Key West

        There is a shuttlebus from Marathon to Key West that costs seniors a dollar to ride each way.  It’s small and stuffy, and makes many, many stops, but you can’t beat the price.  We got up before dawn on Wednesday (Dec 27) to stand at the bus stop in front of Marathon’s Coast Guard station to catch the 0728 shuttle.  We watched a colorful parade of people get on an off along the 48 mile ride, and got to Key West about 0930.  

We’d been there once before, many, many years ago, and had dim recollections of a touristy wharf, palm trees and white fences and porch rails.  We walked the same waterfront, saw the Schooner Appledore which summers in Camden, and then made our way to the Conch Trolley and Train for tickets to get the hop-on/hop-off narrated historical tour.

There’s a lot of history in Key West, going back to the 1500s when Ponce de Leon came looking for that mythical fountain.  The area was known for pirates and wreckers (people who made a good living salvaging wrecked boats on the surrounding reefs - sometimes even luring them onto the reefs with beach fires meant to represent the lighthouse) and sponge divers.  President Truman held sixteen working vacations on this island.  Ernest Hemingway wrote most his novels here.  The southernmost point of the Continental US is proudly marked by a buoy and tourists literally line up for hours waiting to take a selfie with it.  US Rte 1, which runs from Fort Kent, Maine and all along Maine’s coast as well as the full Eastern seaboard, ends here in Key West. 

We took the tour of Hemingway’s place.  He was fond of polydactyl cats, and currently there are 61 cats in residence, free to roam the one-acre estate.  The place is well maintained - consisting of a small house, a small former barn which Hemingway remodeled into his writing studio, an in ground swimming pool, and a beautifully landscaped yard that is now rented out as an event center for weddings and parties.  The whole estate is enclosed by a wobbly-looking ‘privacy’ wall made of reclaimed bricks from Baltimore.  

Hemingway's writing cottage.

Hemingway's bed, complete with cat.

We had lunch in Key West, walked around some more, and took the shuttle back to Marathon, capping the day with dinner and key lime pie at the 7 Mile Grille.  We’d been told it was the best key lime pie in the Keys.  We haven’t eaten enough key lime pie yet to agree.  

Christmas in Marathon

        We decided not to try for Key West by boat.  There is a shuttle bus to Key West - we may take that tomorrow or the next day, to explore.  And, unfortunately, it doesn’t look like we’ll get over to the Dry Tortugas, which was on my bucket list of things to see on this trip.  The steady northerly winds (and by steady, I mean around 20 knots) just don’t make for good cruising that way.  Hate to find a small weather window and then be stuck there - better to use that weather window to get to the Bahamas and be stuck there.  

So we are still anchored in Marathon/Boot Key Harbor. We will explore this island, get our laundry done, get our provisioning done, and fill the fuel tanks.  When our window opens up we’ll head up the Keys toward Key Largo and then try for the Bahamas.  

We took Tommie in to the vet for her international health certificate.  The folks here were kind enough to get us in immediately.  She was in full beast mode - hissing, snarling, threatening to draw blood - and they still managed to give her a good exam and a vaccine so she is cleared to travel.  We assured her this is her last vet visit until we get home.  

Christmas aboard has been a quiet affair.  We miss our kids and families, but our phones have been buzzing with lots of cheery messages and pictures.  We hope this Christmas has been a great one for everyone, filled with laughter, joy, and music.  Have a merry holiday, however you celebrate!

Making Our Way to Marathon

         We spent three windy days and nights anchored in the Punta Gorda/Cape Coral area.  The first night was out in Charlotte Harbor, which was rather bouncy, and a little sketchy with all the local squatter boats.  These are boats abandoned or partially destroyed by a storm, snatched up by others to use a liveaboard.  While we were at anchor, two of these locals had made a dinghy run for five gallon bottles of water and were distributing them amongst all the squatters.  They fouled one prop on the tow line of the dinghy carrying the water and the proceeded to get fouled in our anchor line. 

Fortunately nothing was damaged, but the incident induced us to find a different anchorage, and we found a really nice one across the harbor and up a canal to a small basin.  (It was a called a lake on the chart, but honestly, it was another cul de sac of water.)  We spent two nights there.

