The dust settles

PERPEND

Definition

1 : to reflect on carefully : ponder 2 : to be attentive : reflect So I've settled back into my life, mostly revolving around work, a little too easily.  The reentry has been fine, with no drama.  So now the big adventure is just a collection of blog posts and photos.  It's bitter sweet. Super glad to have gone, and missing it already.  Proud, that i got it done; but it's hard to express to someone who doesn't do this type of thing what a Herculean event it really was.  Deciding that another adventure, and starting the planning it, will be the best antidote for the glums that have settled in. Had hoped I could come back changed, improved somehow.  But i think what's happened instead is that I'm the same, and I've just decided to accept myself. Not quite the same thing as improving, but perhaps the more realistic expectation.

Always know where the auto parts store is

So this journey home has been fraught with little issues with the trailer. Starting with the lug wrench going missing, to the running lights at first seeming to not work to the brake lights really not working after the trailer was submerged for the boat retrieval and then the grease cap coming off one of the wheels. And now this. Thank goodness we have chain.  

Sniff

It was a fabulous five weeks aboard the Elf! I would have happily stayed out longer, but I'm also happy to be heading back home where the refrigerator and the shower are both instantly available.

Cocktail in a can

You've all heard of box o' wine. And on a boat where you don't really want glass it's a staple. But I like rum. So I love these little boat compatible cocktails.  

By the morning light

We've decided to make a run for it. Leaving at 3:30a for Marathon. If we wait we'll be stuck till the wind decides to cooperate which could be days. I'm nervous but all is calm at the moment and stays that way till day break.  

You never know

So this trip has been filled with only in FL moments or only in a Marina or only on the water. Tonight is our last Marina before we pull the boat. And look who was lurking near our dockage... 

Grilling

So the thing about cooking good meals on this trip is the dishes afterwards. Which involves heating water via kettle then washing dishes in one basin then rinsing in another then drying then putting away. All just so you can have it out of your way. So on night where you grill everything so the only dirty dishes are your plates is a great night. (Big thank you to Ma for the grill!) oh and grilled food tastes good too.   

Sunrise on 3/21

Happy first full day of spring!

Our last Anchorage

So it's coming to an end. Bitter sweet. But at least we have a pretty little spot for the evening.   

So close

We had a pleasant beat up the southern portion of Biscayne Bay and anchored in the lee of Elliott Island.  This barely-developed barrier island is a park, so we dinghied adore to see if we could find a path to the Atlantic side and a beach.

Just as we pulled the dinghy above the rack line, a friendly couple emerged from the vegetation and gave us the scouting report.  Follow the orange flags to a 4--wheeler road of sorts.  They didn't find a way to the beach, and trip advisor didn't say it was a very attractive one. It was already sounding dubious, and then they asked if we had some deet.  Turns out the mosquitos are ferocious, and they also recommended carrying a stick to knock down the spider webs.

That settled it.  Back into the dinghy for a short row along the shoreline!  We were hoping to get a close-up of one of the sea turtles I'd spied in the middle of the Bay around lunch time.  No luck there, but I finally saw a fish during my evening snorkel. First, and probably only, of the trip as seen from under water.

21.00 NM at 4.1 KT over 5:06.  Total odo 554.64

Home on the water

While Elf has been our "home on the water" for the past five weeks, we saw several stilt houses that represent a different take on the concept.  They are in the North end of Biscayne Bay and were more than a mile from shore. We also passed four similar structures in Sanibel Sound in our second week but weren't close enough to take photos.

It was a lovely low-stress last sail today.  21.00 NM at 3.8 KT over 5:35.  Total and final odo for the trip is 575.64.  We are anchored in a little harbor next to Matheson Hammock State Park for the night.  Tomorrow we begin the logistics of retrieving the trailer, hauling the boat, and driving home.

Another sunrise

It's time to appreciate each and every sunrise at anchor--only two more before our haul out on Thursday morning.  Yesterday was a mixture of motoring against light headwinds, a glorious reach on perfect conditions, frustrating doldrums, and another idyllic reach to anchor with of Long Arsenicker Island.

Before that, in the afternoon, we anchored in another maze of deep tidal channel near Rose Key.  We were hoping to find some sea turtles like in the Snake River, but no such luck. It was still a treat to clearly see bottom in 12 feet of water, even if the only thing moving was seaweed.  From the dinghy, we had a brief view out to the Atlantic coast maybe a mile away.

