Greetings from Boot Key Harbor

Greetings from Boot Key Harbor – City Marina, 

We are anchored among a couple hundred other boats in delightful Boot Key Harbor between Vaca and Boot Keys. The city of Marathon graciously manages this massive mooring field with efficient and cheerful expertise.  Guiding boats in and to their assigned moorings over the VHF radio requires better command of left and right than I possess - (not to even mention port and starboard!) The directions include fixed landmarks like channel markers and condos but also boats which wave in the wind. We are sitting in a prime location to watch boats arrive and smoothly run to their assigned positions among the already moored hundreds.  It seems we were among the few that nearly rearranged the shoals, our prop and a few sailboats.  We blame it on the lowish tide and stiff breeze….. Alert mariners rescued us and we are safely anchored.  I am sure with the many boats and cruisers who have visited here there are numerous descriptions of life in Boot Key harbor.  For those who have missed these versions, I offer mine.  Morning starts with….  Sorry.  It is surprisingly orderly and quiet drifting amidst these boats.  Some are just sitting here, but most are occupied.  This requires a motor dinghy or row boat to reach dry land for groceries, laundry and the super clean bath house. (Oh, yes there is also a cruisers lounge with free Wi-Fi, TVs and a lending library.) On board people watching is a soothing pastime. I include a few photos of our fellow boats from a recent afternoon tour of the mooring field. 

Also, since some of you are sure things do go wrong – here is a list of a few of Steve’s recent activities with a couple photos to entertain.

·      Repaired the spraying leak under the kitchen sink which we didn’t find until there was a puddle on the salon floor and all the boxes of food storage items were soggy. This repair was made while we were underway.  Steve created a temporary plug so we could get into Key West for the required parts.

·      Unclogged the vent in our holding tank – this major problem meant the holding tank could not be fully emptied and always seemed full and occasionally bubbled up delightful aromas in our head. Steve spent almost 24 hours over two days under the bed in the master stateroom when he wasn’t running to West Marine or some other store for parts.  The only consolation was the proximity of supplies and cold beverages.

·      When we arrived in Boot Key, Steve fashioned a clip on painter for our dinghy to make my job of hooking and unhooking the dink much easier (and faster).

·      Since we left home, Steve has been working on the dink – scrapping away at old tape and planning to repaint the stripe, I think? He needs frequent breaks from this basically tails up work and yet again we are glad that liquid refreshments are close at hand.

 

 

 

Good Morning from Key West, FL

 

Good Morning from Key West, FL! We arrived after spending several nights on the hook as we worked our way south from Gasparilla Island.  We spent one night in San Carlos Bay at the foot of the Sanibel Cause way – the Punta Rassa end, another night off Cape Romano in sight of Marco Island condos, and then after a long day we enjoyed two nights behind Content Key which sits a little north of our favorite pizza place on No Name Key. Steve spent his day off fishing and scrubbing the bottom of the boat while I sewed green and red buttons into a much needed directional pointer for navigational aids.  With stronger winds we suffered through a 30+ mile run into Key West – mostly uneventful with lots of lobster and crab pots to dodge which precluded naps or boredom. Frank survived the rough seas in better form than previously as did I.  Annie continues to hide her head and voice some discontent, but even she seems resigned to enjoy her new life. When the engines are off she sneaks out to sniff the salty air and enjoy the breeze. Frank is fascinated by the waves and the dolphin who surface next to the boat.  Then the sea gulls swoop in and he comes alive. For indoor cats, the boating life is good. The humans have to agree. There are enough mechanical puzzles to keep Steve occupied (he did fix a leak under the kitchen sink on the way south) and I have a fully stocked Kindle. We are on island time. The plan is to hang around the keys until late Feb and then start working our way north. Happy fishing!  Cheers from the Erben Renewal

Heading South

After Tarpon Springs, we made an overnight stop behind Egmont Key. We traveled on the outside to avoid the bridges that slow travel as well as the no wake zones. We were alone at the anchorage next to the island which is mostly a bird sanctuary. We were able to walk across and see the gulf from solid land. Sarasota was our next stop. We did travel inside but only two bridges slowed our travel. Both opened on the hour and half hour which was not very convenient since they were only a mile apart. But who is in a hurry. Remind me to discuss TIDES and WIND, two forces of nature that suddenly are very important to these folks living on a boat. We moored in Sarasota off Island Park at the foot of the causeway to Lido Key. We attached ourselves to a mooring ball for the first time. It was a time saver both going in and coming out - no anchor to clean, no 100 plus feet of anchor chain to retrieve, or “five hundred” mooring lines to detach from the dock and coil properly on the deck. Due to Steve’s expert piloting skills I was able to snag the line on the first pass (beginners luck no doubt). Mooring balls are wonderful! Our stop in Sarasota included the gracious assistance of Terry – owner of Terry’s Plumbing. He took us to West Marine and Publix for essential supplies. We are amazed at the generosity of spirit among the folk we meet both in other boats and at marinas. From Sarasota we have moseyed down to Boca Grande on Gasparillia Island. This is little jewel of a place. The quaint never stops. It lacks all the modern big names – no fast food franchises, name brand stores or even gas stations. Everything is clean and manicured but not fake. It is a place built for bikes and golf carts. Great restaurants also proliferate to satisfy the appetites from beach combing and biking. This has been a great place to catch up on e-mail, laundry, and shelter from the storm that is blowing through before we head on south…… As usual a few photos to explain things more clearly.

 

Gulf Crossing Completed

We made the dreaded gulf crossing Friday night – as in all night – a mere 20 hour run from our anchorage off Dog Island (4 miles from Carrabelle) to downtown Tarpon Springs – the sponge capital of the world – according to the sign across from our boat. We left on the heels of 35 foot catamaran, Catmandu, hailing from Bay City, Michigan and enjoyed a mostly uneventful crossing after some chop and a few rollers early on. We were able to keep in touch with Catmandu and the flotilla of 8 other loopers who left Carrabelle after us.  This friendly chatter helped keep us safe and passed the long hours.   Frankie, bless his heart, need a dose of “drugs” until the seas settled down. He wobbled a bit, but stuck close to Daddio and has suffered no side effects that we can see.  Annie was her usual demanding self and basically slept the time away.  We cannot say the same and compare the sleepless experience to those overnight flights from Saudi and the fuzzy head of jetlag. We did manage to miss the crab pots, enjoyed the dolphin and stars, and even caught a few tuna to grace our celebratory lunch today.  It was my first experience flying blind using only radar and our chart plotter which dramatically flashed a black screen for heart stopping seconds several times toward the end of the run. It has failed us before, and I probably burned a few extra calories worrying that it would drop off at a critical point. (The channel into the city winds through marsh and mudflats which are traps for fat boats like ours.)  Docking at the city marina was scratched when we didn’t fit in their slips, but they moved us next door to a convenient berth directly on the ‘sponge strip’ of Tarpon Springs – Greek restaurants tempt and tourists milling among the tacky sponge souvenirs entertain.   A few pictures of our stopover in Carrabelle and Dog Island for your entertainment!