Delilah's Meanderings

Sailing the coastal waters of Southwest Florida, the Keys, and the Bahamas

Vessel Name: Delilah
Vessel Make/Model: Gemini 105Mc Catamaran
Hailing Port: Whiteland, IN
Crew: Mark & Kim Hayes
About:
We have been sailing over 25 years. Starting with a 14 foot sailboat, then a Catalina 22, and next a Pearson 27 before buying our dream boat the Gemini. This is our seventh season aboard Delilah. We are seasonal coastal cruisers, spending the winters on the boat in Florida. [...]
Social:
25 February 2021
14 February 2021 | Boot Key Harbor
30 January 2021 | Boot Key Harbor
19 January 2021 | Boot Key Harbor
12 January 2021
05 January 2021 | Pelican Bay, Cayo Costa, Florida
29 February 2020
15 February 2020
08 February 2020
18 February 2019
03 February 2019
25 January 2019
10 March 2018 | Warderick Wells Cay, Exumas
Recent Blog Posts
07 February 2022

Season 7 aboard Delilah begins

It has been a really long time since our last post. Last year's cruising season was cut short when I ruptured my Achillie's tendon playing pickle ball in Marathon in the Florida Keys on Feb 18th. We flew home and I had surgery March 1st. The surgery went well and 6 months later I was mostly back to [...]

25 February 2021

Man plans ... God laughs!

I am writing this blog on the couch with my left leg propped up on two pillows in our house in Whiteland, Indiana. A week ago today, I ruptured my left Achilles tendon while playing pickle ball. There was loud pop and I went down. Next thing you know, everyone was helping me and Kim. Applying first [...]

14 February 2021 | Boot Key Harbor

Still Enjoying Marathon

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone from Boot Key Harbor. We continue to enjoy our time in Marathon, especially life on a mooring ball. We've been here for one month and I just paid for another two weeks. This is highly unusual for us to stay in one place. We're not exactly the relaxed type of people! Within [...]

30 January 2021 | Boot Key Harbor

Enjoying Marathon

Kim said it was my turn to do a post ... so both your luck and mine ran out! We are still in Boot Key Harbor, but now tied to mooring ball U1. We were 10th on the waiting list and it took 12 days before we got the call. What a relief it is compared to anchoring in tight quarters in shallow water. [...]

19 January 2021 | Boot Key Harbor

Made it to the Keys!

Hello. We are currently anchored in Boot Key Harbor at the Marathon City Marina. Waiting for a mooring ball. When we arrived on Thursday, January 14, we were #10 on the wait list. Today we are #6. We hope to be on a mooring ball in about a week (or less!).

12 January 2021

Heading to the Keys...

On a quiet morning sprinkled with rain, we set out for warmer temperatures. We have spent the last six nights at Ft. Myers Beach mooring field. Today we are making our way south down the coast to Marathon in the Middle Keys. With luck we might be able to pick up a mooring ball at Boot Key Harbor. There [...]

Fort Myers Beach

25 January 2019
Hello to all. I’m picking up from Mark’s last post when were anchored in Pelican Bay by Cayo Costa State Park. A lot has happened since then…

We motored sailed south to Fort Myers Beach about a week ago. We had a comfortable ride with very little boating traffic and only a few dolphin sightings. After arriving at FMB, we did a few of our favorite things. Showers were first on the list, then a walk along the beach, and finally happy hour at The Whale. Yummy! That evening we sat at Original Shrimp Dock Bar & Grill and watched the Pacers versus the 76ers.

The next morning we took the dinghy in and walked to Heavenly Biscuit for breakfast sandwiches and a shared cinnamon roll. Yummy, Yummy! Once back on the boat, we did a few maintenance tasks. Later that day we rode our bikes to Charro Brothers Mexican Restaurant. Yummy again! There’s a pattern here, in case you haven’t noticed. : ) We ran into JoEllen and Ron (Prairie Dog) in town and then Jenn and Duane (Proper Tease) at the dinghy dock. It was good to catch up with friends. On our dinghy ride back to Delilah, we towed an elderly gentleman who was rowing his dinghy due to outboard that wouldn’t start. He happened to be our neighbor in the mooring field. That evening we went back to shore and rode our bikes to Bowditch Point to enjoy a gorgeous sunset.

