All good things come to an end.

Last Sunday we took a 20 mile cruise to Tarpon Basin through the Marvin D. Adams waterway. This waterway has an interesting history. It is a manmade cut made by Marvin as part of his development plans. You can read this interesting story at http://www.keyshistory.org/thecut.html .

Today is our last day of boating and being in the Keys. We hate to go!

The day will be spent getting ready for the motor trip home and getting my last conch soup at the Key Largo Fisheries. The Pilot House Marina was a great spot to stay and even a great spot to stop by when in the Keys. Their restaurant has great food and music as well as a reasonably priced broad menu.

We learned a lot on this trip and discovered that we should use the trailering ability of the boat to our advantage.  By trailering to places you can then set up a home base for a couple of weeks and do cruising from there. Staying in a marina for a week or more has considerable slip fee savings and a month is even better.  Also being at a marina with truck and trailer gives you a vehicle which also works out nicely. So next year we will plan three or four major stops with trailering in between.

Well folks this is the end of Florida Cruise 2012.

See you next year!

Still having fun



Orchid at Largo Lodge



Well, it has been about 4 days since I last signed in and we have been having a ball. Our friends Becky and Dun joined us in Key Largo and the Deems, Ginny and Dave,  are still with us at the slip next to us at the Pilot House Marina. The winds have been unrelenting, so it was a good choice to stay here for the remainder of the trip. Dave went with me today to pick up the truck and trailer at Fort Pierce. We left at 4:30 am to beat the Miami traffic there and back. We were back at Key Largo by 11:30am. We did catch a brief break from the wind the other day and went out to Mosquito Bank Reef and did some snorkeling. Perhaps next time I will bring scuba gear and do a full fledge dive. I actually waited on the boat as safety in case there were any problems with those in the water. They saw a huge turtle and numerous fish around the reef as well as various types of coral. 

Our air conditioner on the boat seemed to be struggling a bit so I called the factory and they will be sending out a technician. They suspect that the pump is not large enough to cool the coils, so they are going to install a larger pump. Stay tuned, more to come.

Beck ready for the plunge!

Always time for a manicure even when you're Keyzie.

Lucy goes for a swim. Lucy is the dog.

More orchids

Reef Marker

The noodle snorkler

Boggie & Bacall



This is a seafood facility across from us. The freshest fish can
bought here straight off the boats. They also prepare meals.
One of the best tasting meals the whole trip.



Well we made it to Key Largo. We have stayed in Key Largo before as landlubbers, but now arrived by water. The trip up from Marathon to Key Largo was half good seas and half of more pounding, but we endured and made it. As we enter the last 2 weeks of our trip we can’t believe it is almost over. We have decided that we may make this our last stop. We like it here and the remainder of the trip up from Miami to Ft. Pierce is going through some pretty populated areas so we will give that up for a good time in the Keys. We have learned a lot of things on this trip and I will share them on the next post. For now we will enjoy the next two weeks here and relax and do some day trips out on the reefs and perhaps fish and snorkel, drink and eat and other tuff jobs like that.



The cormorants seem to be a little smarter than the crew of ILLUSIONS.



We are staying at the Pilot House Marina. This is another enjoyable marina with good service, nice staff and friendly visitors.

On Wednesday I will rent a car and drive up to Ft. Pierce to pick up the truck and trailer and return to Key Largo where we will pull Illusions at the end of the month.

I will be making a few more posts until then.



A view of the marina from our boat.



Lessons Learned - The weather you see is the most accurate.

Always a great sunset in Key West

We left Key West today and this was the worst leg of our trip. We got hammered! The wind and sea predictions were not bad, winds east at 15kts with moderate chop on coastal waters.  The guy who wrote that report should have been shot. At times we were in 4 foot seas and they were close together.  Decision time, do we go back or endure? The first mate wanted me to call the Coast Guard and started to say the Hail Mary. All of my training as a pilot came in handy. I considered my options and their outcomes and as the captain I decided to forge onward and endure the pain. We were too committed to turn around and now deal with following seas. I felt taking it on the nose was a better alternative.  I did however go out of the published channel and took refuge in waters that were shallower. This dissipated some of the wave action and made the journey a bit more tolerable. The first mate darned her life jacket and popped candied ginger to prevent sea sickness. She also wanted to know what I thought we could get for the boat if we decided to sell.

