The Keys and the African Queen

Sitting in the cockpit at sundown in the Keys is one of the most relaxing experiences. The air feels like silk on skin. I watched a ketch sail across our horizon a couple of miles to our SW. As it crossed the sun's decending path I couldn't get the song "Wooden Ships" by CS & N out of my head. An old and somewhat depressing lyrics but a nice melody. We are certainly not depressed. How could anyone be other than joyous at this view........and I forgot to take a photo. We've been getting lazy lately and not taking many pictures. We'll have to do better. It took the ketch the better part of an hour to pass through an arc of about 20 degrees on the horizon before it vanished behind one of the smaller unnamed keys. Three nights were not enough of the Keys so we will be coming back again soon for a longer visit. Two nights ago we anchored in the Little Shark River. It's part of the Everglades and a very remote and wild place. Lots of animal life all around us as we sailed to an anchorage an hour before sunset. It was feeding time in the jungle. At sunset the animal life changed from birds, fish and turtles to no-see-ums. Diane and I quickly dove into the boat and put in all the screens. We felt like Charles and Rosie in the movie African Queen. We promised ourselves air conditioning next night so we made a long and fast dash to Naples. We've decided to stay a second night and enjoy the wonderous invention of Willis Carrier a little longer. We are sort of on the home stretch. The waters north of us are familiar to us and we've sailed them from time to time over the years. We plan to linger a little in some spots we have visited in the past but were never able to stay long enough because of work committments. I'll close this with a link to the MAP. We are going to walk to the Naples pier and watch the sunset from shore; something we've done many times in the past with our children when they were small and with my parents when dad was alive and mom was in better health. It will be a moment of very mixed emotions.

Jensen Bch to Miami

We've been slowly hopping down the ICW this past week gawking at the huge houses and yachts along the South Florida waterfront. We've spent nights at anchor or in marinas and met Canadian and American boats on their way to the Keys or Bahamas for the winter. One boat we shared an anchorage with on two different occasions is from Holland. Tonight will be our second night in this Biscayne Bay anchorage. To our north a couple of miles is the beautiful Miami skyline. We are sitting here waiting for a tropical wave to meet a weak cold front moving down from North FL. The collision is bringing lots of clouds, some rain and thankfully light and variable winds. This weather train wreck should clear out tomorrow, so we will be off to the Keys. We are thinking of spending 2-4 nights at anchor at various spots in the Keys before making the turn north toward Tampa. We may be out of cell phone and internet coverage for a few days beginning about mid-week since the area between the Keys and Marco Island (s. of Naples) is either Gulf water or the Everglades. Not many cell phone towers there. This week will mark the 4,000 nautical mile mark for our travels. We will probably pour some white wine (small amount) over the bow of Sea Breeze to celebrate the occasion. In looking at theMAP you can see how close the Bahamas are to us today. With a few little enhancements to Sea Breeze, we hope to be back here in Biscayne Bay sometime within the next 12 months waiting for a good weather window to cross the Gulf Stream for a visit there.

Photo 1 - entering Port of Miami with the city in the background

Photo 2 - Ft. Lauderdale from the ICW

Photo 3 - Miami Beach from offshore

Jacksonville to Jensen Beach

After leaving Jacksonville if felt like we sailed (motored actually) into a sauna. Early October seemed more like early August. We broke from our usual routine of anchoring out each night. We motored through windless molasses with our electrical umbilical cord reaching out for the next marina so we could plug in and dive below into the comfort of a cabin being cooled and dehumidified by our new best friend – the air conditioner. All of Sea Breeze’s electrical needs are provided by battery power except the AC, so when the crew wants to sleep in cool comfort, we head for marinas……preferably marinas with swimming pools attached. St. Augustine provided an interesting one night stop. Long ago it was our frequent weekend destination when we were young and living in Fernandina Beach. We remembered bicycling through deserted streets one Christmas day when we woke to discover our early morning flights to visit family up north had been cancelled. Next day after St. Augustine we discovered a little gem of a hotel built in the 1880’s. Located in New Smyrna Beach, it met all our requirements – shore power for the boat and its AC unit, a pool, and 5 short blocks from the beach. The Riverview Hotel and Marina could accommodate one boat (us). It is a beautiful pink hotel with white trim, 3 stories, and a big wrap around front porch with rocking chairs. All this peeking out from under a huge ancient live oak tree. Hidden in back a walled subtropical garden was our main reason for stopping here………the pool. We giggled as we swam in this secret place that few seemed to know existed. The beach was a short 5 blocks away with shops lining both sides of the street. The shops were mostly tourist traps – tee shirt shops, shell shops, a couple of beach funky bars selling cheap domestic’s – 5 for $10. And yes, count’em – 3 ice cream shops! We’ve also spent nights in the Melbourne area, meeting friends for dinner out, and in north Ft. Pierce. Last night we anchored at Jensen Beach and waited for the approaching cold front to wash over us. This morning we woke to temps in the 70’s. Glorious. A break from the record setting heat. Somehow I can just feel the sympathy from those of you who are experiencing frost or even snow right now. We are going to stay at anchor here for a day or two and take advantage of the cooler weather to do some much needed cosmetic maintenance. First on the list is to clean the “mustache” from the hull. Most of the ICW waterway from Norfolk to Ft. Pierce contains some level of tea colored water which leaves a stain along the water line. Now that we are back in clear water again it’s time to get out the cleaning tools. We should be in the Miami area in 3-4 days and the Keys by next weekend. Then we turn the corner and start north toward home. Our internet service is not the greatest or fastest here in Jensen Beach so I’m not going to try to download any photos today. I did update the MAP so you can see where we are and where we’ve been lately.

Jacksonville

We spent the past week at a beautiful marina on the Ortega River and visited Mark, Christi and grandson Owen. A nice break from the boat and a chance to catch up on some boat maintenance (oil change, fuel filter change, etc). Now it's on to St. Augustine, Daytona and points south. The map traces our progress since leaving NC.

Photo 1 - Diane and Owen fishing on Sea Breeze

Photo 2 - Mark, Christi & Owen out day sailing on the St. Johns River