The following day was more of the same. Morning walk on the beach, a few boat tasks, a game of Scrabble (Mark keeps winning, grrr). We had a beautiful, somewhat windy day. The evening was a little rough with rain and more wind. The next morning we decided to brave the wind and get a couple of things done on shore, getting back to the boat before the winds increased throughout the day. We started with breakfast and the nautical flea market at Bonita Bill’s. Didn’t buy anything but it’s always worth a look! We took the dinghy back across to the dock on FMB side and rode our bikes to the Fort Myers Beach Library for the book sale.

What happened next is shocking and tragic. We witnessed the fatal attack on the beach library director, Dr. Leroy Hommerding. We had arrived at the library shortly before the book sale opening at 9 am. As I was waiting near the doors (Mark was chatting about our foldable bikes with another couple), I was watching a man coming down the sidewalk in the direction of the library. He appeared to be homeless and focused on the library so I was keeping my eyes on him. Mark and the other couple joined me about the time Dr. Hommerding unlocked the doors. This homeless man ran basically right through us to launch himself at Dr. Hommerding. I backed away thinking “he’s going to hit him” and Mark thought it might be some sort of playing around. You just don’t know how you’re going to react in any given situation. We were all in complete shock and it was over in about 30 seconds. The homeless man dashed out as quickly as he came. Then reality set in and we saw the blood. Dr. Hommerding had been attacked with a machete. People were scrambling around calling 911 and some were chasing the attacker. Everything gets sort of blurry after that. Several people tried to help Dr. Hommerding but were unable to do much besides offer comfort. We spent six hours in that library parking lot. We provided written and recorded witness accounts. The detectives followed up with us the next day (Monday) as well. We were instructed not to share details of our follow-up interactions. So I won’t.

Mark is struggling with guilt for not intervening. Knowing there wasn’t really anything that could have been done and accepting that are completely different. So we went through the motions of a normal day on Monday. We made a plan for our next stop at Marco Island. Weather permitting we would leave in a few days. We had prepaid for a week on the mooring ball. Mark caught up on some MDwise work and I cried a lot. That evening as we were playing Scrabble, we decided to leave the very next morning at first light. We both needed a change of scenery.

Yesterday we received an email from one of the library staff. Thanking us once again for staying the day at the library, offering grief counseling information, and inviting us to the memorial service to be held tomorrow. Mark and I have been deeply affected by this tragedy. We will feel forever connected to the staff, volunteers, and other witnesses. We mourn the loss of Dr. Hommerding who by all accounts was a very well loved man.

We are now sitting pretty in a slip at the Esplanade Marina, Smokehouse Bay, Marco Island. Coming here earlier than planned was definitely the right thing to do for us. We’ve been here for three days. Our next post will catch you up on our lovely days here and will be more light-hearted. Love to all.
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Delilah's Photos - Main
7th season aboard Delilah - February 2022
22 Photos
Created 5 February 2022
7th season aboard Delilah - January 2022
21 Photos
Created 16 January 2022
6th season aboard Delilah - February 2021
20 Photos
Created 7 February 2021
6th season aboard Delilah - January 2021
37 Photos
Created 5 January 2021
5th season aboard Delilah - March 2020
22 Photos
Created 4 April 2020
5th season aboard Delilah - February 2020
63 Photos
Created 4 February 2020
5th season aboard Delilah ... January 2020
35 Photos
Created 22 January 2020
4th season aboard Delilah ... April 2019
13 Photos
Created 5 May 2019
4th season aboard Delilah ... March 2019
49 Photos
Created 4 May 2019
4th season aboard Delilah ... February 2019
37 Photos
Created 2 February 2019
4th season aboard Delilah ... January 2019
31 Photos
Created 15 January 2019
2 Photos
Created 29 December 2018
April 2018 - third season aboard Delilah
13 Photos
Created 8 April 2018
3rd season aboard Delilah ... March 2018
63 Photos
Created 3 March 2018
3rd season aboard Delilah ... February 2018
67 Photos
Created 9 February 2018
3rd season aboard Delilah ... January 2018
25 Photos
Created 24 January 2018
13 Photos
Created 5 April 2017
83 Photos
Created 1 March 2017
42 Photos
Created 2 February 2017
1 Photo | 4 Sub-Albums
Created 7 January 2017
49 Photos
Created 6 January 2017
Getting Delilah ready for 2nd season.
3 Photos
Created 6 January 2017
15 Photos
Created 9 February 2016