Holy windy! I know I shouldn’t be complaining about the weather here in the
“Sunshine State” while others are shoveling snow at home, but wow, what a difference from last
year. We’ve had one “wind event” after another as a steady stream of cold fronts push across the area. There have even been several tornado touch downs and water spouts (luckily, they’ve all missed us).
“Sunshine State” while others are shoveling snow at home, but wow, what a difference from last
year. We’ve had one “wind event” after another as a steady stream of cold fronts push across the area. There have even been several tornado touch downs and water spouts (luckily, they’ve all missed us).
The plan for this month was to meander our way South with our friends Joe and Connie on Chesapeake, stopping to linger when the mood struck. Connie and Joe got a head start out of
Oleta State Park with the plan to meet up a short way down the icw in Miami.
Oleta State Park with the plan to meet up a short way down the icw in Miami.
Once we got going Jeff immediately noticed lots of white exhaust coming out of the boat. Hmm.
Within minutes the temperature started to climb and we were pulled off the side of the channel with a dropped anchor. Ugh. We were out of commission and needed a plan. Jeff jumped in the dinghy and I got on the phone. Heactually towed us the two miles to the marina I had contacted. Right down the Intracoastal. That drew more than a few curious stares! Two knots the whole way.
An engine water pump was the culprit. We ended up renting a car to make the drive to Fort
Lauderdale to get it rebuilt. Jeff crawled into the hole in the floor to reinstall it and a couple of days later we were off again, with much lighter wallets.
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The next stop was further South in Miami. We anchored in a large anchorage beside the
loading docks in the Port of Miami. We watched as each day a new group of massive
cruise ships arrived, loaded and headed out. Apparently the cruising business is alive and well.
loading docks in the Port of Miami. We watched as each day a new group of massive
cruise ships arrived, loaded and headed out. Apparently the cruising business is alive and well.
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We continued down to Dinner Key and bounced around on a mooring ball for the night in the very exposed mooring field. There was an international sailing competition going on and we had
great fun watching them zoom through the mooring field on their way to and from the
races.
great fun watching them zoom through the mooring field on their way to and from the
races.
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The Florida Keys
"Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take ya.... Bermuda, Bahama....hmm hmm... etc. etc
In the Florida Keeeys... There's a place called....." What?! NO Kokomo?
In the Florida Keeeys... There's a place called....." What?! NO Kokomo?
Did you know that Kokomo, off the Florida Keys. from the Beach Boy’s song doesn’t even actually exist? But we did find Key Largo. That was our next stop. We anchored out in several different locations behind mangroves, trying to find protection from the strong winds. There we met up with our friends Jeff and Judy, from our home Marina in Penetanguishene, Ontario. It was great to catch up with them for a short visit.
Joe and Connie, being on a tighter timeline, had to shove on but Jeff and I decided to stay
as it was rumoured that a nice sunny day was coming. We were skeptical but it turned out to be true! We took advantage of that to take in John Pennekamp State Park and snorkel off the coral reefs there. Just fantastic! (underwater pictures are pending, we have to get them developed)
Joe and Connie, being on a tighter timeline, had to shove on but Jeff and I decided to stay
as it was rumoured that a nice sunny day was coming. We were skeptical but it turned out to be true! We took advantage of that to take in John Pennekamp State Park and snorkel off the coral reefs there. Just fantastic! (underwater pictures are pending, we have to get them developed)
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Continuing South, the next stop was Islamorada, a cute little town half way down the
keys. Islamorada is one of our favorite stops!
We spent several days there at anchor, exploring the town, taking in happy hour(s)with other boaters
at Loralei’s (an awesome Tiki bar) and spending the evenings on the boat enjoying the excellent live music wafting across the water from Loralei's
We saw the strangest thing here. Just after dark we noticed luminous blobs of something floating past the boat. We weren’t sure if it was plant matter or animal but there were lots of them, ranging in size from a baseball to football. It would last for
about half an hour and then stop. Very cool. It was like the whole bay around us was alive with mystery glow in the dark organisms. We tried to get pictures but they didn't show up well. We both saw them though, every night, so If we're crazy at least we're going together!
We loved Ilsamorada and would have loved to stay longer but the anchorage there is completely open to the North and the next “wind event” was coming. We needed to find safe refuge.
We spent several days there at anchor, exploring the town, taking in happy hour(s)with other boaters
at Loralei’s (an awesome Tiki bar) and spending the evenings on the boat enjoying the excellent live music wafting across the water from Loralei's
We saw the strangest thing here. Just after dark we noticed luminous blobs of something floating past the boat. We weren’t sure if it was plant matter or animal but there were lots of them, ranging in size from a baseball to football. It would last for
about half an hour and then stop. Very cool. It was like the whole bay around us was alive with mystery glow in the dark organisms. We tried to get pictures but they didn't show up well. We both saw them though, every night, so If we're crazy at least we're going together!
We loved Ilsamorada and would have loved to stay longer but the anchorage there is completely open to the North and the next “wind event” was coming. We needed to find safe refuge.
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We continued South about thirty miles to Marathon, which was also an attractive option as
we knew our friends from Ontario, Brian and Janice from the boat Fugitive were arriving
there that day. We had seen them off on their loop trip last August from our home Marina,
shouting “We’ll see you in the Keys” and now here we all were. We had a great time
catching up and comparing stories over happy hour(s).
we knew our friends from Ontario, Brian and Janice from the boat Fugitive were arriving
there that day. We had seen them off on their loop trip last August from our home Marina,
shouting “We’ll see you in the Keys” and now here we all were. We had a great time
catching up and comparing stories over happy hour(s).
Marathon is a very popular stop for boaters because there is a large, protected lagoon in the middle oftown with a huge mooring field of 226 balls. Unluckily for us, with this storm coming, the mooring field was completely full with a waiting list of thirty-nine boats. There were boats anchored very tightly in every nook and cranny. We ended up struggling in the wind to drop two anchors and back up towards the mangroves to tie off with four lines.
That's where we are as I type. It's dark and the wind is just howling outside. The anchor lines are taut and the boat is dancing around, moaning and creaking. But we're holding tight. On nights like this we take turns getting up to peek outside and make sure we're still secure.
That's where we are as I type. It's dark and the wind is just howling outside. The anchor lines are taut and the boat is dancing around, moaning and creaking. But we're holding tight. On nights like this we take turns getting up to peek outside and make sure we're still secure.
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The plan for next month was to make the crossing across the Gulf from Marathon to the southwest coast of mainland Florida and make our way north to Fort Myers. However, after a few happy hours we've decided to travel with Brian and Janice to Tavernier. Not at all the direction we were thinking but that's just the way we roll. We'll visit there for a few days then make our way west.
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