Key West to Miami

Our month’s stay in Key West passed way too quickly. We loved the climate, people, and fellow boaters here so much, we hope to spend the “season” here next year. But as the old saying goes, “All good things must come to an end,” so we have dropped the dock lines and departed the lower Keys, hoping this time to travel Hawk Channel, rather than going all the way around Key West to get back to Marathon.

We checked the weather for several days prior to leaving Boca Chica and again the morning of our departure to ensure that the wind and seas were acceptable for cruising. As an aside, there are some excellent, and free, weather prediction locations on the internet. The wind and seas in Hawk Channel were predicted to be calm and smooth, so we dropped the dock lines at 0745 on 23 January. We eased our way out of the marina, paying close attention to the depth and the charts so that we would not run aground or hit rocks. (While we were there for the month, a couple of boats ran aground coming into the marina and dinged their props pretty bad.) We eased into Hawk Channel, hoping that the weather forecast was correct and that we could travel on the outside (Atlantic Ocean) rather than the Intracostal Waterway (ICW). As it turned out, the day was perfect for cruising. We had a bright, sunny day, with calm waters and light winds, and we made the entire trip to Marathon via Hawk Channel. Hooray!! Traveling Hawk Channel cut travel time in half! At Marathon, we went under the Seven Mile Bridge and got back into the ICW and anchored northwest of Marathon Key for the night. We arrived at our anchorage at 12:30 p.m. and had a good afternoon and night on the hook.

At 0700 on 24 January, we departed our anchorage headed to Thursday Cove for the night. The day started off with a beautiful sunrise, and not too long into our trip, we had dolphins entertaining us alongside the boat for quite some time. Each of us took turns going below to talk to and encourage them to follow along performing for us, which they did. They say that dolphins like human interaction, and that appears to be true. These 5 or six dolphins were jumping alongside the boat to get our attention, and when they saw us watching, they would roll over 360 degrees, or roll over to one side so they could watch us watching them. They would jump completely out of the water, and it was a wonderful experience. They swam with us for nearly an hour.

After traveling for about four hours, and dodging hundreds of crab pots along the way, we were not surprised when we realized that we had run over a submerged crab pot!! The boat began pulling to the left quite strongly, and Captain Mike determined rather quickly that we must have snagged a crab pot, although we never saw it. We anchored outside the channel in beautiful, clear and very cold water, and Mike donned mask, snorkel and fins to determine if indeed that is what had happened. Sure enough, the starboard prop was entangled with a crab pot line at least 50 feet long. It was completely wrapped around the prop and prop shaft, very tightly. Mike first tried using a knife to cut away the line, but to no avail. The line was too tough and entangled so badly that a knife just didn’t work. Fortunately, he had a tool onboard – a CRAFTSMAN Handi-Cut - that worked great, and he was able to get the line cut away and we were again on our way, paying much closer attention to these nuisances in the water. The problem is that you can’t dodge what you can’t see!! Lesson Learned: Either Mike needs stronger lungs so he can stay underwater longer, or we need to add a SCUBA tank to our diving equipment that we have onboard. Thankfully, the remainder of the trip was uneventful. We made it to our anchorage in Thursday Cove, located on Biscayne Bay on Wednesday afternoon and had a calm night at anchor.

We left Thursday Cove on 25 January, thinking that we would go to an anchorage we had heard about from other boaters called Boca Chita, which is a State Park with a sea wall we could tie up on, which is in Biscayne Bay near Miami, but the weather began to get ugly, meaning the winds were kicking up and so was the sea. Once again Captain Mike made a command decision (which he cleared with Admiral Pat) to change course and tuck into a marina for the next few days, since two cold fronts were coming through and the winds and seas were going to be too rough to be out on the water. We are currently at Black Point Marina located in Homestead, FL, on the west side of Biscayne Bay, about twenty miles south of Miami. We got here just in time to get tied to the dock and settled in when the wind picked up and the rain started. It is a pretty location, with, of all things, another Tiki Bar and restaurant (just what Mike needs) plus all of the necessities and very friendly and accommodating staff.

The trek into the marina was a nail-biter, since the channel leading into the marina was about a mile long and was about half again as wide as our boat, and did I mention that the wind was blowing hard trying to push us sideways? Due once again to the amazing skills of the Captain, we didn’t run aground and made it into the marina just fine.

On Saturday, we got on our bikes and rode into town, 14 miles round trip. The dockmaster told us the day of our arrival that the marina would provide transportation if we needed to go into town for anything, but we preferred to get on the bikes and get some much needed exercise. There are great bike trails here, which make riding bikes safe and enjoyable. We went to the grocery store for a few grocery items and then stopped for something to eat before heading back to the boat.

