Hello Blog fans ! thanks for patience ! using hard to find internet at marina hemingway , near Havana , so no fotos this time , will keep trying though . Arrived safely here after excellent 30 hour trip across from Key West on Thursday 3rd january . now settling in and finding my bearings locally , its a crazy place but so far all goes well and friendly locals..really glad i have my basic spanish and hope to improve it as well ! hasta luego and take care . more from me soon as I can ! .

Hello All!

I wish you a Happy and successful New Year , may it bring you all you dream of and most important continued good health to you and yours ...

I had a very straightforward sail in a 10 to 15 knot breeze from E/SE down from the top of Marathon , the only really difficult part was sailing and using the motors to fight the strong current against us going under the high way bridge . You have to go south of the islands now as they stretch north of the main keys and there is no more channel . But a good sail arriving at the boat yard and tying up by 1630 or so in daylight , I was hoping to find anchorage room somewhere but this side and all around key west its not possible , except if you are a local and know the cuts and shallow areas very well .

shopping as little by bike easy and a very kind local guy gives me a short lift to the highway to fill up both propane bottles so thats a great help .

watching the weather now and hoping to cross over to Cuba sometime this week ...

Best wishes and enjoy new years eve ! Nigel

Its True , he is here and I have seen him !
I found fair winds on Sunday and monday 24th after a big cold front went thro at the end of last week and came down from Key largo , stopping overnight at Islamorada , in a light breeze all the way to marathon town on vaca key , so now about half way to Key West , and will see if I can get there by this weekend . depends on Neptune as ever !

Merry Christmas to all the blog readers and thanks for keeping an eye on the blog if you can be bothered at this holiday time ! I hope you have all had a great time with family and friends and lots ot eat and drink of course .
Santa is a life size manikin but tilts and sways to the music and he and his mouth goes up and down as he sings !! very scary as you are supposed to be attracted to the restaurant he is outside!
yes there are a few shops open and cafes on xmas day here i could not believe my eyes these poor staff have no choice i suppose the boss says we are working so thats that . but the main culprit is locals and tourists who cannot leave the stores alone for 24 hours as all are open again on boxing day anyway...unbeleivable they could not just buy what they need on the day before ..Walgreens open !!
The consumer ethic here runs deep and they just cannot , NOT shop , even on xmas day ...poor things! Give the poor guys a break !
Went for a stroll along the highway in perfect weather , light se 'ly and sunny skies , 81 f degrees ! found some stores for tomorrow if needed and then found the main marathon harbour with many moorings and cruisers so stayed and chatted there awhile . Huge number of boats there and around 200 moorings !

Have a great Holiday to All !

hello Keys fans ! well that was a great trip using the wind and the outboards , i set off sunday am at 0800 and sailed around 20 miles following the intra coastal channels and cuts and enjoying the wide open flat bays in between
the short cuts and channels some in the open shallow water , some in mangrove alleys all twisting and turning took all my concentration and skill to keep her going but also the electric motors were fine and and long as I nursed them and watched the battery levels we managed when we had to , usually the mangroves cut the wind off completely , and going under highway bridges does strange things to wind direction we discover !
Also we know we are in the keys as there are no speed limits or rule of the road here , its all over powered speed boats and flat out , all the time , whether its a cut or the open water , I just close my eyes and hope they miss me as they approach . The keys are the USA but they do things their own way here... A helicopter flies low and fast right at me and i think , thats it its the park police and they are going to arrest me ..turns sharply round me and is taking photos for sale !! crazy , but not a bad idea !
found a natural lagoon more in the heart key largo now with supermarkets and stores , a couples of cafes and bars all within half a mile either way on highway one .
the lagoon is called Tarpon bay if you are following on google maps.
there is a small dock by a local park you can bring your dinghy to , and from there a short walk to the pub across the highway ...careful now keys drivers dont stop for no brit tourist!
at the small park there are a family of iguanas ..down the road in the shopping area an ice cream parlour has wi-fi so no choice but to eat lots of ice cream , damn the sacrifices we cruisers must make to stay in touch ...
I meet some local sailors , most of who came here years ago on their way to ....and then they got stuck here and all have great stories of fortunes won and lost , sinking boast and thieves who stole everything ...or was it the bar tab ? So i know io am in the keys proper now when I anchor near to small sailboat homes to these characters with no masts ( they will get one soon - yeah , right ) and lots of plans and pirate treasure still down there in the channels , they may be able to get some of that too ...oh yeah hmm ..but they speak with such conviction you just enjoy the b/s and off some of your own !
well weather fronts passing thro from the gulf are regular here in the winter so i will move again maybe wednesday and find shelter for the weekend one which promises a big wind for 2 days...
thanks for reading !

I wrote a long blog yesterday and lost it as i tried to upload it ! rats! Oh well , here is a short update ...more later in the week !

Left Ft Pierce Thursday morning and sailed with all kinds of wind and weather down the florida ocean coast and turned into the Biscayne Bay thro a Coral reef channel , then a great final sail in flat water down to Key largo .

I anchored at 5 pm Friday afternoon as the sun was setting and celebrated with a cold beer ! The tiny key was named Pumpkin Key . saturday I took a day off , tired from the two day busy sailing .

Today Sunday the wind is heading for the south so i will try to go to the main part of Key Largo and go ashore . A front approaches from the texas coast and I need to be in more of a sheltered place as it goes around from sw to ne on tuesday .

So a short sail today of a few miles ...and hope to go ashore in the new area . Thanks for reading !

Well I thought the electric cat and I might slowly ease out of the inlet at 0900 today ..no chance . The forecast change of wind was delayed the front really taking its own sweet time to move across the lower SE corner of the USA . Today managed a long over due wiring job by the foot of the mast tyo pass the time and went for 2 walks either side , the beach being good for a wind direction and the 65 foot bridge to the town giving me a horizon to horizon view of the weather passing from the SW to the NE . All day i check the online forecasts and the websites showing satellite and radar combos across florida .
Fingers crossed the change will be tonight up here to the NW as the front crawls overhead , then northerlies freshening for thursday and friday - good , i need to get down to Biscayne bay and then get inside the Keys so i can have some flat water cruising at last !
The other part of the forecast is very important too - after 50 miles to Jupiter inlet , about half way to Miami , the western edge of the 4 or 5 knot Gulf Stream that goes north is only 4 miles !!! off the beach so to get south I have to stay very close in or end up off North Carolina !
So as I may not be able to find wi fi for a while lets say I can go tomorrow and hope to add more here when in the keys after the weekend .
Wish me luck and fair winds , safe harbours .