On Monday, Dec 18 we moved on, enduring the lumpy waters of Charlotte Harbor for the more protected Pine Island Sound and found our way up into a small anchorage outside Fort Myers.  The wind was still blowing 20 knots.  You can see its impact on the channel to our anchorage.

We were going to try for a passage to Marco Island or even the Everglades on Tuesday, but the reality of a steady NE wind on the Gulf proved too much.  After an hour of dealing with tide against wind, we turned around and anchored off Fort Myers Beach.  Dan always tells people “there’s no shame in turning back.”  We had a quiet day and did boat chores.

Wednesday we made it to the Everglades.  We’d been looking forward to exploring this area - we’d heard so much about it - and spent about an hour online taking the course and test for the mandatory Everglades Boater Certificate.  Every boat operator in the Everglades must have this Certificate, unless the craft you operate doesn’t have a motor of any kind.  The course told us many things we didn’t know: there is no swimming or snorkeling.  You must stay 300 feet away from all wildlife.  There are over 10,000 islands, but very, very few places you are allowed to go ashore.  Most of the channels between all those islands, and several of the anchorages listed on the chart are too shallow for the Willie Dawes.  We spent Wednesday night at anchor in West Pass, Thursday night in Little Shark River, and moved on from there to Marathon.  We did see some roseate spoonbills, though.  Nobody every came to ask about our Boater Certification.  

Today (Friday Dec 22) we are in Marathon, what one cruiser has described as the “Walmart Parking Lot” of the Keys.  Many cruisers spend a month or two here.  There is a wait list for moorings and the marinas take reservations several weeks (or even months) in advance.  We found a space in the harbor anchorage.  There must be four hundred boats here, all told.  We’re only going to be here long enough to run some errands, then our plan is to head over to Key West for Christmas.  

Punta Gorda

 We didn’t let that severe weather keep us too long, thought we did moved from the Clearwater Beach anchorage over to the Bellaire Causeway anchorage on Sunday because the water was just too rough to be comfortable in front of the hotels.  Since we were inside the barrier islands, Dan decided we could keep heading south as long as we kept a good weather eye out.  Monday we got to Sarasota Bay, where we found a great anchorage with a view.  Glorious sunset that night! 

Tuesday we cruised to the Boca Grande bridge, just before Charlotte Harbor, and we turned into a little water cul-de-sac that was edged by large homes.  It’s always weird to anchor in someone’s front yard like that, but it turned out to be one of our nicest anchorages in Florida.  It was very quiet and fairly dark at night.  During that day, Dan spent a some time tracking down help for a small fuel leak that had been plaguing us since Mobile.  He had already narrowed the problem (in the injector line) and had been on the phone with Transatlantic Diesel, his go-to people for engine troubles.  They had sent a package with small gaskets to Carrabelle, but Dan wanted a mechanic on standby before he started taking things apart, as he was worried that if something broke, we might need someone who could make a part and help him get it all back in working order.  Dan is mighty handy with just about everything that needs doing, but he knows enough to look ahead at possible problems and to line up expert help if needed.   After many calls to local friends and acquaintances for recommendations of boatyards and mechanics, he learned of Capt. Mike, the guy that “knows everything about Perkins engines.”  Capt. Mike agreed to meet us at the marina in Punta Gorda on Wednesday.

A steady Northeast wind had been blowing.  In this marina in Punta Gorda, winds from that direction steadily blew the water out of their basin.  We couldn’t make it into the designated slip - we couldn’t even get down the designated channel without touching bottom.  In fact, most of the boats in their slips were sitting on the bottom.  The marina ended up putting us on their courtesy dock.  I had promised to get out of the way, so I collected the laundry and left Dan to ready the engine room for inspection by Capt. Mike.

Well, Capt. Mike called to reschedule for Thursday, saying he’d be there “first thing.”  Dan came to the boater’s lounge to let me know, and got to talking with the other boaters there.  They reluctantly informed him that Capt. Mike-the-diesel-mechanic had a solid reputation for not showing up.  And for drinking.  To cheer Dan up and to celebrate his birthday, I took him out to dinner.  Fisherman’s Village Marina has a mini-mall of shops and restaurants right at the dock, and we found a holiday-decorated outdoor restaurant with good food just steps away from the Willie Dawes. Afterwards we did a little browsing in the shops nearby, picking up a few last minute Christmas gifts to send home.  We managed to get off his mind off Capt. Mike for a little while, but he still sat up late thinking about what to do. 

