We wrapped up our final few days at Bonita Bills, said our good-byes and untied the dock lines Friday morning, March 21st. Even though we stayed within one mile of the shore line, it was still a rather bumpy ride for the first few hours. After that it calmed down a bit and wasn't too bad for the remainder of the trip.
We arrived at Capri Pass shortly after 2:00 p.m. and met up with Mike & Mary aboard "WhatDazeIt?" as they were leaving their friend's house in Isle of Capri. We also caught up to Bill & Margie aboard "Tortuga" but they ended up stopping at Goodland for the evening while we continued on to Panther Key. We met Bill & Margie through Greg & Sandy at the Moose Lodge the previous Saturday and also had drinks with them at Bonita Bills a few days before we left.
"WhatDazeIt?" on the way to Panther Key.
Saturday was a quiet morning of conversation accompanied by Bloody Mary's and Mimosa's. "Tortuga" came in to the anchorage about 10:30 a.m. and spent some time on the beach with Mike & Mary before the rain came in that afternoon. Each couple has two small dogs and the four "children" were having a good ole time getting acquainted and playing in the sand!
Mike & Mary's dogs, H.I.D (left) and M.E. (right) looking for a handout, i.e., a carrot, aboard "Life's2Short."
Bill & Margie's catamaran, "Tortuga."
Bill & Margie came by late Sunday (Easter) morning to chat and then early that afternoon we met them at their boat to go on a dinghy ride to White Horse and Gullivan Keys. Later that same afternoon we decided to move the boats over by Four Brothers Key to get out of the wind. Bill & Margie had already moved "Tortuga" Saturday afternoon when the wind picked up as it was somewhat more protected than the anchorage at Panther.
Bill & Margie, with their pooch Oscar, as we headed out to explore the islands. Their other dog, Casey, was riding with us.
"Tortuga" headed back toward Ft. Myers Beach on Monday. It was mostly cloudy and still windy so Todd and Mike ended up spending several hours working on battery and wiring issues. The overnight low that evening was a cool 45 degrees but Tuesday was bright and sunny and windy (again). Mike & Mary dinghied over to Hog Key and enjoyed a few nice hours in the sun with great wind protection while Todd went fishing in the dinghy. He had caught a couple of fish on Saturday and came back with a nice sea trout Tuesday afternoon but ended up losing half of it when it slid off the swim deck where he was cleaning it!
Mike was having difficulty finding a good spot near Four Brothers Key to take the dogs to shore so we moved the boats back over to our original anchorage at Panther Key late Tuesday afternoon. Wednesday was still breezy and felt relatively cool on the boat but we joined Mike & Mary on the beach at Panther Key about 2:30 that afternoon and were surprised at how warm it was! We dinghied over to White Horse Key Thursday afternoon but it was just a bit too cool with the wind and intermittent cloud cover, so Mike & Mary went back to Panther and we ended up finding a great little beach on our way back. A little while later Todd went back to "Life's2Short" to get a few supplies and invited Mike & Mary to join us, which they did until the biting insects started coming out and we both headed back to our boats.
A windy day at White Horse Key. As you can tell by the photo, life was very tough for us this week!
Friday was our final day with Mike & Mary and we spent the afternoon on the same nice beach we found the previous day. Todd managed to catch a few more fish Friday morning so we had enough for a fish fry that evening. After dinner Todd and Mike got back in to battery wiring issues and ended up spending another couple of hours messing around in the engine room before calling it a day.
Our "private" sand beach that we enjoyed with "WhatDazeIt?"
Mary cuts the Captain's hair, thanks again Mary!
Sunset views from our anchorage at Panther Key.
We left the 10,000 Islands Saturday about 9:00 a.m. and had smooth water to our anchorage at Middle Cape that afternoon. On Sunday we made it to Islamorada and went to Caloosa Cove Marina to top off with fuel. Surprisingly enough their diesel was $0.10 less per gallon than it had been when we filled up at Ballard Oil in Ft. Myers Beach!
