Feb. 28, 2015 Everglades City to Marco Island

Feb. 27, 2015 Russell Key ( Everglades City ) to Rose’s Marina, Marco Island, Fl.

 

Anchor up and departed Russell Key at 812. Proceeding  north we exited Everglades National Park at 914. We had been running inside the park boundaries as much as water depth would allow to avoid crab pots. Crab fishermen are not allowed to place pots inside the park, so there is less dodging and weaving among pots.

We entered the Marco River by Coon Key light on a rising tide so as not to have any water depth issues going up the river. We followed are track from when we departed Marco Island back in January on our way to Marathon. Following your chart plotter makes for a much less stressful trip knowing that you have already been thru these waters before.

We arrived at the marina at noon. We got a pump out and were in our slip by 1225. We had just finished tying our lines when Simpatico owned by our friends Bill and Connie pulled in. Connie had called as we exited Russell Key this morning. We didn’t have any cell coverage at the anchorage but got some bars when we hit the gulf so we knew they were in Naples and heading south to Marco.

Well we had to catch up with them since we haven't seen each other since before Christmas. We went out for dinner to the Sandbar Bar and Grill near the marina. Let the good times begin. J

February 26, 2015 Little Shark River to Russell Key, Everglades City, Fl

We traveled 53 N.M (63 statute miles) from Marathon to Little shark River yesterday.

Today we pulled up the anchor at 816 and headed back out into the Gulf. The forecast was for 1-2 foot waves with wind 10-15 knots out of the southwest. I figured it would be a following sea and not a bad ride. I was wrong. The forecast was wrong also. As every boater knows sometime the National Weather Service must be broadcasting from a closet somewhere without actual weather data to make their forecasts, today was one of those days. We had 3-5 foot waves off our beam which makes for a VERY rolley ride for us. Colletta and the cats all did fine but it was not a day to get out of your seat and wander around the boat. We had to turn and run before the waves so it was calmer while we retied the dinghy to the back of the boat twice. Colletta did a masterful job steering and minimizing the rolling while I retied. A long run of but we made it to Indian Key Passage none the worse. We called a marina, Everglades Isles in Everglade City and they assured us there was deep enough water to make it up the river to them. The problem was that they were 5.25 mile up river and at idle speed that would take us an hour. We decided that for one night it was not worth it because we wanted to make sure we entered the Marco River at near high tide tomorrow to avoid any thin water so we anchored where we had on the way south to Marathon. Like Little Shark River this anchorage has become very popular. Last time it was us and another 80 foot yacht, tonight there are 9 other boats in the anchorage, plenty of room for all, just surprising.

February 25, 2015 Marathon to Shark River

 

Departed Coral Lagoon Marina at 0718.  Although it was clear around the docks, it was very foggy at the Vaca Cut.  Cleared marker G1 at 0746, end of the dredged channel at Key Colony Beach and turned into the Atlantic Ocean.   We encountered our first crab pot at 0757.  It was foggy but not too foggy so we could see crab pots.  Overall crab pots on the Atlantic side were not bad, not as aggravating as the idiotic fishermen.  We arrived at the Mosser Channel at 7-mile Bridge in the fog at 0931.

Entering the Vaca Cut on the way to the Ocean

Rounding the point at Key Colony Beach



Going thru the 7 Mile Bridge at Mosser Channel and entering the Gulf

 Thankfully having been thru there on our arrival, we simply retraced our steps on the chart plotter to find the open span to get under the bridge.  We then used the radar and chart plotter to plot a course in the bay keeping us away from any shoal: once again making use of our arrival track to head out safely through the bay.  The fog finally cleared at 1127 and became a beautiful sunshiny day and calm seas with thousands of crab pots.   Our course looked a drunken sailor while dodging crab pots.  We arrived at Little Shark River at 1512.  Our anchor was down and we were secure 1526.  Traveled 63 miles.  Our secluded anchorage has turned into a very popular place.  There are now 11 boats anchored up the river and no one is anchored to the cove off the gulf. 

