The finishing touches

Just before leaving Palm Beach We found Boggy; a master teak varnisher. So we decided to put the 4 finishing coats of AwlBrite over the really beautiful varnish job we got in Panama CIty. It came out great. As you can see in the next shot.

It is so bright it's almost like a mirror.
Boggy did a great job.
Our friend Ben from home will be proud. He always gave me a hard time about our teak.

Adios,


Istaboa

Nassau

We have made it to Nassau where we will stay for a few days. Nassau is different from most places in the Bahamas. Not bad just different... and... it's Spring Break. Crowded and loud. 

Pics soon.

Adios,

Istaboa

The Emerald City

So this evening we are in Fort Lauderdale. We promised our friend Karen we would stop and have dinner, so we did. We love Fort Lauderdale... if you are a boat person you probably understand. This place is all things boats. You see boats from everwhere. All the incredible boats you see in magazines are here. We think the best thing about Fort Lauderdale is that no matter how big your boat is... you just disappear into the mass. No one is any big deal here.

At night from Pier 66, the city lights up beautifully. In the foreground of this picture is a beautiful 200' sailing vessel named "Athena" from Greece, flanked by a 100' freighter from the Marshal Islands . The backdrop is the skyline of Fort Lauderdale night lights. The action is created up by the lights of the many small pleasure bosts that pass through this picture like the gondolas of Venice.

The day may bring a different picture but tonight we're drinking so let us fantasize...OK!

Tomorrow we take off for the islands. We will be dark for a couple of days... then we promise plenty of good pics of the clear turquoise, azure waters of the Bahama Bank and Nassau when we get settled and find bandwidth.
Life is good...

adios,


istaboa

On the move

This morning we are leaving Palm Beach and working our way south to Ft Lauderdale. We think for only a night but who knows.
The plan is to cross over the Gulf Stream Monday and spend the night on the Bahama Bank. Meet up with some friends out there and make way for Nassau on Tuesday where we will spend a couple of days.
Istaboa is provisioned up nicely. We should eat and drink well while in the islands.
Again... say a prayer to the weather gods.

Adios,

Istaboa

Boat Dogs

Some of our favorite pup pics from along the way. If any of you friends have any (pup pics) to add please email them to us. We will keep updating this and post it again from time to time.





Adios,


Istaboa

The new dink!!

Yes... we got our new dingy and Istaboa will only have to sustain minor modifications. We are happy about that. Yacht Tech should have our mounts back this morning and the dingy project is done.

We walked over to the south side of the Marina yesterday and saw Tiger Woods' boat tied up there. It has the name covered up for some reason. Everyone knows whose boat it is so we're not sure why they cover it. Maybe to keep the tourist away. It's name is "Privacy" if you haven't heard. (Isn't that ironic) Christensen Yachts, the builder, was actually sued for letting the name out to the general public. Click here to see pics.
As you can see... it's a beautiful boat.
To see a really funny pic I found while googling Tiger's boat Click here

While we were over there we spotted a 62 Nordhavn named "Pendana". We struck up a conversation with, Steve, the owner. Nice fellow. We have the same destination/time frame in mind so we may buddy up with them. It's always nice to travel with another boat on long crossings.
Pendana has a website with lots of really nice pics from their travels all over the world. We look forward to getting to know Steve and Angela.

So that's all for now. Today we will dink around Palm Beach. There are some nice restaurants on the water here.

Adios,

Istaboa

The promised pics

"Broulee"
New friends, Rick and Deb, locking through our first lock with us.
With "Izzy" a Lab puppy onboard.

We actually enjoyed the Okeechobee Waterway. It was a nice change from our normal run down to Naples and the Keys. It sure saved a lot of time and money.

Lots of pretty palm draped homes along the way.

This is not how we lock up on the Tennessee.

Oh beautiful Okeechobee?

Very skinny water going into the lake, but it got better.

Not for this guy.