Today is Sunday, and it’s good to be tied to the dock. The winds are strong, and it is overcast with rain predicted. More of the same is predicted through Monday, clearing Monday night with Tuesday, 30 January, appearing to be a good day to head on to our next destination—Fort Lauderdale. Stay tuned.

Key West - Part 2

On the afternoon of 29 December we were joined by friends from Titusville, FL and Patrick Air Force Base, Eric and Ellen Provost and Tom and Diane Bouthiller. We had a great day hanging around Key West, and had an excellent dinner that evening in downtown Key West.

We had a great New Year’s Eve. All of us began the day by riding bikes around the island. That was quite an experience, dodging scooters, other cyclists, and automobiles, but we had a great time and it was good exercise. We had dinner at Conch Restaurant and Bar, which is about the best dinner we have had to date, and later walked Duval Street that had been blocked off for the evening celebration. It was a sight to see and experience. One of the attractions of places like Key West is that there are fewer rules and laws governing behavior, and you can do pretty much what you want as long as you don’t bother anyone else. Needless to say, the asylum door was unlocked on New Year’s Eve on Duval Street, and much color (and other body parts) was on display. We brought in the New Year unlike any other we have ever had, and then headed back to the boat. Everyone should experience Key West on New Year’s Eve at least once.

When the Provosts and Bouthillers departed for home and jobs (work is such an ugly word) on New Years Day, we did nothing but eat and watch football games. Did I mention that we took several naps too? After resting for a few days, we departed in our car for Knoxville. Two days of doctor, dentist and eye doctor appointments were awaiting us there, as well as visiting Knoxville friends. A couple days of that, plus a couple days visiting Pat’s mom in Alabama, and we were headed back to Key West and our boat-home. Let me mention that while in Knoxville it snowed (briefly I’ll admit, but the white stuff was coming down hard for a while), which reinforced our decision to spend the winter in South Florida.

Upon our return to KW, Butch and Sherry McCall were in Islamorada for a couple days on business. They drove to KW on Saturday and we met them for dinner downtown. We have not seen Butch and Sherry for many months, and it was good to see good friends again and catch up on what is going on with them.

Sunday afternoon, we met Steve and Carolyn Slatas, who arrived in KW and are staying at a nearby RV campground. We met them for drinks that afternoon at Mangrove Mamas located across the highway from the RV campground. Steve and Carolyn are boating friends from Knoxville, and are members of the Fort Loudoun Yacht Club. We enjoyed spending time with them throughout the week, and look forward to seeing them again soon while they are in Naples, FL for a few days. Steve and Carolyn offered to drive our truck from KW to the marina in Fort Lauderdale where we will be staying, so we will have transportation while in Fort Lauderdale for the month of February. THANK YOU Carolyn and Steve!!!

On Thursday, Dave and Leslie Gallaher, who have their boat in Key Largo and are also members of Fort Loudoun Yacht Club in Knoxville, drove to KW, and we and the Slatas’ met them and had lunch at B.O. Fisherman's and then spent the day walking around town. It was a fun day hanging out with these folks. Dave was aware that Pat Lynch and his son Matt, also from Fort Loudoun Yacht Club, were in KW at a marina somewhere. Dave tracked them down and we went to their boat and hung out there for a while.

Our goal for the day was to hang around town and get to Mallory Square in time for the sunset. We, along with hundreds of other tourists and locals, jockeyed for the perfect location to snap a picture of the sun as it was going down. The sunsets are always beautiful and the perfect end to a perfect day!

Our plan was to stay here in Key West until January 23rd, and that day has arrived. We will move ourselves back to the Fort Lauderdale area for the month of February. Stay tuned.

Key West Part 1

We arrived at Boca Chica Marina on the afternoon of 23 Dec. The trip along the ICW was uneventful but long. After our last three days/nights at Marathon, we were glad to know that we would be tied to a dock for the next month. Boca Chica Marina is located on a small US Naval Air Station which is about five miles from downtown Key West. While not the most luxurious marina we have visited, they are still recovering from the effects of a devastation hurricane two years ago. The staff is friendly as are the other boaters, and the price is right at 85 cents a foot per day, versus the $4.00 a foot per day at the marina just across the inlet.

Once docked, we got our bikes off the boat and began looking for a place to eat. We were told that the restaurant at the marina had closed early due to the Christmas holidays, so off we went to the bowling alley located on the Naval Air Station for something to eat. We had not eaten anything substantial during the trip from Marathon to KW, so we were starving by the time we got to Boca Chica. On our way to the bowling alley, we were stopped by the base security police who informed us that we were required to wear bicycle helmets while riding bikes. Mike told him that we had just arrived and were not aware of this policy but that we would wear helmets in the future. He let us continue on to the bowling alley thank goodness—we were so hungry. There was not much of a menu at the bowling alley, but those greasy cheeseburgers sure were good!

