Back in Fort Lauderdale

The picture is of one of the stilt houses in Key Biscayne. They are built on the sand flats out in the middle of the harbor. It is an interesting concept. I wonder if they paid property taxes. At one time these houses were privately owned. They were taken over by the Bill Baggs State Park in No Name Harbor. The hurricanes have done a considerable amount of damage to them. I can't imagine being in one during a hurricane.

We left No Name Harbor on Thursday, the ocean was relatively calm so we went outside and around the Cape of Florida. The winds were to light and on our nose so we were a power boat yet again. Thank goodness for the option. For the last two days we have been desalting our boat. After being at anchor for several weeks we, meaning our boat, needed a good fresh water wash. Being Great lakes sailors this has taken some time to adjust to. Nothing seems to dry unless you rinse it in fresh water, including your hair. We also had several weeks of laundry some being salt water wet from all the drenching we took in Key West. All is well now after two days of work.

Tomorrow we leave on a commercial cruise ship for a week cruise. Our boat will be at dock here in Fort Lauderdale. When we return we will take short trips until Larry takes his captains course in Miami. After that we will plan a trip to the Bahamas for a month then start back up North the middle of May. Which will get us back to Lake Ontario Mid June.

While we are on the cruise I will not be able to put on up dates to the blog but I will take lots of pictures and share them with you when we return. Have a great week and see you soon.

This is the Gale Winds at anchor in Black Water Sound, Key Largo.

We left Bahia Honda on Saturday and arrived at Islamorada that evening. We went to shore for something to eat but Lorelei's still isn't serving food. They suffered considerable from the hurricanes that went through the Keys and had to rebuild. They are waiting for another inspection to be complete. Maybe next year we'll get to eat there. We went again to Zane Grays at the Bass Pro Shop. The food was good and the sunset was enjoyable.

We stayed on Sunday to resupply and I went to the bead shop to make more jewelry. Larry and I had lunch on the beach at Morada Bay restaurant. All in all it was a fun day.

Monday we continued on to Key Largo and anchored in Black Water Sound. After going to shore for cocktails at the Tiki Bar, Mike and Diane invited us to their boat for a lasagna dinner. It was delicious, we were all very satisfied and ready to settle in for the evening. The water on the bay was completely still like glass any disturbance made may water rings for a great distance.

Today we are continuing on to No Name Harbor in Key Biscayne. The plan is to stay for two nights and then go outside in the ocean around Miami to Fort Lauderdale.

A Day in Bahia Honda

The picture is of a hermit crab in the water. We did stay another day to do some snorkeling and swimming and exploring here on Bahia Honda Key. Words and pictures cannot do justice to the beauty and splendor the eye can see. It is incredible what this little island has to offer.

We dinghied to the south side of the island to snorkel but the sand was stirred from the incoming tide and visibility was poor. We took a trip to the north side and what a treat we found in a little cove on the northeast end. White sand so white the reflection of the sun hurt your eyes. A few families were there buy kayak and dinghy enjoying the sun and water. The tide came up and almost covered the sand, when it retreated it left the sand to be enjoyed. The water was very warm when you walked in it. After a short stay we proceeded to circumnavigate the remainder of the island. On the far end we discovered another beach, this one belonging to the park. It was beautiful with sand bars extending well out into the water. We had to go out a fair distance from shore to have enough water for the motor.

It was a great day with plenty of sunshine for our tans to increase and to spend the entire day in our bathing suits.

Bahia Honda State Park

This is the Gale Winds and Express Mail at anchor in the harbor at Bahia Honda State Park. We are sharing this anchorage with approximately four large power boats and three sail boats. We are between two bridges, the new A1A and the old Flagler railroad bridge that they partially demolished so that sail boats could also enter the harbor. Bahia Honda is known for the best beaches in the Keys. We took this picture from the old bridge, looking down into the harbor.

We left Key West yesterday and spent the night at anchor in New Found Harbor. Around noon today we traveled about 11 miles to Bahia Honda. The sun was shining and the wind was about 10 to 15 knots and on our nose. The waves were rolling with large swells, which made for a roller coaster ride out there today. Yesterday the ride from Key West was similar but we were pounding the waves. Today fortunately we didn't have very far to travel.

If the weather is conducive to good snorkeling we will stay here tomorrow, if not we will move on to Marathon.

Cold in Key West

The picture is of one of the resident chickens that run free here in Key West. If you look real close you can see one of her 6 chicks. I have read that some say the roosters and chickens that run free are descendants of Cuban fighting cocks. After being here for about a week now it doesn't seem strange seeing them.

We went to shore today. It was so cold we all bought fleece shirts to keep warm. I felt sorry for all the tourists that came to shore off the cruise ships. We know how that is, three years ago we were on a cruise ship and stopped here, it was cold but not quite this cold. In the news paper the weatherman predicted frost here tonight. Oh goody, I can't wait. So much for coming south to stay warm, but then there is Central Park and 26 inches of snow. Wouldn't want to be there.

Still In Key West

Another beautiful sunset in Key West!

Well the weatherman was right and the front moved in late last night. Bringing with it heavy wind out of the Northeast. You know what that means another rolling night and day. We opted to stay on the boat all day today. The temperature is in the low 60's and getting wet on the way back from shore would not be pleasant. Late tonight the winds are supposed to let up and tomorrow is supposed to be warmer. I hope they are right again.

We had planned to take a trip out to the Dry Tortugas but we haven't had a good weather window. We had purchased a cruise out of Fort Lauderdale two years ago for this February and the date is fastly approaching. This doesn't give us enough time for a trip to the Tortugas. When we leave here and will work our way back to Fort Lauderdale but take our time doing so.