The new Krogen 55

This picture is for our friends Mike and Tracy onboard "Salty C's" in Panama City. They are Krogenites

We arrived in Palm Beach early afternoon yesterday. I spent the rest of the day washing Lake Okeechobee muck off Istaboa. It is a shorter run but a dirty one. We looked as if we had been 4 wheeling. (I feel I must clean Istaboa quickly as there is another Nordhavn 57 here with the Infamous "Captain Shiney" onboard... and he's looking at me...Peer Pressure!)
This morning we are waiting for the the delivery people to bring our new dingy. We traded our 11' rib for a 14' rib. This should make running around in the islands a little faster and dryer. Hope we can get it loaded on top of Istaboa without too much modification.
We like Old Port Cove. It's a very friendly marina and they love dogs. We will rent a car here for a few days and do the last bit of provisioning for the islands.
We're getting excited. The Exumas are not far off now.
Pray to the weather Gods...

Adios,

Istaboa

Okeechobee and St Lucie River

Crossing the Lake was a bit stressful at first because of water depths or should I say the lack of. The first third of this 30 mile or so crossing is very shallow. But after a while it deepened a bit and life was good. Mel and Radar slept through the whole thing... so the stress was all mine.
The Lucie Canal was just that and not much to mention.
The St Lucie Lock operators were a nice couple of fellows. Turns out one was a former Lock Operator at Guntersville Lake on the Tennessee River.
The St Lucie River is very pretty. Mangrove lined canals on both sides that look like they would be fun to explore.
The last 10 miles or so was a lot skinny. We ran with about 4 inches under us for most of the way. That will keep your attention.
Then we arrive in Stuart, Fl at the Harborage Marina and Yacht Club. A very pretty place right across the street from Nordhavn's east coast office.
It was a bit windy coming in which made for an added bit of tension. With the wind in my ears I really couldn't hear the Harbor Master and he couldn't hear me. I'm afraid I snarled at him a bit. But in the end we were tied up and no one was bleeding. Our definition of a successful landing.
Our old friends, Dick and Patra, aboard Sapphire are docked here. Nice to see and talk to them.
So today we are off to Palm Beach. Our next stop is Old Port Cove Marina.
James Knight, the defacto Nordhavn Guru, will be coming over to solve our Stabilizer problem and probably stick around for a beer.
But for now we must finish the St Lucie River and make it over the infamous Crossroads where everyone goes aground. The Crossroads is where the St Lucie and the Intercoastal Waterway come together. It has quite the reputation.
We promise pics soon.

Adios,

Istaboa

Lake Okeechobee

We left Fort Myers yesterday and slowly motored across the state of Florida via the Okeechobee Waterway. It's much prettier than the TennTom because of the nice homes and palms along the way. Saw only one Gator but lots of beautiful birds.
Our friends onboard Broulee (pronounced Browley) radioed and said it looked as if I were crabbing through the water a bit. We were. Seems Istaboa is having a bit of a stabilizer problem. It got so bad that I just turned them off. I have since locked the bad fin in center position. So today's crossing of the lake should be a little smoother with at least one fin.
It's supposed to be a moderate chop but I think we will make it OK.
Had dinner last night at Roland Martin's Marina restaurant. Aligator! Tastes like Conch.
Interesting place. Folks were having a very large time singing old choir tunes. Valderyi, The happy wanderer? Wow that bring back memories of old. With a knapsack on my back.
Anyway the sun is coming up and Radar needs a walk before we head off to Stuart.
Pics of the waterway soon.

Adios,

Istaboa

Leaving Fort Myers

It's been a great stay here at Legacy Harbor in downtown Fort Myers. We have made many new friends and found many new favorite places.
Tomorrow we head east on the Caloosahatchee River toward the east coast bringing our ultimate plan of cruising the islands closer to reality.
Last night was fun. We went to the Varanda restaurant with our old friend Jerry. It was truly fabulous. Veal Chops! Unbelievable!
As we look forward to moving on and experiencing Lake Okeechobee, we are already missing the fun and convenience of downtown Fort Myers.
It has been a blast.

Adios,


Istaboa