7/5 - Picked up the hook @ 6:30am and headed out of the Cedar Key NW channel. The weather looked good so we decided to make the run to Dog Island - south of Carrabelle. Had mostly flat seas and great weather (all of the scattered thunderstorms stayed away - woohoo for us!!! ) Put the hook down @ 7:30pm (another 13 hour run!) It was a long day, but worth it. Glad Bill made the call, if we had taken the shorter run to Steinhatchee we would have been stuck for a while - the weather went to crap along that area for the next several days.
7/6 - Picked up the anchor @ 8:50am headed up the river and into the ICW. We had a crab pot line wrap around the port wheel so we dropped the hook for Bill to cut it loose, then dropped the hook around Apalachicola to let a thunderstorm pass. Other than that, we had a good day. We cut off of the ICW at the Port St. Joe canal and went south across St. Joseph Bay and anchored off St. Joseph Point around 3:30pm. We mixed up a batch of margaritas, dropped the dinghy in and went through the pass to spend the afternoon on the beach. Very nice!
7/7 - Had another hellacious 3:00am thunderstorm - loud with a lot of lightening, very close by! It blew on through and by 8:00am we were able to head out of the channel into the gulf - Panama City or Destin bound - the weather would be the deciding factor. What a great day!! We had several pods of dolphins running under the bow. Off of Panama City we had 7 of them run with us for a couple of miles. I got some great video clips with my camera but couldn't get it to load on the blog. Their markings were different than most that we have seen - their sides and bellies were spotted and they had a bit of a hump forward of their blow holes. Came in through East Pass at Destin around 5:00pm and headed west in the ICW, to anchor at one of our favorite spots in "The Narrows".
Monday, July 7, 2008
6/26 - 7/4.....North along the west coast
6/26-6/28 We spent a few days checking out Sarasota and the part of town around Marina Jack, there is a beautiful waterfront park. It's really a nice area. Found several great restaurants and bars.
Took the tour of the John & Mable Ringling mansion, which overlooks Sarasota Bay and the Ringling Circus Museum which is on the grounds - quite interesting and very enjoyable. As always, it was hot during the day and by noon on Saturday we were ready to get out of the marina and back on the hook.
We beered up, iced up and slipped the lines @ 12:30. Took the short run down to Longboat Key and dropped the hook @ 2:20pm. We loaded up the dinghy and headed out the pass and to the beach. It was our first time to set foot on what we call a "real beach" in awhile (sugar white, soft sand). Great relaxing afternoon.
6/29 - Picked up the anchor mid morning to cross Tampa Bay and to check out a location around St. Pete. Dropped the hook in Boca Ceiga Bay across from the the city pier at Gulfport, FL. Someone recommended the marina and area here for a possible place to spend some time. We were not impressed.
6/30 - Picked up the hook @ 7:30am headed for Tarpon Springs/Anclote Key. We crossed into the gulf at Pass-A-Grille and had a nice run (SE winds 5kts., seas 1ft. with gentle swells). We pulled into the Tarpon Springs fuel dock around 1:00pm. While Bill was fueling I called in a "to go" order and headed over to pick it up. I couldn't stand the thought of being this close and not having some of the great Greek food that they are famous for. We enjoyed our gyros on the ride back down the river and dropped the hook at Anclote Key @ 2:30pm. Took the dinghy over for a little beach time. Had a wonderful Greek salad for dinner and some coconut macaroons to die for - you just can't beat Hella's Restaurant & Bakery!
7/1-7/3 We're ready to head north to Cedar Key, but the forecast and weather sucks! It's fine here at Anclote so we have several lazy days - reading, napping and cooling off in the water. The forecast for Thursday night was bad so we headed into the city marina at Tarpon Springs for the afternoon and night. Tarpon Springs is famous for its sponge diving industry (this is one of the boats at the waterfront).
Had a great dinner in town at Mykono's. The major thunderstorms and lightening hit around 3 - 4:00am and blew on through.
Took the tour of the John & Mable Ringling mansion, which overlooks Sarasota Bay and the Ringling Circus Museum which is on the grounds - quite interesting and very enjoyable. As always, it was hot during the day and by noon on Saturday we were ready to get out of the marina and back on the hook.
We beered up, iced up and slipped the lines @ 12:30. Took the short run down to Longboat Key and dropped the hook @ 2:20pm. We loaded up the dinghy and headed out the pass and to the beach. It was our first time to set foot on what we call a "real beach" in awhile (sugar white, soft sand). Great relaxing afternoon.
