5 wks. in Boot Key

      We have been in Boot Key Harbor, in Marathon, Fl. longer than we expected.  But this is such a wonderful place to spend time, have fun and meet friendly people, you seem to loose track of the days. 

No problemo.  Here are a few pictures showing where we've been and just how we managed to

blow away 5 weeks while waiting for a weather window to the Bahamas.

Marathon City Marina

Boot Key Harbor  

 owned & operated by the city of Marathon. 
They are a great group of folks who maintain a clean, friendly, community-oriented marina with 225 mooring balls.  There's baseball, boche ball, yoga-under-the-tiki, mexican train dominos, craft meetings, weekly Meet 'n Greet dinners, and always, countless excuses for lunch-time gatherings, and sunset-toasting on the boats. 

     I can bike to the West Marine, The Stuffed Pig Resturant, Publix,  Daffy Dougs (the local bargain emporium), and The Salvation Army.  I am in the center of the universe!  Through the daily 9:00 a.m. Cruisers Net, I found a girl that had an extra spool of hand-quilting thread.  I gave her a bottle of wine. I believe we are both happy boaters.  Life is good in Boot Key Harbor.

Harbor Entrance

The western entrance to Boot Key - pass Panchos and Burdines where one can find fishing supplies, live bait, deisel, gas, ice, water, upstairs for Key Lime Pie,  beer, burgers & greasy fries.  In the afternoons, Burdines has a barrel filled with ice and $1.00 beer.  Do I even need to mention the assembly of suntanned, gray haired, barefooted men, sitting around this barrel??

The first year we came to Boot Key, this was a functioning bascule bridge.  The friendly, local bridgetender would welcome you into the harbor while he raised the span.

Sunsets
With a harbor full of masts and the sun resting on the old bridge,
every sunset is magical.  Conchs blow, taps play, drinks are raised,
cannons fire (this is pirate country), another day ends.

Lounge Lizards, Keys style
                                                  A few shots of the local wildlife here in the keys.

Departure Time

  After five weeks in Boot Key, it looks like this Wednesday, March 23, we should have calming southerly breezes and fair winds.  This is what we need to help push Alice Mae along the gulf stream.  We will leave Marathon in the afternoon, sail through the night, and arrive in Bimini Thursday mid-day. It's  a 130 miles crossing, a new adventure for us.  We plan to check into Alice Town, Bimini.  Isn't that just too cool!


Captain Dave at Auto Pilot


     Our general sail plan from there is to cross the Grand Bahama Bank (another long stretch of water), sail around the Berries, drop down to Andros (diving??), skirt around New Providence where big, commercial Nassau dominates, and spend some time in N. Eleuthera.  From there we can do another long, but workable run north to the Abacos.  Marilynn is flying into Marsh Harbor on May 1, (Oh boy, Oh boy!)

  

  David & I will play around in the Abacos for about a month total and then work our way back to Fl. and our home base by the end of May.   



Captain Rocket


 I am saying all this because I am thinking we will have minimal phone/internet once we arrive in the Banamas.  So, until next time, TTFN

Capt. Dave & Capt. Rocket
 on SV Alice Mae
 where Life is Good

The Adventure Begins!

     We're off on our 3rd sailing adventure on Alice Mae.  It is always an unnerving and intimidating time- getting everything ready.  We plan to be traveling 4 months (Feb.to June). There is much to do before we can cast off... haul out to scrape & paint, new props put on, sails hoisted (to clean out the mud dauber nests, yuck!),  boat electronics & gear to check over, dinghy motor inspection,  cart loads of items to buy, organize and stow. It's all soo much fun.  But the adventure begins, we are off and running, about 45 mi. a day and life is good.

     I try to keep a daily log as we travel on Alice Mae.  I'll give you passages from these entries.  Hope you enjoy a glimpse into how we manage to cruise on our 36' Endeavour Cat, Alice Mae.