16.87 NM at 3.4 KT over 5:0. Total odo 533.64

Free entertainment

We're docked for the usual resupply tasks just south of the route 1 bridge to Key Largo.  This should be our last stop before the choose our haul out marina.  Little did we know that Gilbert's Resort, just across the ICW, would have a series of live bands starting at one PM.  It's been the usual selection of bar cover tunes: ZZ top, Pink Floyd, Beatles, Bob Marley, etc. They're not to bad, really. And not too loud at this distance. We're planning to row over after dinner.

Surprisingly, I haven't noticed any Jimmy Buffett yet.  Maybe there is a local ordinance limiting his music to Key West?

Feeling lazy

This may be the first day of the whole cruise where we were under power all day. At least we had the main up for half of the trip to get a little free energy.  But in our defense, the wind was never more that 40 degrees off the nose and every few miles we would have had to motor through a narrow cut the the one pictured anyway.  Still, it feels like a bit of a copout.

16.40 NM using about 2.5 gallons of fuel = 6.5 mpg. Total odo 516.77

Good deed for the day

After anchoring in a no-name bay just east of Cowpens Cut, we spotted a lobster trap that still had a floating pennant but no styrofoam float.  Only an hour passed before we were able to flag down a waterman tending his traps, and he pulled up the trap along with three critters inside.

Bonus for him: free product and another ttrap he can use after a little maintenance. Bonus for us and other boaters who won't wrap the floating pennant around their props.  And bonus for the environment since no critters will die meaningless deaths in a "ghost trap". 

It's particularly lucky that the dude happened to be close enough that we could grab his attention since we've only seen a handful of boats tending traps on the entire trip.  We've done or good deed for today!

A strong foul wind limited us to just 14 miles today with only 6 being under sail. Total odo 500.34

Pelicans

Are awesome. I have been delighted this whole trip with their company. They are crazy accurate in fishing, and when a flight of them come skimming in across the water I hear Flight of the Valkyries in my head. So cool.  

Geared for bear

Yep we're in FL but you would never know it based on all the foul weather gear. This morning started out cold, choppy and a ton of wind on the nose. I just wasn't feeling like a whole days slog up wind. So we decided to motor a ways cause we needed to find a better anchorage no how. Of course we get out there everything is great. Oh this ain't so bad let's put the sails up. No sooner do I have them up and the wind blows up.  Agh. So we sail till I'm too cranky to continue and it's time to go through a narrow channel any way so down come the sails. At least I can say we found a sweet spot to anchor for the night.  

Dragging anchor

We found that our 8 pound Danforth did not hold well in sand, so about a week ago, we bent on the 22 pound Delta anchor that we bought for storms.  We set that Wednesday night at Long Key on a mixed sand and weed bottom in about 5' of water.

The wind really picked up overnight, gusting around 25 KT, judging by the wind in the rigging.  Luckily, we were close to land, so there wasn't much fetch for waves to build up. Still, we did a fair amount of tacking around the anchor, and it held solidly all night.

Just before sunrise, we were awoken by the dinghy bumping the side of the boat.  Upon investigation, we were being blown sideways at about 2 KT with the anchor skating across the bottom.  Letting out another 50' of rode had no effect, so we started the motor to find an even more protected area in the large and mostly unoccupied harbor.

Oddly, the anchor came up clean, so I'm guessing that it had dislodged a chunk of vegetation that clung to the point and kept it from resetting.  The even more notable part of the event was yet to come....

While motoring, I knew to avoid a 2' deep shallow area between where we had drug anchor and where we were headed. With the depth meter reading 3-4' under the keel, I pulled out the chart to refresh my memory on how far out the shallows extended. In the 20 seconds I spent on that, we ran sound gently in 20" of water (we draw 24").

D'oh!!  Evidently the strong wind had created a super low tide.  We took probably 20 minutes to free ourselves and it took every trick in the book some simultaneity: engine in reverse, anchor rowed out and set in deep water,  Kate winching in the anchor between hiking out on the shrouds to heel the boat, and me in the water pushing as hard as I could on the bow. 

Nothing like a little low-grade hypothermia to start out your morning!

