An Updated Map of Our Travels

Updated Map

Click on the link below to see an updated map of our travels.

http://www.tripline.net/trip/Keys_Trip-7330340163541003A7FBE0D36BF3B4EB

Gasparilla

Wednesday, May 4

Gasparilla Island, Uncle Henry’s Marina

We left Sanibel and spent the day motoring north up the ICW.  It was pretty, and we saw lots of interesting boats and houses.

When we were near the marina, we called for instructions on how to get in.  It turned out to be a very long, windy, narrow, shallow passage deep into an inlet in the island.  Our shallow alarm went off a couple of times, but luckily we didn’t get stuck. 

The marina was a little strange.  It was tucked way, way back into an inlet.  It had over fifty slips, but there were only about five boats docked there.  There were no people around; just the dockmaster.  There were signs all over saying “don’t do this, don’t do that, don’t do the other”.  NOT a welcoming feeling.

We got tied up and walked to a tiny grocery store.  As we approached the boat on the way back, we noticed that we had a visitor.  A large white egret was perched on our bimini.  He was so beautiful!  He stayed there almost until we started climbing on the boat.  Then he took off, and, thankfully, didn’t leave us any presents.

Uncle Henry's Marina

View from the office - pretty empty!

Our distingtuished visitor

Sanibel

Tuesday, May 3

Sanibel Island, Sanibel Marina

We left Naples and headed into the Gulf.  In the morning there was a nice wind and we were able to sail, but by noon the wind died down and we had to motor.  Although it was chilly in the morning, it got really hot in the afternoon.  Boy, the love bugs were out in droves!  Yuck!  Overall, though, it was a nice, easy trip (for a change); it took us six hours. 

We pulled into Sanibel Marina at 3:00. A couple of the workers there weren’t very helpful; we wouldn’t go there again.

 After we got the boat squared away, we went up to the restaurant and had a nice beer and some coconut shrimp.  Just what we needed!  Then we went back to the boat and caught up on our bills, e-mails, calls, etc.

We put on a DVD and settled in for the evening.  A while later, when Sam tried to get up, he noticed something unusual.  He said, “Is the boat listing to port?”  I got out a pen and put it on the table, and it rolled right off.  We went out into the cockpit, and guess what?  We were aground!  The tide had gone out and left us stuck in the muck at the bottom of the slip!  We just went to bed, though, and the next morning we were fine.

Sanibel Marina, Gramma Dol's restaurant

LISTING!!!!!

ANOTHER Crossing!

Sunday and Monday, May 1 and 2

Another Crossing, From Marathon to Naples

Linda and Dennis are going to meet us in Clearwater and make the crossing with Sam.  I hate doing the crossings, and hate getting sick while doing it.  So, L & D volunteered to take my place.  Hooray!!!!!

The best day for them is next Saturday, so we decided we needed to get on the road (we were ready to leave Marathon anyway; we’d definitely been there long enough!).

The weather report was a little worrisome, but looked okay on the whole.  The winds were pretty strong (15 to 20 knots), but the seas were supposed to be only one to two feet.  So, we headed out at 11:00.  We timed it so we’d be pulling into Naples just after daybreak (hopefully). 

Overall, the weather was pretty accurate.  It did, however, get rough in the open waters south of the Florida coast.  The wind was very strong, and the seas were three and sometimes four feet.  It was hard steering the boat.  We tried to engage the autopilot, but it didn’t work.  So, once again, we had to wrestle with the wheel for hour after hour.  How disappointing!!!

Finally, we drew west of the Florida coast, where the land blocked the long wind fetch.  Things got much better after that.  As we were passing the Everglades, however, a fierce storm built up over to the west.  There were severe, non-stop lightning bolts blasting through it. 

We tried to outrun it, but that didn’t appear to be working.  So Sam called the Coast Guard and told them our position and situation.  They were great.  They said we should be fine because the storm was traveling west, but they said they would monitor us on channel 22 and make sure we were okay.  As it turned out, they were right and we were okay, although it seemed hit and miss for several hours.

