Island Dreamer at Boca Chita (View from the top of the light house)

At the helm on Island Dreamer

Sailing aboard Kermit in our anchorage

Cooper sailing with us on one of our days off.

Stephanie enjoying life as *deck fluff* on a leasure cruise.

It took us a little while (year or so) to realize we both enjoy searching through nic-nac/antique/junk stores for interesting things....

For me its all about the stuff that I can re-purpose, finish, or use such as old lamps, furniture, picture frames, boxes, etc. Usually the stuff I find gets brought back to my parent's house and used somewhere in its decor. Most recently it was my green glass lamps that we found in Key Largo later re-purposed to match my bedroom I redesigned over Christmas.

For Derrek its all about the nautical things.... He and his parents have been working the past few years on remodeling and expanding their lake house in Minnesota and he's been in search for nautical decor or old boat pieces (rigging) that could be displayed in their cabin.

Its a little bit tougher in Miami for finding the right 'deals' as each vendor believes they hold the best prices for their 'junk.' Its not like home where you can get a $50.00 nick-nak for $10 without even hassling them for a lower price. Miami does however have a lot of nautical things with tons of history. You can find old helm stations, block and tackle that you can barely lift, and much more. Its always and adventure not knowing what you will find as we explore Miami's and the Keys antiques.

While Morning Dance was being hauled out and getting her new engine put in, Derrek and I moved onto Island Dreamer for a few days as we helped with Morning Dance's work and also continued doing ASA charters throughout the keys.

Its refreshing every-once and a while to change boats to make you appreciate what you have, while also enjoying what the other boat has to offer. Island Dreamer is a Sloop Rig Morgan Out Island 41', with a large galley, dinghy davits, and an awesome inverter system.

By changing boats it also keeps you on your toes and allows you to keep up with your sailing skills. At least for me, I find that if I've run a boat for awhile I start to become too accustomed to how that boat will perform (which isn't always a bad thing).

With Island Dreamer it has the opposite prop walk of Morning Dance so you're constantly having to think through your maneuvers a little more instead of just 'knowing' what will happen. 

Sunset over the Everglades

Sunset over Pumpkin Key

Angelfish Creek

Angelfish Creek / Channel

 

Cooper helping to pick the "right" spot to drop the anchor in Angelfish.

He's on anchor watch....

Sunset over North Key Largo

Miami Skyline

Rafted up to load gear and set sail!

 A few days ago Derrek and I traded in our monohull for a few days, and went to work on a catamaran doing ASA courses. Here are a few pictures from the week....

Bayside is just on the other side of the Port of Miami Bridge

The strictly sail portion of the Miami Boat show took place at Bay Side once again this year. It was rearranged a little differently, as the marina was in the middle of repairs to their docks, spreading the show over parking lots, grass, sidewalks, and docks.... even having a few booths (including us) that were available for the public to see without having to pay for a wristband. 

On Monday I helped run the ASA booth for a few hours. During those hours I met alot of other instructors from the Miami area and a few ASA affiliates - its a lot of fun to see what kinds of boats they are running, hear their sailing stories, and to hear how they conduct their ASA charters.

Some of the new boats set up to tour.

Last year was the premier of the ASA sailing simulator - a catalina 13, attached to a 'robot' (as I like to call it) that moves the boat when you move the tiller. Through it, we teach the "basics of the basics" on points of sail and terminology to those wanting to learn more about our organization and on how to sail. I wish I could have snapped a few pictures of the sailing simulator this year as I got to 'play around' in it myself trying to attract crowds to our booth and teaching individuals the basics of sailing.

And as for the kid in me.... I got a new t-shirt!!!! ***I will work and help with almost any shift for a t-shirt.***  Especially one that is all decked out in boats and has 'instructor' written all over it....

My view of the Port of Miami as I walked home, to Morning Dance, after the show.

When Derrek and I first came to Miami to live and teach on charters I had to 'give up' my bike riding pastime as I didn't want any of my 'nice' bicycles to sit in the salt air / rain or get stolen.

During our first season here we ended up finding a tandem bicycle for $50.00 on Craigslist and somehow got it to fit into my old Mazda Miata and drove it from Hollywood, Fl to Miami, Fl. The bike needed some work (a lot) and we thought we were up to the task.... after about a year of working on it, buying parts, and having the front wheel fall off multiple times as we tried to make newer parts work for a bike that no longer had parts available we ended up dropping it off at a scrap metal yard for them to dispose of it...

Tandem Bicycle after its new paint and accessories.

Over the weekend, Derrek flew home last min to attend a cabin party with some of his college friends and to celebrate his sister's birthday.... While he was away I started researching on Cragislist and Freecycle for a beach cruiser bike (for me) that I could get Cooper onto a bike again before he forgot how to ride with me.

Cooper bike riding with me.

I ended up finding a bike (2 hours away) on free-cycle (it was FREE!!) and decided to drive the distance to see if it would work. Once there, they ended up having a second bicycle in the back and soon I was trying to fit both bikes into my car's backseat to bring them back to Miami for us to ride. Since it was only a week or so from Valentine's Day, I thought it would be the perfect gift to give to Derrek.

During my research process I kept falling for the "red" bikes (I think red is my true favorite color even though when asked I will probably say green or blue ....first my car had to be red, then the boat....now the bike....hmmmm)  To solve this dilemma, I went to Home Depot and found $2.00 sample paints in bright red and a cool blue for Derrek. I ended up brushing on the paint (so I didn't want to have to deal with the over spray while I painted them in the parking lot) and gave them a clear coat in a shiny gloss...... here are the results....

My bike "before"

Derrek's bike "before"

Our bikes after I painted them...

After almost two months of dealing with our ‘dead’ Perkins engine, we now have a fully functional 63 horse power Yanmar engine on board! Derrek and I have put many hours into taking the old engine apart, cleaning parts to be sold, painting the engine room, and helping to put the new engine in with plumbing, wires, clamps, etc.
















Patching up the holes left over from the old engine's systems.