Dan did what he always does.  He got up early, he addressed the problem, and he solved it.  Thursday morning he dived into the engine room, took apart the fuel injector and replaced the gaskets.  Nothing was cracked and no other parts needed replacing, let alone custom-making, which had been his biggest fear.  A few hours later we heard from Capt. Mike - he was going to be late - and Dan told him we didn’t need him after all. 

The money we saved on mechanic fees we spent on staying at the marina a second night, for there was less water than we had the day before when we’d gone aground.  We spent the morning walking to town and shipping off the last of our Christmas presents from the very busy post office.  We passed this cute Charlie Brown tree outside the City Hall.  When we got back to the boat, we got into the holiday spirit and decorated the salon. 

We left the marina this morning (Friday, Dec 15.) They had warned us we couldn’t stay a third night, as they’d reserved our spot for another boat, and fortunately the tide was up enough to enable us to be able to leave and anchor out in Punta Gorda’s anchorage.  We’re going to ride out the coming storm here, and when the wind shifts we’ll move across the harbor to an anchorage more protected from that direction.  

This is how Tommie rides out rough weather.

Long Days and Manatees

         On Thursday we left Alligator Harbor before dawn to get to Steinhatchee.  We cruised twelve hours - pre-dawn to dusk - and both of us were beat when we got there.  Dan thought it best not to go up the river several miles to Steinhatchee.  Since the weather forecast was favorable, we went bypassed that river and went down the coast to anchor near the mouth of the Suwannee river.  Gorgeous sunset over the Gulf! Both of us went to bed early.  

Friday we were up and out at dawn.  The waters were choppy, like they had been the day before, but they calmed down by noon and the rest of the day was fairly pleasant.  We made it to the Crystal River by 2:30 pm, and went up to the town to anchor.  Crystal River is famous for its warm springs, which draw the manatee when the winter waters grow too cold.  This is the only place in Florida where you are allowed to get in the water and swim with manatee.  We didn’t do that - it just didn’t seem like a nice idea, but we did lower the dinghy and go up the creek into Three Sisters Bay where most of the manatees were hanging out.  People were paddle boarding, snorkeling, and sightseeing galore, and the manatees were a tolerant but captive show.  Many of them have scars on their backs from propellor blades.  The odd thing about Florida’s waterways is that there are signs all over letting you know you are in manatee habitats, and to be watchful, but those same signs give a speed limit of 25 mph, which is nearly 22 knots.  That is way too fast - most cruisers do not even go that fast (our top speed is 8 knots, eg) - and it is impossible to avoid hitting manatees or other wildlife at that speed.  We didn’t even put our motor on the dinghy - Dan rowed up into the springs.  We got some nice pictures of the manatees and anhingas before we went back to the Willie Dawes.  

We raised anchor and left Crystal River to the other sightseers and anchored in the mouth of the river for the night, in preparation for Saturday’s travel to Clearwater.

This was another long day of cruising, from dawn til an hour before dusk.  As we neared the inland waterway to leads along the southwestern coast of Florida, we could tell it was Saturday.  Everyone with a boat was out zipping around.  It’s only going to get crazier the farther south we go, so we just smiled and waved as they buzzed by us.  The hotel near our Clearwater Beach anchorage rents jetskis that look like little racing cars and they were ‘drag racing’ in circles as we came in to anchor.  

We have some severe weather heading our way, so we may be here in Clearwater for a couple of days.  

Back in the Eastern Time Zone

         From Spectre Island we cruised to Hogtown Bayou, another pretty anchorage, and quiet.  Our cruising views range from well-developed to undeveloped and back again, with sandy dunes speckled with pines and scrub giving way to a few houses or larger hotels that look like they are right on the water’s edge.  This area was hard hit last year by the edges of Hurricane Idalia, and there is much debris and many downed trees.  

Sunday, Dec 3, we made our way to Emerald Harbor Marina in Panama City.  This particular marina is small and tucked up into the northeastern area of the city.  Most Loopers were staying at marinas down the GICW.  We chose this one because it was much closer to the grocery stores, and we really needed to provision.  Seth, the owner, offered a ride to the store and we took advantage of that, filling the back seat of his truck with our provisions, especially heavier items that are tough to carry when we’re walking to the store.  We can’t say enough about Seth and his marina.  Yes, it’s very small, and, Seth puts it, basically just a place to park your boat.  But it offers everything a transient could want except for fuel:  hot showers, free laundry, and access to town.  (There were several smaller groceries within walking distance.)