 

 

February 15-24 Marathon – Coral Lagoon Marina

 

As we foresee our stay in Marathon coming to a close, we make sure that we do the last few things on our “to-do-list”.  Those things included visiting the local Air Museum at the marathon airport, biking out on the old bridge to Pigeon Key and a picnic lunch, shopping at the huge Nautical Flea Market in Islamorada, biking on Coco Plum, and a boat ride by our hosts, Jim and Pat, into Boot Key to look at all the moored boats and see the area by water.

Pat and Colletta boating in Boot Key Harbor

 

    We also continued to participate in many of the activities that we have enjoyed here in the Keys.  These include our weekly Bocce ball games followed by dinner,

the 11th Street Bocce Ball League

 

 wonderful music at Springers by a variety of talented musicians,

A blue grass circle of talented musicians at Springer's

They go around the circle and every one can sing or play a tune of their choice. they just tell the other musicians what chords they will play and then everyone joins in.

 

 bike rides to do exploring and necessary shopping, and fishing when the weather permits.   It was been an unusually cool and windy week.  It is no fun biking into a 25 mph wind – both directions.  The temperature was 43 one morning and never got out of the 50w.  No complaints though, just unusual for the Keys.   Our new experiences for this week have been how tasty a McDonalds Hot Fudge Sundae can taste at 930pm, the discovery of a new crockpot recipe dessert of Molten Chocolate cake; compliments of Jim Childs, the 11^th street neighborhood cocktail party with a wide variety of appetizers, and a AGLCA cocktail party at the Marathon Yacht club where we caught up with old cruising friends and meeting new ones. 

On Thursday Jim, his friend Gene and I traveled to Everglades National Park in Homestead, Fl to view a NIKE missile base from the cold war era. Our guide Leon Howell, a retired Coast Guard, was incredibly great. He was so passionate about the era and the men who had served there, it was very moving for me. I grew up having one of these bases a few blocks from my boyhood home just south of Chicago in Homewood. It is funny how you forget some things and then they come back again when you see something like this tour. I can hardly recommend this tour if you get to south Florida.

Leon Howell, retired coast Guard, and our tour guide at the NIKE Missile site in Everglades National Park. He was great and very passionate about listening to the whispers of the men who had served here. I found it very moving and informative.

Back in the day they took this very seriously.

An actual NIKE missile in one of the launch buildings

 

 

We have enjoyed our stay at Coral Lagoon Marina in Marathon.  We have been blessed to have the hospitality of Jim and Pat for 5 weeks and share time with them.  We have met some wonderful people and some interesting characters at the marina that enjoy boating and the water as much as we do.  The dock parties and music experiences are a great part of the Keys boating experience. 

It is time to start traveling again.  The sea is calling Tom and we are ready for another new experience.   “A boat is safe in the harbor but that is not what a boat is made for.”

 

Marathon, Fl. Feb. 8-15, 2015: Week 4

 

The stars shine bright in the night sky.  It is amazing how many stars appear in the sky here in the keys.  The Big Dipper is not always as visible as it is up north but we can always see Orion’s belt and thousands of other stars.  Some are bright, some twinkle and others are just really bright.  Soon we will be looking for the Southern Cross which will appear here for about 10 days.  Star gazing in Marathon – a wonderful pastime.

This week we did some new things.  We attended an Art fair which is a fund raiser for Pigeon Key which is a state park.  It used to be one of Flaglers work camps for the railroad.  Tom got a haircut at a local place called Easy Does It barber shop.  It was windy that day and the barber was busy because the men could not fish and did not want to complete their “Honey Do List” so instead they got a haircut.  Colletta did yoga on the pool deck of the resort at Hawks Cay.  It was a peaceful setting with the water close by and very relaxing while staring up at the beautiful blue sky – Namaste. We also used the dingy often this week.  One day Tom and I went for a ride and went around Key Colony Beach – which is an island, which included a ride on the ocean.  We stayed close to shore and out of other boats paths and enjoyed looking at the island from another angle.  We also took the dingy out with John and Craig (another friend visiting from the frigid cold around Chicago).  That ride consisted of going up and down the canals and inspecting all the houses and boats – until our beer ran out.  We also enjoyed lunch at Burdines which is right on the water at Boot Key harbor.  We also drove to Pine Key and Springers. Once a week, on the deck at Springers about 10-12 musicians gather and have an informal “jam” session.  Songs are randomly chosen and everyone just plays, improvises, and sings along – and we get to listen.  This week there were 3 banjos, a mandolin, a keyboard, a bass, a harmonica, and 4-5 guitars.  It was wonderful listening to these people play.  It made Tom want to buy a guitar.

