Bus trip to Key Largo

The African Queen

The Keys are linked together by Highway 1, from Miami to Key West. Two bus routes serve the Keys one from Miami to Marathon and the second from Marathon to Key West. The buses stop at any place along the route where there is room to turn off, no assigned bus stops just schedule times to be at certain mile markers. The fare to Miami is $2.65 get on anywhere and off anywhere still $2.65 per person. The Key West route is $4.00 or $1.50 for seniors, what a great way for us to get around. 

Six of us decided to go to Key Largo this afternoon. We saw the African Queen from the Bogart movie and took a tour on the Glass Bottom Boat to the reef a 2 hour journey. I noticed when the boat moved there was no turbulance visible through the glass bottom. I assume then that each section of the bottom was a single piece of glass well faired into the hull. Each viewing section was at least 20 feet long and 10 feet wide. Then some seafood and back on the bus to home, a fun day.

The Reef and my shoe

It rained last night as a cold front past and this morning was quite overcast, the clouds cleared this afternoon and the temperature was in the mid 70’s about 10 degrees cooler than the previous several days. 

House shopping from the canal, nice!!

Marilyn and Kurt at Dinner, Castaway II

Dolphin Research Center on Grassy Key

Marilyn teaching Carol Tatting

Yesterday the most exciting event was that a neighboring boater taught me how to do “needle tatting” – which I never thought I would do, but Grandma McFetridge would be proud.   With that highlight, we decided to combine two days of excitement into one blog and today made up for yesterdays quiet.

A dolphin playing splash with a visitor

We spent most of the day at the Dolphin Research Center on Grassy Key.  It was a very interesting place, a good-sized land park and large fenced lagoons for the many dolphins and sea lions that live there.  Wide boardwalks allowed visitors to get up close and watch the dolphins at leisure.  Fortunately, the dolphins also like to watch the people so they were willing to come in close.  It is said that they enjoy listening to singing so I tried whistling and that seemed to keep them nearby for quite awhile.

Several visitors signed up to get in the water and play with the dolphins so we all got to watch their antics.  The people followed instructions almost as well as the dolphins.

A dolphin back dive, maybe a 9.6

One lagoon held mothers and dolphin calves of about 3 months old.  The young ones stay with their mothers for anywhere from 1-6 years.  The researchers pointed out that there are many different “parenting styles” among the females and they make use of grandparents and dolphin baby-sitters within the family.

Other research has proven that dolphins have mathematical abilities and are able to differentiate between smaller and larger numbers of objects – being rewarded when they choose the lesser amount, they become quite accurate. YouTube Link: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A226SlCQQsA) 

They can also pick out “which of these objects is not like the others?” and which one of several objects match the main object.  It was fascinating seeing their capabilities and the patience of the trainers.

There were rain showers a couple of times today, so the slightly cooler temperatures made standing outside all day, very pleasant.

Quite Social

A visitor special encounter session

High speed swimming

Another Day in Paradise

Reunion moored at Boathouse Marina

This morning we put the dinghy in the water for a trip around the several bays and canals near our marina. We moved further up our canal to an opening that the dinghy could go under but not the bigger boat into another canal area. There is a restaurant and small marina on the other side and a different entrance to the ocean. Yes, we are on the ocean side of the keys, so the dinghy was out in the ocean for a little bit until we were able to enter back into the canal that terminates at our marina. If you look at the chart that marks our current position you will see the waterways. One day I would like to take the dinghy through the Vaca Cut to the Gulf side and see how it is different. We could easily spend years in the Keys and not see all the interesting sites, bays and canals.

A lighthouse, nice architectural statement

A fountain in the pool

Tonight we made arrangements to eat with some of our traveling companions, two couples took a cab up the key and picked up the other two couples at our marina and then continued to the Hideaway Restaurant. A small place with white linen table cloths and great service. I was impressed with how the waiters and waitresses served all 8 people simultaneously. And the food, wine and desert was great. We had a wonderful time with new friends all sharing the same experiences in different ways. 

