On March 1st we sailed on a crystal clear, 80 degree day, from Islamorada to Marathon, a distance of 50 miles. This was memorable for several reasons.

The winds were from the southeast at 10-15 knots. This is a perfect wind speed for our boat and the southeast winds were perfect for a broad reach. Once we cleared the marina we were able to set sail and turn off the engine.

In addition, the Florida Bay water was even clearer than the normally light blue. We could see everything on the bottom in some detail. Since we were moving quietly through the water, the fish and other marine life paid little attention to us as we passed overhead.

For much of this trip the water is only 5-6 feet deep so we were entertained by the close-up underwater scenery. During the trip some dolphins swam to the boat and played awhile. (This is very common, unless the boat has NMFS employees with crossbows aiming to tag the dolphins). The difference on this day was that we could clearly see the dolphins underwater for some distance from the boat. They approached the boat at high speed and circled several times in addition to playing in the bow and stern waves. When they departed, we were able to entice them back with rhythmic knocking on the hull. They returned four or five times before leaving us for good.

All in all we were under sail for 9 hours in perfect conditions.