Tarpon Basin

Day 180, 6th February, 2010

John changed the oil filters on the engine in the m orning. On two occcasions in the last couple of days we kind of lost propulsion. Didn't hit anything, didn't hear any clonks or anything, she just sort of lost gusto. Maybe dirty filters. We'll get the engine and transmission checked with a Yanmar mechanic in Marathon, just to be sure all is well.

Then we went out to play. Sharon and I walked over to the John Pennekamp State Park just up the highway. Its beautiful there, a real family place with all kinds of things to do. I had a lovely swim in the bay. It was lovely. Unfortunately the sun went behind the clouds though and it wasn't quite warm enough to sit on the beach! So we walked back to the dinghies and met the guys. John had walked up to Divers Direct (about 5 miles in the other direction!) He'd bought a weight belt so he could check the anchor a little more easily. We were going to try out Reg's weights to see how much we'd need.

We had supper at the Paradise Restaurant just across from the municipal building. A cute little pink place!!! Another late night!!

Tarpon Basin, Key Largo

Day 179, February 5th, 2010

Ah! Back to normal! Wind had clocked around and was back on the nose. We motored to Tarpon Basin on Key Largo. It looks small on the chart but is in fact large and shallow. We anchored in 7 feet, with quite a long dinghy ride to the municipal dock.

However, we had a nice afternoon with a long hike to West Marine. Met a nice lady there who gave us all a ride to the shopping mall a good 3 miles back the other direction. Had a hot dog and an ice cream in a little cafe and then found our way back to the dinghies in the dark! We didn't get back to the boats till 8:00 p.m. A late night out for us!!!

It was windy when we got back to the boat. The basin is so open there wasn't much protection.
The chart shows the bottom to be coral, grass and sand. We had held all day but sure enough dragged at about 8:00 p.m. Moved up in the dark and reanchored. No harm done but made us nervous. We put the anchor alarm on on the GPS. Ended up on anchor watch till the wind dropped around 4:00 a.m. Not the best of nights!!!

Barnes Sound

Day 178, 4th February, 2010

This was a memorable day! The wind was perfect - about 15kn out of the east, gave us a perfect beam reach all day down the Bay of Biscayne. Conditions couldn't have been better. Speed Over Ground varied between 6.2 and 7.2knots all day!! There are moments on a sail boat when you know for sure that life just couldn't get any better. Shear Bliss!!

We nearly stopped in one anchorage but decided it was rather exposed so decided to go on a little further. Pea Soup were ahead of us and when they stopped we knew something wasn't right. Sure enough, they'd picked up a crab pot on the propeller!! That seems another common thing about sailing. Just when you get to thinking life is perfect, something untoward occurs. We both dropped the anchors, and Reg went overboard. Fortunately he was able to untangle the crab pot without even having to use the knife. No harm done, he'd shoved it into neutral in time!!! We finally anchored in Barnes Sound in the shelter of the mangroves. Nobody else around.

Sharon and Reg came over for rum and cokes and munchies - they deserved it after the crab pot.

No Name Harbour

Day 177, February 3rd, 2010

We brought the anchor up at 7:00 motored through East Venetian Bridge at 7:30 and met Pea Soup two little bays down the causeway. John was concerned we would not be able to reach Rodriguez Key before dark, so we decided to stop at No Name Harbour on the southern tip of Key Biscayne only 12 miles south.

En route something happened to the propulsion and she slowed down for a short while. We didn't know why. John decided to dive on the boat when we arrived and check out the prop and shaft. (See picture of him with his flippers on!).

Having never really looked at the charts for the Keys, I had a close look en route. At No Name we had a chat together and decided with strong east winds expected over the next few days, Rodriguez would not be the best spot. Its situated on the ocean side in Hawk's Channel, where there would be no protection. So we all agreed we would change our plan and go on "the inside", where there were lots more spots to stop and stuff to see, using the high tide where necessary.

We had a lovely afternoon at No Name. We went for a hike in the afternoon through Billy Braggs State Park, to the lighthouse. They've built a replica of the lighthouse keeper's cottage there and the lighthouse has all been restored. Beautiful views from up top!! I couldn't help but think what a shame it was that our dear Nottawasaga Light could not receive equal care!!
After all that we'd worked up an appetite, so we ate in the dockside restaurant at No Name. Yummy!

Weather Window?!!

Day 176, February 2nd, 2010

Big Quandry!! Weather not clear. No lay down day. Wind 15kn out of the south east, clocking to NW overnight. Chris Parker was advising boats to leave around 9:00a.m. John and I were concerned. That would not give us enough time to get into Nassau in daylight. If we stopped at the Biminis, we could get stuck there for an indetermined amount of time. With no lay down day we were afraid the gulf stream would be still high and our little motor would not have enough power to push through. We just felt so ambivalent about it that we decided it would not be wise for us to go. So off to Twice 's Nice for a cup of coffee and a chat. We had heard another boat in the anchorage "Sundance V" were definitely going. Sue and Paul were disappointed to hear our decision but kindly understood. We suggested that if they wanted to go they should get on the radio and call Sundance. Their engine is twice the size of ours and they would be able to keep up. We said goodbye so they could talk about it together and make up their minds.

By the time we dinghied over to Pea Soup, they had decided to go, had called Sundance and had got their anchor up and were on their way. We were so glad they made that choice. We had a cup of coffee on Pea Soup and decided that we would travel together down the Keys. Sharon was able to speak to Sundance on the VHF and we heard that Twice 's Nice were on their way.

In the afternoon, John and I decided to walk down to South Beach for the last time. We looked out on the ocean and guess what - the water looked so benign. The quietest we had seen it since arriving in Miami!!! We were sick - had we made the right decision? We didn't know but, oh well, we were still going to have fun and see stuff we'd never seen before!

Rabbit!! Its February!!

Day 175, February 1st, 2010

There's a possibility of a window Tuesday, so we must get all the chores done and be ready to go!!

Pouring rain but lugged all the dirty laundry to the laundromat anyway. While I looked after that, John went back and made a trip to the marina to fill up on fuel. He got totally drenched on the way back to get me. The water was coming down in buckets without let up. The gutters were filling quickly, up to the hub caps on the parked cars. Good thing I brought garbage bags to carry the clean laundry home. Somehow or other it was still warm and dry when we got safely back to the boat.

Miami,FL

Day 174, January 31st, 2010

Paul and Sue and John and I walked down Lincoln Mall to the fruit and veg market set up along the way. Apparently there are also antiques every second week but not this week. Bought some fresh veg and oranges and grapefruit. Nothing too exciting!

Late afternoon, Paul and Sue, Bill and Barb from Suncast and Reg and Sharon from Pea Soup all came on board for a natter and munchies. We all had a good laugh and shared stories. Pea Soup will be going south to the keys this year. They had hoped to sail to Honduras but ran into various "issues" until going that far this year seemed difficult. They were happy to have the chance to talk to Sue and Paul who had just come around the southern end of Florida.