Dinner with new friends

Lots of fun with new friends

Errands, Repairs, Retired Work Day

Monday like many other days is a day for errands and fix it projects. Today I took both our VHF radios to Seamark Electronics to have them bench tested, about a 5 mile bike ride each way. One radio should be replaced and the other is functional. This afternoon, we helped a fellow boater move his boat to a different slip and tested the radios after reinstallation. I decided I needed to re-solder the VHF antenna connection and purchased a butane soldering iron that can also be used to torch crème brulee. Carol and I began our cruise planning for the east coast of Florida and Carol made reservations to visit with the BABS in Omaha in March. I went for a swim this afternoon while Carol discussed quilting with Marilyn from Castaway. So a real normal day not much excitement, nice weather again as usual cooled a bit this afternoon and the humidity decreased as well. Lots of sunshine, warm weather and light winds it rivals our best summer days in Wisconsin. 

Our dockside Iguana

Marathon Yacht Club

250 plus vendors

This morning Dennis went off on the Hwy 1 bus to the island of Islamorada where they were holding a “Nautical Flea Market.  This is apparently a gathering similar to the tents you see at a boat show – without the boats for sale.  All manor of dock hardware, boat lifts, anchors, antique ships wheels, snorkel equipment, lines, fenders, cheap T-shirts, and general miscellaneous boat stuff were displayed.  He came back with a pair of water shoes.  I expect he will now be able to walk on water – or at least in it without stepping on sharp shells or sea serpents.

Florida lobsters do not have claws, but some are large

It was a very hot, humid day so I amused myself on the boat and did a little cooking for the afternoon Looper party at the Marathon Yacht Club.  It was a fine party – about 140 people telling boat tales and exchanging ideas for what to look for on your way up the east coast.  We are starting to recognize people that we may have met once or twice along the way all the way from Chicago and Alton Illinois down through Dunedin and Sanibel.  There were also a few people that have written articles or books that we have found useful. 

It is so good to consider all that we have seen and done, and all that remains in our adventure for the next few months.  So far we have travelled 2100 miles – not halfway around the loop yet, but looking forward to the rest.

AGLCA gathering at the Marathon Yacht Club

Exploring the Keys, Pigeon Key

The Keys have just one long road from one end to the other, so it is reasonably easy to find your way around.  There are buses (really cheap) and taxis (pretty cheap) so getting to see places should not be a problem.

All about the Railroad

Today we took the Keyhopper taxi to Pigeon Key and had a tour of that tiny island.

Pigeon Key is near the middle of the 7 Mile Bridge and it was the construction camp and maintenance location for the original railroad line that came down to Key West.  Henry Flagler is the patron saint of the Keys as he funded the rail line, along with many other places and companies here.  Flagler was a contemporary and partner of John D. Rockefeller in the Standard Oil Company.  He brought people and wealth from the upper east coast all the way to the southernmost tip of the east coast.  He established the original upper class vacation colonies in the Palm Beach/Miami area. Then he built the railroad at the same time the Panama Canal was being built, so that ships from the Pacific could discharge cargo in the keys and ship directly to the United States.  He was known as a great philanthropist – but since he owned railroads and oil companies, it didn’t do his business any harm to have this new route for commerce.

Eric our tour guide

Pigeon Key has never been privately owned or commercialized.  It is run by the Pigeon Key Foundation and holds student “sea camp” excursions all year round. Schools from all over the country send 8^th-12^th graders to learn about the sea here in the Keys.  The island has some dormitory buildings, original to the railroad workers of 1908 as well as a dining hall and cook house and a couple of homes that were originally built for the bridge tenders.  Those original houses are now occupied by the Foundation directors.  

7 mile bridge, ties were set atop the vertical deck plates

There is a short ferry ride to Pigeon Key and a tour that was very interesting. After the tour, we walked to the Sunset Grille for a cold beverage and a view of the beautiful pool there.

The Pool at the Sunset Grill

This evening we will share a potluck supper with people in the marina – everyone is invited.  We have met at least six other couples from Wisconsin here.  For a well -kept secret destination, at least Wisconsinites have been finding the Coral Lagoon Resort and Boathouse Marina.

