Feb 6
The boat behind us dragged anchor around midnight and moved to the far end of the anchorage. We are thankful Nemo stayed within her circle! Off to the dingy dock and find some land legs!

Tarpon Basin has a very nice dingy dock with trash disposal, public rest rooms, and fresh water available. They also have several mini picnic areas with room for kids and dogs to run. A shopping plaza containing K-mart and Publix amongst the many stores was conveniently placed a quarter mile south.. West Marine was a little less convenient at more than a mile north. Melissa and I were glad we chose south. Carl and Don had a workout but Carl got his chart plotter, on sale too! They both picked up spare dingy plugs, having lost one along the way. We met at a small pizza parlor for early dinner. The beer was cold and pizza fantastic. Fortified and rested we headed back to the dingys for another bumpy ride to the boats. We enjoyed the peaceful evening as the sun set and moon rose amidst twinkling lights from shore, anchor lights coming on gradually, and stars above slowly getting brighter.

Feb 7
Up anchor around 8:00, we leave Perceptions behind as we motor north to anchor off Barnes Sound, in preparation to time Angelfish Creek with tomorrow's high tide for our exit to the Atlantic Ocean. Lovely evening playing cribbage in the cockpit as the sky turns shades of pink and white all around and the waters turn silver, showing off the feeding dolphin in surreal splendor. The tie game will have to wait for two tired mariners.

Feb 8
Our anxiety over traversing Angelfish was diminished upon hearing a sailboat with a keel six inches greater than ours made the exit just a bit before us. Don hailed them on the radio and they reported no problems. Hoisting both sails we zoomed down Hawk Channel in 15 - 16 knot winds, diminishing to 10 - 12 as the day wore on. Our hopes of reaching Marathon sunk with the wind as 8 knots registered around 2:00 pm. Not wanting to anchor in unfamiliar grounds after dark we turned and sailed the hour back to Rodriguez Key, where we anchored with several others in calm waters. Don jumped in to check the anchor and scrub our sides, but the wait while I located tools was too long and he climbed out saying it was too cold even for him. Wishing we had video for Family Chat via Skype as another magical evening unfolded between 6:00 - 7:00 pm. The stars were brilliant before clouds moved in and we watched dolphin feed as small fish jumped all around us, feeding on the tiny shrimp illuminated by the cockpit lights. The Mosquitos were slower to arrive, but found us by 7:30 and we headed inside. Bed by 8:30pm. We are getting plenty of rest!

Feb 9
Woke to rain. Even so several boats were already gone by 6:00 am, possibly headed to the Bahamas. Don spent time working on the lines of the water pump he replaced just before we left Nettles, it keeps grunting at us, suggesting a leak. He tracked it down to what he hopes is a leak in the water heater as that would be easier to replace than tracking down a leak in the water lines. He ordered one from west Marine on Stock Island and reserved a slip for two nights for access to get it and facilities to install it. Welcome to Key West! Left Rodriquez Key at 9:00 for a lumpy sail to Channel 5 Bridge and anchor at Jewfish Hole. The path in was literally littered with lobster traps. A huge grid of them spread out before us and navigating through kept us ever vigilant. The lobster boat we passed had his work cut out, hoisting, spraying bait scent and emptying them and dropping them back in in one fluid motion, before they were upon the next of what looked like hundreds. Built in fitness plan! We finally wormed our way in close to the KOA Festiva RV park. An abandoned graffiti adorned sailboat and another newer one washed up on the rocks were our neighbors, comforting. The winds howled and lighting flared north of us from the storm we had outrun sailing down the coast. Thoughts of throwing out a hook left my head as we battened down the hatches for a sleep deprived night. Love our Mantus anchor! It held us tight through at least 32 knot winds and possibly higher.

Feb 10
Winds were supposed to continue so the captain made the decision to move back out Channel 5 Bridge to Long Key Bight, hoping for protection from the north winds. Only two other sailboats shared this anchorage, and they were way on the other side. Already loving the color of the water, I was won over when I spied a big pink spoonbill circling near shore, a frigate bird heading out to sea and a pelican lazily floating close by. The fetch was minimal here also. Toward evening several other boats joined our anchorage, dodging windy weather. The boat behind us had us worried as it did not display an anchor light. Don went on deck at one point and spied a large boat with many red side lights and a green front light with a spotlight heading fast toward the unlit boat. I joined him and we watched the strange vessel for a long time. It stopped and there seemed to be someone going back and forth on deck, shining a spotlight. It is truly amazing how wind, water and a swinging boat can conspire to make a bridge bulkhead appear to be a fast moving ship, lol. Having had enough entertainment for the evening we called it a night and turned in, thankful for warm fuzzy blankets to burrowing under. Brrrr, waiting for warm Keys weather to make an appearance.