By noon the wind eased, and we had a pleasant light-wind beat to lignum vitae key.  13.60 NM at 3.9 KT over 3:23.  Total odo 486.32

Back to the land of bridges

I hadn't really thought about how long it's been since we last went under a bridge until we anchored here at Long Key.  We're staged to pass from the ocean side of the Keys, back to the Bay side for our run up the inter coastal to Biscayne Bay.

It was a rowdy reach today with higher-than-forecast winds (again!!) and a comfortable and less spray-ridden ride in the lee of several larger keys. We could have really covered some miles, but we spent the morning stocking the larder and topping off on ice.

24.64 NM at 5.0 over 4:55.  I think that may be our fastest dailly average speed. Total odo 477.11.

And if you're interested, the last bridge we sailed under was on Coon Key Pass, just before entering Gullivan Bay and the Everglades. That was about two and a half weeks ago.

What is it with Marathon?

Our two most strenuous sails so far happened when our destination was Marathon on Vaca Key.  We headed out yesterday to snorkel at Looe Key with the #2 poled out on a run. Easy sailing, except that a choppy sea that had built up behind the NW wind was interfering with the long-period rollers from the previous night's SE storm.

By the time we got to Looe, it was apparent that there would be no diving off the boat in these conditions. So we jibed around and headed for Marathon in building wind and rolling seas. Again, the boat performed fine, but it was a taxing sail for the crew.

In the end, no worries and we found the last slip available in Marathon Harbor. This was quite the narrow channel to navigate, but for our little boat, it was no trouble. I'd be interested to watch some of these 35 Footers negotiate their turns, though.

28.70 NM at 4.4 KT over 6:34. Total odo 448.47

Turtle sighting

After several glimpses of what appeared to be turtle heads poking above the waters surface in the Snake River, we saw the whole darn sea turtle in the clear waters of Hawk Channel this morning. It had just popped up for a breath, and scooted away when it caught sight of Elf.  So even though we have no photo to share, it counts as the first sighting that Kate and I are both 100% sure was really a turtle.

19.34 NM to Newfound Harbor at 4.1 KT over 4:19.  We stopped early enough for a serious nap and are staged up to sail out to Looe Key for snorkeling tomorrow.  Total odo 419.78.

Happy to be in a calm anchorage

After the hustle and bustle, and rocking and rolling, and bumping against pilings in Key West, it's great to be in yet another secluded anchorage.  Light winds and more beating than we are accustomed to brought us to Saddlebunch Harbor in the Hawk Channel (Atlantic) side of the keys.

15.44 NM at 2.9 KT over 5:19.  Total odo 400.44 NM

Manatees

I love the sea cows! After my first experience with them while kayaking a few years back I've been smitten. I've already blogged about seeing them at Cayo Costa where I got the attached cutie. But they also came into Key West Bight. Second pic.   

Sponge man

Did notice that all the little signs around town telling you the history of things never mention how things changed or fell out of favor due to over cultivation. Examples: great little history about shrimp trawlers in the harbour and FL pink shrimp nothing about fishing them out of existence. And here's Steve with sponge man. Great gimmick but nothing about WHY you can buy sponges anymore. Still a fun pic tho.  

Showers

So the one thing KWBM really had going for it was a shower. Earlier in this blog I posted a pic about how posh the showers were at Everglades Isle. But I think you really determine how great a shower is based on how badly you need it. Nothing about the facilities were posh but it was still a great shower. 

Key West

The turn a round point. The goal was to sail down the West side, get to Key West, then back up to Biscayne Bay. So this was to be a refueling and relax point. Well it sorta was. Fun little town but too touristy. First two nights we had to anchor out and dingy in. Which I hate cause I can't row with any effectiveness so that means Steve has to do all the work. He doesn't mind, I do. 

We finally got a spot at the KW Bight Marina for the last night so that made all day yesterday about laundry, gas, water, provisions (including getting stranded at the Winn-Dixie for a half hour waiting on a taxi). So that means we are trying to cram in a museum this morning before leaving town. 

We did get to enjoy the Sunset celebration in Malory Square last night. 

 

Obligatory selfie

Say no more

Wing on wing

It was second perfectly pleasant sail, but shorter, to Key West harbor. The wind had turned a little north of East, which allowed a few miles wing on wing.  

