Geo: 26.1045, -80.1113There's so much to love about Ft. Lauderdale. It's the self-proclaimed "Yachting Capital of the World"; AKA the "Venice of America"; it's warm, it's sunny, it's happenin'! It sounds glorious doesn't it?!? It is. :)This time, we were there by boat, and we weren't only passing through like we did last year. This time we anchored in Lake Sylvia. Right in the heart of Ft. Lauderdale. Right by our favourite hangout: Bahia Cabana. Right by my old hotel and the Ft. Lauderdale Marina. We were close to all the amenities. Ft. Lauderdale is as wonderful as I remember it! As we arrived it didn't even bother me that we had to make it past TEN more lift bridges to get there! John and Joanne, our EYC dock mates were already there. It was great ... read more

Geo: 27.2002, -80.2555Shocking. We actually stuck to a plan! ;)We left Indiantown, heading eastbound in the Okeechobee Waterway back to Stuart. We backtracked through one lock, and under our lowest bridge to date. It is 54 feet – our mast height is around 51, but we say 52 for good measure. (Ha! No pun intended!)In Stuart, we grabbed a mooring ball right behind (sometimes beside – depending on the wind direction) our friends on "Simunye" (Pronounced: See-moon-ya, Meaning: “We Are One” in Zulu.)Simunye had been in Stuart for several days before us, and were ready to move on as soon as one more part arrived for their boat. Because there were no weather windows to jump to the Bahamas at that point, we wanted to move further south to get ourselves to a good position to ... read more

Geo: 43.615, -79.4811We enjoyed a three week visit to Toronto while Inspiration was up on the hard. We were there for Canadian Thanksgiving, EYC's Haul Out, and really had fun seeing our friends and family. ... read more

Geo: 27.6583, -80.3706Now that we were back in Florida, to wait out the remainder of hurricane season, the original idea was that we'd come into Ft. Pierce, stay anchored outside the Harbourtown Marina for one night, check into American waters, get our American Cruising permit and then move on to Vero Beach right away. We had been through Vero on our way down the ICW and had enjoyed it (and the marina's facilities) and figured that it made sense to go back up to a spot we enjoyed so much. Vero Beach has an excellent pubic transit system and the beach is within walking distance from the marina. On the second day after we had arrived in Ft. Pierce we took a walk along the marina docks and I spotted a catamaran that I recognized. It ... read more

Geo: 26.9155, -78.6223Last stop before the big crossing. We both had our list of chores to do before the crossing. Tony mounted the dinghy engine onto the stern rail, checked numerous things on the engine, and then it was time to prepare some food. While he did that, I scrubbed the bottom of the boat. It was a great place to do this as we were in a strong current. As I wiped the small bit of bottom growth away, it simply floated away! No little shrimp in MY ears!!! ;)Perfectly clean underbelly, food prepped, we were ready to depart. Left Mangrove Cay at 1pm. Off the Little Bahama Bank around 6pm. Arrived in Ft. Pierce, FL at 10am. 21 hour trip.... read more