6/29 - Picked up the anchor mid morning to cross Tampa Bay and to check out a location around St. Pete. Dropped the hook in Boca Ceiga Bay across from the the city pier at Gulfport, FL. Someone recommended the marina and area here for a possible place to spend some time. We were not impressed.
6/30 - Picked up the hook @ 7:30am headed for Tarpon Springs/Anclote Key. We crossed into the gulf at Pass-A-Grille and had a nice run (SE winds 5kts., seas 1ft. with gentle swells). We pulled into the Tarpon Springs fuel dock around 1:00pm. While Bill was fueling I called in a "to go" order and headed over to pick it up. I couldn't stand the thought of being this close and not having some of the great Greek food that they are famous for. We enjoyed our gyros on the ride back down the river and dropped the hook at Anclote Key @ 2:30pm. Took the dinghy over for a little beach time. Had a wonderful Greek salad for dinner and some coconut macaroons to die for - you just can't beat Hella's Restaurant & Bakery!
7/1-7/3 We're ready to head north to Cedar Key, but the forecast and weather sucks! It's fine here at Anclote so we have several lazy days - reading, napping and cooling off in the water. The forecast for Thursday night was bad so we headed into the city marina at Tarpon Springs for the afternoon and night. Tarpon Springs is famous for its sponge diving industry (this is one of the boats at the waterfront).
Had a great dinner in town at Mykono's. The major thunderstorms and lightening hit around 3 - 4:00am and blew on through.
Happy 4th of July and Happy 62nd Birthday to Bill !!!
We had a good forecast for the day, so we slipped the lines @ 6:20am for the run down the Anclote River and north up the gulf to Cedar Key. We had a beautiful sunrise and a fantastic day. Put the hook down @ 3:00pm, floated in the water to cool off and to wait for the fireworks show. Two boats beached on the island right next to us to set up and we realized that we might be in the line of fire and become part of the show. We dropped back and reset the hook and had front row sets to a great fireworks show, both on the island and all along the waterfront of Cedar Key.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
6/23 - 6/26.....Heading North SLOWLY !!
6/23 - Lazy morning, just hanging out. We headed into Naples City Dock Marina around noon and cleaned up the boat. Had cocktails and a great dinner with our friend and my former boss, Bill Hill at Tommy Bahamas. As always, it was great catching up with him.
6/25 - Our plan was to head to Ft. Myers, so we got an early start (6:30am & a pretty sunrise!) to beat the afternoon thunderstorms. We lucked out and made it to Pelican Bay/Cayo Costa at Boca Grande Pass around 1:30pm with no storms!! We took the dinghy out to the gulf side so that I could look for treasures (seashells, etc.) No luck, but it was a nice afternoon.
6/26 - Picked up the hook @ 8:00am to head north. We wanted to run on the outside (gulf side) but had the same forecast as yesterday (70% afternoon thunderstorms), so we ran up the ICW. It's always a pretty view, but a very slow ride due to lots of "no wake zones".
Sassy has been very busy on "dolphin watch" for days now. Today she scored, we had several run with us for a while. Our luck held out for us again, we dodged all of the storms and pulled into Marina Jack in downtown Sarasota at 2:45pm. We've always wanted to visit here, so we'll do the "tourista thing" for a few days. We met Gil & Kathie (m/v Lotus) at A&B Marina in Key West and they are letting us use their slip here. What a great couple!! No matter where you are, you can't beat the "boating community".
6/24 - We had a hectic, busy, hot morning. Bill loaned us his truck so that we could run errands, reprovision and get Sassy groomed. We finished up and pulled out of the marina around 1:30pm and headed out of Gordon Pass to the gulf to take a look. Bill checked the radar again and it showed several major thunderstorms developing in the east and heading west, so we made a quick u-turn back to the protected anchorage in Port Royal. We had major thunderstorms, lightening , and high winds for several hours (glad it was during the daylight hours). Afterwards we had a beautiful full rainbow and a very soothing sunset. Fortunately we had a calm evening and night.
6/25 - Our plan was to head to Ft. Myers, so we got an early start (6:30am & a pretty sunrise!) to beat the afternoon thunderstorms. We lucked out and made it to Pelican Bay/Cayo Costa at Boca Grande Pass around 1:30pm with no storms!! We took the dinghy out to the gulf side so that I could look for treasures (seashells, etc.) No luck, but it was a nice afternoon.
6/26 - Picked up the hook @ 8:00am to head north. We wanted to run on the outside (gulf side) but had the same forecast as yesterday (70% afternoon thunderstorms), so we ran up the ICW. It's always a pretty view, but a very slow ride due to lots of "no wake zones".
