Wednesday, February 28, 2018

We got underway from Miami's Marine Stadium around 9am and started heading south on the ICW in Biscayne Bay. After only an hour or so we turn left and head towards No Name Harbor to stage for our transit south along the Keys. Winds are perfect to put up just the headsail and leisurely make our way down the bay. We anchor just before lunch and relax the rest of the day. We don't anchor in the harbor but just outside. It can be crowded and since we're heading out in the morning, we don't plan on going ashore. During the day several more boat anchor outside the harbor probably staging for the Bahamas.

Thursday, March 1, 2018

We weighed anchor at 7:45am and headed out to sea. We'll take Hawk Channel which is the channel for deeper draft vessels on the Atlantic side of the Keys. It's well protected from ocean swells by a reef that runs the length of the Keys. Winds will be close on the bow so we plan on motoring most of the way. Our destination is Rodriguez Key, a popular anchorage along Hawk Channel. The water is really looking crystal clear, a beautiful shade of turquoise and blue. Winds are light and the seas are fairly calm with only a little wind blown chop. We arrive at Rodriquez Key around 3:30 pm and anchor in about 8 ft of water. It was a long day and a little hot so we decide to take a dip and cool off. Winds are light overnight which is good because the anchorage is a little exposed. The crew gets a good night's sleep.

Friday, March 2, 2018

It's a good morning for the crew to have an anchoring lesson - no wind and shallow calm water that is so clear you can see the anchor on the bottom. Lynn follows directions well and successfully brings the anchor up so we can get underway. Next lesson will involve dropping and setting the anchor, but that will be for another day. We're anxious to get down to Boot Key Harbor (BKH). It's a very large mooring field run by the City of Marathon with about 200 moorings available on a first come, first serve basis. We're moving south at 8am. Winds are extremely light and on the nose so we motor the full day. We arrive at BKH around 3:30 and squeak our way through the channel at low tide. We check in with the city marina and are lucky to get the last available mooring ball in the harbor. It's too late to drop the dinghy and check in, so we'll do that first thing on Saturday. With Interlude comfortable on the mooring ball, the crew sits down for a relaxing beverage and looks forward dinner and a movie.

Saturday, March 3, 2018

The weather continues to be awesome. We have breakfast in the cockpit and get ready to listen in on the BKH Cruisers Net. A Cruisers Net is a VHF radio broadcast typically held where there are large numbers of cruisers. It's hosted by volunteers and provides general information, Q&A, announcements, buy-sell-trade, etc. One of the announcements is for a Sunday cruisers potluck brunch at the marina tiki hut. It sounds like fun so we add some additional items to our grocery list for the day. After the cruiser's net, we drop the dinghy and head in for a shower and to check-in with the harbor master. You can tell this is a big operation. There are about 50 dinghies at the very large dinghy dock(s). We head over to the office and walk into a great big open bay with a huge library, several TV viewing areas and tables with outlets for laptops, etc. We pay for 4 days as we plan on leaving Tuesday morning. We get tags for the dinghy and bikes. We also get a cruisers bag with info on local things to do. The bag is a nice insulated bag, perfect for grocery shopping. After showering we head back to the boat to grab the bikes and head out for some lunch and sightseeing. Our first stop is at the Keys Fisheries Restaurant & Marina. This is a favorite of ours. In 2009, we drove down and took US Sailing sanctioned lessons on a boat that was docked here. We enjoyed a lobster roll and fried conch sandwich and then walked over to the marina to see if Capt Bruce was around. Capt Bruce was the guy who ran the Key's Sailing school. We saw the Catalina 30 that we took our lessons on. Unfortunately, we discovered that Capt Bruce had passed away several years earlier and the business is under new ownership. We meander around on the bikes and visit a couple of shops. By now, it's getting later in the afternoon so we stop in at Publix and do some much-needed provisioning. Shopping can be tricky when you have to be careful not to buy more than you can carry in the bike baskets. Soda will have to wait until the next run!

Sunday, March 3, 2018

This morning we begin with breakfast in the cockpit and the Cruisers Net. Somebody is looking for an aluminum welder... can't help with that. While listening to the Cruisers Net, Lynn gets started on our contribution for the potluck brunch, Chili Relleno Pie. At 10am and we head in for the get-together. Wow, this is a great setup. Along with all the potluck dishes, there's also a bacon and egg's station along with someone making waffles! Nobody's going away hungry this morning. After loading up our plates, we head over to the Bloody Mary bar. Life is good. We meet a couple of cruisers who give us some advice on Key West so we are well armed with some local info before leaving on Tuesday. After brunch we drop off our empty dish back at the boat and prepare for a full day of sightseeing. We head over to Crane Point - a 50 acre preserve that has been held in trust to preserve the early 1900 buildings and the Key's Hammock maritime forest. Like most historic sites along the Keys, it's linked to the East Coast Railroad built by Henry Flagler which once linked Key West to mainland Florida. After some good trail Burdine's Waterfront for dinner on the docks. We enjoy a 20 minute dinghy ride through the mooring field to get there, but well worth it for the gigantic basket of fries, quesadilla and fried Key Lime Pie!

Monday, March 4, 2018

Lynn's excited. We've heard about yoga classes at the park by the marina. So Lynn dinghies off to the class and I hang out on the boat because we are expecting the pump-out boat to arrive around 10am. With the pump-out done, I work on the track for our next transit south towards Key West. Lynn gets back to Interlude in time for us to head out again for some lunch. We are in search of pizza and end up at a Cuban/pizza place that probably had better Cuban food than pizza. We return to the boat and get the dinghy motor mounted on the stern rail in preparation for tomorrow's ocean transit. We finish just in time to receive Keith and Nicki (s/v Sionna) aboard for sundowners in the cockpit. Lynn met Nicki at yoga, enjoyed chatting and invited them. A typical cruiser encounter - many friendships are formed just this way. This year they are wintering in BKH; summers are spent in Maine. Keith has been battling a detached retina so he and Lynn were able to trade 'battle stories'. We say good bye to Keith and Nicki at sundown and hope to run into them again - hopefully next year in the Bahamas providing everyone's eyes are healthy

Tuesday, March 5, 2018

We're underway at 8am sharp with no wind. We ride the tide out of BKH and head southwest into Hawk Channel. We're heading for the Naval Air Station Key West Marina at Boca Chica. This is supposed to be a great marina for active duty and retired military and it's only a few miles bike ride from Key West. The winds are expected to be light today so we are pleasantly surprised to have enough wind to hoist the sails and cut the engine around noon. We have a great sail the rest of the way to the Boca Chica Channel The highlight of the day (and probably for the trip, according to Lynn) was when 4 dolphins started to ride our bow wave as we entered the channel. Lynn was poised on the bow and had a front row seat as the dolphins zigzagged and jumped just in front of the boat for about 5 minutes. We docked around 3:30pm at the marina and immediately headed to the bar for dinner and cocktails. It's been a long but rewarding day.