Miami to the Bahamas - October 2016

Miles cruised 0, fuel purchased $0, daily high temperature 85°f

Several readers of the Loop blog requested that the blog postings continue. For your reading pleasure I will continue to publish a new blog of our adventures in Florida. Our friend Gabriel Viti invited us to cruise on his Island Packet 485. We will cruise to what is left of the Bahamas after hurricane Mathew blew through. If the winds are not favorable for crossing the Gulf Stream we will consider going south to Key West Any winds from the north press against the north flowing Gulf Stream and creates elephants on the horizon. Large waves create huge lumps on the horizon that can be mistaken for elephants. The general rule of thumb is if you see elephants, stay in port and wait for a wind shift to the south or west.

We met Gabe and his girlfriend Angela through an introduction from Chris Weber of Weber Yachts. Both Chris and Gabe were taking flying lessons at the Waukegan airport. Their discussion eventually got around to Gabe’s interest in sailing around the world. Many people have that dream but very few act on it. Gabe mentioned he recently swam across the English Channel and had previously summited 195 of the highest mountain peaks on seven continents including Everest and Kilimanjaro. This gave Gabe some “street cred” that he might “really”sail around the world. Gabe was interested in chartering a sailboat to learn how to sail before circumnaviting the globe. Chris knew that I had not planned to launch my Pearson 39 sailboat Blue Heaven because we had our motor yacht Changing Latitudes and were preparing for the Loop trip. After a brief discussion I agreed to charter my boat to Gabe for the summer of 2015. Everyone thought this was a great idea except my insurance company. What could go wrong chartering a 39′ sailboat to a non sailor. They were not happy. After much negotiation the insurance company agreed to let Gabe sail my boat if I was on board or with another licenced USGG captain. In addition I had to add him to my boat registration and title. That seemed bizarre.

The north face of Mount Everest.

Heading down from the peak of Eiger Mountain in the Alps.

All went well with the charter. I sailed with Gabe and Angela 22 times that summer. Gabe quickly became an accomplished sailor and the insurance company indemnified him to sail without me. He and Angela wasted no time enjoying their new found freedom and sailed around the southern end of Lake Michigan. I received calls from sailing friends telling me thet saw Blue Heaven in Chicago and Michigan City. I thanked them for the update but let them know my boat had not been stolen.

Gabe continued to follow his dream of circumnavigation and bought a boat that knew the way. She is an Island Packet 485 that completed a circumnavition in 2014. That is a good way to insure the boat you are buying is the right one for the intended use. He bought her in the spring of 2016 and she is moored in Coconut Grove near Miami. Gabe also shared the excitement of hurricane Mathew. He stripped off all the sails and canvas, tied her securely and headed to Naples, Florida with Angela to wait out the storm. Mathew spared Miami as well as Stuart and he experienced no damage.

Gabe’s named his boat Pilar after the boat owned by Ernest Hemingway.

Captain Gabe with a Cohiba cigar.

On Monday Priscilla and I drove 2 hours to the Grove Isle Marina near Miami to meet up with Gabe. Angela flew back to Chicago to visit her daughter so it will just be the three of us cruising to Bahamas.

We enjoyed our brief stay at our condo in Stuart. Our friends Dan and Iris from Lake Bluff were here to help Iris’s friend Mary get started on a total rehab of her condo. Every night was party night. We met for cocktails and headed out to a wonderful local restaurant.

Beachcomber Dan and Captain Father John at Gettin’ Crabby on Thursday night.

On Friday we went to the Boathouse and Saturday night we went to Conky Joe’s in Jensen Beach.

Conky Joe’s as viewed from the Incian River (AICW).

On Sunday we went to Pietro’s in Jensen Beach for brunch. This has already become a tradition of our group. Pietro’s is located right on the beach. The hurricane hit on Thursday and they were open on Friday. Best $4.00 Bloody Mary’s on the beach.

Pietro’s beach view.

On Tuesday we will cross the Gulf Stream from Miami to Cat Cay. We will check in with customs and spend the night. Our goal is to get to Warderick Wells in the Exumas.