Boathouse Marina

Tropical paradise

It’s easy to get comfortable when you find a quiet, attractive marina with a beautiful pool, landscaping, showers and laundry and well maintained docks and facilities.  We were fortunate to find the “Resort at Coral Lagoon” also known as Boathouse Marina.  This place is not listed on any of the regular sources – we heard about it from Loopers ahead of us who were enjoying their stay.  It is very reasonably priced and contradicts all the warning we had heard about Keys marinas being very expensive and almost impossible to get into.  We were prepared to anchor at a mooring ball or find our own beach anchorage, but really, this is so much more relaxing.

We HIGHLY Recommend this stop for other Loopers.  It is located near Vaca Pass, east of the city of Marathon.

Shopping at Publix

The boats Humbug and Carol Ann have been here for awhile, and one couple has a car, so we got to make a real grocery shopping run.  It worked very well and we fit the groceries for 4 boats, plus people, into the Volvo.  Dennis is scrubbing a few layers of salt off Reunion and later we will go for a swim and invite a few folks over to watch the sunset.  Sunset is a Very Big Deal in the keys and we have the best view in the marina.  We have asked everyone to bring the books they want to exchange.

Decktails on Reunion

Middle Cape Sable to Vaca Key

As expected there was a light breeze from the east as we began our final leg to the Florida Keys about a 44 mile trip. In this area of the Gulf commercial crabbing abounds, we drove for 25 miles picking our way through crab pot floats that were spaced 100 to 200 feet apart. It is necessary to constantly watch for crab pot floats since the lines between the floats and the pots could get tangled in the propeller stopping the boat. The remedy would be to cut the line off the propeller and shaft with a knife and usually requires a diver. 

A great home on Sister Rock, a very small island

As usual the wind built as the day progressed, we crossed under the 7 mile bridge about 1:00, continued on to Hawk Channel on the ocean side of the Keys. The wind had increased to 18 knots and the waves to 3 feet in the channel. Each succeeding leg of the route brought us more abeam of the waves until the channel at Key Colony Beach. A well-marked deep channel that led us to the Key Colony Beach Marina, Randy selected a slip for our boat and helped us to with the landing now again in high winds. 

The west view from our slip

This trip completes our Florida West Coast passage and marks the furthest point south we will travel. As much as we planned this trip to the Keys, I am a bit overwhelmed about actually arriving here. I feel we have made great progress in understanding ourselves, our needs and wants, and now have a better understanding of our capabilities as boaters. We plan to spend the next month here in the keys, it definitely feels like the tropics this morning.

Delayed Post: Everglades City to Middle Cape Sable

Carol takes a turn at the helm  on a pleasant day

2/18/14  Nice sunny day with temps early in the mid 70’s increasing to about 83 in the afternoon. Cruising now mostly south along the Everglades not much scenery or development in this area. The shores are lined with Mangroves this morning the water was quite calm and very aqua in color, the dolphins enjoy this area as well as the rest of the Gulf. Our destination is Middle Cape Point at Cape Sable an anchorage just along the beach with wind protection from the east and southeast. Not the normal fully enclosed and protected anchorage we prefer. But the forecast is for winds from the east with a little south component due to a high pressure located on the Atlantic side of the Pennisula. As we rounded Northwest Cape 10 miles from our destination the wind picked up considerably to 20 knots and had a significant south component for a while it looked like a southwest component, the waves built to 2 ½ feet and we were all concerned. However, we continued and found some protection from the wind and waves. Because of the location of this point the east wind blows around the tip of Florida up the southwest part of Cape Sable and then around the point. The wind waves follow this pattern as well, we were all surprised after anchoring to see our boats pointing directly towards shore while the waves were on our beam. So in fact the wind was from the east and the anchorage fairly well protected. The wind is now settling as the evening approaches, we hope to be on our way again due south early tomorrow morning.

Beachfront anchorage, Middle Sable

Marco Island to Russell Pass Anchorage, Everglades, FL

House shopping at Marco Island

Sunny and cool in the morning with a north wind, rolling waves from the northeast pushed the stern around until the third leg that headed ENE then seas calmed and the wind diminished after shifting to the east.

