Up Florida Bay

The keys mostly run east to west from the Florida peninsula.  On one side is the Atlantic Ocean and on the other, the Gulf of Mexico.  The stretch up the gulf running up the north side of the keys is called Florida Bay.  Large stretches of Everglades National Park run along this bay.  It is notorious to cruisers for shallow waters for fishermen and kayakers, it paradise.  Happiness all depends on your perspective.  We have never attempted this stretch due to the shallow waters but after talking with several people with similar draft (how deep your keel goes), we decided to give it a shot.  We used a lot of resources to have routes and anchoring spots scoped out ahead of time since we have a storm (as always) headed our way.  We did see as little as 6 inches under the keel but we kept floating so it's all good! 

We're on the way to Miami!

From Florida Bay, there are only two ways for a sailboat to get to the
Atlantic, the 7 mile bridge by Marathon and the bridge at Channel 5.
This long, low bridge makes a stunning sight but no way out for us.

If you see a high spot, it's a landfill.  

The route we took has enough marks to keep you on track but so much
of the route includes cuts between mangrove islands.  You really have
to stay on top of the tide situation.  So much of the route we couldn't have
safely passed at anything but a high tide.  The moon phase is between
full and new so the tides are not as dramatic between low and high.  This was 
a very good thing for us as it gave us longer with good water to transit the
really low spots.

Some of the cuts are long, others just a few yards.

This mark piling has definitely seen better days.  I sure hope it is
at the top of the list for replacement.

Now this mark has substantial support!

Our first night in Florida Bay was at Lignumvitae State Park.  We had
read about this place and were really looking forward to going ashore and taking
a tour.  We didn't find out that they were closed the day we'd be there. At least they had
nice mooring balls to use.  Maybe next time.

Sunset over the Everglades.

After a few nail-biting moments, we safely made it through all the super
shallow spots and found safe harbor in Tarpon Basin.  This is a large,
well protected spot off of Key Largo.  We'll stay for 3 nights waiting
out the latest front to blow through.

The sunsets are just so stunning.  We never get tired of watching them.

David is taking advantage of the layover to clean the bottom of the boat.
After very little sailing for the past two months, all kinds of creatures
have made themselves at home on the hull and propeller.  This slows the boat down
and is decidedly unseamanly.  Since there is a current running as well as strong wind,
we have a long, floating line for him to grab onto and pull himself back to the
boarding ladder in case he loses his grip on the boat.

This is why we are happy to be in this spot.  The wind is blowing about
20 kts. and the wind lines on the water show up well.  Good for us, this
is the size of the waves.  In more exposed waters, the waves would be
bouncing us around like a toy boat in a tub with a 2 year old.

Catching Up 3

We had given up our mooring ball when we went to Boca Chica thinking we would be gone a few weeks.  Fortunately we were able to find a good place to anchor without a super long dinghy ride to the shore facilities.  We were able to get our ducks in a row and our "Farewell for nows" said and prepare for the moving on.  Once you decide to move, it is amazing how quickly the time goes by especially when everything takes so long to accomplish.  Just getting back and forth to shore takes at least 30 minutes and riding a bike a mile or five is not a fast  way to move.  But it all was finished and our mail was sorted out and we set out.   We hadn't planned to stay so long but enjoyed our time at Boot Key immensely.

One of the major tasks to accomplish was getting the bikes back on board
We had a few options but decided to get them on via the dinghy.  This meant
a logistical challenge in loading them into the dinghy without puncturing a tube and
then getting them over the rail and stowed without scratching the paint.  Old pros
at it by now.

Our last task before leaving was taking on water and turning our shower
cards into the office.  Rather than make a bunch of runs, we decided
to pull up to the dock and fill the tanks.  That gave me the opportunity
to take some nice shots of the marina area.

This Tiki Hut is the site of potlucks, seminars, exercise, hanging out and
whatever else is needed.

A different view of the dinghy dock area.  It should be quite different
by our next visit.  The permits are in to rebuild the large docks in front of
the marina building and the seawall will again be for big boats.

The bridge to nowhere is the way out of the harbor.

Someone had hit the big bridge fenders so the main channel was blocked.
Our mast easily fit under the next span over but taller rigs had to make other
route plans.  Once under this bridge, we're back in the Gulf of Mexico.

Catching up 2

So many of the pictures I tried to take with my phone come into the computer sideways and refuse to post correctly so you'll have to trust me that we did visit a few cool pubs with some cool people.  We really appreciated meeting people with vast amounts of cruising experiences to places we want to go someday.  Folks are so generous with their knowledge and insights.  One couple, Leda and Roland, spent over an hour going over parts of the Bahamas we've never visited and they loaned us their car to make grocery runs.  We were able to pay them back a little by helping with some electrical issues and making a forepeak shade to protect their dinghy while stored on deck for the summer.  Other folks gave us detailed info on going up the ICW to the Chesapeake and others helped us find our way along Florida Bay.  That is the beauty of the cruising crowd, people are willing to share their time and talents.  Everyone is blessed with different levels of resources and all seem willing to generously share.  I'm happy we are part of it all.  Sometimes things just work out better than planned making up for the other times where plans get canceled.  Coming back from Boca Chica, we decided to check out some of the places we are learned about at one of the informal seminars.  One was Newfound Harbor.  Once there and safely anchored, we found several other boats with folks we knew from the mooring field and they knew about a great pub nearby.  We all went out the next  day to snorkel Looe Key.  Nice surprise for us after being disappointed in not making the Tortugas.

