New Adventures

Okay people.  

We were off line for a little while but now we are on another adventure.  Today, we are in Marathon at a marina just across from the Boot Key mooring field.  We are heading for Key West in a couple of days and eventually to The Bahamas. 

We had a great time staying in the same marina as Dan in South Pasadena for 5 weeks. 

He was working a lot but we had a chance to catch up and share dinners.  Kerm and I helped get Morris (Dan's 26 foot sail boat) ready for a cruise south with Carrie. 

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Surveying the worksite

Dan working on in the crow's nesting.

A big pile of chart books and cruising guides that we used on the Loop

Linda and Pat joined us from Minnesota.

They helped with provisioning and the purchase of the new dinghy- it's a RIB (rigid inflatable boat) with a fiberglass v-shaped hull that allows for much more stability under way.  Dinghys are used a lot in the islands for getting ashore and going to the reefs for snorkeling.  Our old one was good but it was not robust enough for hard use in the Bahamas and Exumas.

Splashdown

Pasadena supplied free ice...Linda stocking up

Pat at the helm of the new dinghy

 We finally got finishe with a lot of our chores and cast of on January 17.

Jewfish Key- we enjoyed a great dinner of shrimp and lobster bisque at MarVista on shore.

Testing out the new dinghy

At anchor in Jewfish Key

We left and headed for Venice and stayed the night at Fisherman's Wharf Marina.  Were delighted to see Jeff from Jeremiah and Mike from Nauti Nell, friends from the Loop.  Mary Ashby joined us after her business conference so there were five of us on the boat...cozy and fun.  Left the next morning and had a great cruise to Fort Myers Beach, where we hooked a mooring ball.

Fort Myers Beach

The pump-out boat comes along side and "away goes trouble down the drain"

Pat had to leave us but we had a great time with him on board.  he took wonderful pictures and also videos. 

Lots of birds in the morning

Leaving Fort Myers Beach

Mary

We saw this sad sight...don't know the story behind this sunk boat

Maybe he knows??

Heading out into the Gulf for Naples

Naples homes on the channel in to town

Mary and Warren enjoying a moment

Mary left us on Sunday after a great visit.  She and Pat are both welcome back anytime.

New Manson anchor (Nicknamed Charlie)

After much provisioning and some important maintenance we departed Naples on Tuesday.

Ready to leave port

We encountered some shallow water on the inside route a little south of Naples so we turned around and went out into the Gulf.  Went past Marco Island and found a lovely anchorage at Goodland which is inland a little way. 

Sunset at Goodland

Lady in Red joined us in the achorage and we had a nice visit with Donna and Greg

 

 

 

This is the sunset at Shark River -last anchorage before we hit Marathon- the Florida Keys!!

We had a very smooth crossing to Marathon and pulled into Boot Key Harbor at about 2pm.  All mooring balls were filled so we took a slip at Sombrero Marina.

Warren taking his first look at the Keys

Sunset in Marathon

New motor to go with new dinghy

Testing it out

It works!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mea Culpa

Kerm here.  Sorry we haven't kept up with the blog but we've been busy and got out of the habit.  We're currently in Marathon Key in Florida with our next stop Key West.  From there it's to Lake Worth where we will disembark for the Bahamas.
So what have we been doing?  We were in Hudson Marina for a week or two then to Pasadena Marina for just over a month where son Dan keeps his boat and then on January 17th we headed south.
During our time in Hudson had a great Christmas and met up with old friends from the area and started to refill our ships stores plus took care of some maintenance items that I had been putting off.  After Christmas, Chris headed back to Minnesota for some R and R as to give her bursitis a rest and probably a much needed break from the crabby captain.  
My to do list for these weeks went something like this:  replaced delaminated bulkhead by water heater, while there replaced the water heater, new zinks in cooling system, changed oil in everything, new switch for windlass, new anchor, new bigger dinghy which is now a RIB.  Replaced some caulking and dowels in teak decks, all new septic hoses along with diverter valve, thru hull valve and pump, new hinges on transom door, new fuel fill and vent hoses, new turnbuckle on shroud that was bent, automatic fire system with diesel shut down, teak grab handle on outside of rear door, rebuilt portions of rear hatch, replaced exhaust elbow and associated hoses.  Mattress pad for mid berth, remount grab handle by nav area (came off during crossing), drain holes for ladder pads up to fly bridge.
With the Bahamas on the horizon I probably am doing more than I normally would do but without decent services there I want to make sure that all is up to offshore or remote area standards.  It's like with the dinghy.  The old one was great for an errand or a little exploration but in the Bahamas it's your main mode of transportation to town from anchorages which can be quite a distance in waves and significant current.  Now with the new larger dinghy the old motor won't cut it and our lifting boom can't handle the weight or size.  So now it looks like a new larger outboard and we have new tip up transom davits on the way for storing the dinghy. 

More later.