Wed. Feb. 2
Fish Island Marina to Matanzas Inlet
MM 778 - MM 794
2:00 cast off by seester Marilynn and we are off on another grand adventure.  This is where I always think, "What the hell am I doing??"  But after a easy 3 hr. sail, we are the only ones at Matanzas Inlet.  Very quiet. Very calm. Very dark. Very cloudy. This is so very much fun!

Fri. Feb. 4
Rockhouse to Cocoa
MM 843 - MM 897

12:00 through the long and shallow Mosquito Lagoon and at Haulover Canal and the bascule bridge.  Major fog all the way down Mosquito.  We couldn't see to the next channel marker.  Thank ya jesus for charts and auto pilot!





Mon. Feb. 7
Vero Beach
MM 952
A very windy day, a good day to hang on a mooring and enjoy the sunshine.  David spent an hr. or so with his butt in the air and his head in the port side engine.  He changed th oil filter & 2 fuel filters.  Engine is running a lot better.  Later, he must have decided to take a celebratory swim when he dove off the stern to catch the untethered dinghy.  Landed with his butt in the air and his head down in the dinghy.  Do you see a trend here??  While all this excitement was going on, I was working Vero's free bus system. An easy run to Publix & fresh bread.  Life is good once again,

Wed. Feb. 9

Hobe Sound to Lantana

MM 1000 - MM 1031

7:35 One cup of coffee done and on our second.  Hobe Sound is a pretty stretch of water with a quiet, isolated feel to it.  But from here on down, we have bascule bridges to contend with. Some "on demand" but many in S. Fla. are on a timed schedule.  Lots of hurry ups and waits.  Easier said than done on a sail boat.

Todays journey-  31 mi and 11 bridges. The reward... Key Lime Pie at a local Lantana restaurant.

Tomorrows journey- 33mi and 16 bridges....geeeeeez

Mon. Feb. 14
Anchorage Marina, Key Largo to Plantation Marina, Tavernier Key
MM. 1134 - MM 1164



Gilberts - conch burgers & loud music

9:45 Only one day into the Keys and we're already getting lazy.  Hung out at the "doorway to the Keys" drinking 2 pots of coffee and trying to understand my blogspot.  The result:  I am wired AND frustrated. But, it's a sunny day and we're heading West into the Keys.  The gulf side is shallow with narrow, marked channels, narrow cuts and always crab traps to dodge.

12:00 noon. Pigeon Key to our port. Sunshine,blue-green water and gentle breezes.  Some Jimmy Buffett playing.  damn, life is good.

Tuesday, Feb. 15

Plantation to Sisters Creek, Marathon Fla.

MM 1164 - MM 1194

9:00 Making our final 40 mi. run to Boot Key Harbor in Marathon. Got the main up, motors going, wind at our backs, fleece on, 4' of water in the ICW channel (shallow!) dodging fish trap balls. One more day in paradise.

11:50 Under Channel 5 cut and out into the Atlantic side.  Still moto-sailing a little better than 6 knots.

3:15  Into Sisters Creek.  Ta Da!



Alice Mae tied up at Sisters Creek



4:00 tied up 3 pts. in the first little bend inside the arm of Sisters Creek.  We can hang here until a mooring ball comes free.  We are number 17 on the list.

I'll leave you with some parting pictures.  We are  now on a mooring.  My motto:  "the moored, the merrier!" Doing the daily chores typical of the Fla. Keys..... coffee drinking, dinghy riding, sunset drinking, life is definitely tough.



Captain Rocket



grocery run  (I'm sitting on the beer)

March 7

I know I'm bad.  We've been here 3 weeks just lazing around.  My, my how time flies when you're having fun.  We're now gearing up for the big, bad, scary bahama crossing.  Over the gulf stream into Bimini, then over the Great Bahama Banks to points unknown!  I don't think I will be having very much internet, phone access when I'm there.  Thanks to Lisa I managed to at least get this first blog up and running.  I'll see if I can do Blog #2 somewhere in the islands.

Alice & David