The reach down the entrance channel was particularly fun with the deep blue ditch 15-20' deep, bordered by tan shallows with depths in the inches 

13.16 NM at 4.5 KT over 2:45. Total odo 385.00 NM

Coon Key

We had probably or most idyllic sail of the trip so far along the north side of the keys from No Name to Coon.  We were on anything from a close reach to a broad reach almost the entire day in 8-15 KT wind.  These keys are uninhabited, so the only signs of humanity we're the abundant crab pots and an occasional fishing boat.

We anchored in the only place reasonably accessible to a medium sized sailboat, Jewish Bay.  This is the sunrise over Coon Key, which appears to be a rookery for white herons.  There is also a group of laughing gulls who were partying it up until well after sunset last night.

31.89 NM at 4.7 KT over 6:43. Total odo 371.83

Best Sailing Day EVER

Today's conditions were perfect. I spent a lot more time on the helm and was really enjoying it. It was fun to switch jobs it gave Steve more time on the foredeck. The breeze was a steady 15 from the East, so we got in almost 32 miles today. Tomorrow we make Key West. 

Looking for tiny dear

The two nearby Islands harbor a population of Key Deer, which are like whitetails, but about the size of a dog. On my morning row, I thought I might spot one through the mangroves. 

No luck, but I did see a half rainbow after this cloud sprinkled on me and 3' shark cruising the shallows.

No longer the most ghetto boat

I now know why FL wants to institute a no achoring rule. If this looks to you like 3 ramshackle floating hulks of boats tied together to make 1 floating abandoned domicile that's what it looks like to me too. They were our neighbors for the evening.   You can see we kept our distance. 

Freebird's Paradise

Quite often, Elf had been the only boat worth less than six figures in whatever anchorage or marina we have stayed.  Finally, we found a place where we weren't out-classed.  Freebird's Paradise is the name hand-painted on the side of the white power boat.

Practice snorkel

The wind abated just enough for us to leave the calm basin of the marina and continue towards Key West. Still under working jib alone, it was a quick broad reach to Bahia Honda Key and the state park with the same name. 

Being on the bay side, we did not have access to the reef, which is the main draw for divers and snorkelers.  Instead, we anchor and took the dinghy in to the swimming beach where a number of people were snorkeling.

We put on all our gear, including the new swim fins, and spent 20-30 minutes looking for fish.  With none to be found, we deemed it to be a successful practice snorkel.  There are several reefs we plan to explore on our return from KW along the Hawk Channel.  Hopefully the water will be warmer by then!

After that, it was a quick broad reach to a quiet anchorage between No Name Key and Big Deer Key for the night.  16.78 NM for the day at 4.6 KT over 3:40. Total odo 339.94

The strangest things

You find all sorts a things when walking to the Publix. Steve found a yellow submarine.  

Getting perspective

You might have read Steve's account of our FL Bay crossing. I will be much more dramatic. First, we started out under a very calm night sky. It was beautiful with stars twinkling and perfect conditions for a night sail. That was to lure us into a false sense of security. Day breaks and the wind starts to build. Ok. That was expected. We had given our selves an out. If it too much we bail and head into Flamingo.  So of course the gust of 35 don't start till AFTER that bailing point. Meanwhile since we've been spending the last several days in the middle of nowhere I was never able to get all the charts needed downloaded, soooo when plotting to Marathon I charted to far east by like a half mile. So we spent a lot of time fighting the wind to stay up when we didn't need to.  Oops. 

Here's a pic of the two big fishing boats that Steve's already explained were the last part of this story. Yep the last 20 mins of the journey were the most adrenaline inducing. And that's saying something based on our ride. 

 

All stocked up for the next leg.

We aren't countering on another supply stop between here and Key West, so we went on a buying spree. Maybe we should have stop at that pizza joint before the Publix

You know it's windy when...

The cockpit is getting salt spray from waves crashing on the stone breakwater you are docked behind. 

More our Florida Bay crossing tomorrow.

We made it

But not with my pride intact.

Elf handled the conditions just fine. We were on a beam reach under reefed main and working jib making 5-6 knots under complete control.  There was a little spray from time to time, but only about a half dozen hit us in the cockpit. Those few times were when a breaking whitecap slapped the aft quarter of the boat and blew upwards.

The winds continued to build and Kate ably dropped the main.  Conditions stabilized to exactly what was predicted: sustained 20-25 with occasional gusts in the low 30's, by my estimation.  The shallow waters of the Bay kept wave heights down, but they did tend to be steep seas.  We were still making good time at around 5 knots and reached Vaca Key around noon.

