Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Got up at 3 in the morning to drive Alex and Jill to Miami airport. Picked them up at 4 and it took about 2 hours to get there. We dropped them off at 6:15 for their 7:50 flight. We then set off for the long drive home. This will be the last post until April 5, when we return from Toronto. Have a good two weeks.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Today we cleaned up the boat and packed bags to get ready for the drive home on the 22nd after we drop Jill and Alex off at the airport. Went to breakfast at the Stuffed Pig and there is a reason for the name of the restaurant. We had a great breakfast and I definitely recommend everyone who goes to Marathon to try the restaurant for breakfast. Ate so much didn't have any lunch. Janice and Russ came over at 5:30 for a final dinner with Alex and Jill - we went to Key Fisheries, watched the sunset and had our normal great meal.

Sunday - March 20, 2011

After our trip of yesterday, we all slept in and then Alex and Jill cooked breakfast. We then sat around and read for most of the day. It was hot, about 30 and the wind started picking up. Some porpoises were playing around behind the boat. Fun to watch them. Very high and low tides over the last couple of days because of the closeness of the moon to the earth. Really big drops for this part of the Gulf where historically there are small changes. You could see the bottom where I scrapped the boat coming in. We went to a great restaurant called Burdines and the food was great. Right along the channel so you could watch the boats come in or go out. The best thing, however was their french fries, probably the best I have ever had. Everyone agreed on this.

Saturday - March 19, 2011

Got up early today so we could take Jill and Alex down to Key West. if you have never been there before, it is a unique experience as it is probably the most isolated city in the US other than in Alaska. This is spring break week for the colleges down here and the Key West is packed with people looking to party. It is about 1 1/2 hours from Marathon and as I said we left early in order to get a parking spot in the historical part of the City.

One big tarpon!


After we arrived we started walking along the docks and as we looked down in the water along side the dock, we saw two big tarpon just hanging out beside the dock in about 6 feet of water. One went after the other and caused the other the to jump which also caused Jill to jump. I thought she might go in the water and become fish food, these tarpons were pretty big - about 5 feet long.

As we walked further along the dock we saw some manatee drinking water along the dock from a dripping hose. There were three of them nuzzling up to the hose to suck in the water.

Sipping the fresh water


We went down to Duval Street which is the main street of Key West snd started walking. Lots of t-shirt shops with funny sayings printed on them including Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville restaurant and shop. Of course, I had to buy a t-shirt which will go along with one I picked up at concert several years ago. We walked down to Ernest Hemmingway's house - supposedly he lived there for a little while while he wrote "A Call to Arms". We did not go in as they were charging about $12.50 each which seemed to go up or down with the tourist season. As this was spring break, I suspect it was high. In any case, I could not see any reason to go in because all you were going to see was some old furniture. So we moved on back up the other side of Duval Street and stopped into a store selling Atocha items. For those of you who don't remember, Mel Fisher searched for about 18 years for the wreck of the Atocha,- a 17th century Spanish sailing vessel which along with a sister ship (the Santa Margarita) went down in a hurricane after leaving Cuba laden with treasure. He finally found it in the eighties, after losing a son and daugther-in-law and the treasure is immense. In fact they are still finding more treasure on the the location. If you want to read an interesting story, look up the story of the search for the Atocha. When then went to lunch at one of the many many restaurant/bars on Duval Street. After lunch the spring breakers were coming out and starting their drinking for the day. They were still celebrating St. Patrick's Day and bar hopping all along Duval Street.

Our wanderings took us to dock where cruise ships come in and then further along the docks when we all decided to rest. Jill and Alex spotted a place that sold chocolate covered key lime pie. Very good and very decadent. We all had a piece!

When then drifted back to the car and drove back to the boat.


Alex & Jill d

Friday - March 18, 2011

At Key Fisheries


We got going slowly today had a little breakfast and then went to Key Fisheries for lunch. As I said this place is great for lunch or dinner. We then went and filled up the dinghy fuel tank because Alex wanted to take it out for a spin. However, after doing that, he and Jill went over to the beach for the afternoon and Brenda went down to the pool. I stayed in the boat and watched basketball - final four and all that. Did a little work around the boat also - never ends.

That night we went to dinner with Janice and Russ at another great bar/restaurant - Sparky's and had lots of fish food. Actually too much food but it was so good. Then we had Key Lime Pie for dessert that we had picked up at Key Fisheries at lunch. Being a connoisseur of Key Lime Pie, I think that Key Fisheries has about the best. We then all sat up on the top of the boat and watched the sunset and the moon rising.

