We really enjoyed our stay in Key West, starting out at the Conch Harbor marina then moving to the Key West Bight marina when tropical storm Debby blocked our departure to Sarasota. Marty was still with us while we enjoyed the local cuisine and entertainment. The sky was gray most of the time with rain showers coming often. We went to a movie, "Dark Shadows" while in Key West - and I must say that the theater is quite a cool place.

On Tuesday, the 26th, Marty flew out of Key West to Tampa then Houston and on to Las Vegas. We enjoyed Marty's company for ten days from Key Biscayne to Key West, covering all the Keys via Islamorada and Marathon with a stop at Caesar's Creek.

I used www.passageweather.com to evaluate the weather situation while waiting to leave. It's a very reliable site that uses NOAA information.

We finally had good enough weather for a morning departure on Wednesday, the 27th of June. We had met a great guy, Russ Hoadley, next to us at the Bight, who was sailing a Catalina 380. Russ was waiting for a weather window and he left an hour ahead of us. We stayed in contact with Russ via VHF on the way to Sarasota. Russ and his crew mate Henry were going to Tampa. We left at 0815 and arrived at Venice Inlet at 0845 on Thursday, giving us an average speed of 6.5 knots. The gulf provided us with a variety of conditions through the night, starting with large swells leaving Key West where current opposed wind, then calm conditions with good wind, then swells from the SW and NW at 4-8 feet until around sundown.

After dark and into the evening, the wind came around onto the nose, so we motored until sunrise when the wind gave us a few more glorious hours of sailing. We went in through Venice Inlet then motored to a dock on Siesta Key in Sarasota. Many thanks to Jim Syprett, my cousin's law partner, who is providing us with his slip while his boat is in Ft. Lauderdale.

My cousin John and his wife Barbara welcomed us into their home for two nights while we rested up for our trip to NC. Barbara is a wonderful host to our doggies too. She provided a place for them and introduced them to her two boys, Titus and Sting, both award-winning agility dogs. They are high-energy compared to our boys but they all had a fun time interacting.

We will be staying in the Sarasota/Bradenton area for at least three months while Yvonne works. We want to get the decks painted while here and do some more projects.

As I write this, we are on the Waccamaw River at the cabin of our dear friends Yvonne and James Sarvis. We rented a car and came here to pick up our Tahoe and take it to Florida so we have wheels while we work there.

The doggies are doing fine and I think they are enjoying their new lives aboard the boat and traveling to new places almost every day. As I reflect on their past, they lived very sheltered lives with us in Las Vegas - they knew the house and the neighborhood but didn't have any interaction with other dogs. Now they meet new folks often and live on the boat and on land.