Adios and Via Con Dios:We're Leaving Today

Taking liberty with a line from "Toes" by Zac Brown, we are leaving and as we write this we have left. We departed Marathon Key and Boot Key Harbor on Tuesday 1/19/10, after two wonderful weeks of COLD and DAMP weather. The wonderful part is the people we met; it's amazing, meet someone for all of five minutes and you are now pals, more than five minutes and you are part of the family. Something born of being in the same boat, literally and figuratively. While in Boot Key we didn't get a chance to meet everyone, primarily because most folks, us included, spent the period of 1/6-1/15 before the heaters; crowded around the propane stove; wrapped in a blanket or someone elses arms (oops didn't mean to give anything away); in short it was damn (pardon me) cold. All of the sudden the weather cleared, warmed and folks emerged from the hulls in shorts and tees, and started to visit one another. We enjoyed an impromtu concert from the comforts of our dinghy, along with another two or three dozen dinks, broadcast from the cockpit of one of our neighbors: Classical Guitar coupled with Opera Arias and the occasional homespun favorite like "I Don't Know". All in all our stay in Boot Key was fun, capped by a visit from John and Peggy and a wonderful dinner ashore.

Tuesday, 1/19/10 we are off at the ungodly hour of 0900, headed for Rodriquez Key off Key Largo. Winds are forecast at NNW 10k which actually means they will be ENE 10-15k as we are heading in an ENE direction, and thankfully the universe according to the weather forecast holds true as we motor into 15k winds for seven hours, alas, we make a wonderful anchorage before sunset on the SSE side of Rodriquez Key and have a non eventful night on the hook. Oh, by the way this part of the trip saw our first SEA TURTLE, yep a big one too.


Captains Log: Wednesday-January 20, 2010 (Stardate ?????) we're up and at 'em at 0500, anchor up at 0645 after double and triple checking the weather and we are off across the Gulf Stream and the Florida Straights. Talk about a non-event, whatever wind there is, is of course on the nose and the waves are the gentle swells are few and far between. The inky black/blue water begins about 10nm off Rodriquez Key, another 5nm and the depth finder stops working as we move from hundereds of feet to thousands and then who knows. By the by, the depth finder doesn't work again for about eight hours until we approach Honeymoon Harbor on Gun Cay and things go from beep, beep, beep to 50 feet real quick. Oh then they go to 20 feet, then 10 feet, get the picture. Well it wakes you up.



Flying Fish! Tiny, mid-size bird like creatures that create a wake (and kinda scare the hell out of you at first) and actually FLY for a good distance. Well there are many of these happy fish along our route. Other than the inky,rolling blackness of the ocean we are ALL ALONE, there are no other vessels on the horizon.

We anchor in Honeymoon Harbor on the north end of Gun Cay at N25*35.274W79*18.235 in 8 feet of water, a mere 100yds from the beach, this will keep Ed awake. This calls for a toast!However, our crew sleeps the sleep of the just and innocent. Ha. We are up early Thursday the 21st by a rocking anchorage as the wind and waves increase and swing. We pull anchor at 0800 and head around Gun Cay cut looking for a place to drop the hook and wait for the sun to get a little higher before we try to work our way through the coral heads into Cat Cay Yacht Club. Well, the hook just doesn't work! After rounding Gun Cay light and its breakers we figure we are ready for the coral heads and head on into the Yacht Club, we need a break. Tied up and secured by 1100, we cleared customs and immigration and are now flying the Bahamas courtesy flag, officially in the Islands.

It's been two and a half months and a few storms but BOTO and her crew; Vicky, Ed, Mija and Chula are now on Island Time. Chula said,'Ed, Mon! Dude, it is bright here! Give me your shades!'


We'll be in touch.