October/2009, Rounding the Keys
On Tuesday the 13th of October at 10:45 AM we cast off for the adventure of our life! We spent the first night anchored in the gulf off the beach at Long Boat Key. We drank Champagne and had Filet Mignon to celebrate, realizing this was the beginning of the end of watching the clock. Every sunset and sunrise is an opportunity to sit on the deck and marvel.
There was a stop at Punta Gorda to attend a Seven Seas Cruising Association GAM (Great and Meet). Focus on cruising and safety. Stay Tuned.........We will update the next time we have internet access.
The wind has been in our favor and we have had to use the engine very little. We were in some beautiful anchorages as we headed south and the night crossing to Key West was perfect. Sailing with jib only we averaged 5.5 knots! We had some seas but Sailacious handled them well.
We are in Key West for several days. We arrived in time for Goombay Festival, this was a bit like 'Taste Of The Caribbean'. This traditional Bahama festival kicks off the 10 day long party that includes Fantasy Fest. We have included some pictures in the gallery that show just a few of the character roaming the streets. The 6 days here have been very interesting. You see everything in Key West and sometimes more that you would like.
Next we rounded the tip of Key West and headed into Hawks Channel. This is the outside route along the Keys. We took our time looking for quiet anchorages and spent 2 wonderful days all alone in Newfound Harbor Channel. We scrubbed the sides of the boat and swam and relaxed. More beautiful sunsets and sunrises.
Marathon is a very active cruising and live aboard community. We spent 4 days at the city marina on a mooring ball. Showers - real showers! WOW. We purchased new batteries for the boat and checked on our Raymarine Chartplotter that we were hoping to have sent to us. We will have to try to have it sent to us again later. We got the folding bikes out and our folding cart and rode to the grocery store to restock provisions. Those bikes are going to be fabulous. We will leave tomorrow and head to Long Key top do some snorkeling. After that Key Largo!
We have a mail service that gets our mail and sends it to us when and where we ask. We are hoping to get that in Key Largo.
11/07/09 We are holed up in Marathon at the city marina awaiting a storm to pass. We expect to continue our journey around the Keys on Weds. Until then we are doing a lot of exploring the area on foot and by bike. We have met some very nice cruisers here at Marathon and look forward to meeting up with some of them again 'Down Island'.
11/11 Key Largo is the last stop before BIMINI! We need to pick up our mail and a few more supplies before we go. We have subscribed to Chris Parker, he is a weather guru for sailors in the Caribbean. He broadcasts over SSB and will tell us the best time to cross the gulf stream and when to move on. Internet may be a bit harder to get in the Bahamas, we have nop idea at this time.
We have been on the boat for 4 weeks and are LOVING IT.
11/20 We received all our mail and parts and we are free to continue our adventure. We left Key Largo and sailed around most of yesterday and it was a glorious sail even though we only went a few miles in the direction we wanted to go. We saw numerous sea turtles and a large group of dolphins. We snorkeled by the 'Christ' statue on the reef. It was a perfect day. We are now anchored at the mouth of Angelfish Creak and awaiting an early dawn departure from the United States. Steve purchased a WIFI booster and we are stealing a signal from one of the large estates on the bank, it appears to work well. We will set our course for Bimini and clear customs there. The champagne is on ice to celebrate our first night in the Bahama Islands. After spending the night we will sail east. I never realized how many islands made up the Bahamas or the magnitude of the area they encompass. Everything is going really well and we are so blessed.
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