This past weekend we learned the important (valuable) lesson of keeping a watchful eye!!! It was our mother's day weekend, planned to be a relaxing getaway to spend some much needed time with the little ones (aka The Krew), yet, it turned out to be a hard lesson from the old school of fort knocks!!!

We sailed out Friday and headed for Jew Fish Key, a place where we've anchored before at night as we passed through on our way to St. Pete...but never a destination to anchor and explore! Our plan was to anchor and hang out for a couple days...explore the beaches around the island and just have some fun with the "Krew"!!! :) We arrived as the sun was setting Friday evening and to our enjoyment the sand bar was fully exposed! We threw anchor, secured the boat, and hopped in the dingy (aka "Ayden's Speed)!!! It was a BEAUTIFUL sunset on the sandbar...the kids chasing our pup (aka Bella) through the puddles, the sun setting on the horizon, the sound of laughter and love!!!! In fact, aside from the sand flies eating us alive, it was a picture perfect evening! :) Back Aboard we grilled some hamburgers and had a simple dinner before calling it a night. The night was calm and peaceful and we got a great nights sleep as the boat gently swayed and rocked us!

Saturday morning the Krew woke us up BRIGHT and early, eager to explore this new destination! The sun was shining and the water was warm...such a great day to play at the beach! So, we loaded up "Ayden's Speed" with all of our favorite beach toys, a cooler full of drinks, a nice umbrella for mommy, and headed for the shore! We spent most of our morning collecting sea shells and exploring the beautiful island! :) The Krew enjoyed chasing the shiny schools of fish in the shallow water and splashing around with Bella!!!

Around lunch time we noticed a change in the current as the tide came in, and we became a little more cautious with the little ones swimming...however it wasn't the little ones we needed to be worried about!!! We figured the boat would be fine, noting it didn't budge the entire night...not even one anchor alarm!!! Unfortunately that was not the case! We saw as it turned with the current change... and then IT WAS OFF!!! Paul didn't think twice as he jumped in the dingy and took off...then I saw him grab the motor chord and start pulling like crazy!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! Our dingy motor stopped working at the most convenient time ever!!!

As I watched our boat, home, and every bit of lively hood, drag anchor down the channel... I also see my husband struggling to catch it as he rows "Ayden's Speed" (what an ironic name given the circumstances) to catch it!!! :) lol (however this was totally not a laughing matter at the time!) The good thing is that it was able to become a laughing matter, because he did catch our boat before she hit anyone or anything! However, it could have been a huge disaster had we not noticed the change in tide and current, and had we not seen our boat shift and drag!

We sailed away from this weekend with a larger anchor on our shopping list...and one notch in our belt for dragging anchor! :) I'm sure it will probably not be the last time... but it would TOTALLY be ok with me if it was!!!