We arrived in the Russell Pass anchorage about 12:30 PM.  This is the edge of the Everglades National Park and is completely remote with mangroves and water as far as the eye can see.  We lowered the dinghy into the water and took a very interesting side trip to Everglades City, about a 40 minute trip by dinghy. Everglade City was larger than expected and seems to center around an active commercial fishing fleet. We also saw our first air boats that push through the glades. Lots of activity on the river and a continuous fast flow of water. We purchased some dinghy gas from an unattended credit card fuel pump on the water for $5.39 per gallon, a bit pricey.

Our main destination was a historic restaurant and hotel called the Everglades Rod and Gun Club. The hotel lobby is all dark wood with many trophy fish, birds and deer mounted on the walls.  Built in 1864 it has hosted Presidents Truman and Eisenhower, as well as Mick Jagger, Earnest Hemmingway, Sally Fields, Sean Connery, Burt Reynolds, Dennis and Carol Barkow, and a host of other celebrities.  It it was used several times for movie sets and still maintains its original character.  We had a late lunch of fresh seafood salad and some ‘gator bites’ that were really very good.  The rest of the town is made up of Florida/Key West style cottages and a few restaurants, a bank, and a school.

Beautiful old wood interior

We returned to our anchorage in time to join some other Loopers for a sunset visit.  These folks were both couples from Wisconsin and we enjoyed getting to know them.  All in all a very nice day, smooth ride, fun adventures and a lovely place to be.

 

Old Florida

Fleet Corporate Headquarters

Sanibel Marina to Smokehouse Bay, Marco Island

Stern is floating, bow not so much!

Great day for a boat ride, northwest wind 10-15, 2 ft waves with a 7 second duration(gentle roll) and lots of sunshine, high temperature about 68 degrees. We wanted to leave this morning at 9:00, however, there was a very low tide last night and we found our bow 6” out of the water at low tide 8:38 AM. So we waited until 9:00 to begin preparations, as the tide rose the boat began to level and we were able to pull ourselves out of the slip about 9:35. Next was the very narrow channel leading directly to the Gulf, the channel is quite badly shoaled in on the west side and a bit shallow in any condition but especially with our low tide. At one point the depth sounder showed 1 ft of water, since I believe our keel is 18” below the depth sounder pickup point we probably disturbed a bit of sand.

A pink hibiscus at Sanibel Marina

Once clear of the channel we were on our way. We planned to meet up with another  boat “Beach Quest” about 9:30 at the entrance to the Gulf as it turned out they were about three miles behind us as we traveled the 35 miles to Capri Pass the entrance to Marco Island. We read all the available material on anchorages along with their directions and point of interest, we follow our charts both electronic and paper and still there are some surprises along the way. In this case a pleasant surprise the channel was better marked and deeper than the charts suggested and the anchorage is large, deep, well maintained and surrounded by 1000+ condos.

We were able to attend our home church Mount Pleasant Lutheran via a one week delayed pod cast this morning. As much as we are enjoying our new adventures and all the sights, it is wonderful to retain the connection with our faith community at home. Thanks to Pastors Dave and Christine for providing these sound tracks.

Just a Note: Our current plans put us out of cell phone range the the next two days as we move toward Marathon Key

A deep channel with lots of Sunday traffic

A really pretty, well protected anchorage

Sanibel Island

Today we made the transition from vacation get-away to  “Loopers on-the-way”.

Kim, Scott and Autumn departed for the frozen tundra this afternoon and we put the boat back into traveling mode.  Dennis has been charting the next section of the journey, we got the laundry done, everything buttoned down and put away  so we are ready to start out again first thing in the morning.

We plan to go from here at Sanibel Marina down to Marco Island.  We will take the “outside” route down the Gulf of Mexico rather than the inside route of the old Intracoastal Waterway.  The inside route is more protected from wind and storm, but is frequently shallow and full of twists and turns.  Since the weather promises to be kind to us the next few days we will take the more direct route. 

