Out and About

 We feel like we have accomplished a lot in a short period of time.  We've already put about 30 miles on the bikes in two days of running errands and going to Church.  Tonight we start making plans for things we want to do while we're here. We have friends in Key West we want to see and other friends coming this way that we want to see.  We always enjoy the local community theater productions and we joined a gym.  We also enjoy the beautiful Crane Point nature preserve, the famous turtle hospital and lots of good places to eat.  And, we enjoy the social life in the marina.  Before we know it, it's time to move on.  It's a rough life but we're managing😊

You know you're in the Keys when you eat a lot outside the restaurant and there are chickens.

Careful casting you fishing line near power lines.

The weather allows for gorgeous plants year round.

This will be our new church home while we're here, San Pablo.  It's about a 5 mile ride away

 so we spend more time commuting than we spend in Mass.  More on this in a future blogs.

Seasonal visitors have donated thousands of hours and dollars in enhancements to the Parish.

San Pablo is on the next little island towards Miami.  We cross this (thankfully low) bridge on our way to church.  We see the Gulf on our way in.

And the Atlantic on our way home.

We love this place.  Basically a hole-in-the wall but the place is always packed with locals.  We'll see folks from church here.  The food is great and not priced to gouge tourists.

One of the things we like are the pictures of old Marathon and the keys.  They also have lots of humorous signs everywhere included the hallway to the bathroom and inside the bathrooms too.

Trusty steeds await our return.  These have been great bikes.  Since 2008 we've put thousands 

of happy miles on them while out cruising.  Too bad they're not made anymore.

                                          Not only daily specials but a Sunday funny too.

Marathon Marina

 We were last in Boot Key Harbor in early 2019.  Hurricane Irma had devastated huge swaths of South Florida, especially the fragile keys.  Many parts of the marina were still undergoing repair and replacement.  Happily all seems to be set aright and life is good.

The bathhouse and laundry are in this building.  The individual shower rooms 

have the basics needed for getting clean. They aren't luxurious but you're not using your

 precious water and the water is always hot. They are unairconditioned so not

popular during the heat of the day.

The mooring field is huge with areas on either end where boats can anchor.  The city has

 made great efforts to clean up the water quality and aquatic wildlife is once again living along 

with the cruisers.  It is so well run that any city considering putting in a field should 

study the setup here.

There are many "permanent" cruisers in the field.  Those who come and stay for months or even years.  They generously donate their talents to the community.  This is a well thought out and cared for butterfly garden.

These dinghy docks are new since our last visit.

These docks are all refurbished and closer to where we store the bikes.

Herb garden is thriving.

Artist have enhanced the buildings with their work.

Not only a good reminder but a beautiful art piece.

This mural and shaded area greet you as you arrive at the main building.

Tiki hut, site of many potlucks and impromptu parties is back.

The Tree of Knowledge lost a lot of it's ancient branches with Irma but its still here.  

This is a place for gathering and kibitzing.

The old peace sign survived the storms.

I'm getting reacquainted with dinghy operation.  I want to be able to get to shore without help.

 

 If you click and zoom in you can see the second boat back is not quite in line.   If the wind 

isn't strong enough, boats will lie to the current rather than the wind.

Getting Settled

 We were able to get a mooring ball assignment the day after our arrival.  This is a great deal for several reasons: A. you don't have to worry about an improperly anchored boat dragging and hitting you B. We're closer to the marina and all it's facilities. C.  Boats willing to pay for a ball are usually better maintained and less likely to attract derelict boats.D. We can be confident the boat will be safe while we travel to Oregon for Christmas. 

Once we had the boat safely on the mooring, B6, if you're interested, we set about getting the boat as comfortable as possible for the next 6-8 weeks.  That involves, getting the shade over the main cabin setup, rigging the auxiliary solar panels, getting the bikes to shore and secure and filling the tanks with water, 30 gallons at a time.

After all that was done, we took care of ordering things we still needed, forgot back at home and extra solar panel.  We also made trips to West Marine and Home Depot before hitting the grocery stored for fresh fruit and veggies.  It was a busy time but so worth it in the long run.