Sassy has been very busy on "dolphin watch" for days now. Today she scored, we had several run with us for a while. Our luck held out for us again, we dodged all of the storms and pulled into Marina Jack in downtown Sarasota at 2:45pm. We've always wanted to visit here, so we'll do the "tourista thing" for a few days. We met Gil & Kathie (m/v Lotus) at A&B Marina in Key West and they are letting us use their slip here. What a great couple!! No matter where you are, you can't beat the "boating community".
Friday, June 20, 2008
6/14 - 6/22......Our last days in The Keys
6/14 - Bill took care of a few maintenance issues and I restocked the boat to get ready for our trip back up The Keys. I decided that we needed to take a last stroll down Duval Street for the afternoon and have dinner in town. 
When we got to Duval there was a parade headed up the street. What timing - it was Gay Pride Week and they were celebrating with a parade. What a hoot! Did you know that there was an organized group for the "Florida Gay Rodeo Association"? We've never seen so many rainbow flags!
6/15 - Ready to go! Headed out of the marina and into the channel, when Bill went down for his routine engine room check, he decided it was a "no go". He had been monitoring a fuel leak on the engine fuel injector pumps for a while and decided that he should make the needed repairs before we took off. We turned around and put the hook down in the anchoring field.
6/16 - Bill ordered the repair kits to be shipped overnight and we got a slip back at A&B Marina for a few more days.
6/17-6/18 - The parts came in and Bill started the repairs. He spent all afternoon Tuesday and Wednesday morning in the engine room. Everything tested and ran great - no more fuel leaks! We slipped the lines @ 12:20 and headed to the KW anchorage to relax for the rest of the day.
6/19 - Bill took care of another maintenance issue, then we spent the afternoon "dinkin and drinkin" around Christmas Tree Island and the KW anchoring field.
There were some very interesting boats and some very odd things that we assumed the owners called boats. This was our last KW sunset. We had a beautiful evening sky that lasted for a quite a while.
6/20-6/21 - Got the weather forecast we were looking for and all maintenance issues resolved (for now). Picked up the hook @ 9:00am and headed out. This was our final farewell to Key West (until next time!). Absolutely beautiful weather and calm seas. Cruised up Hawk Channel (Atlantic side) eastward to Marathon. We passed through the 7-Mile Bridge/Moser Channel and crossed back to the Florida Bay side of The Keys and dropped the anchor at Rachel Key/Crane Point @ 1:00. Perfect day and another beautiful sunset.
Saturday was just another lazy day in the same spot.
I thought that these shots were pretty funny. Not only are the locals from KW laid back, so are the cats!
6/22 - Farewell to The Keys - Headed for the Mainland!!! Picked up the hook @ 6:30am for our trip back north. Seas were less than 1 ft., winds SE 5 kts. and we started with a clear sunny day. All of the thunderstorms and rain missed us and we came into the Gordon Pass Inlet (Naples area) and dropped the hook in one of the canals in the Port Royal subdivision. Today was our longest run - 95nm and 13 hours from hook up to hook down.
When we got to Duval there was a parade headed up the street. What timing - it was Gay Pride Week and they were celebrating with a parade. What a hoot! Did you know that there was an organized group for the "Florida Gay Rodeo Association"? We've never seen so many rainbow flags!6/15 - Ready to go! Headed out of the marina and into the channel, when Bill went down for his routine engine room check, he decided it was a "no go". He had been monitoring a fuel leak on the engine fuel injector pumps for a while and decided that he should make the needed repairs before we took off. We turned around and put the hook down in the anchoring field.
6/16 - Bill ordered the repair kits to be shipped overnight and we got a slip back at A&B Marina for a few more days.
6/17-6/18 - The parts came in and Bill started the repairs. He spent all afternoon Tuesday and Wednesday morning in the engine room. Everything tested and ran great - no more fuel leaks! We slipped the lines @ 12:20 and headed to the KW anchorage to relax for the rest of the day.
6/19 - Bill took care of another maintenance issue, then we spent the afternoon "dinkin and drinkin" around Christmas Tree Island and the KW anchoring field.
There were some very interesting boats and some very odd things that we assumed the owners called boats. This was our last KW sunset. We had a beautiful evening sky that lasted for a quite a while.To Date - 741 nautical miles
6/20-6/21 - Got the weather forecast we were looking for and all maintenance issues resolved (for now). Picked up the hook @ 9:00am and headed out. This was our final farewell to Key West (until next time!). Absolutely beautiful weather and calm seas. Cruised up Hawk Channel (Atlantic side) eastward to Marathon. We passed through the 7-Mile Bridge/Moser Channel and crossed back to the Florida Bay side of The Keys and dropped the anchor at Rachel Key/Crane Point @ 1:00. Perfect day and another beautiful sunset.
