Forth Day in Plantation Yacht Harbor Marina

Day 28: March 27, 2013

And another day at Plantation Key.  The weather is just not been conducive to our situation.  They are calling for the winds to diminish later today so we will see. 

Founders Park Entrance, Plantation Yacht Harbor

Founders Park Pool, Plantation Key

We awoke to a boat that was a bit cold at 51 degrees.  We had planned for it and were not cold during the night.  The outside temp got down into the middle 40s.  We did our pork chop and eggs with a blueberry blob muffin on the side thing for breakfast. I used the shower house for my shaving station this morning.  It is nice to have warm water and a big mirror in which to admire my beard carving procedure.  I usually do it sitting on the centerboard winch stand, bent over looking at a 2 x 4 inch mirror suction cupped to a window, in the dark with cold water.  It gets the stubble off but it is not always perfectly crafted.

Beach at Founders Park, Plantation Key

Tennis Courts at Founders Park

We understood that our new friends, Brett and Susan were going to leave early so we wandered over to their slip only to find that things were very quiet and we assumed that they were still asleep.  So, we walked around this beautiful park taking pictures of the numerous facilities.  They have all bases covered.  They have a dog park, well it is actually two dog parks; one for big dogs and one for the little guys.  They have gorgeous ball diamonds, soccer fields, a golf driving cage, skateboard ramps, kiddy water squirt area, paved hiking trail with fitness stations, and of course the beautiful beach and pool.  They have 4 perfect tennis courts.  The village park commission has numerous programs for teaching and training all types of folks the various skills and fitness routines.  It is really nice.

Around noon, Brett and Susan came by and asked if we wanted to walk over to a curio shop which had numerous venders located next to the park.  Janine called a gullible tourist haven.  We each had hotdogs and chips for lunch but were not tempted to buy any of the treasures offered.

Brett and I returned to the boats while Janine and Susan continued to look around the tourist trap.  Brett had decided to head for points west.  I debated leaving.  By the time Janine got back to the boat, it was 3:00 and I wasn’t sure we could reach a suitable anchorage before dark.  The wind had really fallen off and it would have been a good sail.  Also, Janine had set out a bag of clothes to be laundered so she headed for the washing facility while I tinkered around getting the boat ready to head out tomorrow, weather permitting. 

Cow Fish?

While working out a route to follow, I overheard the youngster from the next boat telling his mom that the fish that he was seeing were cow fish.  I went out for a look and these fish were strange looking members of the fish world.  They had long snouts; they kept the tail fin collapsed so it looked like a straight narrow appendage.  So they were basically pointed at both ends and wide in the middle.  They were beautifully colored with an iridescent sheen that changed as they swam around.  They had a curious habit of stopping and backing up using the pectoral fins and dorsal fins for propulsion.  Interesting to watch.  (An afternote; I looked up a cow fish on google and it doesn't look anything like these fish so I don't know what they are)

Brett and Susan got underway, Janine got our clothes cleaned, and I figured out our route and a place to stop once we get to Miami.  It is a bit over 50 miles so we should be able to easily make it in two days and to meet our goal of being there by Friday.  We shall see what the weather holds in store for tomorrow.  The evening forecasts make it look possible.  The air was all but calm as we called it a night.