[Part 11] On Island Time

February 27-March 18, 2018

As we departed the Everglades, headed for Marathon on Boot Key, land slowly disappeared out of sight.  We were hoping the forecast would hold, so we would be able to do some sailing.  The wind was actually lower than predicted, and eventually died entirely, leaving us all very hot as we motored on.  We occasionally saw another boat, but other than that, it was just miles and miles of crystal clear water…CRAB POT!  Oh yes, we were also surrounded by hundreds and thousands of crab pots!  What started out as organized lines of colorful floating markers designating the crab pot below quickly turned into a difficult to navigate mess of haphazardly placed pots.  The closer we got to Marathon, the shallower the water got, and the more crab pots we saw.

Besides looking for crab pots, we were also entertained by what we called “flying fish.”  They would jump out of the water and appear to fly across the water by skimming the surface.  Eventually the Seven Mile Bridge appeared, just a spec on the horizon for a very long time.  Finally, as the sun began to set, we could see land!  We arrived safely in Marathon, just as the sun set and the dark set in.

We awoke the next morning, and truly felt like we were in paradise.  The marina had amazing views of Florida Bay, just off our cockpit!  Refreshed after a long, hot trip the day before, we set out to explore Marathon.  Crossing A1A was a bit of a challenge, much like a game of frogger.  Unsure what to expect after last season’s hurricanes, we were happy to see that much of the island was in great repair.  We arrived just in time to see a large group of loopers off.  We may be a bit behind the pack, but we are enjoying living on island time in this beautiful scenery!

After a few days, we have a good weather day to head south under the Seven Mile Bridge, and then head west to Key West.  We will take the Hawk Channel, a relatively deep and wide channel between the keys and a line of barrier reefs.  We are able to take advantage of the wind and do some amazing sailing in the gorgeous clear blue water.  The salty ocean air and the wind in our hair, we see dolphins and a turtle, and lots of fish.  We arrive on Stock Island, right next to Key West.  We have peace and quiet on this island, but there is a shuttle to take us to the fun and excitement of Key West.  After hearing Kenny Chesney may be in Key West, I quickly drag Chad off the boat and we begin checking out the island town.  Although we did not find Kenny, we still got a chance to soak up some of the night life on the island.  Duval Street has quite the bar scene!

We spent the next few days taking in all the sights of Key West and indulging on Cuban food and coffee (I miss the yummy Cuban coffee!), Key Lime Pie, and so much seafood!  We checked out so many cool places like Hemingway’s house (we just had to see the six-toed cats!), Mel Fisher’s treasure museum, and even a ghost tour (if you don’t know what Robert the Doll is, look it up, it’s creepy!).  Since the weather was not cooperating for us to sail to the Dry Tortugas National Park (and even the ferry was booked), instead we got to check out Fort Zachary Taylor, and spent some time on the gorgeous beach there.  Apparently some even decided it was a topless beach, so Chad really enjoyed that!

We spent nearly two weeks on Stock Island, as the winds were strong and created rough waters.  We made friends with our neighbors at the marina, and they invited us out for a ride on their skiff to “their island.”  Not knowing what to expect, we had an amazing day with new friends Jim and Mary.  They took us out to a beautiful, secluded island where we spent the afternoon sipping margaritas and playing in the warm, clear water.  After attempting some fishing, we headed back to the marina.  This day was definitely a highlight of our trip!

Finally, we had a break in the weather, and we decided to head back to Marathon.  Chad takes advantage of some new fishing lures, and fishes on the way.  He caught a few small fish, and had something big on the line, when something even bigger ate it and the lure!  We spent another few days with friends we had met in Marco Island, before we had another weather window where we could move on up the keys.  The weather looked better if we moved on the Florida Bay side (the North side of the keys, and the beginning of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, AICW), as opposed to the more exposed Hawk Channel on the South of the keys.  I took to Facebook and sought out some local knowledge from other experienced women sailors who had taken the inside route.  In doing so, we met two other awesome sailing couples, who just so happened to be heading that way the next day and they invited us to tag along!

We left Marathon on a beautiful morning, and fell in line behind S/V Holiday and S/V Radio Waves.  We followed the sailboat parade all the way to an amazing anchorage near Long Key.  After setting anchor, we finally got to meet the sailors we had been following all day.  We shared a fun dinner onshore at Lobster Crawl, then spent the evening under the stars aboard S/V Holiday.  Zach from S/V played his ukulele as we all sang along and had a great time.  It was so great to meet other sailors who were our age!

We departed with S/V Holiday mid-morning, so we could pass through a few shallow spots near high tide.  S/V Radio Waves headed out to Hawk Channel, preparing for a passage to the Bahamas.  We arrived at another beautiful anchorage off Key Largo.  The bottom proved a bit tricky to get the anchor to set correctly.  Apparently the visually sandy bottom only covered a much rockier bottom.  After moving in closer to land, the anchor set and we were off to explore Key Largo.  We spent another great sunset with S/V Holiday and more new friends who were from Fenton, MI, Gloria and Jim.

We departed the next morning, making our way through mangrove lined channels.  Slowly, the channels opened up as we entered Barnes Sound and then Card Sound.  Finally, as we entered Biscayne Bay, the keys disappeared behind us.  Just like that, Miami appeared in the horizon.  Wow, what a dramatic difference between the beauty and nature of the keys, and the large looming buildings of Miami.  We couldn’t help but have mixed emotions as we rounded the tip of Florida and slowly started heading north again.  The keys were such a highlight of our trip, one that we had both looked forward to, and despite not making the Dry Tortugas, also exceeded our expectations in ways we would have never guessed.  We also knew we were now on our way north, closer and closer towards Michigan, and the end of our Great Loop adventure.