At Sparky's

Thursday - March 17, 2011

Training Day

St. Patrick's day. We took Alex and Jill to Key Largo to take a scuba refresher course as the last time they had been diving was several years ago. They started early in the morning while Brenda and I had breakfast at Doc's in key Largo. Great local eatery. Ordered breakfast and 2 minutes later it was in front of us. After that Brenda and I went over to the Holiday Inn to watch Alex and Jill do their training. They seemed to enjoy it and were looking forward to the dives in the afternoon. We then went over to Diver's World outlet and browsed a bit. Lunch came next at another local eatery right beside the waterfront where our boat was going to depart. Unfortunately they weren't serving breakfast until 12 and it was 11:30 so we had another breakfast.

The boat left at one so we piled in for the trip out to the reef. While Jill, Alex and I went out to the reef, Brenda took a glass bottomed boat out. While we only dived in about 20 to 25 feet of water, Alex and Jill saw lots of stuff - moray eel, spotted eel, nurse shark and lots of fish. Jill said the diving was better than the area they took her to when she was in Australia, which surprised me. However this is a protected park and the fish are quite abundant.

When we returned home we decided to stop at Key Fisheries and pick up some fish to cook at home. Brenda bought some stone crab claws (absolutely delicious), some Maui maui and some shrimp. Alex and Jill cooked up the dinner with a little salad and it was a great meal. BTW, Key Fisheries is a great place to go for a meal also - try the Key Lime Scallops.

Wednesday - March 16, 2011

Worked on the boat, went for a little ride in the dinghy. Janice came over for dinner. Alex and Jill rested from their long overnight trip.

Tuesday - March 15, 2011

We left the boat about 9:30am and drove to Miami airport to pick up our son Alex and his girlfriend Jill) who are visiting for a week. The airport is about 100 miles from here but the roads are all single lane until we reached the Florida Turnpike and the speed limits alternate between 35 and 55. The Miami traffic is also a pain in the neck with a lot of construction going on. So It took us about 3 hours to get the airport. Their plane arrived at 11:45 but luckily by the time we got in the terminal they had just picked up their bags. They had flown overnight from Vancouver so they were a little tired.

The drive back to Marathon was a lot easier, since we were not in a rush. We stopped in Key Largo for a great lunch at a place called The Fisherman.

When we got back we showed Alex and Jill around and then took them over to their hotel which is just down the marina from us. We haven't seen them since and I suspect they are sleeping solidly.

Tonight we celebrated with Windsong, the 39th anniversery of our friends from Serendipity. We went over to the ??? toasted the sunset and had dinner. Lots of fun.

Monday, March 11, 2011

Went to look for a new TV cable because I figured the old one was faulty since reception was very poor. Installed the cable and the reception improved dramatically although there are still a few channels that are fuzzy. I turned on the computer at 1 and noticed that Robert Creech of C-Life was giving a second presentation of the trip from Marathon to Norfolk. It started at 1 so I ran down the dock to catch the presentation which lasted about 3 1/2 hours but it was worth it. Great presentation that answered a lot of the questions I had about the next part of our journey.

Sunday - March 13, 2011

A quiet day and we did not do very much except sit around and read. Went over to the Fish Restaurant for dinner and I had great lime scallops mixed over angel hair pasta and with scallions, tomatoes and other herbs.

Saturday - March 12, 2011

Got up early, had my breakfast and headed to Key Largo for a dive trip in Penekamp Park. The trip to Key Largo was about an hour, the trip out was and hour and the diving about 2.5 hours. Good diving, saw a big Sting ray, a Jewfish and several lobsters. Shallow but enjoyable. When I got back, Janice and Russ had moved in for one night as they did not have a hotel room for Saturday night. Jan and Russ cooked great hamburgers for dinner.

Friday - March 11, 2011

Lighthouse inside the Fort


One of the things I wanted to do while we were in the Keys was to visit the Dry Tortugas about 70 miles west of Key West. I originally thought of taking the boat out there but then thought better of it. Anyways we booked a trip on a large boat that goes out there every day. They provided breakfast and lunch and stayed out there for about 4 hours. The trip out was about 2 hours but a little longer this day because the cold front that passed through yesterday really kicked up the seas and the winds were still blowing pretty strong. The ship was a large catamaran so it took the seas pretty well even though there were some 10 foot waves we crossed that rocked the boat pretty good. There were a number of people that were seasick but
Brenda and myself weathered it pretty well.