We had a long, miserable night.  Neither of us was able to sleep when we were off watch, and I struggled with seasickness for hours, although I never actually got sick.

Boy was I glad when we finally saw some city lights – I felt like we weren’t out there all alone in the void any more.  Then dawn came and I finally felt like we were going to make it.  The wind and waves settled down, and we were finally able to use the autopilot.  What a relief!

We pulled into Naples Sail and Yacht Club about 8:30, and were so glad to touch dry land.  We were totally exhausted, so after we cleaned up the boat we just napped for most of the day until it was time to go to bed for the night.

Marathon Again

Friday, April 29

Marathon Marina

All our parts had finally arrived, so Sam rode the bike down to West Marine and picked up the cockpit ram mic.  We won’t be able to run the wiring for it until we get back home, but at least we have the unit.  Hopefully that will resolve all the problems we’ve been having with the radio.

Then the man with the new starter and solenoid came.  Once he installed the new parts the engine started right up, so hopefully all our starting problems are now over!

After that we did chores:  laundry, bill-paying, computer work, etc.

Saturday, April 30

We decided to take a little trip in our dingy, so we lowered it, set the motor, and headed out.  We motored along the channel that winds through little islands covered with mangroves.  Very pretty! 

Once we’d gone under the bridge we were in the Marathon mooring field, where boats tie up on mooring balls rather than going into a marina.  There were hundreds of boats tied up there, all shapes and sizes.  It’s a pretty amazing sight.  One boat was even flying an Arizona flag (a nostalgic reminder of home)!

Finally we wended our way through all the winding passages until we came to the edge of the island – where the passage runs into the Atlantic Ocean.  Awesome!  Right there at the edge is a beautiful park called Sombrero Beach.  We pulled the dingy up on shore and walked all around.  There was a pier, several picnic huts, a volleyball court, and a great beach.  We really enjoyed it.

Later that night we treated ourselves to dinner at the Lazy Days restaurant.  I had lobster, and it was wonderful!

Sam getting the dingy ready

The Marathon mooring field

An Arizona flag!!

Sombrero Beach.  Don't we look like poster children?

Lazy Days restaurant - yum!

Key West

Wednesday, April 27

Key West

Theresa and Ernie decided to fly down and spend an extended weekend in Key West.  They stopped and picked us up on their way from Miami so we could spend some time together.

 Of course, we couldn’t drive all that way without refreshments, so we stopped at the No Name Bar.  What a place!  There are thousands of dollar bills stapled to the walls and ceiling.  We only had one drink, but the bar stools were so tall we felt like we were drunk when we tried to get off them.  It was fun.

Sam and I had reservations at the Fly Navy Lodge in Key West, so Theresa and Ernie dropped us off there and went back to Boca Chica to check in.  Our plan was to meet at sunset at Mallory Square.  I, however, made a mistake and we went to Sunset Pier instead.  It was a neat place with a good band, and the sunset was beautiful.   But, we couldn’t find T & E.  Finally Sam guided us to the right place and we met up.

We tried to eat at BOs Fish House, but it was late and they were closing.  So, we ate at Pepe’s instead, and had a great meal. 

Thursday, April 28

The next morning T & E picked us up and we went to Ernest Hemingway’s house.  It was something!  The house itself was wonderful, and it still has the original furniture in it.  I really got a sense of Ernest when we went up to his studio – I could feel him sitting there doing his writing.  The grounds were spectacular, with all kinds of exotic plants.  Also, there were “Hemingway” cats wandering all over.  They have six toes; Hemingway loved them, so the estate raises and cares for them.

After that we went to the lighthouse complex.  There was so much history in those buildings.  At the top of the lighthouse there were cards telling you what you were seeing at each viewpoint.  Inside the lighthouse keepers’ house were all kinds of video and audio presentations.  The stories were fascinating.