It was a fairly windy day but the seas weren't too bad, although it was noticeably rougher on the Atlantic side where the marina was. After we left the marina we went to Matecumbe Bight to anchor for the evening and took the dinghy in to the canal system of the subdivision where Todd's friend from New Jersey had rented a vacation house. We were planning to move the boat over to the house Monday afternoon and needed to (1) find the house, (2) check out the layout of the sea wall, (3) determine water depth and (4) figure out how best to dock the boat.
Another beautiful sunset, this time from our anchorage in Matecumbe Bight.
It was windy all night Sunday and into Monday, so when we moved the boat to the rental house Monday afternoon, the wind complicated our docking effort. But we made it without damaging anything and that's always a good thing! After we got the boat tied up, Todd got in the water to check the depth under the keel and props and found that both of the shaft zincs were gone, which was surprising since they were just put on in November after we completed the bottom job.
Our private dock on Lower Matecumbe Key, thanks for the invite Paz!
At any rate, Todd donned his mask and snorkel and proceeded to work on replacing the zincs. It took a lot of effort but he finally got one on and decided he'd had enough for one day. It rained lightly several times overnight and into Tuesday morning but as soon as the sun came out, Todd got back in the water and finally managed to get the other zinc on - not an easy thing to do underwater without oxygen!
Todd's friend, Paz, arrived late Tuesday afternoon and we all went to a local bar/restaurant called Lor-e-lei's to watch the sunset. Wednesday was "catch up on laundry" day and, fortunately, Paz's house has a wonderfully spacious washer and dryer that probably cut the number of loads I would have had in half! We also made arrangements for Islamorada Cleaners to come to the boat to clean the salon furniture. He arrived about noon and spent the next hour and a half cleaning several years of dirt and grime off our loveseat and chairs and they look SO much better!
After trying unsuccessfully to find some things we needed in Islamorada, we decided to make a trip to Marathon Wednesday afternoon. On Mike & Mary's recommendation we took advantage of the opportunity to go to the Keys Fisheries to experience the locally famous lobster reuben and, as promised, it was quite a sandwich! After several stops in Marathon, including a much needed trip to the grocery store, we headed back to Islamorada and enjoyed a wonderful evening poolside with Todd and Paz reliving many memories of their college days.
Poolside, the morning after Paz's world famous "Margatini's."
Todd worked on several boat projects Thursday morning, including installing a new antenna for the dash-mounted GPS that hasn't worked since Ft. Myers Beach. Then Todd & Paz went fishing Thursday afternoon and again that evening after dinner but, unfortunately, they weren't successful in their hunting and gathering efforts.
Paz and Todd head out for some afternoon exploring and fishing.
Based on the current weather forecast, the Captain has decided to leave Islamorada tomorrow, anchor out in Anglefish Creek tomorrow evening and make the crossing to the Bahamas on Sunday. It has been a hectic day doing final shopping and laundry and numerous last-minute boat projects, but hopefully we're close to being ready. As mentioned previously, we will send out e-mail updates and update the blog as often as possible while we're in the Bahamas. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we make our way out into the deep blue! In the meantime, we will leave you with these thoughts about cruising that were sent to us by some fellow cruisers:
"Cruising takes you to where you can hear yourself think and think of nothing. Cruising takes you to a place that takes your breath away and allows you to breathe. Cruising takes you to a place where you know you will never see anything so beautiful ever again and you are so thankful to have been there for that one moment that cannot possibly be repeated, until the next day when it is and you knew it would be. Cruising is the difference between chugging coffee and sipping wine. Cruising is the difference between waking with the alarm and waking with the sun. Cruising is the difference between doing what you must and doing what you will. Cruising is the difference between going to bed when you're beat and going to bed when you're sleepy. Cruising is about living in a space possibly even smaller than your current office with less stuff than would fit in your guest bedroom, completely disconnected from the level of support, convenience, variety, luxury, and control that you have worked so hard all your life to surround yourself with - and feeling wealthy, satisfied and free. Cruising is life times ten. Are you going cruising? Then you'll need a boat."
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