Fort on Dry Tortugas

Once on the island I toured the fort and the island. The fort was built in the 1800's and was basically used as a prison fort during the civil war. Not much chance of any prisoners escaping since it is 70 miles to the nearest land. The doctor who treated John Wilkes Booth after he shot Lincoln was kept here. The fort was originally constructed to allow the US to claim these waters and prevent other countries from doing the same. While I toured the fort Brenda rested. The trip across did make her stomach a little queasy. Later on we walked around and looked at the birds on the island. There were a lot of different species and it was fun identifying them. We talked with a guy that had a huge lens and photographed the birds he saw so he could identify them later. I think a lens like that will be on my shopping list because it seems like a good idea.




The outside moat of the fort


The trip back was a lot calmer than the trip over and we got back in good time.

Thursday - March 10, 2011

We left the hotel about 11:30 with Brenda driving the rental care and I drove the truck. Had a phone call with the Film Centre from 10 to 11 and thought it was best to stay in the hotel room to take it. During the phone call a huge rain storm came through and we wouldn't have been able to drive if we had left earlier so it was good that we waited. I think the drive back to Marathon was about the longest drive that Brenda has ever done. Again it was a bit boring crossing alligator alley and down the keys. Stopped at a dive shop in key Largo to book a dive on Saturday and to enquire about a refresher course for Alex and Jill when they get here. Phoned Alex to see if he wanted to take the course and they thought it would be a good idea.

Drove slowly back to Marathon where we went to the dockside bar for a drink after our long drive. Learned that it was .25 chicken wing night at Hurricanes so about 10 of us headed over there for a pretty good cheap dinner (total cost for Brenda and myself was about $12.00). Of course a couple of our friends picked up a beer for me.

When we got back to the boat we learned that the storm had also come through Marathon and the winds were about 50 miles per hour and really bounced a few boats around. Cold front had come through and the temperature dropped by about 10 degrees after the storm passed.

Wednesday - March 9, 2011

Well we picked up our truck in St Petersburg and while there said hello tho our friends on Lazy Dolphin and Carolyn Ann. It looks like Lazy Dolphin does not want to leave The Club and I have to admit it is really the best marina we have stayed at. it has all the facilities you want - good restaurant, close to town, work-out room, large swimming pool and great staff. They (at least Barb did) did indicate though that they were not coming to Marathon but rather crossing over at the Lake to get to the other side of Florida. Hopefully we will meet up with them at some point on the other side.

On our way back we stopped in Port Charlotte to catch a spring training baseball game between the Jays and the Rays. Great game that went into extended innings which surprised me, because I have seen if they are tied after nine they just go home. I guess the managers wanted to give some of their players a bit of extra work.

After the game we drove down to Naples actually Bonita Springs) and booked a hotel for the night. Had a difficult time finding a place to eat though, but finally found a good pizza store and ate there.

March 8, 2011

We rented a car this morning and started our drive over to St. Petersburg. Long drive and we stopped at a Fort Myers motel. The drive across Alligator Alley is quite boring but fast since it is part of I-75. The drive up the Keys is quite pretty with areas of aqua marine water on both sides of the highway.

March 7, 2011

Washed the boat down today and cleaned the inside of the boat and we got a pump out. Since the holding tank was absolutely full, this was good. The outside of the boat does not seem to get as dirty as up north. It must be the air up north has more particulate matter in the air which gets into the ribbed deck because there certainly not much down here. Brenda did the laundry and that took all day given the machines at the dock are terrible and that only two machines were working. It will be good to have the truck down here again so we can go out to a proper laundromat.

We then went over to Janice's cottage for dinner.

March 6, 2011

Today I changed the fuel filter on the primary filter system. As I looked into the glass bowl on the side of the filter that was in operation for the past few months, there was about an inch of water and crud in the bottom of the bowl. Looks like that that was my problem. I know I checked the filter before we left on our tripe from Shark River and the bowl was clear. The trip across with all the tossing and turning must have stirred up this stuff from the bottom of the fuel tanks. I also think I may have gotten a bad fill of fuel back in St Petersburg. Anyway I emptied the water and crud from the filter and replaced the paper filter inside with a new filter. The old filter was absolutely black, obviously clogging the system. Once I put everything back together, I ran the engine for a while and move the boat to a new slip. No problem.

Went out to dinner a nice restaurant about a mile from the marina. Name of ??.

After we got back we watched TV for a bit and Brenda fell asleep in her chair. I just about convinced her to go to bed (it was 9) and her mother phoned. I went to bed and when I awoke about 1, Brenda had fallen asleep on the couch after she and her mother had finished talking. Brenda has a habit of falling asleep in the couch and then staggering to bed about 1 each night.