Next, we went to listen to Kelly McGuire, a singer that we like a lot.  He was having a concert in a hotel courtyard, so we had lunch and listened to him.  He was really good.  Also, he was really nice.  Sam went over and talked to him for quite awhile and really enjoyed it.

Finally, it was time for us to head back to Marathon, so we hopped on the island shuttle bus.  It was a long ride, but it dropped us off right at the entrance to our marina.  Very nice!

Theresa, Ernie, Susan, and Sam at the No Name Bar

The Sunset Pier

Sun setting at the tip of Key West

Hemingway House

The tour guide feeding a "hemingway" cat

Hemingway's studio

The lighthouse

Kelly McGuire

Marathon Marina

Monday, April 25

Marathon Marina and Boat Yard

We had a mechanic come out and work on our engine.  It turned out that the engine intake and lines were totally blocked with seagrass, so he cleaned all that out.  Then he checked out the starter system, and decided that we needed a new solenoid.  You can’t get a solenoid without getting a new starter as well, so he ordered it for us. 

Our VHF problems turned out to be a bad cockpit ram mic, so Sam called around trying to find one that would fit our radio.  He finally located one we could order from West Marine.

We spent the rest of the morning on our bikes chasing down parts, gear, and groceries.   We went to the bike store where I got a basket and a froggie horn for my bike.  Then we went to West Marine where we got all kinds of stuff, including an extension for Sam’s bike seat (he’s much more comfortable now).  We ordered a new ram mic, which would come in on Friday.  Then we rode to Home Depot where we got more stuff for the boat.  Finally, we rode to Publix and got lots of groceries.   We were quite a sight to see on our way home.  We both had backpacks that were stuffed to the gills and large bags tied to our back racks.  I had my basket totally stuffed.  We made it back without dumping anything, but it was a struggle.

We spent the afternoon washing the outside of the boat.  We really scrubbed it down, scrubbing the deck with our new deck brush, washing all the portholes and hatches, rinsing all the lines, and wiping down the canvas.  What a difference!  We went from looking like we came from Hooterville to looking like we belonged in Beverly Hills.

Tuesday, April 26

We got on our bikes and rode up to The Stuffed Pig restaurant for breakfast.  We certainly lived up to its name!  After that we rode over to the Marathon Yacht Club and talked to the people there.  We enjoyed our tour of the club, and really liked the people we met.

It started to get really, really hot – they broke some records for a couple of days.  Thank goodness our air conditioner worked like a trooper the whole time!

Sam at the Stuffed Pig.

Susan getting refreshed at the Lazy Days bar.

A turtle hospital - how cool!

Crossing to Marathon

Saturday and Sunday, April 23 and 24

Crossing to Marathon

We left first thing in the morning with intentions of spending the night at Little Shark River in the Everglades.  As it turned out, however, our progress was slower than we anticipated so it would have been way after dark when we arrived there – NOT a good thing to do.  Therefore, we decided to just go the whole way to Marathon in one jump.

The wind was fast and dead on our nose, with seas of three to four feet.  As we headed into the open waters south of the Florida coast, however, the waves grew much higher, averaging four to six feet.  Waves kept coming way up over the bow – every hatch and porthole began leaking.  Every now and then a giant wave would come over and drench the helmsman. 

It was cold, wet, and miserable.  I got sick, of course.  The night seemed to go on forever; I was really scared that we weren’t going to make it.

Someone else was scared too.  A little bird landed on our boat in the afternoon, and he just decided to hang out with us.  He even sat on Sam’s chest for a little while.  After awhile he flew into the cabin, where he hopped around for a long time.  I tried to feed him but he wasn’t interested.  Finally, in the morning, I found him lying dead on the floor.  It was so sad!

We did, finally, start getting close to Marathon.  There were still hours of darkness left, so we had to slow way down in order to arrive in daylight.  What a heartbreaker, to have to slow down when all you wanted to do was to GET OFF! 