Saturday was just another lazy day in the same spot.
I thought that these shots were pretty funny. Not only are the locals from KW laid back, so are the cats!
6/22 - Farewell to The Keys - Headed for the Mainland!!! Picked up the hook @ 6:30am for our trip back north. Seas were less than 1 ft., winds SE 5 kts. and we started with a clear sunny day. All of the thunderstorms and rain missed us and we came into the Gordon Pass Inlet (Naples area) and dropped the hook in one of the canals in the Port Royal subdivision. Today was our longest run - 95nm and 13 hours from hook up to hook down.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
6/9 - 6/13.....The Marquesas Keys with Steve & Lisa
6/9 - Steve & Lisa Bryant (from Ocean Springs) flew in today so we headed back to Sombrero Marina to pick them up. We had "happy hour" on the boat and dinner at Dockside.
6/10 - We had a good weather report for the day, so it was a great run down to the Key West anchorage. Dropped the hook @ 3:00pm, put the dinghy in and had a fun afternoon of "dinkin & drinkin" around the Key West Harbor.
6/11 - Picked up the hook for our first trip ever to the Marquesas Keys (the atoll 30 miles west of Key West). Bloody Marys, screwdrivers, sunshine and fair seas - it was a fantastic trip! About half-way out we were all out of cell phone and internet range, how great is that? Put the hook down on the west side around 3:00pm and headed for the beach and to the inside of Mooney Harbor.
Beautiful water and what a vista!!! We found our 1st of 4 washed up refugee boats (at the end of this posting I have several shots that I took of the boats). Another beautiful sunset and a great night on the hook. Steve & Lisa are definitely "into it". This is their first vacation without the kids in 10 years (I'm pretty sure it won't be the last!).
6/12 - Lazy morning relaxing. Took a dinghy ride up the channel and into the heart of Mooney Harbor. After restocking the ice chest we set out for a beach day on the south side. We found 2 more washed up refugee boats there. Great afternoon on the beach and wading in the crystal clear water. Lisa and I found some treasures (sea sponges, shells and coral). We got back in the dinghy for a little more exploring. Found another refugee boat and some very shallow quicksand type water. Bill and Steve had to paddle/push us out since the dinghy couldn't be walked out.
As always another great night on the hook - fun, funny and a beautiful sunset!
6/13 - The seas and winds were a bit more than we wanted, but we still had to go back to Key West for Steve & Lisa to head home. The winds were out of the east @ 15kts and the seas were 2 - 4 ft. It was a pretty bumpy ride most of the way in, but it sure makes us appreciate the stabilizers on this boat. We pulled into the slip at A&B Marina around 1:00pm. We had lunch, Lisa took care of a little bit of souvenir shopping and they took the drive back up The Keys to Ft. Lauderdale to spend the night. Their flight home was Saturday morning and by that afternoon I'm sure they were "back to reality" unless they were still in denial.
We're pretty sure they haven't taken their last trip on the "Conched Out Too". We all had a great time and it was great to have them on board.
The following shots are of the 4 refugee boats that we found along the beaches of the Marquesas Keys. It really made us think about how bad it must be where they came from in order to risk their lives to try to get to America in one of these. We have no idea if the people made it to land alive or if they were caught at sea and sent back. When we were at the Dry Tortugas/Fort Jefferson last month, 3 similar type boats were on the beach there also.
In order to get a better idea of the crude workmanship, click on the individual photo to enlarge.
6/10 - We had a good weather report for the day, so it was a great run down to the Key West anchorage. Dropped the hook @ 3:00pm, put the dinghy in and had a fun afternoon of "dinkin & drinkin" around the Key West Harbor.6/11 - Picked up the hook for our first trip ever to the Marquesas Keys (the atoll 30 miles west of Key West). Bloody Marys, screwdrivers, sunshine and fair seas - it was a fantastic trip! About half-way out we were all out of cell phone and internet range, how great is that? Put the hook down on the west side around 3:00pm and headed for the beach and to the inside of Mooney Harbor.
Beautiful water and what a vista!!! We found our 1st of 4 washed up refugee boats (at the end of this posting I have several shots that I took of the boats). Another beautiful sunset and a great night on the hook. Steve & Lisa are definitely "into it". This is their first vacation without the kids in 10 years (I'm pretty sure it won't be the last!).
