Marine Stadium - We visit an ocean crosser

The boat that crossed the Atlantic

Michael J. Taylor fought in WWII for England and the boat he presently owns (pictured) crossed the Atlantic from England where it was built. He plans on going to the Bahamas for the winter. He came by this afternoon and invited us over for drinks. Part of the fun of going down the ICW are all the interesting people you meet along the way. If he's still waiting for weather Monday, we'll invite him over for dinner and more conversation about the Bahamas. We're still not sold on going over there yet, the Keys are such an attraction for us.

We had a boat anchor by us yesterday - too close we thought - and then watched him drag his anchor about 1000 ft before he pulled it up and tried to reset it down the line, this time successfully. I was interested in the type of anchor he had and found it was a Delta. Michael Taylor also dragged his anchor here and wound up on the beach but since he only draws 1.5 ft, he had no trouble refloating it at a higher tide. His anchor was a Fortress, a Danforth type anchor. They hold very well in ideal conditions without weeds and rocks. Unfortunately, both are present here. Meanwhile, we haven't moved an inch in the last two days with our Spade anchor and 60 ft of 3/8" BBB chain and 20 kts plus of wind.

Michael J. Taylor - WWII vet

One pleasant surprise is the TV reception. We put a small, "UFO" type antenna on the back of the bimini and we typically get 30 to 40 stations all along the ICW. Here in Miami we get 71 channels. With the requirement to now only broadcast in digital format, the picture is outstanding - better than cable since the signal is not compressed when transmitted over the air. Did I mention it was free! I watched the Giants game today on our 32" HDTV using battery power - 80 watts is all it consumes with LED back lighting.

We will continue our wait for weather with Wednesday still looking good. Michael Taylor has been here three weeks waiting for crossing weather. Oh well, that's part of cruising.