Finally dawn came and we headed in toward the shore.  Suddenly alarms began going off – our engine had overheated!  Sam raced to turn it off.  We spent the next half hour troubleshooting – trying to figure out what had happened.  We couldn’t figure it out, so when the engine was cooler we decided to start it up and see how it did.  It wouldn’t start – something was wrong with the starter again!

Finally we ran out of options and decided to call Sea Tow to pull us in.  We tried to get them on our VHF radio, but the connection was so bad neither of us could understand each other.  They tried to call us on our cell phone, but we had no reception since we were too far out to sea.  Finally we were able to understand each other well enough so they could get our location, and they came to get us.  They towed us into Marathon Marina, which has a boatyard with a team of mechanics.

After we tied up I spent hours cleaning up the cabin.  The whole boat was totally trashed from the trip.  Safety gear and clothing was flung all over, food and books had been tossed around, there were puddles of salt water in several places, and everything was sticky with salt water.  What a mess!

After that, about all we did was sleep since we were totally exhausted.  It took several days to finally feel normal again!

The little bird that came to visit

Getting towed in to shore

Finally touching dry land

The Marathon Marina and Boat Yard

Naples

Monday, April 18

Naples Yacht Club

We left St. Charles YC early so we would have plenty of time in case any “adventures” happened along the way.  As we pulled out and were motoring out of the club’s channel, the boat that had left just before us called us on the radio.  They were stuck in the channel, and were hoping we could get by them without getting stuck ourselves.  Luckily we had almost a foot less draft than they did, so we squeezed by okay.  They said there was nothing we could do to help, but I still felt bad leaving them.  They were calling TowBoat US though, so they got pulled out eventually.

We had to go back through the “miserable mile”, but once again Sam did a great job and got us through it just fine.  Then, we headed out to sea and set the autopilot for Gordon Pass near Naples.  The autopilot worked wonderfully, so it was an easy trip except for having to dodge crab traps the entire way.

We came up the channel and easily docked at Naples Yacht Club.  What an incredibly beautiful place, both the club building and the marina itself.  There were REALLY big boats at this club; they made our boat look like a dingy!

Tuesday, April 18

Naples Sail and Yacht Club

We spent the morning at Naples where I caught up on my computer work.  Then, we moved on up the bay to another yacht club, the Naples Sail and Yacht Club.  We really like this one!  It’s beautiful, but a lot more comfortable than the other Naples club. The dock master, Marilyn, is absolutely wonderful.  She helped us over and over again to resolve various questions.  She’s just terrific!

Wednesday, April 20

We borrowed bikes from the club and spent the day exploring the old part of town.  It’s really pretty, and we had lots of fun.  We went to the old pier, where we got to watch dolphins and pelicans.  We got to see two dolphins making arching leaps out of the water.  Everyone on pier went “Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!”  It was beautiful!  We rode all around and saw beautiful old houses, gorgeous plants, and wonderful birds.  What a pretty town.

After our tour we came back and went to dinner at the club.  On Wednesday they have Surf and Turf, and it was terrific.  They had the best crab cakes I’ve ever eaten.  The chef even gave me the recipe for them!

Thursday, April 21

The starter button we’d been waiting for finally came in, so we worked on replacing it.  We got the job done, but that turned out NOT to be the problem.  So, then we thought it was the fuse, so Sam hitched a ride down to West Marine and got a new one.  THAT wasn’t the problem either. A guy on a neighboring boat came over to help test the wiring, but he wasn’t able to find the problem.  Sam got on the phone and called mechanic after mechanic trying to find someone who could come and work on it, but didn’t have any luck.  Poor Sam, about all he’s done this whole trip is work on broken stuff!

Friday, April 22

What a champion Marilyn was!  She got in touch with a mechanic for us, and he came out and fixed us right up!  It turned out to be a corroded wire way down in by the engine.  He fixed it, then looked the rest of the engine over and declared it to be in great shape.  So, once again we’re in business.  Sure hope we stay that way!