Monday we bid goodbye to Seth, thanking him for all his friendly hospitality, and made our way into what Dan called the Dismal Swamp of the Florida Panhandle.  This was a beautiful and scenic passage between Panama City and the Applachicola River.  Much of the shore is cypress swamp and protected wilderness.  Lots of birds.  Late afternoon we turned into the Searcy Oxbow to anchor in a protected little area and spotted our first alligator! He was a big guy, sunning himself on the bank, and not at all interested in us anchoring twenty feet away.  Our pictures of him and this anchorage don’t really do the place justice.

Tuesday we were up with the sunrise and made our way down past Applachicola as our phones jumped ahead an hour, and into the GICW headed for Carrabelle.  This is a tiny town tucked into the upper bend of Florida’s west coast, and a popular jumping off spot for Loopers to make a Gulf passage all the way to Clearwater or Tarpon Springs.  We took a slip at the Moorings of Carrabelle Marina, filled one of the fuel tanks with the cheapest diesel we’ve seen yet, and walked the town for about an hour.  A very nice grocery store is less than a quarter mile away, as are a couple of restaurants and a nice hardware store.  The marina has a clubhouse equipped with a pool table, and Dan and I played several games of eight ball Tuesday evening.  (He won two of the games, and we took turns scratching the others, but I was satisfied with my performance.) 

This morning (Weds Dec 6) we went to breakfast with fellow Loopers Mike and Debbie from I Think I Can.  Dan and Mike strategized the next few days’ travel while we all enjoyed a good meal.  They are considering an overnight crossing instead of the day-hopping down the coast we are planning out.  After breakfast we bid them fair winds and took off for an anchorage about ten miles down the coast in Alligator Harbor, near the town of Sopchoppy, shaving off a couple hours from our next hop down to Steinhatchee.

Tommie enjoys the sun on the flying bridge.

Back in Florida

We actually didn’t get to Mobile Bay until Tuesday, Nov 28th.  We spent two nights in Briar Creek, about ten miles north of Mobile, because we still tested positive for COVID on Monday morning.  We’d been hoping for a marina, but didn’t want to risk sharing our illness with anyone.  

Tuesday morning we set out.  Dan still tested positive, so the marina would have to wait, but we were itching to move on, and there was an anchorage south of Mobile, in the Dog River, near all the marinas.  The industrial port of Mobile was soon in sights, crowded with tows and barges and large ships being unloaded of their cargo.  Mobile Bay also houses a naval shipyard and berths for some of the Navy fleet, which were lined up along the east side of the bay, a smaller version of what we’d seen in Norfolk, Virginia.  We turned into the Dog River mid-afternoon and found a nice anchorage up river and away from the recreational traffic.  

Wednesday morning (Nov 29) I tested negative (yay!) and we decided to go to nearby Grand Mariner Marina to fuel up and see if they’d honor a free night with a 

purchase of 100 gallons.  The elderly man - Bill - admitted they hadn’t given away a free night in a long time, but said he’d see what he could do for us.  We got more than a 100 gallons and ended up getting the free night.  The marina wasn’t quite so grand as it was friendly - it was basically a very rickety set of wooden docks with an even more rickety wooden building half on the water.  They offered two bathrooms and two showers and a laundry room with two washers and dryers, and the upstairs of the building housed a restaurant.  On the face of the building were signs proudly declaring how high the water has come during different hurricanes (in Katrina, the water had flooded above the doorway) and the entire place looks like it’ll wash away in the next big storm.  However, Bill was exceptionally friendly, and personally hauled away all our accumulated trash and used motor oil, and he delivered my mail.  And the take-out meal we’d ordered from the restaurant that night was very good.  I scurried around doing the laundry while Dan stayed aboard (still positive for COVID) and took care of other things.

Thursday morning (Nov 30) we untied and headed across the river to another marina for a brief visit with Gavin and Lica on Sol Marina whom we hadn’t seen since Kentucky.  They are awaiting the stepping of their mast.  It was good to catch up with them.  We’re all hoping to rendezvous again in the future.  Dan and I then set off across Mobile Bay for the GICW, heading toward Florida.  It was a lumpy crossing, but a pod of dolphins came to lead the way and play in our wake.  We found a really nice, quiet anchorage in Ingram Bayou for the night.

