interest you." And then Kermit walked away muttering what size boat does she have.

We are just about ready to leave. The boat is clean and shiny. Bunny and Evan are here. Rusty is walked and babied. I think we are ready.

When I write to you again we will be in the Bahamas!!