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Limerence Update #53Fort Lauderdale, Florida
June-September 2003
We dropped
anchor in Key West in early June. One more overnight sail from the Keys to Fort Lauderdale
ended our 1300-mile trip up from Colon Panama. The NW Caribbean was the most challenging
cruising for us in three years, because of unforecasted high winds and seas, rainsqualls,
currents and reefs. We saw lots of ship traffic as we sailed north on the Gulf Stream. We
looked forward to seeing our families again and spending a few months tucked safely in a
marina with our air-conditioning unit perched over the hatch. This summer
we made our home at the International Swimming Hall of Fame Marina in Fort Lauderdale. The
swank marina surrounds the museum and Olympic-sized pools of the Hall of Fame – a
historical landmark in Fort Lauderdale. This friendly town has been called the
“Venice” of Florida because of miles of canals lined with homes along the inland
waterway. Water taxis run like buses every half hour. The New River downtown section of
Fort Lauderdale is trendy and fun. It’s been great to be a “local”. When we
stay someplace more than three weeks, we say we “live” there. Fort
Lauderdale is a marine industry Mecca with every kind of store and service possible. Thus,
we have accomplished a lot of boat jobs over the summer. We are lucky that the weather has
been terrific and grateful that no hurricanes threatened coastal Florida. If a hurricane
evacuation warning had occurred, we would have moved Limerence to a boatyard. Our shipping
date on Dockwise Yacht Transfer was changed to late September giving us more time to see
our families and prepare Limerence for the trip. Our first priority this summer was to attend a memorial service for our sister-in-law, Kay Decker. The Decker family met for the service and reunion over the 4th of July weekend in the Catskill Mountains of New York. Ron and Kay Decker’s rambling summer home in Twilight Park has been a gathering place for many family events over the years. This time it was a sad event, but wonderful to see everyone.
We reunited with our nephews and wives - Bill and Kathy, Ace and Liza, John and Tahra. Acey's children, Douglas, Kiley and Emma, were on best behavior and delightful. The Saturday morning memorial service was held in All Saint's Episcopal Church, just across the street from the Decker home in Twilight Park. Hundreds of friends attended the service and luncheon afterwards. A stained glass window in Kay's memory was created and installed in the church for the event. Kay was a beautiful and loving individual and she will be missed by our family and many dear friends..
Later in the
summer we visited again with nephew Bill Decker who works in Palm Beach, and spent the
Labor Day weekend with son Jake and girlfriend Robin Schuette who vacationed here.
Judy’s Mom, Doris Athey, also came to Fort Lauderdale for a week in July.
Our Allen kids – Scott and Barb, and grandson Nicholas, visited family in Apollo Beach Florida in June. Barb’s folks, Jerry and Margo Warner, moved from Milwaukee several years ago and fortunately we could all get together in their beautiful Florida home.
Later we drove to see our other son, Jason Allen and his wife Debra who live in Fort Myers. They have just announced that their first baby is due next April! So, in a matter of a few months, we saw all four of our sons and their families.
At the end
of the summer, we connected with old friends now living in Miami – Paul and Evelyn
Roundy. And, Doug’s pals from Forest Hills now in Florida – Jeff and Sally
McGann, Web Wade, and Connie Iskyan Falkenberg made time to rendezvous with us. What a
treat!
We are often
asked the question “How can you cruise and be so far from your families?” E-mail
makes communicating easier, and visits home are essential to get the family fix. Our
friends and families are very supportive and enthusiastic about the places we’ve
traveled and what we are experiencing. Judy e-mails her Mom every day, and spent three
weeks living with her and helping this summer after she had surgery. Cruising for us is a
balance between visiting family and traveling. Fort
Lauderdale is a great place to get things done on the boat. Jobs included replacing the
engine motor mounts, seawater impeller, and heat exchanger. We had all new exterior canvas
built, repaired the below deck autopilot, and installed a new Robertson wheel mounted
autopilot. We added a Navtex weather and ship advisory unit, upgraded our navigational
instruments with the latest software, replaced the sink in the head, upgraded the
refrigeration and water maker, added four new gel cell batteries, refreshed the varnish,
and a long list of other jobs. It is also essential to dump and get rid of anything you
haven’t used for one year. Our objective is to get Limerence in tiptop shape so we
can have fun in the Mediterranean and not work on the boat! Now we are
ready to load our 37-foot sailboat on the Dockwise Yacht Transport ship, which is a
semi-submersible yacht carrier. Dockwise operates a fleet of ships that transport power
yachts and sailboats all over the world. The ship lowers into the water flooding the deck
and making a marina. You simply drive your yacht into place. After securing the yachts,
the ship rises out of the water creating a boatyard of sorts. Dockwise leaves Port
Everglades/Fort Lauderdale and arrives in two weeks in the Balearic Islands of Spain. We
will fly over to meet Limerence. The cost for the transport is resonable. Prices vary
depending on the time of the year, size of the boat, and destination.
We were
surprised that our ship returning to the Medterranean only had THREE small sailboats as
cargo. What a contrast from the full ship that arrived in Florida! Once Limerence arrives
in Mallorca, we’ll sail from Palma de Mallorca up to Barcelona Spain for the winter.
We have a slip reserved in the Port Vell Marina in the historical center of town.
We’ll rent a car and explore Spain and Portugal during the off-season, and ski this
winter. It’s been a wonderful break to be back in the States for the summer, but now
we are excited to get over to the Mediterranean. Fair winds friends, Judy and
Doug Decker |
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