Today, mindful of the cell of thunderstorms heading our way, we picked our way along the GICW, crossing the border into Florida about 0930.  More dolphins came to play with us, even as the rain began.  We are definitely back in civilization now - there is much development and many military installations in the Panhandle.  There are also lots of sandy beaches.  In fair weather, I bet this area is pretty busy.  We continued past Pensacola and Gulf Shores and found a nice anchorage off Spectre Island.  Here we can ride out the thunderstorms predicted for later and we’ll be protected from the wind.    It’s nice to be on the move again!

Tommie doesn’t care where we’re going, as long as she can sit in Dan’s lap.

Down the Tombigbee

         This river is exceptionally winding.  One minute we’re heading south, the next minute we’ve switched to northwest, another bend and we’re heading east.  No engineer has come along to cut canals across the oxbows yet.  As the crow flies, we’ve been a hundred miles or less from Mobile Bay, but as the river takes us, we’ve been over three hundred miles.  Good thing it’s been very pretty!  We’ll pass some industrial plants or barge loading docks, and the occasional home, but for the most part it’s been moss-draped hardwoods and softwoods. 

        We’re keeping an eye out for alligators but haven’t seen any yet.  Perhaps the weather has been too cold.  It’s been getting into the 60s during the day, but it’s cold enough at night that we’re treated to sea smoke in the morning. 

We had a very quiet Thanksgiving, with the traditional fixings except the food came out of cans.  Turkey and potatoes with gravy, and butternut squash.  In Grafton we had found a sourdough bread mix - just add a can of beer! - and Dan made that to accompany the meal.  The bread was very tasty, and baking it warmed the cabin.  We spoke with both our sons and were treated to watching our grandson Leo crawl.  He’s growing right up!  He turned eight months on Thanksgiving day.  

Yesterday, (Sat Nov 26) we turned a bend in the river to encounter s/v Bullimundu, from Chicago, hard aground. Darius and his father had been stuck on a bar in the middle of the channel for about three hours, diverting the tow-and-barge traffic around them as they tried everything they could think of to get free.  We offered to help, and managed to get them off the bar.  This the fourth time Dan put his tug skipper’s hat on during our Great Loop adventure.  Bullimundu was very grateful, and followed us to our anchorage.  Their boat draws seven feet, and they have become well acquainted with the ground as they’ve made their way south.  Darius said he’s looking forward to getting to Florida (his destination) and staying put for awhile. 

Tomorrow we will enter Mobile Bay.  Looking forward to getting back into salt water!  

Alabama

         Well I have to say this waterway section of the Great Loop is very pretty.  And we are starting to see more and more birds.  The other day Dan spotted a woodpecker.  “It had a lot of white on its back and it was big!”  He said to me.  He is very good at spotting details quickly, whereas I have to look for several seconds with a pair of binoculars to notice the color of the legs or the presence of an eye mask. I didn’t see this particular bird but took his word that it was a woodpecker, and jokingly said “Was it an ivory-billed?”  He frowned at me.  “The extinct one?”  He said.  “It might not be extinct.”  I shrugged, and pointed to the habitat.  “This is where it supposedly has been sighted.”

Lots of research and some very granulated internet pictures and videos later, and Dan thinks it just might have been an ivory-billed woodpecker.  It flew like a woodpecker, it had lots of white on its back and wings but had black wingtips, and it was large and fast.  We may never know - it was the only sighting and it didn’t stay around long enough for us to get even a grainy photo.  But it could have been, and wouldn’t that be something to be able to claim?

We are traveling pretty much alone these days, taking our time.  The river system snakes back and forth, heads into a lock, and then continues on.  There have been many options for anchoring, all of them rustic and quiet, with turtles or egrets lining the shores.  We’ve passed a few houses, but much of the scenery is hardwoods and spruce, sitting atop eroding sand or clay banks.  Occasionally we come through a cypress swamp area that is reminiscent of South Carolina.  We crossed into Alabama yesterday (Monday Nov 20).  These last several days have been very peaceful, and just the thing we needed as we recover from COVID.  (We’re getting better, but it seems like a slow process.)

Tommie is basking in the sunlight.