Weather and Water Influence our Travel

Wednesday, May 21st

The clouds in the Keys are always interesting,
and the mooring field shows signs of becoming less crowded.

We've done it –left Marathon, that is. We had planned to leave on Monday of this week, but the wind was still blowing with small craft advisories. By today, Wednesday, the winds had settled a bit so we ventured forth. Our plans were to travel on the Florida Bay side of the Keys for a day or so, perhaps traveling to Islamorada before crossing over to Hawk Channel on the ocean side for the rest of the trip north. Then again, we may slip into Biscayne Bay for a day. We aren't sticking to any specific plans, but rather taking each day as it comes. Tonight we'll stay at Cocoanut Key, an anchorage we've been to several times this season. Then tomorrow we'll travel toward Islamorada on the Bay side. Where we end up tomorrow will depend on how much the wind dies and how shallow the channel turns out to be. We draw 5.5 feet and must be careful in the Bay where what's considered deep water is only about 8 feet.

The delay of a couple of days was difficult. It seems that once we set a time in our minds for leaving, we have a hard time moving away from that date. We've learned over time, however, that it doesn't pay to ignore the weather. A standard rule for cruisers is that one should make plans with lots of wiggle room. The weather can prevent travel for several days in some cases. Ignoring the weather can put a boater in an unpleasant or even dangerous position from which it is difficult or impossible to correct once committed.

Saturday, May 24^{th AM}

As I sit here enjoying my first cup of coffee, I can look out on Key Largo and Rodriguez Key. The last two days have gone pretty well even if the results weren't quite what we'd planned initially. We left Cocoanut Key and traveled up Florida Bay past Marathon toward Islamorada as we'd planned. The travel went smoothly with no area that was too shallow for us until we got to Bowlegs Cut. To get to our planned anchorage, we had to pass through this cut and Steamboat Channel. Both of these were shallow. Although we'd made it through in the past,we weren't as confident this time, since the wind had been blowing for days. We've been told that NE winds can blow the water out of the Bay. So I called Towboat US for a little local knowledge and was encouraged not to attempt it. We changed plans and moved over to a nearby anchorage we'd used before and spent the night there.

The wind continued to die down as predicted (what a surprise!), so our travel yesterday was quite pleasant.

Fish at the reef are curious.

The water along the upper Keys is really quite clear in Hawk Channel this time of year. We could easily watch the bottom go by in 18-20 feet of water. Given the light wind and clear water, we opted for a quick stop at Hen and Chickens, a snorkeling spot with mooring balls available. We didn't stay too long, but while we were there, we saw lots of fish and a variety of coral. In fact, as we were about to get in the water, we noticed two good sized barracuda lurking, so Sandra was a bit hesitant, since she had also seen three others by the mooring ball as we approached. But as soon as I got in, they left. The water was as clear and aqua colored as we'd ever seen it at Sombrero Reef. The fish were plentiful as the photo suggests and the coral was varied and also interesting.  The purple sea fans were especially pretty here. This just gets me thinking about the even clearer waters of the Bahamas we'll be heading into in less than a month.

Enjoying clear water at Rodreguiz Key

Because we never got quite as far as originally planned on the Bay side, we're a little ahead of schedule now. We wish to avoid the greater Miami area during Memorial Day Weekend, so we'll cool our jets here for a day before moving on. Then we'll either head up to Key Biscayne via Angelfish Creek or up to Key Biscayne and No Name Harbor. We've been through Angelfish Creek before. (This takes us from Hawk Channel – the ocean side – to Card Sound which then leads into Biscayne Bay.) It too is a bit shallow. We've got to make the transit near high tide, and we're not sure about the impact of the recent wind. I'll probably call Towboat US again for a little reassurance. In the meantime, we'll enjoy the sunny weather with 83 degrees and great swimming and relaxing here near Key Largo. It's a tough life...and all that sort of stuff.

