I have been reading (New York - Rutherford, All Our Names - Mengestu) and lazy; not keeping up with the blog blurb.
Soon after we arrived at Dinner Key we walked over to the Coconut Grove Sailing Club where Hayden Cochran of the Island Packet Yacht Owners Association organized a meet and greet with Judith Jacobson, a Danish captain on an Island Packet 350 and her husband, Hakon, who sailed to the 80th latitude, to Svalbard, 600 NM from the North Pole, north of Norway. She is speaking at several seminars at the Miami International Boat Show, one of the best in the world.
Check out her youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yaWGWdYlSY
Pretty amazing to see the wildlife in Svalbard, former Spitsbergen. She said it is the law to carry a gun when anyone walks out on the tundra because of the Polar bears - not to shoot them, but to scare them and for self defense if necessary. Others on the Cruising Northern Latitudes panel who spoke explained what they did to reinforce their boats for the ice. However, Judith just bought an Island Packet and sailed up there in the summer - no reinforcements to the boat.
Here we are at the meet and greet with friends.
We took the metro, an easy ride to the free Inner Loop in beautiful downtown Miami on the waterfront at Bayside to attend the Boat show, Strictly Sail, and then a bus ride over to Miami Beach (power boats) to view a new AB dinghy that we think we are going to purchase - yellow, of course. Old Tweety is getting old, and is an item to replace before she implodes while we are in her on the water.
Another huge spectacular event is the Coconut Grove Arts Festival, one of the top 5 in the country according to the vendors. I have never seen a greater variety of art, 2 D, 3 D, paint, all mediums, sculpture, jewelry, wood working, fiber, wood cuts, etc. It's huge. We spent the whole day there. We could have had our own tent with all the people who stopped us to ask about Mazu. She was allowed in only because we had her Pet Partner papers. She is a therapy dog and she worked today. So many smiles from everyone and lower blood pressure.
Mazu watching Drew eat a turkey leg.
Fortunately there isn't much boat info. We haven't fixed anything or gone for a sail since we got here. We have taken Tweety, the dinghy, daily to go in and out of town. It's been nice to have a car to shop, and maybe we'll see AJ, my daughter-in-law when she comes down on business.
Any sailing plans? We may go over to Boca Chica, a state park, recommended by Hayden Cochran, for a night, 14 miles away and more protected from the winds that are predicted to hit here beginning Thursday. We seemed to be living minute to minute with few daily plans. All is well.
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