The group at Springer's on Big Pine Key

more of the Tuesday nite group

 

Tom continues to cook dinners with his assistant, Jim.  This week they prepared a steak dinner, a scallop, shrimp and pasta dinner and a fish dinner with rice, black beans and pineapple salsa.  Tom enjoys the cooking and sharing prep tips with Jim and Jim enjoys experimenting and trying something new. We all enjoy the eating!!

this is from Island Grill Restaurant

This is Chef James interpretation at Bistro 570

 

Boats also continue to be in the weeks adventures.  The transducer for the depth finder broke on Jim’s boat.  The boat was pulled out of the water and the guys worked on fixing the bracket and rewiring the transducer.  A new one was found on Ebay and should be delivered and installed in the next week.  On our boat, Tom changed salon light bulbs to LED bulbs to reduce heat and conserve electricity. 

The coldest weather in the Keys arrived on Saturday.  In the morning it was in the 50s and never got higher than mid-60s.  Socks on our feet and soup for dinner kept us warm and comfy.

Happy Valentine’s Day.  Hope you shared it with your loved ones.­­­

 

The end to another day in paradise from Sunset Beach, Key Colony Beach

 

This is the dinghy dock south of us in Boot Key harbor at the mooring field. There is another set of dinghy docks just as large as this for all 220 mooring balls.

February 1-7, 2015 – Week 3 in Marathon

 

As we begin our third week in Marathon, we started the week like many other football fans and watched the Super Bowl.  The Childs hosted an 11^th Street Super Bowl party and Thomas’ on Ridge catering assisted with food prep, organizing the food and chef Tom cooking the burgers.  The food was delicious and the conversation lively, however there was some tension and silence during the final quarter of play.  At the end, there were cheers in triumphant and moans of the agony of defeat – fun times for all!!

We often ride our bikes home from 11^th street on Key Colony Beach, often in the dark.  We are prepared in that we have reflectors, white head lights and flashing red rear lights also.  We often pass a parked police car and the officers remind us to be cautious and safe on our ride home.  The bikes are a great way to travel and in the evening we are often the only ones on the path.

Key West was on Colletta’s destination list this week.  The girls left middle of the day and enjoyed browsing the shops, lunch at Willie TEEEs, purchasing some artwork for the house or boat, and enjoying a cocktail while watching the boats, the people and the sunset.  They also went up in the Lighthouse and looked at the view of the water, town and cruise ships in port. 

Fishing was also on the agenda this week.  The boys  fished at a few close stops on Monday and Tuesday Jim took us fishing at the 7 mile bridge. Tom was fishing off the back right past the chum bag and had great luck catching mangrove snapper which we kept for dinner.  Colletta was off the port side up front.  Her line was in the water for about 30 seconds when she too had a bite.  She caught 2 large groupers, however they were not in season so she had to throw them back.   It was great and we had good luck until – Jim got stung by a scorpion fish.  It cut him in the index finger and within a short time period, his hand began to swell so we headed home to seek medical help.  Jim lived thru the experience, which we are thankful for, and also had to take an antibiotic, a steroid and another medication.  No fishing for him for a while – Doctor’s orders.

the out of season grouper that had to go back

Capt. Jim before the scorpion fish attack

Fish on at seven Mile Bridge in Marathon

Fishing by the pilings

 

Thursday was the first day, since we arrived, that it rained all day.  Since the weather was gloomy, Tom decided to do one of his gloomy jobs of rebuilding the aft head.  The motor rebuilt kit went together fairly easy, but the hoses didn’t ………………………….Finally after a little more tweaking on Friday, the head is in good working order and does not leak.  A necessary job completed. 