The challenge began when we started the motor. First was the little pass we explored in search of a marina.  With the tide in opposition to the strong wind, we were on a bucking bronco and needed virtually all 9.8 horses to keep directional control while fighting the wind out the channel.  

We did find a nice protected marina a little farther south: Faro Blanco Bayside.  My docking skills in a 25 KT oblique headwind were not up to the task, and the boat didn't shoot into the slip on the first attempt as I'd intended. In part, I'd been distracted by the dinghy, which had blown behind the motor making me worry that it would foul the propeller.

And then it did foul the propeller.

Dead in the water, we blew across the basin in about 30 seconds, resting sideways against the bow on two fishing charters boats. It took Kate and 4 or 5 other guys to hold us off the other boats while I jumped in the dinghy to free the propeller.

Fortunately, I'd like the motor early enough that there were only two wraps, and we were free in only a couple minutes.  In the process, I simply cast the dinghy loose so my second docking attempt was much easier and successful.

Whew, talk about making an entrance!  At least we took 1/2 of the time to dock than the 60' motor yacht that came in after us.

Kudos to Kate for handling the sails flawlessly on a wet, pitching deck! 46.88 NM averaging 4.9 KT over 9:33.  Total odo 323.14

 

Sunrise under sail

The marine forecast was not great for Saturday through Tuesday. High winds starting in the NE and gradually clocking to SE.  We decided to make a break for Marathon at 3:00 AM this morning with east wind forecast 20-25 with gusts to 30.  Not ideal, but manageable.  That would put us on a broad reach across Florida Bay.  Waiting would turn that leg into a beat, which we would not attempt.

The night sail was beautiful with moderate NE winds, no moon, and innumerable stars to sail by.  The wind is just picking up now at sunrise.  How bad will it get? We'll see....

Shark River

Summary of Friday 3/3 , but who knows when it will post.

We rode the ebb down Lostman's River and barely made it out over some shallow spots back in the Gulf on the falling ride.  Had a quick and easy broad reach down the coast under a 15-20 NNE breeze that actually had us arrive earlier than we would have liked at Ponce de Leon Bay.  The tide low, and with a foul ebb current, we motored to anchor about just off the Shark River a little south of Oyster Bay.

This area is a really cool maze of deep channels cut out of higher ground that supports actual canopy trees, and not the all-to-common mangroves.  It would make a great setting for a shot novel or a children's story aka Arthur Ransome.  Our main attraction is that there are rumored to be sea turtles here.

Got here early enough for a nap and a swim.  24.31 NM at 4.7 KT over 5:11. Total odo 276.26.  The weather forecast makes it look like we'll have a lay day tomorrow while some strong easterlies blow through.

Wilderness Waterway

Log for 3/2; not sure when this will post.

We waited to weigh anchor until 12:30 to ensure fair current up the Chatham River and high tide in the waterway.  That gave us a chance to do some boat-related tasks, most notably moving the depth meter to its new location. (It's been working flawlessly since then, btw.)

The trip in the narrow river was easy, with generous and predictable depths.  Once we got to the bays of the WW, it was more challenging and we bumped bottom a few times. Once we were actually aground and had to heel the boat and push off with the motor.  No damage done except some removal of the bottom paint, which is going to be replaced anyway.

Also challenging, but mostly fun, are the tight passageways been a few of the bays. I was taking pride to steer with vegetation coming inches from the rigging, but never touching, while negotiation the 30' wide corridor between the mangroves.  That wasn't possible in one spot with overhanging branches that could not be avoided.  There was a twang of wire rigging coupled with twigs cracking, and we had a rain of leaves and sticks to clean off the deck and cockpit.

We only had a 10-mile taste off the WW, but it was a memorable break from coastal sailing.  I'd love to see more in a smaller boat, and preferably outside of mosquito season, if there is such a thing. We anchored in Lostman's River after 15.11 NM and 3.7 KT over 4:07.  Total odo 251.95

Oh no, the anchor light!

Note: this was written on the morning of Thursday 3/3, but without phone service, who knows how long it with be until it posts. 

Waking up to a hazy sunrise, I realized that we never turned on the anchor light last night. And we've been anchored in the center of the deepest part of the Chatham River.  Quite the hazard to navigation!

No worries; we haven't seen another soul since we entered the river yesterday afternoon.  After some insecurity about our depth meter, we expect to head up to the wilderness waterway this afternoon.

