4/28/11 - Thursday

Left Key West at 6:45 am and motored out the main channel to the south channel heading towards the Dry Tortugas. Once in the south channel we were able to actually do some sailing for a short while, mostly it was motor-sailing. Arrived Boca Grande Key at around noon. Anchored off the island and after dinner (grilled brats) took the dinghy to the beach, at that point all the partiers had left to go back to Key West. Two other boats anchored near the island, pretty quiet evening.

4/29/11 - Friday
Motored, sailed, motor-sailed for 10 hours, arrived at Fort Jefferson, Garden Island, Dry Tortugas at 5:00. We had about 1-2 foot waves and winds 0-8 mph so it was a pretty good day. Both of us tired so made it an early night. We are anchored with Garden Key on one side and Bush Key on the other side. Bush Key is a refuge for noddy and sooty terns. These birds come in early April and leave in September. Thousands (supposedly 60,000?) of birds making lots of noise. Bush Key is off limits this time of year since they are nesting.

4/30/11 - Saturday

Took the dinghy to shore, toured the fort for a couple of hours and then went back to the boat to get our snorkel gear. We snorkeled off the beach behind the fort. Only saw some little fish, mostly sand and sea grass. Bill did take a lot of pics so I will have him download them to the website when we get back to Key West.

5/1/11 - Sunday

Wind picked up significantly then at midnight all hell broke loose! Thunderstorm arrived and time to batten down the hatches. Bill let out another 25 feet of chain. Calypso, the sailboat behind us, turned on their spreader lights and we did the same. We thought that was a good idea, easier to see each other. There were only 5 of us anchored in this spot, fairly close together. Not sure what the winds were clocking, best guess gusts to 40. We decided to turn on the motor just in case our hold failed then watched a sailboat loose their hold and go flying by us and Calypso. Winds died a little, and the sailboat came back and set their anchor again. Just when we started thinking the worst was over, it hits again. This time a power boat looses it's hold and goes flying by us and Calypso. I think the people on the power boat slept through the whole thing! Never saw a single light go on inside their boat, must have gotten a big shock when they woke up in the morning to see where they were. We finally went back to bed at around 3:00 am. When we woke up in the morning the power boat was back in their original spot.

It was quite an exciting night.

Winds still blew all day so we spent the day on the boat reading and listening to our iPods.

5/2/11 - Monday

It was another very windy night but not as bad as the night before, no boats flying by. Not sure when we will be able to leave here, difficult to get a NOAA weather forecast on our VHF radio since the closest broadcast is over 60 miles away. Plan is to go into the fort some time today to get a forecast. We are hoping to leave by Wednesday.

As I mentioned before, there are no services at all here. No water, fuel, food, etc. This includes no cell phones or internet. We have been using SPOT each night to let our family and friends on our list know that we are okay. SSB would be a good thing to have, still thinking about getting one before heading to the Bahamas.

5/3/11 - Tuesday

We got our scuba gear on to take a look at what the bottom of the boat looks like - definitely needs a good scraping. Weather forecast looks good for leaving tomorrow morning. The plan is to take the Northern route back to Key West instead of the southern route that we used coming here. Basically the difference is which side of the Marquesas Keys one goes. When I think of Marquesa's I certainly do not think of any where close to Florida, but unfortunately it is. Much rather it be the Marquesa Islands in the South Pacific.

Bill and I are enjoying frozen Margarita's thanks to the Engel freezer!

5/4/11 - Wednesday

Left Dry Tortugas at 7:00 am - light wind and 1-2 foot waves.

5/5/11 - Thursday

Arrived at Key West Mooring at 11:30 pm last night. Comfortable sail (motor sail) all the way back.

Our current plan is to stay here for a month.