Tom and I also rode the bicycles a lot this week.  One day we rode to the 7 mile bridge and on the way home stopped at marinas and resale shops and of course a Wendy’s for a frosty.  (a 14 mile bike ride)  We also joined John for Happy hour at Porky’s. Beers were cheap and the local color was priceless. Met and chatted with people from the trailer court across the street.  Porky’s is their happy hour hangout.  Some walk over; some drive over and some arrive by golf cart – convenient.   Since we were on bikes, we thought we should stop a few additional places on the way home.  We stopped at Fara Blanco, which is a new, upscale marina, hotel, and bar.  Nice but too rich for us.  Stopped at Hurricanes, which had pool tables, and a late night band.  Stopped at Lulus which was an outdoor bar on the other side of the street.  It was a challenge for Colletta to cross the street with her bike, but Tom was there to lend a helping hand.  We also had to stop at Walgreens for some nourishment of Snaps candy and ice cream which were both devoured at the condo.  That bike ride was about 12 miles.  No more bike riding for this week.

February 2^nd was Groundhogs day.  Here in the keys, they use a palm tree.  Well, the palm tree saw its shadow which means 6 more weeks of sunshine.   We like it here!!

January 25- 31 Marathon, Florida Week 2

January 25-31 - Marathon Florida – Week 2

 

The week started out like it should with church attendance at Martin Luther Chapel church followed by a nice little breakfast.  Lutheran churches are the same in that they all try to feed you.  Upon returning to the boat, we had a lazy and relaxing day. 

We have been spending time with the Childs.  We often do grocery shopping together as we go to the grocery store at least twice a week depending what is on the dinner menu and what is on sale.  Sunday was windy and cool here so we made chili for dinner and enjoyed staying in the house and watching a double episode of Downton Abby, much to Jim’s dismay.   Or we have to stop at the Home Depot or the hardware stores, depending upon which projects need parts.  Tom’s projects this week included changing a valve on the water heater, changing the oil in the transmissions, caulking a window, installing rain gutters, and working on fishing rod storage.  We also continued our exploring by driving north of the airport and driving thru those neighborhoods.  Some very beautiful homes on the Gulf.

We continue to explore and experiment with culinary choices.  Besides making chili, we also made our own pizzas to enjoy after bocce ball.  Tom and I invited Jim and Pat over for dinner on Greeks Folly to experience cocktails on the back deck and eating in our small galley.  Tom made a new recipe of chicken picante and the evening was a complete success. Colletta also baked some banana bread and will experiment with our little oven on board.   We discovered that Wendy’s serves 49 cent cheeseburgers on Tuesdays and Sundays, so we ate lunch for $2.55 which included 2 senior drinks which are free.  I don’t know how they can make any money but we will probably take advantage of that again.  Found a new Happy hour at Nowhere bar.  It was OK – but not with the homey feeling of Nowhere bar in Indiana. Saturday night the new restaurant was Porky’s.  We missed Happy hour but enjoyed the pulled pork and fish tacos for dinner – and of course some beer and music.

New experiences for the week include getting into the Marathon Yacht club for cocktails to listen to Donnie (a musician from the marina) playing there with his band, and attending the sunset celebration at the park on Key Colony.  The celebration happens every night with music and song as the sun sets.  Tom also attended his first fishing seminar.  It is a popular event, over 100 men were there.  Tom’s favorite part was the free water and popcorn.    Saturday we attended a flea market on Pine Key.  Interesting but nothing out of the ordinary, expect for the heavy weekend traffic heading south to Key West. 

Tom and I also enjoyed catching up with another friend from Illinois.  John V. is down here in Marathon for a month and we enjoyed beers and conversation on his deck for an evening.  He also stocks chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, which is delicious after a long bike ride for him and a short walk across the street for us.  Being a fellow boater and water lover, we anticipate more fun times with him.