So much damage to the landscape is still visible from Hurricane Irma.  So many of
the little spits of mangrove islands are dead.  Up close, you can see some have
tangles of debris in among the branches including boats.

Following the leader.  They know where they are going!

We went up this LONG canal.  We would never have guessed there was
such a nice bar/restaurant up this way.  Turned out to have an awesome
band playing that night and one of the boats brought a cribbage board
along so just about a perfect evening.

Usual mix of houses along a keys shore.  This was Ramrod Key.

Sunset on Newfound Harbor.

Looe Key is still a nice reef with a variety of hard and soft corals and tons
of reef fish.  We saw a shark, large spotted eagle ray, barracudas and the usual
assortment of colorful tropical fish.  The boats are only allowed to stay on mooring balls
so the anchors don't tear up the reef.  You sometimes have to wait for a ball to be vacated
but we went early enough and all 4 boats managed to snag a ball.

The lines to the mooring ball were covered with small clinging creatures.

Trying to dry out the dive gear.  We had rinsed it but the rain you see in the
far right corner of the picture threatened to rinse it again,

This beautifully restored clipper ship was on it's way West.  These boats
used to ply the waters all over the world bringing goods from one
place to another.

On our way from Looe Key, we had hoped to anchor off of Bahia Honda
and visit the state park.  We tried 4 times to get our anchor to hold, even with
exact coordinates from where anchors had held before.  Sadly, the sand has
been so scoured away by storms, there wasn't anything for the anchor to sink into.
This is the old RR bridge.  A span section has been removed so sailboats can enter the space between
the old and new bridges.

Bahia Honda State park.

We passed this sad, lone tree on a small isle on our way back to Boot Key.

Catching Up 1

It is has been a while but I'm trying to cram in almost two weeks of stuff so sit back and enjoy.  It was an eventful time.  Once we made the decision not to sit and wait for the right weather for the Tortugas, we shifted into  get-on-the-road mode.  That meant ordering any last minute items and waiting for them to come in.  Some things we ordered were misrouted so that took time as well.  We didn't waste that time though!  There were bands to listen to, dancing, sewing and general maintenance.  Side trips to take and new places to go and see were fit in as well.  Time spent with new friends and old friends.  I'm still trying to get my lips back from their sunburn/windburn phase but I may have the little girl who drinks cherry kool-aid forever!  Such is life aboard.  Defects just add character, right?

These holes are all over the area where we keep our bikes.  Turns out there
are very large crabs making their homes here.  They refused to pose for the camera
but they were fascinating to watch.

The sun/rain shade deployed.  Thanks to the couple on Aquila for loaning
me theirs to copy.

I installed snap shackles on one side for the attach points on the lifelines
so moving to the front of the boat didn't have to involve climbing over
the lines.  Short legged people think about those things.

The night of the full moon was overcast but still pretty as it peaked
through holes.

Same shot as above but different setting.  I couldn't decide which I liked
better, so I included both.

Boca Chica Marina

We were lucky enough to get a slip in the marina which is usually full.  As the snowbirds migrate back to the north, the slips are becoming available for transients such as us.  The marina is on Boca Chica Naval Airstation.  It is a bit noisy but not intolerable.  One big plus of being back on a military base is the playing of the National Anthem every day.  Still get goosebumps when I hear it.  Some of the noise is the Blue Angels practicing for a show this weekend here at the base.  If weather keeps us from going out farther West, we'll get to see the show.

The channel from the ocean to the marina is long and narrow.  This was the view as we were
coming up the channel.

The marina is large and home to a mixed population of active duty folks and
retirees.  Some of the retirees live here full time, others just for the winter season.
We met some last night for the traditional sunset conch blowing at the end of our dock.

We're on the last dock from the marina office and facilities so I'm getting
my steps in for sure!

I love looking at names and graphics.  This was on a very large catamaran.

The view out my backdoor.  Not bad at all.

Moving On

If we ever hope to make it to the Chesapeake, we have to keep moving.  Our next destination goal is to make it out to the Dry Tortugas N.P.  As with any sailing adventure it all depends on the weather.  We plan to go to Boca Chica Marina, a Navy facility and enjoy the luxury of unlimited electricity and water we don't have to haul.  We haven't been in a marina in over 6 weeks so it will be a treat to easily walk up to do laundry, shower, etc.  We'll also use the time to give the boat a good scrub and use their wifi to get things updated.  The trip West from Boot Key to Boca Chica is not a long run and it was mostly a sailing trip in light winds.   We'll wait out a front coming through here in a few days then see if we can make it out to the tortugas in good weather and have at least a few days there in reasonable weather.   If not, we'll adjust.