Thursday, Friday and Saturday we did go to shore and did the sightseeing thing on the Conch Train and shopped in the little stores.

Key West, FL Day 1

Diane and I goofing off in Mallory Square this evening just before sunset.

Somewhere around 2 AM this morning a front moved in and with it brought heavy winds and cold air. It was very difficult to sleep with the boat doing that hobby horse motion. A few hours later it settled down a bit and we fell asleep again but not for long. It has been blowing all day long and is supposed to continue for the next few days. I read that in winter the winds here in Key West blow from the North, unfortunately that is the only direction this mooring field is not protected.

At about 1 PM this afternoon we decided we needed to get off the moving boat and go to shore. The ride on the dinghy was interesting, I've never surfed in a dinghy before. Coming back against the waves was even better. I think we had more water in the boat than out. It was getting dark when we got half way back and it made it difficult to find the boat. We were very glad to get back even though the wind is still blowing and the boat is still moving.

Key West, FL

This was the sunset tonight here in Key West. The colors were incredible.

We left about 9 AM this morning and arrived about 3 PM. It was another beautiful day today but the winds were very light and we motored all the way. Tonight we are on a mooring at the city anchorage.

Again we see the destruction of the hurricanes, with all the boats that have sank or on land. Larry says it enough to keep him from spending a summer here in hurricane country and I concur.

When we got to the mooring ball Larry had to reach it because it had no attached lines, you had to use your own. During this process, the line to the dinghy got rapped on the prop. It's the first time this has happened to us. Larry had to dive down and unwrap it. After all that excitement we went to shore to sign in. It is a relatively long dinghy ride and when we returned we had dinner and just relaxed. Tomorrow we plan to spend the day at shore exploring Key West.

A Perfect Way to Spend Your Birthday

My Birthday dinner with Larry and friends Diane and Mike. It's not a picture behind us it's the bay out of the window. Oh and we all had lobster. The restaurant was call Parrotdise. Cute play on words.

My day started out with a call from our daughter Patience wishing me a happy birthday at about 8 AM. Before breakfast Larry gave me my birthday present of a gift certificate to the Riverview Spa in New Smyrna. I'm looking forward to using it on the way back. After breakfast we pulled away from the dock and went to the gas dock to fuel up and as we were waiting Diane and Mike went by singing to me.

We left Marathon and went to the Oceanside traveling about half the distance to Key West. The sun was shining with cool breezes and soft rolling waves. The wind was right and we sailed with both the jib and main. We engaged the autohelm and went to sit in the sun in front of the dodger. About 2:30 we pulled into Newfound Harbor and set anchor. At 3:00 my phone rang and it was our daughter Jennifer and our Grandsons calling to wish me a happy birthday. While we were talking our oldest Grandson Jonathan lost his first tooth. My friend Diane said it was like I was there for it. I think she is right.

Later around 5:00 we dingyed to shore for birthday dinner at Parrotdise restaurant and after to Mike and Diane's boat for cake. What a wonderful birthday!

Storm in Route to Marathon, FL

The picture is of the front that engulfed us on our way to Marathon. We pulled up anchor early this morning with plenty of time to get to shore in Marathon before the predicted storm was to hit. Well the weather man missed on his calculation. The storm came in about 2 1/2 hours early. We were on the innercoastal after attempting to go outside in the ocean. The waves and wind were uncomfortable outside so we came back in. It didn't help us much, the storm came with a vengeance. We were watching it on our radar and fortunately took our main sail in just before it hit. The winds measured 57 knots, enough to make me sure I don't want to see what a hurricane can do. The last time I remember going through a storm like this was on lake Ontario in our 25' boat. What a ride that was. I can say I wasn't scared in our 36' boat. We were very pleased how she handled. It would have not been so bad if we encountered just one storm but after the first one passed another one was not far behind. My patience were running thin by this time I just wanted to get to shore and kiss the ground.

Docks are at a premium here in the Keys. The hurricanes left a great deal of destruction and many of the live aboards stay put once they get this far. After many phone calls Diane was able to reserve a dock for both of us. Once we were ashore we decided to take it easy the next day and stay put. Besides it was time for laundry, provisions, a good boat cleaning and the Super Bowl.

Jewelry Making 101

This is me (Gail) and my girlfriend Diane at our jewelry Making Class. We decided to have a girls day and what fun it was. Our teacher was multi-talented, she not only taught jewelry making, she also taught belly dancing. That may be our next class, who knows. We're very proud of what we made and my girlfriend Diane from up North would be very proud of us too. We are looking forward to returning to Islamorada, on the way back.

Dumpster Diving

Oh no what has become of us, picking PVC out of the dumpster to make an extension for our dingy motor! This is Mike teaching Larry to be creative! We have been traveling with our friends Mike and Diane since we left No Name Harbor.

We have been on the hook for well over a week now. It makes for a quiet night, no rubbing the dock in the wind. We are anchored in Florida Bay just off Matecumbe Key. The town here is Islamorada, it actually encompasses three Keys for mailing purposes. Islamorada is between Key Largo and Marathon. We had planned to leave tomorrow to go to Marathon but those plans changed and now we will stay put here in Islamorada for tomorrow. Diane and I decided to take a jewelry making class tomorrow. It is nice to be able to change our minds when we want.

The weather has been cloudy with some rain but warm enough to go swimming. We have to remind ourselves it is winter here also.