Active Captain on our iPad

One of the tools that we use to chart our routes and check on anchorage locations is called “Active Captain” and it is a great web tool.  Every waterway is carefully charted and traveling boats post their reviews of locations, marinas, bays and harbors as they go along.  So we have up to the minute information if a bridge is out of order, or if the fuel prices are particularly good or bad at any given spot. 

Active Captain tells us Smokehouse Harbor will be a good place to anchor the boat overnight in Marco Island tomorrow night.

Our Planned Anchorage at Marco Is

Sanibel Beach

Sanibel Beach

Finally, a real vacation-worthy day for Kim and Scott to enjoy Sanibel Island.  After yesterday’s high stress, high weather crossing we awoke to a beautiful sunny day and decided to walk around the island and go to the beach.  Sanibel has a lighthouse on the eastern-most tip and we started there.  Lots of tourists were just standing looking out to sea because several dolphin were playing and fishing just a few feet off shore.  The dolphins we saw yesterday would take one quick peek above the rolling waves and dive back into calmer waters.

We walked and collected shells and walked some more.  Sanibel is a lovely place full of condos and inns and well-kept homes.   There are restaurants and tourist shops and a few other businesses, but it looks almost impossible to buy milk or do any of the errands of daily life.  Guess that’s why it’s a vacation destination – one can escape the errands of daily life.  We stopped at the Lazy Flamingo for a snack and thoroughly enjoyed the blue sky and kind temperatures as well as the town.

Lots of shells as the tide goes out

This evening we celebrated Valentines Day with steaks on the grill and a good salad.  Scott did the cooking and Dennis did the cleaning-up so Kim and I felt very loved.  Good guys – we were smart to bring them along.

Nice Smile

 

Autumn on a beach walk

Burnt Store Marina to Sanibel Marina

A good place to ride on a rough day

It’s about the weather!!! Last night the front that has dumped snow on the rest of the southeast made its debut in Florida. We learned tonight that Florida is the only state of the 50 states with no snow. So please do not hear this post a complaining, rather another lesson in making weather related decisions. Strong southwest winds follow by rain and a wind shift to the northwest. After the front rolled through, the cold northwest winds began to blow. We wanted to travel to Sanibel since Kim, Scott and Autumn will leave on Saturday, schedules can be a problem when the weather is less than great.

The first ten miles across Charlotte Harbor we faced beam seas that rocked the boat and sent water splashing up on the fly bridge. The balance of the trip was mostly downwind with less rocking but some swaying back and forth. The wind was to taper off in the afternoon, but when we landed two deck hands could not move the boat back to the dock pulling on the stern line. Scott and I jumped off and together with the deck hands we were able to secure the boat to the dock. Winds estimated to be 30 mph at times.  A hard day all around, you make the best decisions you can with the available information and some days are harder than others.

We had supper at Grandma Dots restaurant, right here at the marina a classic old Florida dining establishment. The weather should be better tomorrow and we hope to do some shelling on the famous Sanibel beach.

Autumn helping out on the bridge

A Burnt Store Pelican

Name that Palm, 3 people have given it three different names

Fisherman’s Village to Burnt Store Marina

Harpoon Harry's at Fisherman's Village

We had planned two days in Fisherman’s Village that turned into 5 days as we each dealt with the 24 hour flu in secession. Now all mostly well, although still not eating heartily. So finally today we are traveling again although not very far. We needed fuel and Burnt Store has the best prices on Charlotte Harbor. Interesting destination marina with 525 slips, dry storage, several large condo buildings, many single family homes, a nice restaurant, deli with ice cream, pool, hot tub the works. We expect the storm that is currently ravaging Atlanta to arrive this evening with thunderstorms, high winds and cooler temperatures, so rather than anchoring out this evening we will stay at Burnt Store.

Fisherman's Village Marina and Sick Bay, Slip B14

Autumn has decided she needs more teeth on her upper gums to match the two lower ones. Three new teeth are beginning to protrude and she is coping quite well. We cruised for a couple of hours, ate lunch and enjoyed Autumn antics. 

Autumn playing on the bridge

Lunch on the Fly Bridge

This guy was getting gas, he must be a great fisherman

Burnt Store Marina and golf community