On the afternoon of 24 Dec, Richard and Marcy Piety, friends from Knoxville, arrived. We went into Key West for dinner and then walked around town for a while where we saw a lot of interesting folks. Christmas Day we attended church services downtown and then had brunch. Most all stores were open on Christmas Day, so we covered most all of town and had an enjoyable Christmas Day in the Keys – in shorts and T-shirts. Mallory Square is famous for its “street theater” and there were a number of actors, jesters, group and solo bands, magicians and other extroverts on display. It was very interesting and we enjoyed the shows.

The next day, Marcy and Pat enjoyed touring the Hemingway House and The Truman House while Richard and Mike checked out a local bar (imagine that!!). To break up the routine, the next day we drove to Marathon and had an early dinner at a nice restaurant overlooking the water. I should also mention that the rumor that chickens run all over the place, to include inside most restaurants, is true. There are many, and they are fearless. Marcy and Richard left us on 29 December, and we hated to see them go. We wish they could have stayed to bring in the New Year.

The weather here has been great. While we read about the cold weather you have been having, it has been beautiful weather here. Temps range from the low 80's during the day to the low 70's at night. The water is so clear that you can actually see fish swimming around. The sunsets are spectacular. We can sit on our boat and watch the sun set every night in the west, and it's amazing how that daily event makes so many people stop and look, and then grab their camera for a picture. We like it here and may want to come back. Stay tuned for KEY WEST, Part 2.

Ft. Lauderdale to Boot Key Harbor (Marathon)

We started our day early on December 18, leaving Marina Bay Resort and Yacht Club in Fort Lauderdale. The trip back through the narrow channel of the New River to the ICW was uneventful, and very interesting. There is a lot to see on the New River. The morning began as overcast but turned to a beautiful, warm day as we traveled along. As has been the norm throughout Florida, we saw large and beautiful homes, as well as numerous condos along the waterway – multi-million dollar stuff.

Once through all the bridges on the ICW between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, we made it to beautiful (from the water) Miami, FL. Maneuvering through the Miami ship channel was a little tricky because of the numerous channel markers that seemed to conflict with each other, as well as huge ships and other boats, but it was not as bad as we had anticipated. Our anchorage for the night was at No-Name Harbor, which is part of a Florida state park. We tied up to the sea wall for the afternoon and rode our bikes into the town of Key Biscayne. We did some window shopping, had an early dinner, and bought a few grocery items. We headed back to the boat before dark to move the boat off the sea wall. Boaters are not allowed to stay overnight on the sea wall, so we moved the boat to a spot in the harbor and anchored for the night. Just as we got the anchor set, we had a rainstorm. It is a beautiful, well protected anchorage, and if you ever come this way by boat, I highly recommend it.

We left early on December 19 from No-Name Harbor heading south on the ICW. Our choices were to go “inside” on the ICW, or “outside” on Hawk Channel. Since the wind was blowing out of the northeast at about 15-20 knots, we chose the former. Our anchorage for the night was at Islamorada. The night was a little rocky due to high winds, but not too bad.

We left Islamorada on December 20, and our next anchorage was at Marathon. We dodged crab pots all the way to Marathon, which made the trip slower than usual. Our plan was to anchor inside Boot Key Harbor AKA Marathon, but, once we got inside, there were just too many boats to find a safe place to drop the anchor, and once again the wind was blowing too hard. After maneuvering around inside the harbor for about 45 minutes, we decided to go outside the harbor and anchor just outside the entrance to the harbor, along with a couple of other boats. The day was very windy, as was the night, and we rocked and rolled until one of us (the crew) could not take it anymore and became sea sick.

We attempted to leave the following morning headed to Hawks Channel but could not get very far, because of high seas (8-10 feet) and wind (25-30 knots). We turned around and went back to our original anchorage with hopes of getting out of there the following morning, but the winds and seas had not laid down enough. Again, we had high seas and wind, so we turned back for our anchorage. We had another uncomfortable night at anchor but we were determined to leave on Friday. We attempted to make it to Hawks Channel on Friday, but once again, we couldn’t make it. Determination doesn’t mean anything when it comes to Mother Nature; so once again, we sat at our anchorage waiting for Saturday to try it again. On Saturday, December 23, we pulled anchor once again and attempted to make it to Hawks Channel, but again, the winds and seas were too high. At that point the Captain and Crew made the decision to continue the trip to Key West on the ICW. Now, the distance from Boot Key Harbor to Boca Chica inlet (our final destination in Key West) via Hawks Channel is 34 miles. The distance on the ICW is about 75 miles, but the ICW route is much more protected than Hawks Channel, so that made our decision for us. We changed course to go under Seven Mile Bridge, and finally were on our way to Key West. The winds and seas were calm, and we had a good day of boating. Needless to say, we were glad to get out of Marathon after our experience there. Next Stop, KEY WEST, Florida. Stay tuned