Yesterday was 18.81 NM in mostly light wind: 3.5 KT over 5:21.  Total odo 236.84.

The green flash

When we decided to call it a day after leaving Everglades City that morning we pulled into a great little spot in Rabbit Key Pass only to find Roger and Patty Martin there on their boat Presto. They had us over for tea. Seriously. Steve and I rowed over to say hello on the recommendation of Michael and Ida. And they had us come on board for tea. Great couple. And somehow the green flash came up in conversation. So here's a pic from all of us watching for the green flash that night.  

Everglades city

So before entering the Wilderness Waterwsy we spent a great night docked at the Everglades Isle RV park and Marina. This allowed us the splurge on a great Bfast the next morning befor heading off to what will forever be called the African Queen portion of our trip. Thank goodness this is the only alligator I saw.  

Pop top

So when it's nice out, this is what the Poptop is supposed to look like.   Lots of ventilation. 

The FL state bird

The mosquito. It's and old joke but good gawd. We have spent two whole evenings where all we do is fortify our boat trying to close up every possible way in.  The two hour killing spree really did me in. For every one you got two more could be fond sucking away on your person some where else. We are both covered in bites. This pic shows dirty laundry being used as gap filler/mosquito netting.  

He's not gonna be happy till he runs us aground

So down here in the Everglades there's this thing called the Wilderness Waterway. Ever hear of it? Yeah, me neither. It's this route that kayakers and canoers and super eco challenge type folks get a hard on for. And Steve got told by his brother Matt (who fits the description above) that ELF, our 24 foot Neptune, would fit through this waterway so we should go check it out. When asked if I was interested my response was I was up for it but under no circumstances was I interested in an African Queen moment of having to slog our boat through the brush. My name in Kate but Kate Hepburn I am not. Now here's a pic. Last one I got a chance to take before I was too busy keeping the branches out of the way of our boat. Yep that's a 10 feet wide waterway, our boat is 8 feet wide.   Oh and did I mention it was shallow? Like scrape the keel while hunting and pecking our way through no water. So yeah we ran aground but only once. 

We survived and I saw a Spoonbill, like super up close, so now that I'm sitting in a nice protected cove with turtles swimming around I guess I can say it was worth it. I guess. 

1st world problems

So the engine was giving us a bit of a resistance and we damaged a turnbuckle when raising the mast. So we decided to stay an extra night in our Hyatt slip. So of course we had to check out the pool! 

Lopez River

We choose not to fight the shallows on Chokoloskee Bay and instead fought the flood current to exit Everglades City.  With sails and motor, we were only making about 3 knots despite running at hull speed through the water.

Once out in open water, it was a lumpy beat against south wind. Just as we were turning north toward a sheltered anchorage, the wind started gusty irradically and we dropped the main.  I was impressed with the boat's ability to point within 50-60 degrees of the wind and maintain a slight weather helm while flying only the #2 jib.

We were lucky enough to find Roger and Patty Martin anchored in their Presto 30 in the same spot.  Having been introduced to them via email by Ida Little (thanks Ida!), We rowed over for an afternoon visit that was the highlight of our day.

We got to watch the sun sink into the gulf and for the first time in my life had a chance to watch for the green flash. No luck this time, but hopefully there will be more opportunities as we continue down to the Keys.

19.30 NM at 3.9 KT over 4:58.  Total odo 218.03 NM. Next, it's up the Lopez River to the wilderness waterway.

Ready for the Wilderness Waterway

We're fully stocked with gas, ice, water and food. Laundry and dishes are done.  We're ready to go, but sort of dreading another 87 degree day with wind from the exact wrong direction.  We'll see what the park rangers day before deciding on our departure time and route. Yesterday was 6.60 NM of short tracking up the channel to Everglades City. Total odo 198.13 NM

Climate Change

I don't care what your political leanings are, everyone in FL has been telling us that this Feb has been the warmest in years. We has looked up the temps so we would know what to pack. Then we get down here and it's 10 to 12 degrees warmer than the predicted averages. I think of all those warm clothes taking up space in my gear bags while I'm melting by 2p every day. Yesterday we just pulled over and anchored and went swimming. The water temp was prob upper 60 or low 70s. Didn't care about the wild life just went in. Cause we both needed the change in body temp. Of course while we're in there we cleaned up using Savon deMar. Great stuff suds up in salt water and leaves your hair soft.   Here's Steve doing the cleaning up thing!   