We have a small solar panel on each side of the boat.  They live in the V-berth 

until we get settled then we connect them to the house bank.  It involves a lot of wires running

 around so we watch our step.

The bikes are conveniently stowed on a rack near the dinghy dock.

We bought a larger dinghy on our last trip to make this task easier.  We used to have to take the bikes one at a time to shore.  Now we can fit both of them and both of us.

I built a boom shade years ago,  It's a bit complicated to set up but drops the 

temperatre inside the boat several degrees.  An added benefit is the wind tunnel effect in the cockpit.  It's currently 85 degrees with 85% humidity so breeze is good.  If you zoom in, you

can see a hatch shade I made on our last trip to allow the forward hatch to be open even in the rain.

Sadly, all these niceties create a spiderweb of lines from midships forward. We need the agility and 

size of one of the grandkids to reach the bow locker!

Blue Moon looking good and settled in.

Our place in life for now.

Our view from the cockpit.

And our hard work is rewarded with a spectacular show.

David has a water bladder and two 5-gallon jugs.  He rigged a water pump with lines leading from the water source to the water tanks.  Genius, pure genius.

On to Boot Key Harbor

 We left Venice Inlet to a low wind situation so we motor sailed the first several hours.  The seas were flat so a nice ride.  The winds finally filled in around sunset and WOW what a marvelous night.  For as awful as the crossing to Clearwater was, this was ideal.  The seas were flat, the wind was a consistent strength so even though we heeled (leaned over) it was steady and your body adjusts to the slanting angle.  It was a new moon so the Milky Way was visible in all its glory.  Pleiades, Subaru, Seven Dancing Sisters or whatever your culture calls them, the seven stars of the constellation were bright and clear.  We saw several shooting stars, always a treat.  The 175 mile trip was what cruisers always wish for and we were grateful.  We pulled into the harbor and dropped anchor at 2 p.m. and just celebrated our arrival.  It was Thanksgiving Day and we were surely giving God thanks for our safe arrival. 

The seas were so nice and calm

.

The sun was sure glaringly bright.  I made these

sunshades years ago and they've served us well.  You can easily move them as the sun moves.

This black thing on the silver rail is a boathook holder.  You might notice the absence of a boathook.  Apparently in the first crossing, the rough water 

shook it loose and it went overboard.

Sunset at sea.  The haze made it appear to be a double sun.  I tried taking pictures of the night sky but none worked.

So close. This is the 7 Mile Bridge which will

give us access to the destination of Boot Key Harbor.  You know how you want

something so badly and you can see it but it takes forever to get there....

Gettin closer.  You can see the old bridge that

was part of the Overseas Highway built by Henry Flagler.  Quite a dream that now allows 

easy access to Key West.

The space between the bridges. The Gulf of Mexico meets the Atlantic Ocean/.

And finally....

And back in the Atlantic Ocean again.

Narrow, shallow channel into Boot Key. Being Thanksgiving, it was crowded with a lot of boats.  

The fact two,\ sleep deprived people were navigating didn't matter to them.

An old favorite of ours, Burdines.

Hope it's as good now as three years agon.

Pancho's fuel dock.  Three boats pulled out in front of us from there.  

Too bad boats don't have blinkers.  

Finally anchored after 33 hours.

Grateful to be settled for the night.

We had Thanksgiving Stew and were very thankful

                                                          Toasting to our shared accomplishment.

Venice Yacht Club

 One of the great things about being members of the Fort Walton Yacht Club is our membership in the Florida Council of Yacht Clubs and the Gulf Yachting Association.  This allows us to visit other member clubs.  We really like VYC but only have a night to visit.  Maybe next time.....

he Venice Yacht Club from our dock.

The front of the club.  You can see a new roof going on.

An expansion project.

More roofing going on.

This club member is obviously a true Trekkie.

Just in case you needed to know where the earth is in the galaxy.

More sad boats.  This one has been sunk a while according to

the club's friendly bartender.

Venice inlet where we'll be heading into the Gulf tomorrow.

Row of docks.

This is genius use of a very narrow seawall. They used to park

big boats with thrusters here and only 2 or 3.  Now they have 

about 10.