March 5, 2011

Today is a work day. Want to change the fuel filters because of that loss of power I experienced coming into Marathon. Since I carry a number of filters, I decided to do it myself - first time. Started with the secondary filter on the engine and it was really difficult to get off because the filter wrench kept slipping. Finally went down to our friends on Windsong and borrowed another wrench form him. It worked, got it off and replaced it with a new filter. Switched the primary filter over to the unused side and started the engine and ran it for a while to make sure not air bubbles in the system although I was really careful. While in the engine room I noticed some water leaking from the air conditioner intake filter. I followed it up and found that a hose clamp had broken and so I replaced it and the leaking stopped. Had to clean up the water though and replace the oil pads under the engine as they were wet.

Enough work for one day. We went to Happy Hour at the bar pub, where we were joined by by Janice and Russ, and our friends from Windsong and Serendipity. Went back to the boat and cooked dinner for Brenda and myself.

March 4, 2011

Brenda and Bill at lunch


Well, we are in Marathon. Tomorrow I will explore the fuel filters and see what the problem is. As far for today we headed down to Key West with Janice and Russ (my sister and her husband). Key West, in fact the entire Florida Keys are another world - absolutely laid back and very pretty. Attached to North America but similar in life style and attitude to a Caribbean island. We went down to Key West, and had a good lunch although it was somewhat slow. One of Janice and Russ's friends, Bill joined us for lunch. Bill spends some time in key West in the winter and showed us around after lunch. We didn't get out of there until around 3:00. It seems that every restaurant/bar and there are a lot of them has a Jimmy Buffet style singer. Jimmy Buffet himself has a restaurant/bar in Key West but we did not get to it this time.



Janice and Russ enjoying lunch in Key West

After lunch we wandered around the town and the waterfront. There are some expensive rental properties and hotels in Key West although it would be an interesting place to explore for several days. The waterfront is filled with boats of all types, at the various marinas, anchored and on mooring balls. While there, I picked up a brochure on the a day trip to the Dry Tortugas which is about 70 miles west of Key West. The Dry Tortugas is a National Park with a old fort which was used during the Civil War by the Union as a prison. Unless the prisoners could swim a long way there was no hope of escape. I think we will head out there next Friday.



Downtown Key West


We left Key West around 5 and decided that we didn't need dinner so went back to the boat, watched TV and then bed.

March 3, 2011

Lat 25 19 69' long 081 08 72; Fuel 135 gallons; Engine hours 663.12

This morning we raised anchor and it was relatively easy once we pulled up directly over the anchor. I was very glad because this morning I saw a crocodile swimming in the water very close to our boat - probably looking for breakfast. The winds picked up overnight, as predicted by NOAA but I think they were a little stiffer than the 17 - 20 knots they predicted. In any case, when we started out it wasn't bad and I had the boat on auto following my charted line. The trouble was the winds were coming from the north east and we were traveling southeast. I finally had to take the boat off auto because the boat was rolling as auto tried to maintain course. Once I took the helm the roll got better but the seas were running about 3 to 4 feet with the odd 5 footer thrown in for good measure, which was strange since most of the trip was in about 12 feet of water but we were offshore about 3 miles so there was a reasonable fetch.

After about 3 hours we finally saw the Keys. We came up to the bridge a Vaca Key and it appeared that I could not make it under that section of the bridge so we went further west where the bridge was higher. We came under the bridge and headed directly east into the seas which was far better than being hit on the beam. As we were approaching the entrance to Marathon, we saw a 24 foot centre consol boat with 5 or 6 people in it waving. They were anchored and appeared to be in no danger. In fact they were still fishing. They said they had run out of fuel and could we tow them in. I did not think that I wanted to tow them in with the seas being a rough as they were so I said I would radio the coast guard which I did and reported the problem. Later I heard back from the Coast Guard saying they could not find the boat at the location I reported them at. There were no reports of boats missing, so the conclusion was they had started the boat and moved on.

Anyways we went into Marathon channel trying to find the marina. Went up a channel and suddenly, I lost power on the throttle except for low idle both forward and reverse. Made it difficult to turn around and we rubbed bottom as we tried. Finally we radioed the marina and found that we had taken the wrong channel and had to come back out and turn around and down another channel. The dock master told us however to go out a ways before turning around because it was very shallow. Just what I wanted to hear.

