1-1-12
Happy New Year All!
We left the Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart on 12-27 and spent an interesting night at Peck Lake on the hook. Weather announcers told us to expect a front during the night so in anticipation of that possibility we arrived early and Captain decided to put out 90 feet of rode in our 12 foot depth of water. Shortly before sunset a rather large motor yacht arrived and anchored very near us and in front of a sailboat which had been carefully anchored a distance from us. So Captain said to the motor yacht captain, “Capn’ I have 90 feet of rode out here.” To which the other captain said, “What do you need 90 feet of rode in 5 feet of water?” He did move two more times and re-anchored before we turned in. Meanwhile it was getting dark and later the wind piped up and Captain did an anchor watch but all was well. Upon rising in the morning we wondered what happened to the motor yacht and lo and behold it was in the shoal waters and he had dragged his anchor during the night and gone aground. Seatow was there to assist and we headed off south.
From Peck Lake to Lake Worth with the current in our favor we sometimes made 7 knots! It paid to clean and paint the bottom of Blue Bay!
Next day we headed out of Lake Worth inlet before daybreak on 12/29 and motor sailed until the following afternoon when we arrived at Rodriguez Key on the outside. The Atlantic had 2-4 foot rollers and mild winds from the North which helped us along. We had a chance to check out the new auto pilot and all is working well! Next morning before sunrise we were up and away and arrived in Marathon, Florida after three days and one night of motor-sailing, more motoring than sailing, unfortunately. We did sail from 1:00 AM until 7:00 AM one night, which was a great smooth sail and the most fun we had! Waters were smooth and winds were never over 10 knots. It took a bit longer than we expected and we actually did not keep track of the miles, but our Cruising Guide says it would be around 200 nautical miles. Unknown to us was the fact that the City Marina at Boot Key closed on New Years Eve at 3 PM. We arrived after 2:30 in the afternoon! Timing is everything. We headed over to Keys Fisheries for a fantastic grouper sandwich to celebrate New Years!
The plan is to be here for a month or so.
During our sail we spotted several very large loggerhead turtles and several dolphins followed us especially near inlets and fishing areas. Lots of fishing going on and we plan to get in on it soon!
Hope everyone has a peaceful and happy New Year!