Carpe Diem

Captain Bob

Our Season in Boot Key Harbor Comes to an End

Here it is, the middle of May, and we're still in Marathon. But we are currently in the process of doing things here for the last time before we leave. This includes the last walk to Publix for food; the last run down to Burdines for outboard motor fuel (they have ethanol-free gas); our last Tai Chi classes; and our last run up to Sombrero Beach to clean the dinghy bottom. (We see clear evidence that the cleaning is needed.) I'm also scraping the barnacles from the bottom of our boat for the last time this season.

Since my last update, we've had company and also gotten our first aerial views of the Keys. We decided to

take a helicopter ride around Marathon. What a spectacular view the multicolored water is from the air! It was Sandra's first ride in a helicopter and only my second. It was really fun.

Water comes in a variety of colors.

Samantha, her husband Jeremy and our three grandsons came down for a week. Then my sister Kathy and her family came for a visit. As they left we followed them up to West Palm Beach for a family wedding. My other sister Mary Jo and her husband Scott hosted us. We left our car there along with our bikes. We'll be leaving Marathon shortly and must move the car first. They kindly agreed to have us leave it there until we can retrieve it once we are in Vero Beach.

As we progress through our last week in Boot Key Harbor stocking up on food and fuel, we are also trying to get everything working. That's not always too easy. Our fridge died the day before Kathy was due to arrive. And for the price of a first rate kitchen model, we get the basics that will keep our food cold. That's because it's for a boat. You probably already know what “boat” stands for if you've been the owner of one for a bit, but I'll pass it along anyway – Break Out Another Thousand. I also needed to repair the HF radio, so we could depend on it for weather updates when we go to the Bahamas in June and could contact others for assistance in the event of an emergency. Unlike being in the Keys, our phones don't pick up the Internet there without significant cost. And the VHF radio works only for limited distances. The repair was not major and appears to have been completed successfully.

Sandra is doing much of the provisioning. I help carry stuff, but she does the meal planning, etc. We expect to be cruising around the keys for a week or so before heading up to Vero Beach. We'd like to have all we need for that time, so we don't have to find a grocery near where we anchor. If we need one, we do know where there are a couple within an easy dinghy ride at spots along the way.

The other factor that could delay our departure is the weather. We've had a windy time over the past 10 days or so, and it has yet to abate. We hear that there are cruisers trying to get to the Bahamas who are hold up in Bimini. They need a bit of lighter air before crossing the Bahama Banks, so they're waiting out the wind until they make the jump across. The forecast keeps changing, so we're hopeful that conditions will be appropriate for our departure early next week.

If you are still reading this, you may be wondering what our next plans include. They are a bit more adventurous than the trip to Vero, although that should be interesting in itself. We hope to stop at points along the Keys before entering Biscayne Bay and exploring that for a day or two. Then it's on to Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and Lake Worth before getting to Vero Beach. The total trip will cover at least 250 miles.

Then early next month, our daughter Jennifer will be joining us for a trip over to the Abacos in the Bahamas. We hope to stay there for two to three weeks. Again, the weather is the key factor. We don't want to cross the Gulf Stream in rough weather, and we must always be alert to the potential of hurricanes, since the season officially begins on June 1^st. This will be our second trip over there, but last time we went in the spring as the water was warming up in the Abacos and many other US cruisers were there also. This time will be warmer and possibly with fewer boats. Jenn went once before as well. She went in June several years ago, so this should be similar to her earlier experience and bring back memories of that first trip. We are all looking forward to a great trip.

So as I have mentioned here several times, we are leaving Marathon in a few days. And it is with mixed

Sam, Jeremy and the boys enjoying a bit of paradise at the Dolphin Research Center

emotions that we do so. As you have already read, we do have some interesting plans for travel during the next month or so. But we really like this little corner of paradise. We may be prejudiced in our statements about it being a bit of paradise, but all those who have visited us down here have agreed wholeheartedly. Some will say that the summers here are hot. That's true, but the summers are at least as hot in Virginia and in many other parts of the country. Because we are on the water, our nighttime temps don't vary much from the daytime temperatures. That is perhaps the only difference with this island life compared to the mainland. We are at some risk of a hurricane here, but we've had to change plans in the past for hurricanes in Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Massachusetts and Maine. So this isn't necessarily all that different. We will miss being here, but we also look forward to our return in the fall.

Captain Bob

Carpe Diem