6/12 - Lazy morning relaxing. Took a dinghy ride up the channel and into the heart of Mooney Harbor. After restocking the ice chest we set out for a beach day on the south side. We found 2 more washed up refugee boats there. Great afternoon on the beach and wading in the crystal clear water. Lisa and I found some treasures (sea sponges, shells and coral). We got back in the dinghy for a little more exploring. Found another refugee boat and some very shallow quicksand type water. Bill and Steve had to paddle/push us out since the dinghy couldn't be walked out.
As always another great night on the hook - fun, funny and a beautiful sunset!
6/13 - The seas and winds were a bit more than we wanted, but we still had to go back to Key West for Steve & Lisa to head home. The winds were out of the east @ 15kts and the seas were 2 - 4 ft. It was a pretty bumpy ride most of the way in, but it sure makes us appreciate the stabilizers on this boat. We pulled into the slip at A&B Marina around 1:00pm. We had lunch, Lisa took care of a little bit of souvenir shopping and they took the drive back up The Keys to Ft. Lauderdale to spend the night. Their flight home was Saturday morning and by that afternoon I'm sure they were "back to reality" unless they were still in denial.
We're pretty sure they haven't taken their last trip on the "Conched Out Too". We all had a great time and it was great to have them on board.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following shots are of the 4 refugee boats that we found along the beaches of the Marquesas Keys. It really made us think about how bad it must be where they came from in order to risk their lives to try to get to America in one of these. We have no idea if the people made it to land alive or if they were caught at sea and sent back. When we were at the Dry Tortugas/Fort Jefferson last month, 3 similar type boats were on the beach there also.
In order to get a better idea of the crude workmanship, click on the individual photo to enlarge.
6/4 - 6/8.....Restocked, then back to business as usual
6/4 - Running low on beer and wine so we headed into Sombrero Marina (Marathon) for a quick turn-around. We restocked, took on fuel, cleaned the boat and had dinner at one of our favorite people watching spots - Dockside Lounge. It's always a show!
6/5 - Headed out around noon back to the Florida Bay side and dropped the hook @ 2:00pm. The winds are supposed to hang in around 15 - 20 knots for several days, so this is a great spot to be.
6/6 - 6/8 - Perfect location, perfect weather, lazy days, beautiful sunsets!!!!
6/5 - Headed out around noon back to the Florida Bay side and dropped the hook @ 2:00pm. The winds are supposed to hang in around 15 - 20 knots for several days, so this is a great spot to be.
6/6 - 6/8 - Perfect location, perfect weather, lazy days, beautiful sunsets!!!!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
5/28 - 6/3.....Back to being lazy & worthless
5/28 - Restocked the boat and slipped the lines @ 12:30 to head for the KW anchorage. We've had rain showers off and on most of the day, but it's been the first daytime showers that we've had since we started the trip.
5/29 - Beautiful, clear, sunny day. Another lazy day - reading and napping.
5/30 - Picked up the hook @ 8:45am and had a nice run back up to the Marathon area. Anchored off of Rachel Key (just off of Crane Point). Put down the anchor @ 3:00pm and had a relaxing afternoon and evening
5/31 - Moved the boat on down a little so that we could dinghy in to have lunch with Hollis & Sylvia Shoemaker (from Jackson). They had driven down to Key West from Miami and were on the drive back up. Had a great visit and enjoyed catching up on their news and family events. After lunch we headed back to Rachel Key to anchor.
6/1 - 6/3 - Not too much to report. When we get energetic we load up the dinghy for a little exploring and of course "dinkin & drinkin" around the area. The rest of the time we are reading, napping or floating in the water to cool off.
Forgot to include this shot from our day at South Beach. When I shot it , I was unaware of the folks in the background. Title for this is "Family Photo............priceless!" Click on the image to blow it up.
5/29 - Beautiful, clear, sunny day. Another lazy day - reading and napping.
5/30 - Picked up the hook @ 8:45am and had a nice run back up to the Marathon area. Anchored off of Rachel Key (just off of Crane Point). Put down the anchor @ 3:00pm and had a relaxing afternoon and evening
5/31 - Moved the boat on down a little so that we could dinghy in to have lunch with Hollis & Sylvia Shoemaker (from Jackson). They had driven down to Key West from Miami and were on the drive back up. Had a great visit and enjoyed catching up on their news and family events. After lunch we headed back to Rachel Key to anchor.
6/1 - 6/3 - Not too much to report. When we get energetic we load up the dinghy for a little exploring and of course "dinkin & drinkin" around the area. The rest of the time we are reading, napping or floating in the water to cool off.
Forgot to include this shot from our day at South Beach. When I shot it , I was unaware of the folks in the background. Title for this is "Family Photo............priceless!" Click on the image to blow it up.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