Having the right bag

Having a girl moment. But lugging all your toilettries to what ever bath house/ shower thing you get to use that may or may not be clean, ventilated or have hot water is important. Most places do not have a place for you to put your stuff except the dirty floor. Mermaid bag to the rescue. It's a ReSails bucket bag and a gift from Cin. Has made cleaning up better.  

Sailing the Gulf

So I would have to say that the Gulf of Mexico is a pleasant and consistent sailing playground. I'm loving it. The rivers down here are more like the Chesapeake with wonky wind speeds and changes of direction.  Of course I reserve the right to change my mind after we do our crossing from the Everglades down to the Keys.  

Dark skies

We're anchored near the approach channel to Everglades City, which is just north of the northern boundary of Everglades Park. Development is getting pretty sparse, so the stargazing is quite good on a clear night, like last night. There's no way to capture that with a mobile phone, but here is this morning's sunrise instead.

Yesterday's log: 23.25 NM under sail through Coon Key Pass and most of Gullivan Bay until the wind died off Tiger Key. 3.6 KT over 6:29 hr under just about every sail combination. Total odo 192.13

Nap time

Calm seas and light winds mean one thing.

Naples

So we traveled 30 miles under sail yesterday to grab a $10 moring ball right at the town dock.  We walked around town looking like the two rattiest folks both in need of a shower till we found an ice cream shop. Then we went and took pics at the Naples Piet. While walking back we discovered the biggest banyon tree.  

Everything works now

With all the improvements we did over winter, we assumed it would take a while to get all the kinks worked out.  For example, the engine still wouldn't idle reliably, but "The Boat Guy" fixed that in Venice.

The most stubborn of the non-working items has been the depth sounder. Thanks to a helpful call to tech support, we bought some petroleum jelly and moved the transducer around the hull until it worked. Now we just need to mount it permanently in the new location. 

Whew, is nice to have everything working the way it should!  We'll see how long that lasts until the next thing needs fixing. Of course there's still that stubborn leak near the companionway slide....

A long passage

There are only a couple small, and therefore tricky, inlets between Sanibel Inlet and Gordon Pass, just below Naples. Luckily, we had a good weather window and put in a 32.43 NM day without
Incident. It was a nice introduction to sailing in the Gulf and even larger Gordon Pass was pretty lumpy. There was also a little time to explore Naples and see the pier during golden hour. No I've cream for us in this upper crust town; it was gelato! 3.9 KT average over 8:13 for a total odo of 154.07 NM.

Busy day

Had a delightful broad reach and run from Cayo Costa to Sanibel island in mostly picture perfect weather. Near the Sanibel inlet, a freak spitting rain caused us to don our foulies for the first time under way. After docking, we stocked up on gas, Ice, water, did a load of laundry and provisioned up the larder. After all that work, we treated ourselves to fish dinners at Gramma Dot's dockside restaurant. Very yummy!! 22.70 NM at an average of 4.0 KT over 5:40. Total odo 131.64

Catching up on the log

Monday 2/20
The forecast promised a light north wind; perfect for a downwind run from Punta Gorda. Indeed, the passage started out with a splendid few miles out the Peace River wing on wing with the drifter. Soon the wind died and we had to motor. When it finally did build again a couple hours later, it was right on the nose out of the west. With daylight waning, we ended up motoring the rest of the way to our Anchorage in Cayo Costa's Pelican Bay. 22.10 NM, total odo 92.23 NM.

Tuesday 2/21
Spent the bulk of the day enjoying the beach, sea shell hunting, and hiking the trails at the state park. Splurged on some ice cream at the camp store. After rowing around Manatee Hole and seeing two of the"sea cows", we went in search of a protected hidey hole in preparation for the rain that was forecast for Wednesday. Motored a total of 3.0 NM and ended up a half mile away from our previous anchorage on the opposite side of pelican bay.

Wednesday 2/22
After hard rain overnight and into the morning, it mostly cleared up by 15:00. We decided on a change of scenery to give as a head start for Thursday's longish sail to Punta Rassa near Sanibel Inlet. Sailed 3.70 NM to the south of the Broken Islands and another private anchorage. Total odo 98.94 NM.

Passing storm

This was more spectacular than the double rainbow we saw half an hour ago.