Well we made it to Bahia Honda in one piece, but the jogging of our brains must have done something to our reasoning section. As we approached the railroad bridge I asked the first mate what she thought about going on the outside and making it to Marathon.  We agreed to go. Dah, another 45 minutes of a head jarring tooth chattering ride, but we were much more relaxed because we were pros who graduated from the death waves of Key West.

We are now settled in at the Marathon City Marina and look forward to a boat cooked meal, some wine and a little relaxation.

Creatures large and small

At the dock with Will-C AKA the DEEMS

Today we left  Marathon and start heading towards Key West, but before Key West we will be stopping at Bahia Honda State Park and spend the night. Last night we enjoyed a fish dinner using the fish we caught earlier in the day.

Friendly little creature

The Last Supper.
Went fishing and put together a Putanessca dish. Quite good!

As I was getting the boat ready for departure we had a visitor. Mr. Manatee stopped by to drink from my hose! I was getting ready to put water in our tank and I turned the hose on and by the time I got back to the boat this guy had grabbed it and was drinking away. They love drinking fresh water and you are not supposed to give it to them, but hey I really didn’t give it to him, he took it!

Friends



Roam on departure





Rich, Cheryll, Jess, Mike



We are approaching 2 weeks in Marathon. The next few days will be busy, Jenna our daughter will be visiting for a couple of days and the Deems will arrive on Saturday in their boat and will be with us for the rest of our trip. We met the Deems 3 years ago on the Erie Canal and have shared adventures since then. We can't wait to see them. Maybe because they are so much fun to be with or perhaps it is supplies from Trader Joe's that they are delivering to us upon arrival. Today our newest friends Rich and Cheryll form “ROAM” have left to continue the rest of their trip. It was a sad departure, but we anticipate meeting again in our travels. The boating community is a great place and a small world. You meet people from all walks of life with one thing in common, adventure. Every day is a learning experience with everyone willing to share their experiences such as places to dock and anchor, routes to take or how to fix something.  Rich taught me how to whip the ends of your lines to prevent them from fraying.  What a great project in the mid- afternoon while sitting by the boat; two friends whipping line and shooting the breeze. Can it get any better than that? There is always someone willing to help you with your project and take you to the store in their car.  The internet has made it possible to maintain your friendship and share your experiences along the way.

No caption necessary





ROAM & ILLUSIONS starring in
"Honey I shrunk the boats"



Yes, still in Marathon



Now that is what I would call a family tree!



Yes, we are still in Marathon. The winds have not been friendly to traveling. We could have left, but who wants to get banged around. Marathon is an interesting place with an eclectic group of people that range from the very poor with all their belongings on a bicycle to the very wealthy in nice homes with gated communities.  Many Cubans live here and their culture from home still abounds.  We stopped in a little tiny restaurant that had only 4 tables. The owner made us a dish of all of the varieties of food he had to offer, fried plantains and bananas, yucca, ribs, chicken, beans and rice and a sautéed ground beef dish. The weather and environment can easily lead one to become complacent with an attitude of, “if we don’t get to it today, there is always tomorrow”.



We anticipate leaving here Sunday and heading directly to Key West. The winds should be much more favorable by then, but who knows.  And if not Sunday, then there is always tomorrow!



Still in Marathon

Lobster anyone?

Well, my oil pressure issue is resolved. It turned out to be a bad pin connection in the wire harness. Give me  the good old days with mechanical gauges and glow plugs. Computers are better off in other applications, not on boats!



Jess goes swimming with the dolphins. More like dancing!



We were going to leave this morning, but winds did not look favorable and we may stay in Marathon a few more days. This place is great as are the people that live here. Last night they had a big going away party for us. When I told them we were staying a few more days they said great, we can have another going away party. I think around here any reason is good to have a party. Stay tuned!

Jess went dancing with Rich as well!

Mermaids on noodles.