This is the old railroad bridge from Bahia Honda to Pine Key.  It parallels Highway 1.

Wisely, a section of bridge was removed to keep people off the no longer
maintained part of the bridge.  The bit of land and bridge is in Bahia Honda Sate Park.
We love the park but haven't made it out this visit.

Crabpot buoys are all over the keys.  They are color coded to let the fishermen
know who's pot it is.  It is a crime to take one that doesn't belong to you and
woe be the once who poaches and gets caught! 

This boat is checking his pots.  If you click on the photo to zoom in, you can
see the crab pots on the back of the boat.

Just your friendly eye-in-the-sky.  It was moored on one of the keys along the way.
David had read that it is monitoring traffic through the keys to catch drugs, illegals, etc.

We saw lots of seagrass.  Some had collected into large beds such as this one.
Small animals use the beds as hideouts from predators.  Sadly we also
saw quite a bit of floating plastic junk.

Catching Up A Bit

It has  been a while so I promised I would get things current.  It seems like not much happens but when we look back on the past few weeks, we have kept busy.  Once the solar was finished and the mizzen mast work was up and running we found other outlets for our time. While running back and forth to shore, we noticed a boat with a different hatch shade.  I had made some from pictures I had from the internet but with no real idea of how to make them or deploy them and here was one in real life!  More on that to follow.  Doing anything on a mooring ball just takes more time than if you were in a house or in a marina.  First off, there is the commute to shore, tying up the dinghy then walking or biking where you want to go.  The upside is laundry is all finished in the length of time it takes to wash and dry a load since if the machines are free they all wash and dry at once.  Let's face it, with laundry you have to grab at any positive you can!  Since we can only carry so much at one time, grocery runs for fruits, vegetables, dairy, etc was usually a daily trip.  Just before we leave, there is one big trip and then we call a cab.  This time our trip was exponentially helped by the loan of a car from Leda and Roland on Kokomo on a neighboring ball.  David had become his "radio and solar whisperer" and they were grateful.   It was much appreciated.  It all had to come back in the dinghy which makes for quite the sight.  All of our purchases in the bottom with us on the rails.  Besides the chores we also attended pot lucks, played bocce ball, went to movies at the library, went to the seafood festival, attended a few plays at the local play playhouse, watched the Super Bowl (actually we went to socialize and eat but there was a game in the background), attended groups talking about provisioning; going to Cuba, exploring the Keys and how to navigate the ICW going North.  We met a lot of great people from all walks of life and in various stages of life from young families to active seniors.  All making for a memorable stop in Boot Key Harbor.

I don't really like early mornings but if I have to be up, might as well get
a picture of the sunrise.

One of the interesting things that happens at a beach is the release of rehabilitated
sea turtles.  No, they are coming from drug or drink rehab, but they were all rescued
by someone and taken to the Turtle Hospital in Marthon for treatment.  When they
are well enough, they are released back into the ocean.  This day there were 3 released.

There are vans that will go and pick up the injured or ill turtles and take them to
the hospital.  The staff are all highly trained and dedicated to keeping the endangered animals
from becoming extinct.  Sadly, humans are the cause of most of their problems.  Plastic bags,
balloons and drink bottles all look like a turtle's favorite dish, jellyfish.  Discarded line gets
tangled in their flippers or hooks embedded and then get infected.  Please be careful of your trash.

This was as close I I got to actually seeing the turtle release.  There was lots of
clapping so I know it happened.

One day we took the boat out along with a friend, Rick, to the Sombrero Reef.
This lighthouse marks it as a warning to boats since the reef is large and relatively shallow.
It was so sad to read the description of a fabulous reef populated by thriving coral communities
of all kinds only to see a mostly dead reef.  There were a lot of sea fans and beautiful fish
but most of the hard coral had died.  We did see some small outcroppings of staghorn and other
hard corals that were either making a comeback or had been seeded there.  I saw a few sponges
and soft coral but nothing to match the 1997 guide book's description.

The reef is a very popular spot since it is close to Marathon and tourist boats
are there daily if the weather permits.  

Inside Book Key harbor are a wide variety of critters.  We saw dolphin, the whorl of water
over a manatee, sea hares, tarpon and spotted eagle rays.  Only this guy came close enough
for a picture.  One weird creature we never saw but sure heard was a cusk eel.  We thought we
were having electrical problems because we kept hearing this strange bzzz sound.  We heard the
next day that the eels were very active in the harbor and make that sound.  It happened several
more times but we didn't take the boat apart looking for the problem.

I ordered the Sunbrella and made the cover.  I have had the sewing machine
out  several times.  I made a prototype cover to make sure it would work
then ordered the good stuff to be more waterproof.

My birthday came around while we were in Boot Key and somehow David
managed to sneak flowers aboard and keep them alive until the next day. 
The roses and button mums opened up in a few days to great effect.

I can never get enough flowers!!

Last sunset at Boot Key for this trip.