However, as I came out into the main channel again, the throttle started to respond so that helped the turn around. Wind was blowing directly down the channel to the marina, so it made it difficult enter our assigned slip. As soon as I started turning boat into the slip the wind would push it back down the channel. The channel itself was really narrow as it was low tide, and as I went a little wide to try and enter the slip, I again crossed a sand bar and scrapped the bottom. Oh well, I'll dive under the boat to see if any damage and get it fixed if anything serious. Just a cost of boating. I was just lucky that the throttle was working otherwise I would not have been able to get into the slip with only idle power forward. Finally we made it in and there were lots of people there to help us get tied up. I think our trip across may have kicked up some crap in fuel tanks that caused the loss of power that and the fact that I have not changed the fuel filters since Great Turtle Bay up on the Cumberland River. Could also have been a bad tank of fuel at my last fill up. I think I will do that this weekend. Thank the Lord the power loss did not occur on the crossing. Would have been a fun time changing the secondary filter in those seas. The primary would have been and easy switchover to the unused filter but the boat would have been dead in the water for some time.

Russ and Janice are int Marathon for a few days, so Brenda got hold of them and Russ picked us up at the local bar. When we went into the bar, who do we see but our friends from Serendipity and Windsong. They are in this marina also for a little while. In fact Windsong is up for sale so it may stay here a long time.

March 2, 2011

sunset at Shark River



Lat 26 07 95; Fuel 164 gallons; Engine hours 649.45

Left Everglades City around 11:00 which was about an hour and a half from high tide slack. Didn't want to get into trouble going across the lake again and rub bottom. We got out with no difficulty but had to really watch the red markers on exiting because they were in a zig zag line and if not keeping aware, one could cut the line and cut across shallow water. Once out into the Gulf. it was a pretty straight run to Shark River. I had set the course on my charts and my chart plotter the night before and it was basically following the line taking fixes when appropriate to make sure where we were and enter into Shark River.

We went by the first red maker in the river (R4) and anchored in about 9 feet of water. Dropped the anchor down and backed off and it really held fast - almost like it was caught on something. Anyway, I said to Brenda I could always dive down to release the anchor if necessary. She told me the books said there were alligators in this river and as it turned out salt water crocodiles. So that was not a good idea. Anyways the anchorage was really great, quiet and isolated - no phone service and no Internet. Lots of bird life and it was interesting to watch the birds gather together at sunset presumably for protection. During the day they are all spread out fishing for food, but as soon as dusk started settling in they congregated together.
d

March 1, 2011

Lat 26 07 95; long 081 47 57; Fuel 164 gal; Eng 649.48

Left Naples this morning at around 9:30 and got out into the channel which was considerably less busy than when we came in on Saturday. Were followed out by a former Looper on a boat named Odysea and they contacted us for a chat. They were from North Carolina and heading up to the Okechobee Waterway to cross over to the other side of Florida to go home. They completed the Loop in 2007. They explained why it was very skinny water in some parts of the channel coming down from Sarasota. The tides shift the sand all the time and it is best to read which way the tide is flowing and stay on the opposite side since the tide will be taking sand with them.

We got out in the Gulf and went out beyond the three mile limit and turned south. Again lots of crab pots and always had to keep an eye open for them. I had charted our route last night and basically we asked Auto to take us to Indian Key. Worked very well and arrived on time. Just had to watch for the crab pots.

When we arrived at Indian River, we were going to originally anchor out but we needed a good anchorage that was sheltered because a cold front was bringing some bad weather in. The anchorage we chose looked good but the entrance was not the depth shown on the charts so we proceeded into Everglade City and tied up at the Rod and Gun Club for the night. As we traveled into the Everglades City, there were numerous areas of skinny water likely because it was low tide. Tomorrow, when we leave, we leave on the flood not the ebb so that the water should be a little deeper (hopefully). This place is quite a contrast with Naples - this is the backwoods.

Went to dinner at a great restaurant in town which we had eaten at when we visited the Everglades City by car three weeks ago. Great meal. We had to walk back in the rain because the cold front had come through. This is the first rain we have had since Brenda came down in January.

Tomorrow we head for Shark River.

February 28, 2011

Stayed in Naples another day because we can't get to Marathon too early. Went for a long walk and went shopping for food. Took some pictures of the pelicans waiting for a hand out from the fishermen who are fileting their fish. Got ready to travle tomorrow by programing our route into the chart plotter. Want to go wide around Cape Romero to avoid the shoals. Pictures will be posted later as we do not have good computer connection here in Everglade City.