Naples Yacht Club.  VERY posh!

SS Minnow next to the QE2

Naples Sail and Yacht Club.

 

Naples beach - looks just like a postcard

Cute boat!

Old Naples Pier

Downtown Historic Naples

Saturday, April 16

St. Charles Yacht Club, Ft. Meyers

Well, we had a peaceful night – the anchor held firm.  Of course, we didn’t get much sleep because we kept jumping up to check that our anchor was holding, but each time all was well with the boat.

After breakfast we climbed into the dingy and took off for the island.  We motored along the shore for awhile.  We saw a huge nest, and in it was a bald eagle!  We motored along until we came to a small inlet and followed it into a little bay.  A power boat was anchored over by a small dock, and there were two guys on the stern transom.  They were both bent way over, with their feet and hands down in the water.  We called over and asked what they were doing; they were petting a manatee!!!  We turned off our motor and Sam rowed around the bay.  I patted the water and made splashing sounds.  Guess what?  A great big SHAPE came toward us, and drifted right next to the boat.  It was another manatee!  She poked her face up in the air and let us pet her head.  Then she moved alongside the boat and we stroked along her back.  As we were petting her, she rolled over.  She wanted us to rub her belly!  We rowed around the bay for another half hour or so, and got to pet two or three more manatees.  It was one of the most wonderful experiences of my whole life!

We left the bay and motored over to the island’s state park boat dock.  We tied up and walked along the foot path to the Gulf shore on the other side of the island.  I took a dip in the water and it was wonderful.

We motored back to the boat, and hoisted the motor back up onto the motor mount and the dingy up onto the davits.  Then we took a bath in the bay.  We soap up in the salt water, then climb up on the transom and rinse off with our freshwater shower.  I sat in an upside-down life preserver and tied myself to a line, then proceeded to wash.  Sam just jumped in – he didn’t need anything to prop himself up.  But, as I was getting ready to climb back into the boat, SOMETHING grabbed the end of the line and tugged it really hard!  Man, did I scramble up the ladder!

Then it was time to get going.  I steered the boat out of the bay, and we didn’t run aground!  Then we motored south along the Intercoastal Waterway.  The channel was twisty, so it took concentration. As we were moving along, our chart plotter, critical to finding our way, turned blank!  We freaked!  Finally, however, Sam figured out that we just needed to change computer chips.  Once we did everything was fine.  Whew! 

When we were, finally, getting close to the yacht club, we still had to go through part of the channel the locals call the “Miserable Mile”.  It’s so narrow, and the sides are so shallow, that boats get stuck constantly.  Sam did a wonderful job of navigating it, however, and we made it through safely.

 All day Sam made phone call after phone call, talking to different stores, marinas, and insurance agents trying to track down a new starter button.  He eventually found a store that had the part, but how to get it to us?  The insurance company was wonderful, though.  They arranged a boat to bring it out to us as we were motoring along!  Hooray!

Bad news – the depth sounder started flashing off-on again.  Rats!!!

We got safely into the yacht club, tucked in, and had a nice adult beverage.  As we were sitting in the cockpit looking out over the water, two eyes slowly surfaced near us.  They stared at us for several minutes, and then sank into the water.  It was a crocodile!!!!

Sunday, April 17

We got up late and then went and had a nice lunch at the club.

After that, Sam tried to replace the starter button, but it turned out to be the wrong part.  We couldn’t do anything about it, though, since it’s Sunday, so tomorrow….

The rest of the day was chore day.  A super nice guy who has a boat at the club offered to take us to the grocery store.  That was wonderful.  We were able to stock up on all the stuff that’s too heavy to carry on our bikes.  Boy, it feels good to be restocked.

The rest of the day Sam spent on the phone trying to get ideas for the starter, and I did the laundry.  It had been so long that we had mountains of it.  Thankfully, the club had a free washer and dryer.  The dryer was really slow, though, so I didn’t get done until 8:00 that night.  At least it got done!

We stayed anchored all night!

Entering the little cove

What are those guys bending over into the water for?

  A large SHAPE approaches.  Sure hope it doesn't tip over the dingy!

Wow!  It's getting closer!

There, there.  Nice manatee!

 The boat dock at the state park.



Safely tucked into the St. Charles Yacht Club.....what....crocodiles?

They're flying our club burgee!

Friday, April 15

Pelican Bay, Cayo Costa Island

The Day From Heaven:

We decided to go on the “outside” this time so we could avoid the bridges.  The wind was right on our nose, so we had to motor the whole way.  We put our new autopilot on a “goto waypoint” setting, and it did wonderfully!  We had to disengage it fairly often because of all the crab pots floating everywhere, but it was still terrific.   It made the day go so much easier. 

It's amazing to me what a gorgeous color the water is.  It's a wonderful aquamarine color; it's so vivid it doesn't even look real.

 It was a wonderful trip!

The Evening From Hell:

We had decided to spend the night anchored out at Pelican Bay rather than to go to a marina.  Many people had told us about this wonderful bay next to an island that is a state park right on the Gulf.  They did say it was really tricky to get into because of all the shallows, but we felt sure we’d do fine since we had three sets of approach directions. 

It took longer to get to Cayo Costa than we thought, so we were getting a little concerned about the approaching darkness.  Still, we got to the entrance of Pelican Bay around 5:00 pm, which should have given us plenty of time.  We got out our approach directions.  The unfortunate thing about them, we discovered, was that they were conflicting.  We finally picked one set and proceeded into the bay – and got stuck.  Sam tried to motor us off the sand bar but it didn’t work.  Just then a large power boat came over to us.  I thought they were going to help pull us off, but NO, all they wanted was directions to some marina.  So, we went to our tried and true backup plan – the dingy.  We lowered the dingy and Sam got in.  He motored along to the bow where I lowered our anchor into the dingy, along with almost 250 feet of line.  He tried to motor out to the deeper part of the channel, but the wind and current kept turning him around and getting him all tangled up in the line.   Finally, he got where he wanted to go and lowered the anchor.  He came back, handed me the dingy line, and went to the bow to start the windlass.  I tied off the dingy and went up to help him.  He was “windlassing” away when he happened to look back.  “The dingy’s getting away!” he yelled.  We ran to the stern but it was already out of reach.  So, poor Sam torn off his shirt, grabbed a life jacket, and jumped in.  He had to swim a long way because the wind was blowing the dingy out farther and farther, but he eventually caught it.  The bad news is, he couldn’t climb up into it, so he had to tow it back!  That was incredibly hard.  I got really concerned that he wasn’t going to make it, so I tried to hail the power boat to ask them to tow him back.  They never responded – they just cruised on by him.  I tried to throw the life sling out to him, but the stern was slippery from spilled gas and there was so much “superstructure” in the way that I was only able to get it out there about 15 feet.  At least I got to tow him in for a little way.  This time I double-tied the dingy, and Sam went back to winching.  Hooray, we pulled free!

I had been watching where other boats went as they came into the channel, so I steered us safely into the bay.  Then we motored around looking for a place to anchor.  We found what we thought looked like a good spot and headed over.  Oops, we got stuck again!  Once again Sam tried to motor us off, and once again we didn’t move.  He turned off the motor and tried to think what to do next.  Suddenly we felt the tide lifting us a little, so he rushed over to start the engine.  No go – it wouldn’t start!  The starter button was shot. 

Sam went below to the engine and arced it with a screwdriver.  Very scary, but it worked.  He came back up and motored us right off that sand bar.  We headed for another anchoring spot, and this time were lucky enough to stay afloat and actually get the anchor set.

By this time it was dark and we could barely see.  We didn’t even eat dinner; we just had several drinks and went to bed.                                                                                                           

Sam swimming like crazy to catch the dingy.

Sam slowly dragging the dingy back.  He was exhausted!